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'Factory Man' is being developed as an HBO miniseries

'Factory Man,' a nonfiction work by Beth Macy, is the story of a Virginia businessman who fought against outsourcing.

'Factory Man' is by Beth Macy.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

The nonfiction book “Factory Man” by Beth Macy could be coming to the small screen.

According to Deadline, HBO is developing the book as a miniseries. “Factory Man” is about a Virginia businessman, John Bassett III, who fought to keep the residents of Bassett, Va. (named after the business) employed rather than outsourcing work to foreign countries.

The book was first released this past July and the Monitor named “Factory Man” as one of the best books of that month. “Like some of the best nonfiction writers today … Macy takes a topic that is either too dry, too complicated, or too depressing for most journalists to tackle and she tackles it with vigor, integrity, soul, and skill,” Monitor writer Janet Saidi wrote in her review. “One of the more powerful aspects of Macy's storytelling is her willingness to take a classic American story and tell it from the point of view of the women, the African-Americans, and the working-class people that populate the narrative.” 

The possible miniseries is being produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s company Playtone, which was also behind the HBO miniseries “John Adams” and “The Pacific,” among others.

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