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The Social Network poster

The Social Network

year 2010decade 10sdirector David Finchergenre Dramagenre Biography

120 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Jesse Eisenberg Mark Zuckerberg
Andrew Garfield Eduardo Saverin
Justin Timberlake Sean Parker
Armie Hammer Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
Max Minghella Divya Narendra
Brenda Song Christy Lee
Rashida Jones Marylin Delpy
Denise Grayson Gretchen

The Social Network | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Eduardo discovering his diluted shares

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:14Read transcript
  • The opening breakup is nominated, and later becomes one participant’s initial personal choice.
  • Stopwatch timing of the dialogue and 99 takes of the opening are discussed.
  • The Henley Royal Regatta sequence is nominated.
  • Sean Parker meeting the Stanford student is nominated.
  • Eduardo discovering his diluted shares and breaking the computer is nominated; the closing decision defers to that group preference.
  • Larry Summers dismissing the Winklevoss complaint is nominated.
  • The final-club party intercut with coding Facebook is nominated.
  • The confrontation gains emotional force from the score and Garfield’s movement through the glass doors and hallway.
  • The coding montage contrasts access to power with creating power, making work at computers feel like a bank heist.
  • The Parker introduction turns exposition into a star-making scene, with added irony from a major-label pop star playing the Napster figure.

What’s Aged the Best?

The opening, depositions, twin effects, score, and Peter Thiel foreshadowing

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:05Read transcript
  • The opening scene flowing into Zuckerberg’s walk and credits is praised.
  • The deposition structure works better than expected.
  • The lawyer’s facial expressions are praised.
  • Rashida Jones is praised within an underwritten part.
  • The twin CGI is praised as groundbreaking and initially undetectable.
  • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score is selected as the standout aged-best element.
  • The score’s combination of anxiety, melody, and forward pressure is praised.
  • The panel trusts Reznor not to license the score carelessly.
  • The Winklevoss effect is again selected for technical longevity.
  • The Peter Thiel character’s arrival is treated as predictive of Silicon Valley’s future.
  • A reported filming workaround used a mime carrying a light so an archway shot could be captured despite Harvard’s resistance.
  • A reported silent black-and-white Raiders cut uses this score to demonstrate the strength of its visual storytelling.

What’s Aged the Worst?

The Zuckerberg portrayal, Facemash, Christy plot, and Kevin Spacey credit

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:17Read transcript
  • Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg is compared with the real Zuckerberg’s public persona.
  • Ranking girls with a hot-or-not app has aged badly and was objectionable at the time.
  • The Christy relationship and bed-fire plot are criticized as poorly motivated.
  • The panel ties the Christy problem to Sorkin’s thin female characters.
  • Executive producer Kevin Spacey’s credit is singled out.
  • Christy is defended as showing the founders newfound glamour and introducing Parker, though that does not justify the bed-fire episode.

Casting What-Ifs

Shia LaBeouf declined Zuckerberg; Jonathan Groff nearly played Sean Parker; Aziz Ansari also auditioned; Eisenberg and Timberlake preferred

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:18Read transcript
  • 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.
  • Ansari reportedly auditioned unsuccessfully for the role played by Minghella; the response is that he was not ready at that stage.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Substitute campuses, the referenced movie star, the second twin performer, weight loss, the opening scene’s takes and an unidentified Gates impersonator

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:18Read transcript
  • 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.
  • The Gates performer is described as an unidentified impersonator; the following aside does not establish the actor’s identity.

Apex Mountain

Jesse Eisenberg: yes; Zuckerberg’s likability: around this film or 2015

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:48Read transcript
  • Jesse Eisenberg is judged at his apex.
  • Fincher is rejected by two speakers, who suggest a future peak or prefer Seven; another makes the case for this movie.
  • Aaron Sorkin is judged below his West Wing apex despite winning an Oscar here.
  • Andrew Garfield’s apex remains unresolved.
  • Justin Timberlake’s musical and comedy peaks are favored over this film.
  • Zuckerberg’s likability apex is placed around the film or 2015.
  • Armie Hammer’s Call Me by Your Name period is proposed as his apex.
  • Zodiac is called Fincher’s masterpiece, while Gone Girl is also admired and the difficulty of locating a career dip is discussed.
  • Fincher reportedly insisted on a forty-one-million-dollar budget despite lower studio counteroffers.

