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The Social Network [OT]

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It was probably a mistake to pay attention to all those ridiculously gushing reviews but I felt underwhelmed. I thought it was a fine film and impeccably crafted with an amazing script, but I didn't really see all these deeper humanistic overarching themes I read about; I saw an intense melodrama about 2 guys in over their head and the third guy who drives them apart. I had read (and was intrigued by) the idea that the film would present several contradictory viewpoints without taking a side, but I definitely didn't get that impression; it pretty much proceeded like an objective linear narrative with a frame story.

Also, I felt like the film just kind of ended. Of course that's basically dictated by reality, but it seemed like there should have been a little more about the rise of the company and its influence after
Mark fucks over Eduardo
. I guess that's not the story it was trying to tell though.

I don't mean to rag on it, I really liked it. I'm just not sure where all that hyperbole is coming from.
 
Hahaha I laughed my ass off during the rowing scene. How it was set to that piece of music and just the self-indulgent shots that Fincher was using. But somehow it worked really well.

It's going to take a few rewatches for me but maybe, just maybe this might even be better than Zodiac and be his best film.

Fantastic stuff from Garfield and Eisenberg. Impressed as always with the former, really surprised by the latter (I hate Baumbach and thought he was merely alright in the 'land movies).

Really tight script from Sorkin too. He only managed to throw one cheeseball line in this film (the one at the end when Rashida Jones leaves). Oh and I didn't mention it yet but good God the music in here was so ill at times. And man this absolutely shits on Up in the Air in terms of cultural/economic relevance.

Fincher gets it, baby-Reitman didn't.
 
Discotheque said:
Hahaha I laughed my ass off during the rowing scene. How it was set to that piece of music and just the self-indulgent shots that Fincher was using. But somehow it worked really well.

Fincher said to Trent that he wanted A Clockwork Orange-esque version of 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' cause he wanted to Kubrick that scene and needed a Wendy Carlos' touch to it i.e. Moog synthesizers on a classical music.
 
Discotheque said:
Hahaha I laughed my ass off during the rowing scene. How it was set to that piece of music and just the self-indulgent shots that Fincher was using. But somehow it worked really well.

It's going to take a few rewatches for me but maybe, just maybe this might even be better than Zodiac and be his best film.

Fantastic stuff from Garfield and Eisenberg. Impressed as always with the former, really surprised by the latter (I hate Baumbach and thought he was merely alright in the 'land movies).

Really tight script from Sorkin too. He only managed to throw one cheeseball line in this film (the one at the end when Rashida Jones leaves). He Oh and I didn't mention it yet but good God the music in here was so ill at times. And man this absolutely shits on Up in the Air in terms of cultural/economic relevance.

Fincher gets it, baby-Reitman didn't.

"I'm 6'5, 220, and there's two of me!"

Also, where's your avatar from? I've been wondering forever.
 
Haha yeah that line was hilarious, but not corny or trying to be meaningful or anything.

I don't exactly know where my avatar is from, but I know the girl is Cheryl Cole
 

Korey

Member
I have a legal question from the movie, and I'm not sure if it's spoilers or not but I'll be safe and put it in tags. Can someone comment on whether or not this is considered spoilers:

So if you share your idea, and the person you told it to goes on his own and does it, is he legally obligated to pay you in some way? What I'm asking is, how safe is it to share your ideas with other people, whether it be friends, potential future partners, etc. Is a contract always required?
 
Korey said:
I have a legal question from the movie, and I'm not sure if it's spoilers or not but I'll be safe and put it in tags. Can someone comment on whether or not this is considered spoilers:

So if you share your idea, and the person you told it to goes on his own and does it, is he legally obligated to pay you in some way? What I'm asking is, how safe is it to share your ideas with other people, whether it be friends, potential future partners, etc. Is a contract always required?

You need to back it up somehow i.e. Witnesses, proofs, etc etc, which the twins could in this case.
 

Korey

Member
shagg_187 said:
You need to back it up somehow i.e. Witnesses, proofs, etc etc, which the twins could in this case.
Ah ok. So the emails and such.

