The life story of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is set for the silver screen, courtesy of the director behind the Rush Hour franchise.
The 81-year-old Hefner sold the rights to his life story to Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer several years ago.
Hefner gave his blessing to the new Hollywood film project last week, according to a report in industry publication Daily Variety.
Brett Ratner, whose credits include the Rush Hour buddy cop comedies, TV thriller Prison Break and the third instalment of the X-Men film franchise, is slated to direct.
"Hef came from a puritanical upbringing and reinvented himself to be the godfather of the sexual revolution," Ratner told Daily Variety.
"I want to show it all, from the First Amendment struggles, to his first orgy, to the stroke in the 1980s that almost killed him."
Hefner founded Playboy magazine in 1953 with just several hundred dollars and the now-famous nude centrefold of screen siren Marilyn Monroe, an image that was initially taken for a calendar.
The so-called "men's lifestyle" magazine that highlights female nudes is now considered one of the factors that helped propel the U.S. sexual revolution of the 1960s.
Appearing in the magazine has helped many budding actresses or models — including Canadian Pamela Anderson and the late Anna Nicole Smith — become household names.
On the other hand, a plethora of female celebrities have participated in photo spreads for the cheesecake title after finding success: from actresses like Drew Barrymore and Farrah Fawcett to athletes such as Katarina Witt to singers including Nancy Sinatra.
Hefner has also used the pages of Playboy for social activism. Over the years, the title has published lengthy articles about hot topics such as censorship and freedom of speech. Playboy has also included short fiction by writers such as Ian Fleming and Vladimir Nabokov.
The Playboy brand has become one of the world's most recognizable, having branched out with international editions around the globe and into the worlds of television, home videos, clothing and the internet.
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