Is This Movie Better With…?

No Danny Trejo addition

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:32Read transcript
  • The panel runs Better With Danny Trejo as its own named question.
  • Trejo as Peter Thiel is proposed jokingly.
  • Trejo as a security guard is proposed.
  • Trejo as Eduardo is imagined and rejected because it changes the threat level.
  • Trejo is jokingly proposed for the Stanford student’s role or the arresting cop.

Picking Nits

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

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:20Read transcript
  • The film’s invented emotional origin for Facebook is questioned.
  • The debate asks whether a dishonest relationship origin holds the movie back.
  • Harvard is depicted as whiter and less international than reality.
  • Andrew Garfield plays Brazilian Eduardo Saverin.
  • Minghella’s casting as an Indian character is questioned.
  • Ansari reportedly tried out for the role played by Minghella.
  • A reported Oprah interview describes a less dramatic life focused on working hard and coding Facebook.
  • Dustin Moskovitz’s role is minimized while Eduardo’s is enlarged.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

“If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook”

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:34Read transcript
  • The line ending there are two of me is recalled in best quote.
  • The obsessed-versus-motivated line is nominated.
  • The StairMaster dating line is nominated.
  • Erica’s nerd-versus-asshole line is nominated.
  • “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook” is selected.
  • Eduardo’s coming-back-for-everything threat is nominated.
  • Sean Parker’s Napster monologue is nominated.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Did Zuckerberg steal the idea? Was the movie too harsh? Is it the decade’s best film?

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:41Read transcript
  • Did Zuckerberg steal Harvard Connection?
  • Some argue execution matters more than ownership of the idea, while another objects on grounds of honor.
  • 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.
  • Boyhood, Mad Max Fury Road, 12 Years a Slave, Django Unchained and Whiplash are offered and rejected as superior decade choices.
  • The Tree of Life, Black Swan, Before Midnight, Arrival and Looper are rejected; Moonlight gets more attention but is also declined.
  • Birdman is rejected, and The Master is considered too narrowly appealing for this comparison.
  • Get Out is treated as a genuine contender; Sicario is dismissed and Miami Vice belongs to the previous decade.
  • Spotlight is acknowledged as a possible choice for others, The Martian is uncertain and Skyfall is rejected.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:10Read transcript
  • Andrew Garfield is nominated.
  • Timberlake’s sushi-restaurant delivery is nominated.
  • The panel argues Timberlake remains visibly Timberlake rather than disappearing into Parker.
  • Earlier versions of Leo, Pacino and Hoffman are imagined in the roles.
  • Timberlake is selected.
  • The real Parker is defended as slick, cheesy and performative, making Timberlake a fitting choice despite criticism of his acting.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

The contained film preferred over a modern Netflix or HBO series

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:05Read transcript
  • The movie is used as an example of a studio drama that might now become a streaming series.
  • The panel prefers the contained movie form.
  • Fincher’s move toward television is discussed.

Who Won the Movie?

Aaron Sorkin

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:19Read transcript
  • Fincher, Sorkin, Eisenberg, Garfield and Timberlake are the opening nominees.
  • The dialogue is described as the hero and architecture of the film, with conversations mirroring its interwoven depositions.
  • Exposition and quotability sustain rewatchability throughout, leading to the first Sorkin choice.
  • The screenplay, editing and score work together, supporting a second explicit Sorkin choice.
  • A third speaker also chooses Sorkin, while emphasizing how essential Eisenberg is to the movie.
  • Eisenberg makes a difficult, unlikable character compelling without resorting to cartoon villainy.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Aaron Sorkin
Speaker not identified
Aaron Sorkin
Speaker not identified
Aaron Sorkin