Next question, something I didn't quite get, can someone explain what happened with the
Eduardo share manipulation? How did they diminish his shares to .03%? Was it basically a bad contract? Was it really as simple as him making the mistake of not having lawyers go over it? That seems kind of sketchy because if it were that simple and he did have a lawyer go over it then he would have easily seen that he was getting fucked.
 

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
In the movie it's intimated that he just signed a bad contract.

In reality, from what I understand, Zuckerberg basically had a new LLC created without Eduardo knowing and through some creative legal moves, he was able to diminish his stock that way... but I think he always knew he was going to be sued for doing so and was willing to just pay Eduardo off after the fact (which is basically what happened).
 
Somewhat disappointed coming out of the theater. I had great expectations considering such unanimous praise. The film just felt empty and sterile. There are some memorable dialogue and scenes, but I didn't get the sense Fincher was able to pull them together to resonant with the characters.

I wanted to see Zuckerberg make his decision to dilute Saverin's shares. I think the ending could have been handled better than his brief conversation with Rashida Jones. There was no weight behind Zuckerberg and Saverin's fallout because it felt like Zuckerberg wasn't making the decisions. Instead it was Sean Parker who commandeers Zuckerberg and the last quarter of the movie.
 

Korey

Member
Yes, the only complaint I have about the movie is the ending, which feels abrupt and like there should be another 15 minutes to tie everything together. But that's what happens when you have a story "based on" true events, I suppose.

Music and sound mixing was amazing as everyone has said.

Pacing is very good, I only got bored once 2/3 into the movie.

Acting was pretty good, except for Justin Timberlake who cannot act, but maybe it's partly due to how over the top his character is. Almost cartoonish.

XMonkey said:
In the movie it's intimated that he just signed a bad contract.

In reality, from what I understand, Zuckerberg basically had a new LLC created without Eduardo knowing and through some creative legal moves, he was able to diminish his stock that way... but I think he always knew he was going to be sued for doing so and was willing to just pay Eduardo off after the fact (which is basically what happened).

Thanks. Anyone know if the real story of facebook is found anywhere on the web? Tried googling it but the
Eduardo story is hard to find. It seems like if he truly was screwed in that way he should have gotten back more than 5% of Facebook (though he did end up becoming a billionaire in the process anyway).

Also, how is Zuckerberg the
youngest billionaire in the world? Eduardo is younger than him.
 

DaPrince

Neo Member
Korey said:
Also, how is Zuckerberg the
youngest billionaire in the world? Eduardo is younger than him.

According to wiki
Mark was born May 14 and Eduardo May 22 of the same year
 
DeathNote said:
When is Hind Hariri's birthday. She must be around 26. She's hot too
You editing sly, you!

Her birthday is unknown, which is the sole reason why they don't consider her the youngest billionaire (even though it's said that she earned the bills when she was 22). Also, I wouldn't consider someone billionaire if they're not self-made i.e. she inherited everything from her billionaire father. She's 26 right now (i.e. same age as Mark).

Mark is the ultimate youngest billionaire in my eyes.

EDIT: Oh and this: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Age.html (2008 article. Add 2.5 years to that).
 

Korey

Member
shagg_187 said:
You editing sly, you!

Her birthday is unknown, which is the sole reason why they don't consider her the youngest billionaire (even though it's said that she earned the bills when she was 22). Also, I wouldn't consider someone billionaire if they're not self-made i.e. she inherited everything from her billionaire father. She's 26 right now (i.e. same age as Mark).

Mark is the ultimate youngest billionaire in my eyes.

EDIT: Oh and this: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Age.html (2008 article. Add 2.5 years to that).

Eduardo Saverin - $1.15 B
Born 8 days after Zuckerberg. Not as dramatic for a list or movie I suppose.

Dustin Moskovitz - $1.4 B
Another Facebook founder, also born 8 days later than Zuckerberg? wtf

Edit: They became billionaires after that list came out I guess, now that Facebook is worth a lot more.

