Ahh, the dreaded Facebook movie project — titled “The Social Network” — and possibly to be directed by David Fincher no less.
But it’s actually not a film about finding friends, updating your status or wasting your time during the work day. The script penned by Aaron Sorkin (“A Few Good Men,” “The West Wing,” “Charlie Wilson’s War”) is actually based on the Harvard undergraduates that invented the social networking site and the drama that ensued. The title says it all: “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal.” It’s essentially about Mark Zuckerberg, the face behind Facebook and the four fellow students who say he stole their idea (there’s been rumors that Michael Cera and Shia LaBeouf could star).
Initially everyone’s thinking this is a disastrous premise, but there seems to be a ton of intrigue in the book. So is the script any good? Apparently, yes, it’s impressive according to Scriptshadow has gotten ahold of the screenplay and reviewed it.
The first interesting factoid. When Scott Rudin hired Sorkin to write the screenplay the writer “had little to no knowledge of Facebook when he got the job. He’s self-proclaimed computer ignorant, which makes some of the scenes in the script all the more remarkable.”
It sounds like a modern day version of “Wall Street,” in a way which is interesting considering a Wall Street sequel is on the way. ” ‘The Social Network’ is a either a modern tragedy or a modern success story depending on how you look at it,” he writes.
The basics? “This is a story about two friends – one a computer genius, the other a business expert – who began a website that became the fastest growing phenomenon in Internet history. Three years later, one was suing the other for 600 million dollars (or 1/30th of Mark Zuckerberg’s worth). It’s a story about greed, about obsession, about our belief that all the money in the world can make us happy. But it’s also unpredictable, funny, touching, and sad. It gives us that rare glimpse into the improbable world of mega-success.”
It’s also a drama, but apparently much funnier than one would expect for a story about friendship betrayal. “The script is sprinkled with a lot more humor than I expected – to the point where I wondered if it should be classified as a comedy,” Scriptshadow writes.
While Scriptshadow is impressed with the story, some of it sounds rather trite and cornball. The ending (Spoilers) concludes with Zuckerberg, a multi-millionaire in front of a computer, “all the money in the world and not one true friend to show for it.” What’s even worse, it ends with Zuckerberg on Facebook trying to “add friend” to a girlfriend that dumped him long ago. “Afterwards, despite the millions of daily operations requiring his attention at that moment, he waits for her to accept. He’ll wait forever if he has to.” Groan! Pardon our cackling laughter, but that’s fromage.
Other concerns? It’s 162 pages! (that’s like a 3 and half hour movie, ok exaggerating, but long…the rule of thumb is a minute a page, but they always go longer than that) and there’s apparently, no “discernible structure.” Hello, “Moneyball”-like concerns. Umm, sounds like a first draft that is not getting greenlit anytime soon, frankly. But does Scriptshadow have the most recent draft? Probably, he’s always got the most recent goods. It sounds like a good start, but it also sounds like one that’s more still in-development than something you’re going to see next year. But who knows, they could be working on this as we speak, but we would assume no studio in their right mind would green light a 162 page shooting script.
"much more funnier" ?
Duly noted and corrected, Grammar PD.
JJ says:
"No studio in their right mind would greenlight a 162 page shooting script"–
Oh really?
The shooting script of Zodiac was 200 pages. The Thin Red Line was over 180. Any Given Sunday was something like 220. The draft of Against All Enemies that got greenlit and then shut down was 200 pages. The spec draft of American Gangster was close to 190. Hell, I've got a draft of Metro, of all things–the awful Eddie Murphy action comedy–that's 190!!!
The page count thing is just for spec scripts. Once something has talent attached, or is in development with high profile supporters, the page count seems to become much less important.
Yeah, but it's 2009 and things are far different from all those films. Zodiac probably wouldn't be even green lit in this new world.
Charlie Wilson's War had a $75 million budget and still made a profit, and taking in international gross, Benjamin Button did too; so, I don't know if a greenlight is that far away.
Sodenbergh or Clooney hopping on this doesn't sound like the most implausible thing ever.
