Public

Based on the book: ”A Very Public Offering” by Stephan Paternot

Screenwriter: Oscar® winner David S. Ward (The Sting, Sleepless in Seattle).

Producer: Kevin Frakes

Status: Development, Director Offers, Casting

Estimated Budget: $12-20 million

Profile

Summary:

Based on a true story, PUBLIC takes us back to the dawn of the internet era, chronicling the story of two college kid’s creation: the world’s first online community, and their journey from total obscurity to the nexus of Wall Street where their company, theglobe.com, opened up on the stock exchange with the highest rising IPO in history, making them Wall Street legends at the age of only 24. This is the true story of two young pioneers, Stephan Paternot and best friend Todd Krizelman, two icons of the Internet revolution who not only embodied the excess and Internet mania of the late 1990’s—but who were also two of the first whipping boys when the market began its spectacular collapse. PUBLIC takes us to the front lines and behind the scenes of the Internet craze recording all the ludicrous hype, from the wild valuations and record-breaking IPOs to the market’s nightmarish downturn. It’s a coming of age story for the Internet generation about a couple of teenagers-turned-businessmen. It’s part adventure story, part romance, and part documentary of an era that business will never experience again.

Reviews:

“Their story is the stuff of Wall Street legend.”

“Part morality tale, part fairy tale and part college diary. This story is hard not to like.”

“It was the greatest Cinderella story in Silicon Valley history.”