-----

Mark Zuckerberg - $6.9 B
Honestly if I were him, I'd sell it now...you can never tell with the internet how long it'll last
 
Korey said:
Eduardo Saverin - $1.15 B
http://www.forbes.com/profile/eduardo-saverin

Born 8 days after Zuckerberg. Not as dramatic for a list or movie I suppose.

He earned his bills recently. I posted that article cause it showed age difference of Hariri and Mark. Thanks for the link!

Glad that he made his billion cause he deserve it as much as Mark does.

EDIT: I think Dustin shares the same Date of Birth as Eduardo. I can be wrong though.
 

C.Dark.DN

Banned
shagg_187 said:
You editing sly, you!

Her birthday is unknown, which is the sole reason why they don't consider her the youngest billionaire (even though it's said that she earned the bills when she was 22). Also, I wouldn't consider someone billionaire if they're not self-made i.e. she inherited everything from her billionaire father. She's 26 right now (i.e. same age as Mark).

Mark is the ultimate youngest billionaire in my eyes.

EDIT: Oh and this: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Age.html (2008 article. Add 2.5 years to that).
Youngest is youngest. It lists him as 23 and her as 24, so, there we go.
 

Barrett2

Member
XMonkey said:
In the movie it's intimated that he just signed a bad contract.

In reality, from what I understand, Zuckerberg basically had a new LLC created without Eduardo knowing and through some creative legal moves, he was able to diminish his stock that way... but I think he always knew he was going to be sued for doing so and was willing to just pay Eduardo off after the fact (which is basically what happened).
The movie showed why Zuckerburg would want to get rid of Eduardo; the scene where Eduardo admits that he doesn't even know how to change his profile status is damning; if true. It shows that he is a kid in an adult world. He is riding the subway around town feebly trying to sell a billion dollar idea for pennies, and seemingly doesn't really understand what the idea or product is even all about. How could you be a passionate advocate for something you don't understand? It was near sociopathic, IMO, for Mark to completely eliminate Eduardo from the company by eliminating his stock when they formed the new company after receiving the financing. Even though Eduardo was clearly on another page than Mark and the others at that point, the dude did fund the company to the point where they received the VC funding, which is no small feat.

I wonder if Mark correctly assumed Eduardo wouldn't read the new incorporation papers, or did he think he would have the confrontation then, when Eduardo was asked to sign them? Or did Mark just get lucky when Eduardo, like a complete idiot, signed papers re-incorporating the company without reading them.... which again, is hilariously juvenile for someone who fancied themself the 'business end' of the company.
 

Ashhong

Member
lawblob said:
The movie showed why Zuckerburg would want to get rid of Eduardo; the scene where Eduardo admits that he doesn't even know how to change his profile status is damning; if true. It shows that he is a kid in an adult world. He is riding the subway around town feebly trying to sell a billion dollar idea for pennies, and seemingly doesn't really understand what the idea or product is even all about. How could you be a passionate advocate for something you don't understand? It was near sociopathic, IMO, for Mark to completely eliminate Eduardo from the company by eliminating his stock when they formed the new company after receiving the financing. Even though Eduardo was clearly on another page than Mark and the others at that point, the dude did fund the company to the point where they received the VC funding, which is no small feat.

I'm pretty sure that was just his lame excuse to his girl friend.
 

Barrett2

Member
Ashhong said:
I'm pretty sure that was just his lame excuse to his girl friend.
That's what i've been wondering. Was he just lying about that, or is there some truth to it? Was that Sorkin's way of revealing that Eduardo was so out of the loop on the technology / functionality development of Facebook that he was still in NY selling it as a small-potato college picture book, while everyone else in CA was light years beyond that already?
 

Korey

Member
shagg_187 said:
You need to back it up somehow i.e. Witnesses, proofs, etc etc, which the twins could in this case.
Another question:

How about a feature idea? Like the guy who gave Zuckerberg the idea for
relationship status
. I know he didn't phrase it in the form of a website feature suggestion, but what if he did? Would Zuckerberg have to pay him off? Where do you draw the line at who has to get paid and who doesn't?
 