Phew….I thought this was headed towards a Robert Luketic's 21-like territory – kids beating the system, getting rich and turning on on another and the young protag getting the girl in the end.
Is it a lot of dialog? I'm guessing if it's Sorkin it is. It's possible that they could make the 160 page draft with the expectation that the characters will talk fast so the 1 page to 1 minute of screen time thing wouldn't be quite as compatible. Still, I'm guessing 20+ pages will be cut before production. But then, it IS Fincher. He might want it to be even longer.
"Phew….I thought this was headed towards a Robert Luketic's 21-like territory – kids beating the system"
Umm…that's exactly what is is. This is all hilarious nonsense. Having been a Harvard undergrad in Zuckerberg's class and remembering the days when Facebook was just a little campus thing, I can tell you that this is basically like that Simpsons episode where they watch "HOMER S: PORTRAIT OF AN ASS GRABBER" on Fox.
I can never watch any "based on a true story" films, no matter how good the reviews are. If I know remotely anything about the subject it just seems totally laughable to the point of parody.
Anon, if i can get you the script you wanna be interviewed? write me.
Ha, thanks for the offer and I love this blog, but I gotta refuse. Honestly, I don't really feel like reading another terrible Hollywood script. Besides, it's not like I knew the guy personally, but being in the Class of '06, I remember all the school papers articles and interviews and all the on-campus chatter and this movie sounds so ludicrous.
I mean, Zuckerberg's whole schtick is that he's NOT some greedy, psychotic sellout. Unlike, say, MySpace (and every other big startup), he didn't cash out for hundreds of millions and sell to a big media conglomerate, which would have been the "smart" thing to do. Facebook is still free and relatively clear of ads and clutter (no pop-ups or intrusive ads). And he let people come up with their own apps and offer them publicly.
The whole legal entanglements over the idea/rights is a bit troubling, but this was college and everything was messy and unorganized. He was hired to write code, the project fell apart. The idea isn't even all that original, so accusations of theft are sorta silly, IMO. I mean, it's called "Facebook" because Harvard has a longstanding tradition called "The Freshman Facebook" where incoming students submit a photo and basic stats for a book that's published (it's said that social clubs use this to hunt for hot/rich kids).
Facebook as we know it is basically just a merger of the Harvard tradition and Friendster.
Interesting stuff. Thanks for the thoughts. It's rare anyone says anything of value in a comments section.
Especially that Alex kid. He just loves the sound of his own voice, but please don't tell him I said that.
Interesting posts, but I'm sure most people would find a dramatized version of the life of someone they knew pretty ridiculous. And honestly, Anon, if you're not seeing movies based on true stories you're missing out. Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Assassination of Jesse James, Zodiac, etc.
And wasn't the accusation that he was stealing lines of code (not the concept)?
Good point, shingle. Plus real life is boring, you always have to dramatize things. If not, fuck, read a procedural, don't make a movie.
I gotta say, Zodiac was like that. zzzzz…
JJ Says:
Hey Anonymous, you were class of '06?? Wow, what a funny coincidence. I was around Harvard too during those early years of Facebook (as an employee–of Harvard, not Facebook!) and was friends with some of your classmates. I wonder if we know any of the same people.
Anyway, I also recall Facebook as just some Harvard fad and it's surreal sometimes to see what it's become. But in all honesty, based on ScriptShadow's review, it sounds like a good film, not some standard bad Hollywood distortion of a true story. The fact that Facebook does draw so much from Harvard is, I'm sure, part of the appeal–it's an added element of prestige.
Although, Fincher and Sorkin are going to have to work hard to overcome the involvement of the "21" people. ARRGH–talk about wretched Hollywood distortions.
And Fincher will no absolutely make it longer!!! I have a couple drafts of Benjamin Button and not one is under 180 pgs.
PS, instincts are on the mark. about halfway through reading this thing and not impressed at all so far. It's a court-room drama that flashes back to the salad days of Harvard when Facebook was just taking off internally within the school. It doesn't read like anything we haven't seen before.
Reading the comments on this post, and the post itself, is funny now, a few months after the 2010 release of the Social Network. 🙂
@Simon Seriously