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The Social Network

year 2010decade 10sdirector David Finchergenre Dramagenre Biography

120 minutes

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The Rewatchables episode

aired May 24, 2018
host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan

Producer credits not yet identified.

Casting What-Ifs

Shia LaBeouf turned down Zuckerberg and Jonathan Groff nearly played Sean Parker; the panel prefers Eisenberg and Timberlake.

In the discussion (5)
  • Shia LaBeouf turned down Zuckerberg.
  • The panel believes Fincher’s take-heavy method would have made LaBeouf a poor fit.
  • Jonathan Groff nearly played Sean Parker.
  • Groff’s later Fincher work on Mindhunter is connected to the audition history.
  • Timberlake’s existing stardom is credited with helping the movie reach a wider audience.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers campus locations, Natalie Portman, Josh Pence, Timberlake’s weight loss, the 99-take opener, and Fincher’s Gates cameo.

In the discussion (6)
  • Harvard scenes were filmed at multiple other schools.
  • Natalie Portman is identified as the movie star referenced by a deposition line.
  • Josh Pence played the body double for the second Winklevoss and appears visibly in another scene.
  • Timberlake lost roughly fifteen to seventeen pounds to appear younger.
  • The opening breakup reportedly required 99 takes across eight script pages.
  • David Fincher is said to have performed the Bill Gates impersonation.

Picking Nits

Accuracy, diversity, casting, college life, and the roles of Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin drive the nitpicks.

In the discussion (8)
  • The film’s invented emotional origin for Facebook is questioned.
  • The panel debates whether historical inaccuracy matters to the film’s meaning.
  • Harvard is depicted as whiter and less international than reality.
  • Andrew Garfield plays Brazilian Eduardo Saverin.
  • Max Minghella’s casting as Divya Narendra is questioned.
  • Aziz Ansari auditioned for the Narendra role.
  • The real Zuckerberg said his life was less dramatic and more focused on coding.
  • Dustin Moskovitz’s role is minimized while Eduardo’s is enlarged.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Questions address whether Zuckerberg stole the idea, whether the movie was too harsh, and whether it is the decade’s best film.

In the discussion (7)
  • Did Zuckerberg steal Harvard Connection?
  • The panel answers that execution matters more than ownership of the general idea.
  • Was the movie too harsh on Zuckerberg?
  • The panel answers no and argues it could have been harder on the consequences.
  • Is The Social Network the best movie of the 2010s?
  • Get Out emerges as the strongest rival.
  • The panel also considers Gravity as a different kind of contender.