Korey said:
Another question:

How about a feature idea? Like the guy who gave Zuckerberg the idea for
relationship status
. I know he didn't phrase it in the form of a website feature suggestion, but what if he did? Would Zuckerberg have to pay him off? Where do you draw the line at who has to get paid and who doesn't?
You can't sue for a tiny idea that is too simple and is easily replicated. That's like Twitter trying to sue Facebook for the integration of @ feature.
 
I agree with being underwhelmed.
I'm a huge David Fincher fan; absolutely love Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac. His direction saves the movie IMO. The whole thing is just so damn predictable. The entire movie just leads towards the line
we've diluted your shares to 0.03%
and you can see it coming a mile away. Honestly, for me the highlight of the movie was the first 10 minutes. The girlfriend scene followed by this amazig sequence: the facemash juxtaposed with club scene combined with the music and Eisenberg's narration. The movie peakes with that scene and doesn't surpass it any further. My problem is that you just don't feel sympathic for anyone in this film. Every character is an uncharismatic douche. Zuckerburg is a boring know-it-all. The Winklevoss are spoiled brats. Parker is a degenerate schizo. Except for Eduardo. And even then, what did he really contribute to the idea or execution of Facebook? I mean, yes the whole idea of Facebook coming from Zuckerburg is so hilariously ironic: millions of friends for the loneliest guy in the world. I guess I just wish the subject matter was a bit more... interesting. So yeah it's a good movie don't get me wrong. Some of the performances were fantastic. The direction and music was amazing. But the script just bored me and because of that - it doesn't stand next to Inception or Black Swan this year IMO.
 

ezekial45

Banned
The Gentle Hum of Anxiety is a fantastic track. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did an amazing job. They should really do composing for films more often.
 
ezekial45 said:
The Gentle Hum of Anxiety is a fantastic track. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did an amazing job. They should really do composing for films more often.
Reznor says he is scoring another big upcoming movie and hopes to announce it soon.
 

Solo

Member
DevelopmentArrested said:
Honestly, for me the highlight of the movie was the first 10 minutes. The girlfriend scene followed by this amazig sequence: the facemash juxtaposed with club scene combined with the music and Eisenberg's narration. The movie peakes with that scene and doesn't surpass it any further. My problem is that you just don't feel sympathic for anyone in this film. Every character is an uncharismatic douche.

Nail on the head, and the reason this isn't even the best movie I saw this weekend, let alone this year. Its not Panic Room/Benjamin Button/Alien 3 Fincher, but it also certainly isn't Zodiac/Se7en/Fight Club Fincher, either.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
I liked the film, I really did. Timberlake came through and all but..

Something about closure at the end or the way it all never really climaxed is kind of weird to me. Thats why I can't immediately say its amazing.
 
The fact that these people are douches is at least a little bit of the point; one of the greatest changes in social interaction in history came from a bunch of unlikeable pricks. Plus, the share dilution is not something that you're not supposed to guess; you know from almost the beginning of the movie that Zuckerberg is going to screw Edwardo, else why would he be suing him in the frame story? The point is to show how their friendship degenerates over time and leads into that moment, and it was very effective; the hurt in Garfield's eyes when he stared at Zuckerberg across the desk was palpable. In addition, the fact that Edwardo didn't contribute much to the actual creation/execution of Facebook is, again, the point; he was, personality- and creativity-wise, completely wrong for something like Facebook, but he was still entitled to be a part of it because he got the company to where it was with his own money. I mean, it's all right if you don't LIKE the characters, but they were all pretty deeply drawn.

This is not Fincher's best movie, but it's easily his second best, surpassing the overrated Fight Club and Se7en with relative ease.
 

Solo

Member
If I don't feel anything for any characters, the drama surrounding them won't have the intended effect. Same thing as in action movies - if you're invested in the characters, then you get pulled into the action. If you're not, its just another action scene. You don't need to have likable characters, but when you are lacking that AND the characters are unsympathetic and lack any charisma, its an uphill battle for me.

And while Fight Club most definitely is overrated, Se7en most definitely is not.
 

GhaleonQ

Member
Boy, do I dislike Aaron Sorkin. His writing's far too slick, and I'm never affected. He can take any matter, bring out the themes (which I like), and then make them seem like trifles (which ruins everything).

