ESPN: Those Guys Have All The Fun, the oral history of ESPN is getting the movie treatment. There were rumors last month that a major studio was on the verge of buying the film, but last night we learned that the winning bidder was 20th Century Fox. Sports fans, this is our The Social Network.

Of course, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ oral history is a long way away from seeing this movie. From Deadline:

The book created a stir in the film community when ICM began shopping it in recent weeks. I’m told there is interest from scribes and directors, and the studio and producers will start right away looking for someone to figure out the movie.

The only way Those Guys Have All The Fun could be further from a script is if someone said “Hey, we should make a movie about sports.” 20th Century Fox will need to find someone to write the script, rewrite the script and then do more rewrites. Then there’s the process of attaching and losing directors and stars.

Before anyone gets too excited, this probably doesn’t mean there will be a line of actresses and models lining up to play Erin Andrews and Michelle Beadle. And while the idea of Craig Kilborn playing Craig Kilborn in a movie about ESPN is amusing, this is probably going to be an origin story.  So I wouldn’t get my I’d just like to predict Eugene Levy and Justin Long as father-son duo Bill and Scott Rasmussen. If that doesn’t give ESPN Colon Those Guys Have All The Fun Colon The Movie the gravitas it deserves, then nothing will. Also, John Walsh should be played by Justin Timberlake.

Unfortunately, Hollywood already made a movie about SportsCenter as it is now. It was a television show called Sports Night, it was excellent and you killed it because you didn’t make your friends watch.

So get ready for The Social Sports Network. It should be an interesting experience for the sports blogosphere since we’ll be watching every step carefully because, this after all, ESPN we’re talking about.

[Deadline]