*NOTES* Aaron Sorkin on The Social Network This is not a movie about FB, it's about friendship, loyalty, betrayal, trust, success. Movies are all about the showing the behind the scenes of the story. - On the West Wing, it's what you see on the 2 minutes before and after what they'll show on CNN - That's the same case here with the Social Network. It's the behind the curtain of how FB was invented - The juice of the irony is that the greatest social networking site was invented by people who had problems connecting socially. Good juxtapositions, good drama. - Mark's vision for FB was that it'd bring us all closer together, and instead it pulls us further apart Don't tell stories with agendas of any kind - A good film doesn't answer the question, it starts a conversation - Always hone down to the intention and obstacle. Somebody wants something, something's standing in their way from getting it - Don't tell the audience who a character is, show them what the character wants. This is much better storytelling The Social Network - The truth is that there were 2 lawsuits at the same time. - Every one of those stories had a different story - He likes the courtroom drama - He likes that the story is based on unreliable narrators and you have to pick your answer for the truth - Good drama is made from that - He tends to write characters that are hyper communicative, Mark is the antihero the first hour 55 minutes, the last 5 minutes being a tragic hero, meaning he's payed his price and experiences remorse. - The difference between page 2 and page nothing is life and death to him - You know you don't know what you're doing when the lines are coming out like honey; slowly. Know your intention and obstacle through and through, and then when it comes time to write, it'll come easily. - When you're working with others, you want to pick based on, if I fail, I want to fail in the trenches with these people - He is aware that everyone will compare the rest of his future movies to the social network. How do you keep making things with that pressure? Live with it and move on.
I had TOTALLY blanked out on his writing "Malice"! One of the best "modern-day" thrillers with a stellar cast (Alec Baldwin/Nicole Kidman/Bill Pullman & a great scene by Anne Bancroft) which can certainly be held of against the best of the genre, and also a proof that Sorkin can certainly write beyond "Behind The Scenes Of 'X'"
What a terrific interview. The bit about Fincher with a stopwatch is especially fascinating.... Like, we know he's obsessive (so much so that the little carob in Rooney Mara's bangs in *one scene* from _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_ is actually CGI'd so that it remains consistent among, like, 687 takes) -- but the fact that he instantly understood both the studio's apprehension AND the pacing and rhythm of the dialogue, which would assuage the studio... Stupendous. This exchange is so interesting and insightful that I would consider it crucial even if I didn't like _The Social Network_ . But I do. So you should salt according to your taste. Remember: he literally got the script a few hours before assimilating all of that info and then acting on it.
dialogue really shouldn't draw attention to itself. because then you're thinking about the writer, not the characters. Scorsese before Tarrantino any day.
Excellent. This is one of the best interviews Mr. Sorkin has done for TSN. He usually just repeats the same answers, but this interview got into some other issues. I liked hearing about AFGM and working with Rob Reiner.
Loved this interview - super comprehensive. I somehow walked away with a better understanding of Sorkin as a writer AND a better understanding of these various roles in filmmaking.
For the love of all things holy and sacred, frame your shot and leave the zoom alone! The ridiculous zooming in and out is distracting. If you wanted different framing throughout, setup multiple cameras or shoot it multiple times with different framing and angles.
Very educational. I loved his honest annoyance/defense at the idea that he fabricated parts of the story in The Social Network. Loved even more hearing a bit about his process, which mirrors in a lot of ways the instruction of Robert McKee. I bet a lot of great artist (not just writers) have a similar process. Well done.
I honestly did think that they were exploiting Facebook for money (before I found out Fincher directing). I didn't have expectations before I watched this, and I was blown away. Amazing film!
As did I. Turns out to be a defining film, one that will be studied for years... A perfect look at this moment in history, a time capsule. Fincher and Sorkin are geniuses.
AS: "While, yes Jesse was born to play this part, dont confuse Jesse with Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse is the nicest sweetest guy in the world.' Thank you Aaron.
@Silverwire100 they said the same about Zuckerberg and facebook, it's not the inventor that matters but the visionary who has the genius to carry it through and give it wings.