More from the conversation

An archive preface identifies this as one of six classic episodes, followed by the original twenty-episode-season introduction. Platform availability is a historical notice.
Approx. transcript time · 00:00:00Read transcript
Rewatching amid the 2018 privacy controversy changes the film’s meaning: trolling, advertising ambitions and the misogynistic rating-site origin become central, even while literal historical accuracy is disputed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:05Read transcript
The group debates whether a compelling dramatization can mislead as historical record, comparing All the President’s Men and acknowledging the screenwriter’s limited Facebook familiarity.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:00Read transcript
High expectations for the writer-director partnership are remembered as fulfilled; a rapid script-to-greenlight process and a long screenplay are reported.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:07Read transcript
The King’s Speech Oscar victories over this film remain frustrating. The discussion praises a rare ambitious mainstream studio drama and speculates about awards-campaign influence.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:34Read transcript
A best-of-decade question leads to the idea that major films accumulate new meanings. The lonely-young-founder ending now seems inadequate to Facebook’s subsequent power.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:37Read transcript
The contrast between a service promising connection and a protagonist portrayed as socially hostile is treated as a resonant parable, not a verified account of the company’s origin.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:14Read transcript
Reported objections from Zuckerberg distinguish coding enthusiasm from the fictional breakup motive; the discussion contrasts those objections with his later efforts to present a friendly public persona.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:24Read transcript
The film’s founders appear focused on owning a company rather than anticipating global power. The speakers question the relative prominence of the real collaborators and read the dispute as new technology meeting inherited Ivy League privilege.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:49Read transcript
Personal memories of Facebook adoption and Grantland referral traffic trace a shift from social sharing to publishing distribution, accompanied by discomfort with political discourse and early viral-list tactics.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:01Read transcript
Miami Vice prompts divided reactions to an earlier episode; Proof of Life and Blackhat are jokingly imagined as future choices.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:33Read transcript
A wish for lighter roles for Rooney Mara becomes a hypothetical sisters drama, with Sex, Lies, and Videotape and the De Palma film Sisters offered as comparisons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:30Read transcript
The sympathetic portrayal of Eduardo is contrasted with the speakers’ reported impressions of his later wealth and residence abroad, while confidentiality agreements leave them uncertain about the underlying dispute.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:47Read transcript
A colleague’s absence prompts banter before the score is described as useful for difficult late-night editing; a silent black-and-white Raiders experiment supplies another use.
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:10Read transcript
Convincing digital faces lead to speculation about recycling younger screen icons, with The Irishman and Rogue One discussed as related examples.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:55Read transcript
Eisenberg’s reportedly submitted essay and admiration for the publication lead into a broader point about luck in casting.
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:34Read transcript
Timberlake’s album receives a tentative defense, turning into jokes about an old-fashioned miscellaneous newspaper column.
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:53Read transcript
A reported budgeting anecdote depicts Fincher insisting on an exact production cost rather than treating the estimate as a negotiation.
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:11Read transcript
Zuckerberg’s awkward television appearance leads to a speculative distinction between wealth and public likability, with later years offered as alternative peaks.
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:43Read transcript
One participant argues that an invented emotional wound weakens a film being evaluated for its historical insight, while another prioritizes dramatic freedom.
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:20Read transcript
The portrayal of Harvard’s diversity and partying is challenged through casting observations, reported contemporaries’ experiences and quoted objections to the protagonist’s angry characterization.
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:36Read transcript
Best-of-decade criteria include craft, changing resonance, career peaks and reach. The group contrasts studio-film financing with streaming series and treats Gravity as a distinctive theatrical experience.
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:02Read transcript
Eisenberg’s difficult balance of unlikability and charisma prompts wishes for stronger later roles, defense of American Ultra, and hypothetical collaborations or a Knicks-fan black comedy.
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:27Read transcript
An upcoming Jaws episode prompts appreciation of Roy Scheider’s seventies career, an All That Jazz impression and basketball comparisons before closing thanks to Evan and Zach Mack.
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:55Read transcript