The saga of disgraced North Carolina politician John Edwards is on its way to the big screen. According to

href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4e5fe86

c8a88e96bb47382ee1006b9fc/" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter and "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin has acquired the rights to the tell-all "The Politician: An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down." The tome was penned by Edwards aide Andrew Young, who divulged damaging details about the pol's extramarital affair.

Edwards was vilified in the press for [article id="1592465"]carrying on an affair[/article] with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter. The politician was apparently cheating with Hunter while his wife, Elizabeth, battled cancer. The former senator, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, also fathered a daughter with Hunter. Edwards initially denied he was the child's father until a paternity test revealed otherwise.

"This is a first-hand account of an extraordinary story filled with motivations, decisions and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up," said Sorkin, who will make his directorial debut with the movie.

"There's much more to Andrew's book than what has been reported, and I'm grateful that he's trusting me with it."

Sorkin has worked extensively in film and television. In addition to helming the hit political show "The West Wing," he also created the shows "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Sports Night." He has written screenplays for "Charlie Wilson's War," "A Few Good Men" and, most recently, "The Social Network," based on the rise of the social-media juggernaut Facebook.

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