@Silverwire100 Yes, Aaron Sorkin stole from William Richerts Script. The studio bought the rights to William Richert's script, and Aaron Sorkin might possibly have read it. However, it doesn't matter. Why? Because the studio owned the rights to the script, they could do whatever they wanted to with it! I'm a screenwriter myself and yes sometimes you sell scripts that get changed by the studios, tough shit. Apparently, he didn't read the contract when he signed over his screenplay to the studio.
The insight that this movie had that I think went unnoticed at the time was showing Mark face several big decisions throughout the movie and again and again choosing the less ethical (Sometimes unethical) path to his own benefit. This pattern in my opinion continued long after the movie and had very negative consequences.
@Silverwire100 Even so, @pchiekrie was right, a script is not an idea in and of itself, ergo William Richert could not invent it. By Aaron Sorkin writing a similar script even based on a similar concept (which Richert himself probably got from various books) as the formers he is still creating something anew. "a guy who builds a nice chair doesn't owe money to everyone who ever has built a chair" Hence, why similarity is the quality of LIKENESS not BEING THE SAME AS.
@Silverwire100 absolutely, the number of great projects he's been a part of he could not have had any talent with any of them, I mean the founders of My______ were there first with a great idea. They should have 500 million users and billions of dollars not MarkZuck. Hey I run a SN website it only has a few hundred users. M Zuckerberg stole that idea and brought none of his soul to it. I'm a struggling website designer and talented dude. That douche bag. I'm so jealous of his success.
Have you ever been interviewed before? It can be pretty damn tough keeping your thoughts flowing when you have lights and a big ass camera in front your face.
roloug95 If you were paying attention to the interview, it's not noticeable. He's not giving a speech, he's trying to convey thoughts, which he did very well.
Quentin Tarantino & the Coen brothers are great writers but aren't well spoken, or whatever you want to call it. Robert Kennedy, JFK, Obama, etc. they are great speakers but they don't write their speeches.
I am sorry but I have to say this : Why does the interview sound so privileged and kinda arrogant? Sometimes, the tone of his voice sounds like he was mocking Sorkin or scoffing him - not deliberately but the small sounds he makes. Gee.
Truly a genius. Very inspiring. As an aspiring filmmaker/screenwriter I am thankful to have cone across this video.
26:53 Wow. Fincher and Sorkin - the two most precise savants in Hollywood.
When he's describing something that took place elsewhere, his descriptions are on point. He talks in action lines. Lol.
Great interview. You should have done a walk and talk with him though
2 drafts and he's ready to submit it? That's impressive.
He looks like a tanned Stephen King
better looking
@@orangewarm1 393efd
*NOTES*
Aaron Sorkin on The Social Network
This is not a movie about FB, it's about friendship, loyalty, betrayal, trust, success.
Movies are all about the showing the behind the scenes of the story.
- On the West Wing, it's what you see on the 2 minutes before and after what they'll show on CNN
- That's the same case here with the Social Network. It's the behind the curtain of how FB was invented
- The juice of the irony is that the greatest social networking site was invented by people who had problems connecting socially. Good juxtapositions, good drama.
- Mark's vision for FB was that it'd bring us all closer together, and instead it pulls us further apart
Don't tell stories with agendas of any kind
- A good film doesn't answer the question, it starts a conversation
- Always hone down to the intention and obstacle. Somebody wants something, something's standing in their way from getting it
- Don't tell the audience who a character is, show them what the character wants. This is much better storytelling
The Social Network
- The truth is that there were 2 lawsuits at the same time.
- Every one of those stories had a different story
- He likes the courtroom drama
- He likes that the story is based on unreliable narrators and you have to pick your answer for the truth
- Good drama is made from that
- He tends to write characters that are hyper communicative, Mark is the antihero the first hour 55 minutes, the last 5 minutes being a tragic hero, meaning he's
payed his price and experiences remorse.
- The difference between page 2 and page nothing is life and death to him
- You know you don't know what you're doing when the lines are coming out like honey; slowly. Know your intention and obstacle through and through, and then
when it comes time to write, it'll come easily.
- When you're working with others, you want to pick based on, if I fail, I want to fail in the trenches with these people
- He is aware that everyone will compare the rest of his future movies to the social network. How do you keep making things with that pressure? Live with it and
move on.
Thanks!
Genius. No other word to describe him
Blonde. That's another word.
