Reddit writer James Erwin’s Rome Sweet Rome is headed for Hollywood

The Reddit thread Rome Sweet Rome is headed for Hollywood, making one happy first-time writer out of James Erwin.

Warner Bros. has preemptively purchased a pitch from Erwin based on his "Rome Sweet Rome" postings on Reddit, an online community and social news aggregator, Variety reports.

The posts tell Erwin’s story of a group of U.S. Marines who are transported back in time to fight in ancient Rome. 

Erwin's "Rome Sweet Rome" were reportedly spotted by Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner when they reached the top of Reddit, a site which allows users to vote to determine which posts land on the site's home page.

Kolbrenner then contacted Erwin to rework the concept — which also has a Facebook page — into a film.

Erwin, a two-time "Jeopardy!" champion from Des Moines, Iowa, took excitedly to Twitter to announce the news.

According to Variety:

Kolbrenner will produce with Gianni Nunnari ("Immortals") of Hollywood Gang, where John Ridley will oversee the project for the company. Madhouse's Robyn Meisinger will exec produce and Gary will shepherd the project for Warners.

Erwin's has reportedly also written a book, to be published in 2012, that chronicles the history of U.S. military actions.