The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network is a 2010 drama film about the founding of the social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits. The film was directed by David Fincher and features a cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Rashida Jones, Joseph Mazzello, and Rooney Mara. Aaron Sorkin's screenplay adapts Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires. Sorkin makes a cameo appearance as an unimpressed advertiser. Neither founder Mark Zuckerberg nor any other member of Facebook was involved with the project, although Eduardo Saverin was a consultant for Mezrich. The film was released in the United States by Columbia Pictures on October 1, 2010. The film received widespread acclaim, with critics praising it for its editing, acting, score and screenplay. The Social Network appeared on 78 critics' top 10 list for 2010; of those critics 22 had the film in their number one spot. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers said "The Social Network is the movie of the year. But Fincher and Sorkin triumph by taking it further. Lacing their scathing wit with an aching sadness, they define the dark irony of the past decade." It received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (David Fincher), and Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), and won three for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. It also won the Best Motion Picture – Drama Golden Globe at the 68th Golden Globe Awards on January 16, 2011. The film also won the awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score, making it the film with the most wins of the night.

In 2003, Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is dumped by his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). Upset, Mark returns to his dorm where he gets drunk and writes a scathing blog entry about her, which inspires him to create an on-campus website called Facemash that allows the users to rate the attractiveness of female students. However, Mark is caught and receives six months of academic probation after the traffic to the site brings down parts of Harvard's network. His prank also causes him to become vilified among most of Harvard's female community. However, FaceMash's popularity and the fact that Mark created it in one night while drunk brings him to the attention of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and their business partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella). The Winklevoss twins invite Mark to their final club, the Porcellian Club, where Mark accepts a job as programmer for a proposed dating website they call Harvard Connection which will be exclusive to Harvard alums. Mark then approaches his friend Eduardo and tells him of his idea for what he calls "Thefacebook", an online social networking website exclusive to Harvard University students. He explains that this would mimic the popularity of FaceMash but since signing up would be consensual it would avoid the ethical problems of the earlier site. Eduardo agrees to help Mark, providing $1,000 to help start the site. They distribute the link to Eduardo's connections at the Phoenix S-K final club, and it quickly becomes popular throughout the student body. When they learn of Thefacebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendra believe Zuckerberg had stolen their idea while stalling on their website. Tyler and Divya want to sue Mark for intellectual property theft, but Cameron convinces them they can settle the matter as "gentlemen of Harvard" without going to court. During a visiting lecture by Bill Gates, fellow Harvard University student Christy Lee (Brenda Song) introduces herself and her friend Alice to Eduardo and Mark. She asks the boys to "Facebook us"; Christy's use of this phrase impresses both of them. Christy invites them to a bar, where she and Eduardo engage in oral sex in the bar's restroom. Mark later runs into Erica, who is not aware of Thefacebook because she is not a Harvard student. Mark decides to expand the site to Yale University, Columbia University and Stanford University (suggested by Eduardo) as Thefacebook grows in popularity, while the Winklevoss twins and Narendra become angrier at seeing "their idea" advance without them. Cameron refuses to sue them, instead accusing Mark of violating the Harvard student Code of Conduct. Through their father's connections they arrange a meeting with Harvard President Larry Summers, who is sarcastic and dismissive towards the Winklevoss twins and sees no potential value in either a disciplinary action or in Thefacebook website itself. Through Christy, now Eduardo's girlfriend, Eduardo and Mark arrange a meeting with Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake). When they meet Sean, Eduardo becomes skeptical noting Sean's problematic personal and professional history. Sean presents a vision for Facebook very similar to that of Mark, which earns Mark's instant admiration. In a parting comment, Sean suggests they drop the "The" from Thefacebook. At Sean's suggestion, Mark moves the company to Palo Alto, while Eduardo remains in New York seeking advertising support. At a nightclub, Sean advises Mark to keep hold of his ownership of Facebook to ensure that Mark does not lose control of a potentially lucrative business venture, using Victoria's Secret founder Roy Raymond as an example. After Sean promises to expand Facebook to two other continents, Mark invites Sean to live at the house he is using as the company headquarters. Meanwhile in England, while competing in the Henley Royal Regatta for Harvard, the Winklevoss twins discover Facebook has expanded to a number of English universities and footage of their lost rowing match against the Hollandia Roeiclub is posted on it. Faced with this humiliation Cameron finally relents and they decide to sue. When Eduardo visits from New York, he is angered to find that Sean is living in their house and is making business decisions for Facebook. Eduardo pulls Mark aside and has an argument with him, with Mark making a demeaning remark regarding Eduardo's failed attempts at finding advertisers. Fed up with Mark's attitude toward him, Eduardo freezes the company's bank account, which is still in his name, and returns to New York. Upon returning, Christy argues with Eduardo about his Facebook profile, which still lists him as "single". Christy does not believe Eduardo when he reluctantly explains that he doesn't know how to change his profile. She accuses him of cheating on her and sets fire to a scarf he has given to her. As a result of Christy's odd behavior, Eduardo ends his relationship with her. While Eduardo extinguishes the fire she caused, Mark reveals on the phone that although he was upset that Eduardo almost jeopardized Facebook by freezing the bank account, they have secured $500,000 from angel investor Peter Thiel. Eduardo soon discovers the deal he signed with Sean's investors has allowed them to dilute his share of the company from 34 percent to 0.03 percent, while maintaining the ownership percentage of all other parties. Devastated, he confronts Mark and announces his intention to sue him. Later that night, during a party celebrating Facebook's one millionth member, Sean and a number of underage Facebook interns are arrested for possession of cocaine. Sean calls Mark and tries deceiving him into believing that he had nothing to do with the incident and that Eduardo stashed the cocaine, but Mark does not believe him and tells him to "go home." Throughout the film, the story is intercut with scenes from depositions taken in lawsuits against Mark and Facebook—one filed by the Winklevoss twins, the other by Eduardo. The Winklevoss twins claim that Zuckerberg stole their idea for a social networking website, and Saverin claims his shares of Facebook were diluted when the company was incorporated. At the end, Marylin Delpy (Rashida Jones), a junior lawyer for the defense, informs Mark they will be settling with Eduardo, since the sordid details of Facebook's founding and Mark's callous attitude will make a jury highly unsympathetic. After everyone leaves, Mark sends a friend request to Erica Albright on Facebook, and refreshes the page every few seconds waiting for a response.