I love Aaron Sorkin's point of view and explanations of why he wrote things in the way he did. Fascinating!
I had TOTALLY blanked out on his writing "Malice"! One of the best "modern-day" thrillers with a stellar cast (Alec Baldwin/Nicole Kidman/Bill Pullman & a great scene by Anne Bancroft) which can certainly be held of against the best of the genre, and also a proof that Sorkin can certainly write beyond "Behind The Scenes Of 'X'"
He's going to be speaking at my commencement ceremony, I feel so lucky.
He is such a fucking good speaker! I normal don't notice how articulate people are but the words just seem to flow out of his mouth.
He's a great writer, you must be blocking out him saying "uh" every two seconds.
"Words just seem to flow out of his mouth" 31:10
What a terrific interview. The bit about Fincher with a stopwatch is especially fascinating.... Like, we know he's obsessive (so much so that the little carob in Rooney Mara's bangs in *one scene* from _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_ is actually CGI'd so that it remains consistent among, like, 687 takes) -- but the fact that he instantly understood both the studio's apprehension AND the pacing and rhythm of the dialogue, which would assuage the studio... Stupendous.
This exchange is so interesting and insightful that I would consider it crucial even if I didn't like _The Social Network_ . But I do. So you should salt according to your taste.
Remember: he literally got the script a few hours before assimilating all of that info and then acting on it.
I love the idea as dialogue as music. I hope he writes a book.
dialogue really shouldn't draw attention to itself. because then you're thinking about the writer, not the characters. Scorsese before Tarrantino any day.
@@orangewarm1 no
@@Mxzvit yes
One thing I love about Aaron is that he’s extreme humble.
விமானத் திட்டம் (2005)
Sorkin writes dialogue as good as anybody! West Wing. The Newsroom. What a mind.
I am genuinely upset and visibly brought down by the fact that Studio 60 will never have another season - absolutely incredible TV.
Always nice to see this themed comment! Studio 60 just ran through my DVD again this past week!....
His voice is cool and smooth. Almost like spike speigel
Excellent. This is one of the best interviews Mr. Sorkin has done for TSN. He usually just repeats the same answers, but this interview got into some other issues. I liked hearing about AFGM and working with Rob Reiner.
Loved this interview - super comprehensive. I somehow walked away with a better understanding of Sorkin as a writer AND a better understanding of these various roles in filmmaking.
What an excellent interview. Candid as they come!
I needed to skateboard it up or Mountain Dew it up
Good interview. The interviewer knew the right questions to ask.
This was incredibly insightful. Thanks so much for uploading this vid :)
An inspiring interview. Thank you. Aaron Sorkin is simply amazing.
My hero. Would love to meet him one day. Genius.
amazing interview! very informative and enjoyable.
I found this much more interesting than celeberties even more than directors which has deeper view than celeberties.
Aron Sorkin is the greatest writer in the past fifty years , I think you should send A better journalist to interview him
Cheyevsky indeed. Sorkin wrote an intelligent movie, almost an endangered species.
For the love of all things holy and sacred, frame your shot and leave the zoom alone! The ridiculous zooming in and out is distracting. If you wanted different framing throughout, setup multiple cameras or shoot it multiple times with different framing and angles.
Didn’t even notice it, in fact I thought the setup was great, I can’t be the only one.
Yeah it's definitely distracting.
You are so correct, it was driving me crazy too. But when people don’t know what they’re doing, and they get the opportunity to do it.
Very educational. I loved his honest annoyance/defense at the idea that he fabricated parts of the story in The Social Network. Loved even more hearing a bit about his process, which mirrors in a lot of ways the instruction of Robert McKee. I bet a lot of great artist (not just writers) have a similar process. Well done.
With him saying he loves courtroom dramas, I wonder what his views are on The Caine Mutiny (1954). I could see some of that inspiring A Few Good Men.
The West Wing is my favorite show ever!!!
Aaron Sorkin is empowering.
I honestly did think that they were exploiting Facebook for money (before I found out Fincher directing). I didn't have expectations before I watched this, and I was blown away. Amazing film!
Incredible talent. Studio 60 was good, Newsroom brilliant and West Wing unbelievable. WW was best show ever on TV and I am not a Democrat!
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!! Of what really happened with Mark and the lawsuits...