Question to gauge the average Joe's response: how did you guys who didn't see Boy A, Never Let Me Go, or his other work like Eduardo/Andrew Garfield? I'd like to see him become a superstar come Spider-Man, so I hope that people remember and enjoy him in this. Thoughts?
 
Solo said:
If I don't feel anything for any characters, the drama surrounding them won't have the intended effect. Same thing as in action movies - if you're invested in the characters, then you get pulled into the action. If you're not, its just another action scene. You don't need to have likable characters, but when you are lacking that AND the characters are unsympathetic and lack any charisma, its an uphill battle for me.

And while Fight Club most definitely is overrated, Se7en most definitely is not.

I thought Edwardo and the twins were in pretty sympathetic situations, so I guess that we'll have to differ.

Se7en is not good, also.
 

Solo

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
I thought Edwardo and the twins were in pretty sympathetic situations, so I guess that we'll have to differ.

Both got into their respective binds due to their own idiocy. Sure, Zuckerberg is a grade A dick, but both are complicit in their downfalls and don't earn my sympathy.
 
I liked the movie, but it wasn't as good as everyone stated.

Now you know that the guy questioned expanding facebook all of the time, which is why he actually---always went to the facebooks users and was like "Um should we expand". I remember the creators asking if they should extend FB beyond college people.

Was he really that diehard about expanding? I liked the characters, though only felt sympathy for the people who got screwed like the twins and my favorite eduardo.
 
Solo said:
Both got into their respective binds due to their own idiocy. Sure, Zuckerberg is a grade A dick, but both are complicit in their downfalls and don't earn my sympathy.

Sure, it was their own damn fault, but it was 'their fault' in the sense that they got there due to understandably human faults - Edwardo that he was simply the wrong personality type for Facebook and was too trusting of his friend, and the twins that they were reluctant to sue because of how that looks. I don't necessarily see either as idiocy.
 

Solo

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
Sure, it was their own damn fault, but it was 'their fault' in the sense that they got there due to understandably human faults - Edwardo that he was simply the wrong personality type for Facebook and was too trusting of his friend, and the twins that they were reluctant to sue because of how that looks. I don't necessarily see either as idiocy.

The twins should have known what was up within the first week. Here is a guy who literally lives and breathes computers and coding and hacking and whatever. The type of guy you know is going to spend all his time working on the site. After about the second or third message from him about not having the time to start yet, I'd be getting suspicious. These guys took Facebook launching to figure it out, and even worse, took months (or years?) to finally do something about it.

Eduardo should have known from his first meeting with Sean Parker that NOT going to LA with Mark was going to be his downfall. It was obvious that Mark idolized Sean and would heed whatever advice he gave, and it was obvious that Sean wanted Eduardo out.
 
Solo said:
The twins should have known what was up within the first week. Here is a guy who literally lives and breathes computers and coding and hacking and whatever. The type of guy you know is going to spend all his time working on the site. After about the second or third message from him about not having the time to start yet, I'd be getting suspicious. These guys took Facebook launching to figure it out, and even worse, took months (or years?) to finally do something about it.

Eduardo should have known from his first meeting with Sean Parker that NOT going to LA with Mark was going to be his downfall. It was obvious that Mark idolized Sean and would heed whatever advice he gave, and it was obvious that Sean wanted Eduardo out.

To be fair, we are being told about these things, so it's possible that the obviousness was exaggerated in the telling.

The e-mails that Zuckerberg was sending the twins usually had to do with how he had a lot of homework/class/etc., and that tends to diffuse a lot of criticism/demands in college, at least in my experience. Plus, they indicated that they did know that something was up, but they were not sure what that something was; for all they knew, he was just a flaky programmer. They did not really know the guy, did not know the extent to which he lived and breathed computers; they had met him exactly once. Plus, they did try to get a hold of him to try and figure out what was up, but Zucko kept giving them the slip; remember the story where the twin says that he literally chased Zuckerberg down and lost him once day. Granted, it was kind of dumb for them to not drop him and hire a new programmer after a few weeks, but all we have is a couple of Harvard rowers who are clearly without much knowledge in the tech department; I find it completely understandable that they could get played by a guy like Zuckerberg as he is drawn in the movie. As for their taking a long time to do anything about it: I found it completely understandable that they'd want to preserve their reputations by not suing. In this modern world, suing makes you look, rightly or wrongly, like a "me too" asshole trying to get a piece of the pie; two guys from a wealthy family suing a college computer geek from a modest background was not going to look good for them or their family, that's for sure.

