The Social Network

The Social Network
On top of a man's face, in white font, the phrase "You Don't Get To 500 Million Friends Without Making A Few Enemies" appears, covering most of the poster. Underneath, the words "The Social Network" are presented in a Facebook-esque style and logo.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Fincher
Screenplay byAaron Sorkin
Based onThe Accidental Billionaires
by Ben Mezrich
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJeff Cronenweth
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • September 24, 2010 (2010-09-24) (NYFF)[1]
  • October 1, 2010 (2010-10-01) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[3]
Box office$224.9 million[3]

The Social Network is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Max Minghella as Divya Narendra. Neither Zuckerberg nor any other Facebook staff were involved with the project, although Saverin was a consultant for Mezrich's book.[4]

Production began when Sorkin signed to write it. Principal photography began that same year in October in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lasted until November. Additional scenes were shot in California, in the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails composed the film's award-winning score, which was released on September 28, 2010.

The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 24, 2010, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 1, by Sony Pictures Releasing. A major critical and commercial success, the film grossed $224 million on a $40 million budget and was widely acclaimed by critics. It was named one of the best films of the year by 78 critics, and named the best by 22 critics, the most of any film that year. It was also chosen by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2010. At the 83rd Academy Awards, it received eight nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Eisenberg, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. It also received awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.

The Social Network has maintained a strong reputation since its initial release, and is commonly cited by critics as one of the best films of the 2010s and 21st century.[5][6][7][8] The Writers Guild of America ranked Sorkin's screenplay the third greatest of the 21st century.[9] While no official sequel has been announced, Sorkin has publicly expressed interest and willingness to write a screenplay for one should Fincher return to direct.[10]

  1. ^ Kilday, Gregg (July 8, 2010). "'Social Network' to open N.Y. Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Social Network". British Board of Film Classification. September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "The Social Network". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Harris, Mark. "Inventing Facebook" Archived November 18, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. New York Magazine. September 17, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "The 21st Century's 100 greatest films". BBC. August 23, 2016. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "The 50 Best Movies of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. December 18, 2019. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Best Films of the 2010s". RogerEbert.com. November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "The 100 Best Movies of the Decade". IndieWire. July 22, 2019. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Pedersen, Erik (December 6, 2021). "101 Greatest Screenplays Of The 21st Century: Horror Pic Tops Writers Guild's List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ^ "The Social Network Sequel: Aaron Sorkin Interested Under One Condition". Collider. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2021.