Hi
I like him.
he's freakin' great!
Hi
This was great. But was there more that got cut off at the end?
Where did you graduate from? Cool to hear him speak!
Best writer in Hollywood.
"We'll have to wait a while to see the result of that experiment"...um yeah we now know...
What a cool guy
Drinking game: Take a sip every time the interviewer goes “Mm-hmm”
Update: alcohol poisoning achieved at 7 mins...
I can no longer see.
As did I. Turns out to be a defining film, one that will be studied for years... A perfect look at this moment in history, a time capsule. Fincher and Sorkin are geniuses.
AS: "While, yes Jesse was born to play this part, dont confuse Jesse with Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse is the nicest sweetest guy in the world.' Thank you Aaron.
17:25
great writers
DVD? What year is this?
Oh, 10 years ago.
please people, watch Studio 60 and The West Wing. He's awesome.
SUNY Purchase. Apparently he applied there and got wait listed. I bet they feel silly about that now!
@Silverwire100 they said the same about Zuckerberg and facebook, it's not the inventor that matters but the visionary who has the genius to carry it through and give it wings.
@Silverwire100
Yes, Aaron Sorkin stole from William Richerts Script. The studio bought the rights to William Richert's script, and Aaron Sorkin might possibly have read it. However, it doesn't matter. Why? Because the studio owned the rights to the script, they could do whatever they wanted to with it! I'm a screenwriter myself and yes sometimes you sell scripts that get changed by the studios, tough shit. Apparently, he didn't read the contract when he signed over his screenplay to the studio.
The insight that this movie had that I think went unnoticed at the time was showing Mark face several big decisions throughout the movie and again and again choosing the less ethical (Sometimes unethical) path to his own benefit. This pattern in my opinion continued long after the movie and had very negative consequences.
Lol facebook will bring ppl together.
@Silverwire100 Even so, @pchiekrie was right, a script is not an idea in and of itself, ergo William Richert could not invent it. By Aaron Sorkin writing a similar script even based on a similar concept (which Richert himself probably got from various books) as the formers he is still creating something anew. "a guy who builds a nice chair doesn't owe money to everyone who ever has built a chair" Hence, why similarity is the quality of LIKENESS not BEING THE SAME AS.
I love Aaron Sorkin… One of my favorite all-time writers… But man, he’s got to stop kissing ass.
UHM AH UH OH
13:28
Twenty two Mmhmm’s in the first four minutes .
00:37 00:47 00:59 1:04 1:10 1:30 1:36 1:39 1:51 1:56 2:10 2:16 2:19 2:28 2:38 2:55 3:06 3:10 3:32 3:39 3:49 3:59 Aaron gets one in at 4:03
@@supercriceto I was a bit distracted.
@Silverwire100 absolutely, the number of great projects he's been a part of he could not have had any talent with any of them, I mean the founders of My______ were there first with a great idea. They should have 500 million users and billions of dollars not MarkZuck. Hey I run a SN website it only has a few hundred users. M Zuckerberg stole that idea and brought none of his soul to it. I'm a struggling website designer and talented dude. That douche bag. I'm so jealous of his success.
Come*
The West Wing I found a bore, complete.
c-c-c-c-c-coCAINE
Too bad that isn't the line lol.
For someone who writes such brilliant dialogue he's very poorly spoken, I've never heard anyone say uhh and umm so much
Have you ever been interviewed before? It can be pretty damn tough keeping your thoughts flowing when you have lights and a big ass camera in front your face.
roloug95 If you were paying attention to the interview, it's not noticeable. He's not giving a speech, he's trying to convey thoughts, which he did very well.
+roloug95 People who think tend to, you know, think before they say anything. Not all writers are great public speakers.
Quentin Tarantino & the Coen brothers are great writers but aren't well spoken, or whatever you want to call it. Robert Kennedy, JFK, Obama, etc. they are great speakers but they don't write their speeches.
I'm betting he's good with dialogue because he rewrites a lot, and when he talks, he doesn't get the chance to rewrite.
I am sorry but I have to say this : Why does the interview sound so privileged and kinda arrogant? Sometimes, the tone of his voice sounds like he was mocking Sorkin or scoffing him - not deliberately but the small sounds he makes. Gee.