DreamWorks has traded greenbacks for a story that began with one red paper clip. Producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald bought rights to the real-life story of Kyle MacDonald after reading about his online bartering adventures, says The Hollywood Reporter.

"It's a story that speaks to the idea of relative values: What's worthless to one person is priceless to someone else," Parkes said Wednesday.

MacDonald made headlines when he traded a paper clip for a house through a series of barters during the course of a year. Inspired by a childhood barter game called Bigger and Better, MacDonald posted a message on Craigslist.com offering his red paper clip for trade. After a series of 14 trades -- gradually increasing in value from a fish-shaped pen to a small doorknob, a camping stove, a power generator, a snowmobile and a small-truck -- MacDonald ended up with a house in Saskatchewan, Canada.