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.