Tag Archives: The Social Network movie

Terrible twos

Posted on September 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Those pesky Winklevii are at it again.

Or is it ‘pouting?’

The courts awarded the pair a cash and stock settlement in their 2008 lawsuit against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  Then The Social Network made ‘Winklevoss’ a household name.

Now they’ve taken their grievances to the public as spokespersons for Wonderful Pistachios.

So classy.  They’ve even sued Zuckerberg a second time.

When are these two gonna give it a rest?  As Aaron Sorkin penned so eloquently in his Oscar-winning script:

“If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you would have invented Facebook.“

And let’s face it — actor Arnie Hammer, who portrayed both twins in the movie, is way better looking than the real Winklevii.

Should have stayed off television, boys.  You were a far better looking pair of pricks on film.

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Where’s the love?

Posted on April 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

There’s a whole lotta hatin’ going on Facebook and Twitter about tomorrow’s Royal Wedding.

True, the news media is filled to bursting with coverage — all the minutiae on Kate and Wills, their families, the wedding parties, the route, the ceremony, the receptions, the ridiculous souvenirs.

It’s almost as annoying as NBC’s promotion of The Voice.

But how can Americans spew such bitterness upon these nuptials, when we typically lavish such love on all things British?

Don’t we get all excited each summer come Wimbledon… even though its finals fall on or around our nation’s Independence Day?  Sure, we have the US Open in September, but their tennis tournament has the Duke and Duchess of Kent, strawberries and cream, and spiffy tennis whites.

It’s so proper.  It’s soooo not us.

And don’t we love the actors and actresses who hail from the British isle, with their superior dramatic training and — most importantly — their glorious British accents?  Didn’t we just bestow the Best Actor Oscar on the very worthy Colin Firth for his performance in The King’s Speech?  We love him ‘exactly as he is’ — for his Mr. Darcy-ness — a quality that could not be achieved if he were not British.

You know it’s true.

So, America, try to recapture some of the love for the British that was in your heart when you gave The King’s Speech the Best Picture Oscar…when the very prickly, very American The Social Network clearly deserved to win.

It’s there.  You’ve just forgotten.

(Ad campaigns will do that to you.)

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Oscar unworthy

Posted on February 10, 2011 | 2 Comments

I’m headed to Los Angeles this weekend — for work,  of course.  But my hotel is located right next door to the Grammy Awards venue.

I know, right?

Another red carpet, another round of celebrity self-congratulations.  And as the Academy Awards draw ever nearer, I have to say — this year’s awards season seems even more shallow than usual.  The nominees, the producers, the directors, and even the Oscar voters, I dare say, have abandoned even the appearance of giving out the statutes based on quality.

You just gotta be popular.

Producers always run elaborate pre-Oscar marketing campaigns for movies and their stars, but this year, even the actors are purchasing full-page ads in industry publications ‘for your consideration.’

Case in point: Melissa Leo, Best Supporting Actress nominee for her gritty performance in  “The Fighter,” (which has already garnered her three other trophies).

Chillax, Melissa.  You’ve been considered.  And shee-shee pics like these may swing opinion in the other direction.

The popularity of  the leading actors in The King’s Speech is also one of the main reasons it has of late pulled ahead of The Social Network in the awards race — not because Speech is a better film.  (It’s not.)  This became especially clear during the SAG Awards telecast.

When the casts of both movies appeared on stage during the show, the good feelings that washed over the cast of The King’s Speech were palpable…. whereas the young entourage from The Social Network was prickly, awkward and off-putting.

Heck, I wanted TSN to win, and I didn’t like their attitude that night much either.  But I would hope — if I had the opportunity to vote for any of the awards — that I could separate my personal feelings about any of the nominees from their work in the films.

If the Oscars are going to mean anything now and in the future, the voting community has to man up, act like adults and vote based on the quality of the filmmaking…not just ‘who’s their buddy.’

But then again, maybe none of them are that good of actors.

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Ah ha

Posted on February 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

Remember this year’s Golden Globe Awards?

Hard to believe they were less than a month ago.  Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire and The Social Network were the big winners, and Ricky Gervais — with his mean-spirited, low blow jokes — was the biggest loser.

Memories.

My ‘ah ha’ moment — or maybe it was more of a ‘say wha?’ — was Paul Giamatti’s win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for a little-known movie called Barney’s Version (He beat out Kevin Spacey, Jake Gyllenhaal and two Johnny Depp nods in the process.)

So I decided to give it a look.

Here’s one thing the Hollywood Foreign Press got right.  Giamatti is brilliant as Barney in a movie that spans four decades of his life, three marriages, and literally dozens of bad decisions.  Whoever cast Dustin Hoffman as Barney’s father must be feeling pretty smug, too, because it was nothing short of inspired.