As for Edwardo: he didn't know that Sean was going to meet up with Mark out in LA. Mark and Sean didn't even realize that they were both out there together until they realized that they lived across the street from one another. It was clear from the first meeting that Mark idolized Sean, but Sean becoming a consistent influence in Mark's life was an unfortunate bit of happenstance.
 
So did those twins end up getting anything in real life? Because, in the movie it really did make it seem like it was their idea.
 

Solo

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
The e-mails that Zuckerberg was sending the twins usually had to do with how he had a lot of homework/class/etc., and that tends to diffuse a lot of criticism/demands in college, at least in my experience.

Sure, in most cases that would be an understandable excuse and would suffice. But if you'd just hired the guy who did that Harvard Facemash thing start to finish in like an hour one night, you'd probably get the impression that he would jump right into Harvard Connection like 5 seconds after coming onboard.

Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
As for Edwardo: he didn't know that Sean was going to meet up with Mark out in LA. Mark and Sean didn't even realize that they were both out there together until they realized that they lived across the street from one another. It was clear from the first meeting that Mark idolized Sean, but Sean becoming a consistent influence in Mark's life was an unfortunate bit of happenstance.

Sure, Mark and Sean being neighbors was happenstance to the nth degree, but I don't think its much of a stretch to assume that Mark would have sought Sean out over the summer anyways. It was based on Sean's advice that he went to LA in the first place. Now perhaps I'm coloring the characters with my own cynicism, but I would have been on to both of these things a lot sooner than either the twins or Eduardo were.
 
BoboBrazil said:
So did those twins end up getting anything in real life? Because, in the movie it really did make it seem like it was their idea.

They got twenty million bucks in cash and a whole bunch of shares of Facebook. Wiki says that they may be considering suing again due to being misled about the value of the shares.

Edit: Solo, I think that your points are valid, but I don't think that this is idiocy a la the dumbest possible action trope. Looking at the whole thing, it seems like regular old miscalculation to me. The twins thought of Mark as some mousy little programming geek and probably didn't expect that he would screw him like that, and Eduardo thought that Sean was just a paper tiger and that he wouldn't really be able to do much to change Facebook/make it better. He saw that Mark idolized Sean, sure; however, I think that the whole thing is a pretty clear-cut case of underestimation on Eduardo's part. given that Sean was the founder of two failed ventures, that underestimation was probably smart of him. Plus, there's the whole "Mark is his friend" thing; you never imagine your friend screwing you over, even when it stares you in the face.
 
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
As for Edwardo: he didn't know that Sean was going to meet up with Mark out in LA. Mark and Sean didn't even realize that they were both out there together until they realized that they lived across the street from one another. It was clear from the first meeting that Mark idolized Sean, but Sean becoming a consistent influence in Mark's life was an unfortunate bit of happenstance.

I thought that was a setup to get into Mark's life and he didn't really live across the street? Or that Mark planned it that way to be close to Parker. Seemed like too much to be coincidence.
 
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
To be fair, we are being told about these things, so it's possible that the obviousness was exaggerated in the telling.

As for Edwardo: he didn't know that Sean was going to meet up with Mark out in LA. Mark and Sean didn't even realize that they were both out there together until they realized that they lived across the street from one another. It was clear from the first meeting that Mark idolized Sean, but Sean becoming a consistent influence in Mark's life was an unfortunate bit of happenstance.

Speaking of which, did that really happen that way? That was the one point in the movie that I was taken out of it and thought: "Really now?." But, If it happened that way, then I guess it happened that way.
 
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