You can make fun of the Globes all day long and be perfectly justified.  But that award alone, and the light it shone on this funny, sad, twisted, lovely film, atones for a multitude of sins.

If Barney’s Version hadn’t won a Globe, it would have no doubt languished on a couple of screens in New York and Los Angeles before calling it a day. Thanks to the Globes, you may get a chance to see it at a ‘theater near you.’

Everybody wins.

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Twins

Posted on January 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

It was kinda like doing a Facebook search and finding three results…

…but a whole lot funnier.

As soon as Jesse Eisenberg was announced as guest host on “Saturday Night Live” — where Adam Samberg does a pretty funny Mark Zuckerberg himself — folks started talking about how hilarious it would be if the real Facebook founder were to make an appearance on the show.

It was an almost impossible get.  Zuckerberg has been pretty vocal about his opinion of “The Social Network” — both its perceived inaccuracies and his portrayal, which Eisenberg himself described as his “interpretation of a fictional character.”

Ah, the power of words.

Well, Lorne Michaels made the impossible possible, and the ‘three Zucks’ opened the show.  It was funny… and awkward.  And I’m sure a few people were pretty embarrassed.

Namely, “The Social Network” casting director.

When you see Andy Samberg and Mark Zuckerberg standing together, and hear them speak and see them smile…it’s kinda amazing.

They are as genetically similar as the dread Winklevi.

Andy might not have been nominated for an Oscar for the role like Eisenberg was, but I’ll bet Zuckerberg would have easily seen himself in the performance.

How could he not?

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2011 Golden Eggs

Posted on January 16, 2011 | 6 Comments

The Golden Globes are here!  The Golden Globes are here!

Before the ceremony sloshes drunkenly into your living room, The Egg is making its annual sticky predictions.

Who will be clutching their awards and tearfully thanking God (and their agents and managers)? The Egg has all kinds of predictions.

But no promises.  We’re just making these up like the rest of the critics.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

* Black Swan
* The Fighter
* Inception
* The King’s Speech
* The Social Network

Although “The Black Swan” was an amazing psychological thriller, I have to give the edge to “The Social Network” — thanks to Aaron Sorkin’s beautifully crafted script and the amazing ensemble cast.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

* Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
* Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
* Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
* Natalie Portman, Black Swan
* Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Her performance was a career maker (and freaky scary!).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

* Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
* Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
* James Franco, 127 Hours
* Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
* Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Second nomination’s a charm!   You’ve got this one, Colin.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Alice in Wonderland
* Burlesque
* The Kids are All Right
* Red
* The Tourist

If there is any justice, quality will win this category.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Annette Bening, The Kids are All Right
* Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
* Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
* Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right
* Emma Stone, Easy A

Although I loved the ever funny Emma Stone in “Easy A,” Annette’s turn in “Kids” will win the Globe.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
* Johnny Depp, The Tourist
* Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
* Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
* Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

I doubt anyone can beat a double Johnny.  Hopefully his turn in “Alice” will beat his bloated “Tourist.”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

* Despicable Me
* How to Train Your Dragon
* The Illusionist
* Tangled
* Toy Story 3

The most competitive category at the Globes…but I have to give the edge to “Dragon” — loved it!

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

* Biutiful
* The Concert
* The Edge
* I am Love
* In a Better World

Truth?  Haven’t seen any of them, so I’m going purely on here say.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

* Amy Adams, The Fighter
* Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
* Mila Kunis, Black Swan
* Melissa Leo, The Fighter
* Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

I went back and forth between Mila and Helena, but Helena’s quiet strength won me over.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

* Christian Bale, The Fighter
* Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
* Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
* Jeremy Renner, The Town
* Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

I haven’t seen “The Fighter” yet, so I’m going on industry buzz and Bale’s reputation.  (Would love to see Andrew Garfield pull an upset, though.)

BEST DIRECTOR

* Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
* David Fincher, The Social Network
* Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
* Christopher Nolan, Inception
* David O. Russell, The Fighter

I don’t normally like to split the movie/director wins, but I think Aronofsky deserves a nod for directing this amazing thriller.

BEST SCREENPLAY

* Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
* Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids are All Right
* Christopher Nolan, Inception
* David Seidler, The King’s Speech
* Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

A celebration of writing as a craft.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

* Alexandre Desplat, The King’s Speech
* Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland
* A.R. Rahmann, 127 Hours
* Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
* Hans Zimmer, Inception

They’ve been winning all the awards so far….

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

* “Bound to You” from Burlesque
* “Coming Home” from Country Strong
* “I See the Light” from Tangled
* “There’s a Place for Us” from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
* “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from Burlesque

Would love to see “Tangled” bring something home.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

* “Boardwalk Empire”
* “Dexter”
* “The Good Wife”
* “Mad Men”
* “The Walking Dead”

The Hollywood Foreign Press usually likes new and freaky.  This one fits the bill.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

* Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
* Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
* Piper Perabo, “Covert Affairs”
* Katey Sagal, “Sons of Anarchy”
* Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

Julia will nab another award.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

* Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
* Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
* Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
* Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
* Hugh Laurie, “House”

Bryan will nab another one as well.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* “30 Rock”
* “The Big Bang Theory”
* “The Big C”
* “Glee”
* “Modern Family”
* “Nurse Jackie”

Continue your domination, oh wondrous sitcom.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Toni Collette, “United States of Tara”
* Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
* Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
* Laura Linney, “The Big C”
* Lea Michele, “Glee”

Edie’s back.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
* Steve Carell, “The Office”
* Thomas Jane, “Hung”
* Matthew Morrison, “Glee”
* Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”

Continue your domination, Sheldon.

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* “Carlos”
* “The Pacific”
* “Pillars of the Earth”
* “Temple Grandin”
* “You Don’t Know Jack”

It’s won everything else — why not a Globe?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Hayley Atwell, “Pillars of the Earth”
* Claire Danes, “Temple Grandin”
* Judi Dench, “Return to Cranford”
* Romola Garai, “Emma”
* Jennifer Love Hewitt, “The Client List”

She’s won everything else — why not a Globe?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Idris Elba, “Luther”
* Ian McShane, “Pillars of the Earth”
* Al Pacino, “You Don’t Know Jack”
* Dennis Quaid, “The Special Relationship”
* Edgar Ramirez, “Carlos”

He’s won everything else — sorry, it just seems to work here.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Hope Davis, “The Special Relationship”
* Jane Lynch, “Glee”
* Kelly MacDonald, “Boardwalk Empire”
* Julia Stiles, “Dexter”
* Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”

The HFP is bound to like Sofia a lot.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Scott Caan, “Hawaii Five-O”
* Chris Colfer, “Glee”
* Chris Noth, “The Good Wife”
* Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”
* David Strathairn, “Temple Grandin”

What a crazy category.  I hope Eric takes it home.

Enjoy the Globes everyone!

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An American Writer

Posted on October 1, 2010 | 1 Comment

A little over a decade ago, NBC’s fall television line-up included a new drama called “The West Wing.”

I can’t remember now what initially drew me to the series.  Was it Rob Lowe in the cast?  Washington D.C. as the setting?  All the characters talking about the then mysterious “POTUS”?  Or did the promos say ‘brought to you by the creator of The American President?’

Any of those would have worked on me.

But after witnessing the series premiere’s first scene alone — that now famous ‘walk and talk’ through the corridors of the White House — I was hooked.  My friends will tell you, I became a huge unpaid front man for the show, constantly trying to get more people on board to watch.

So, no one was prouder than me when “The West Wing” won a record 9 Emmy awards in its first year, including Best Drama.  I even hung a banner on my cubicle at Hallmark Cards.  (I believe it said, “I told you so.”)

By that time, I knew one of the big reasons I kept watching:  writer/creator Aaron Sorkin.  He has scribed so many movies and TV shows that I love.  A Few Good Men.  Malice.  The American President. “Sports Night.”  Even “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”  (Hey, someone had to like it.)

Sorkin’s writing is intelligent and real, always rapid-fire and often preachy when he feels the need to soapbox (which is quite often).  I think he was the perfect choice to write “The Social Network,” the movie about the birth of Facebook, which opens today.

I haven’t seen it yet, but the trailers look amazing….and early reviews are glowing.  And based on his record, I’ll bet I give Mr. Sorkin a really big “like” for his latest effort.

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Social mirror

Posted on August 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

Until recently, I’d never given much thought to how Facebook got its start.

Now the trailers for “The Social Network” are appearing on television and in theaters, and I am beginning to get a hint of what the founders had in mind when they created Facebook.

Sitting in their Harvard dorm rooms, they imagined this hip insiders’ guide to the Ivy League experience.  So I have to wonder — what do they think of what Facebook has become?

People posting pictures of their evening meal.  Their children’s first day of school.  Extremely cute dogs and cats.   And status updates ranging from the mundane to the ridiculous.

And let’s not forget all the business that is now being conducted on Facebook.  (Did you know some people use it to promote their blogs and improv shows?  Whackadoodle. :) )

Facebook today is simply as boring or as exciting as we are, because Facebook has become a very detailed reflection of our day-to-day lives…of everybody’s lives.

Not so insider, huh?

Oh well, they pocketed billions.  I’ll bet that kinda dough has even tempted them to ‘like’ a Sunday church service shout-out from time to time.

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