Aaron Sorkin seems to be going from strength to strength. Already greatly esteemed from his massively impressive and hugely influential writing work on The West Wing, he has since gone on to win an Oscar for The Social Network and further TV and film projects as varied as Studio 60, Charlie Wilson’s War and Moneyball. His cameo in Tina Fey’s excellent 30 Rock played on the “walk and talk” style he so deftly established for The West Wing and with all of this under his belt he is now working on a new series for HBO, recently re-titled “Newsroom”, from the earlier but slightly unwieldly working title “More As This Story Develops”.

Newsroom will see Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dummer) as show host Will McCallister and Sam Waterston (Law and Order) as network President Charlie Skinner alongside Emily Mortimer and Olivia Munn, with Sorkin’s now distinctive intelligent dialogue no doubt running swiftly between all concerned.

Here is (apparently) a very brief snippet of Sorkin’s dialogue from the show:-

Will: Charlie, I can’t go after Halliburton and miss.

Charlie: Oh report the goddam news, Will.

Will: You remember a guy named Dan Rather?

Charlie: Dan got it right.

Will: He’s no longer on television.

It is hard to imagine Sorkin putting a foot wrong, though Studio 60 did not last long. Perhaps with his reputation even higher now than it was after The West Wing, his latest project will have better legs.

Source: Collider.

Having written about the realms of US politics (The American President, the frankly peerless West Wing) and then TV production (Studio 60), Aaron Sorkin, who for my money is as gifted and talented a writer as there is out there, now seems to be setting his sights on the various icons of the IT world. After his deserved Oscar® win for The Social Network and its formidable dissection of the somewhat enigmatic Mark Zuckerberg, Sorkin may now be setting his sights on Steve Jobs, the recently deceased head of Apple.

In an interview with E! Online, Sorkin was enthusiastic if a little non-committal:-

“Sony has asked me to write the movie and it’s something I’m strongly considering. Right now I’m just in the thinking-about-it stages, it’s a really big movie and it’s going to be a great movie no matter who writes it.”

Sony reportedly bought up the rights to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs for a cool $1m, amidst the general and seemingly globe-spanning swell of interest in Jobs following his tragic death earlier this year. That biography shifted close to 400,000 copies in its first week and Sorkin is said to be reading it at the moment while he considers Sony’s invitation to write the script for the film adaptation.

Apparently, The Hollywood Reporter asked veteran casting director Sharon Bialy who might be a good fit for Jobs in a film of his life. Her suggestions were Ashton Kutcher, Andrew Garfield or Shia LeBeouf for the younger years and Keanu Reeves, Ralph Fiennes or Noah Wyle for the older Job. Heaven help us. Ashton Kutcher and Keanu Reeves? Why not Seann William Scott and Jack Black? Garfield and Fiennes seem altogether more fitting, but what do I know? Let’s go with good actors rather than getting hung up on physical resemblance.

Once Sorkin has made his mind up, we’ll let you know.

Source: THR.

At first glance, Moneyball will ignite interest among Brad Pitt fans. On second glance, it will turn some away because of its baseball subject matter. Sports films are an acquired taste and will never fully convert those who are not into the sport in question. Therefore, as one of the latter, Moneyball is a real eye opener, and not because it suddenly stirs a dormant interest in the sport, but because the baseball could be argued as being the parallel theme to the overriding one of the ‘little guy’ taking on and shaking up the system from within. In this sense, there is something to be gained from it.

It’s based on the true story of Billy Beane (Pitt), the once would-be baseball superstar who still hurts from his failure to live up to expectations on the field and turns to baseball management. It’s nearly the start of 2002 season, and Billy’s small-market Oakland Athletics (the A’s) have lost their star players to the bigger, wealthier clubs. Billy must rebuild the team and compete on a third of the payroll. He discovers and hires whizzkid, Yale-educated economist Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who believes in Bill James’ computer-driven statistical analysis to win games, previously ignored by the baseball establishment. Together they challenge the old baseball guard by installing overlooked or dismissed baseball players, based on a combination of key skills, and begin winning several games in a row.

Moneyball plays out much like any other baseball film but with a couple of narrative twists. Even though you don’t necessarily need to know anything about baseball, naturally, Moneyball will have a greater impact on someone who does possess the historical and factual elements of the game. It’s essentially an inspirational David verses Goliath film, a topical corporate shakedown story that anyone can relate to in this day and age, and it’s all down to the Pitt-Hill chemistry that keeps you engaged.

As co-producer and star, Pitt takes on by far his biggest film challenge yet with Beane and shaping this story to appeal to a wide-ranging audience. He is as courageous as his dynamic and daring character that’s the film’s driving tour de force. Pitt is strikingly reminiscent of a younger Redford and his gutsy turn in the 1984 baseball film, The Natural. Everything really hinges on Beane’s actions and reactions that keep things scintillating to watch, with Hill as Brand as the ‘voice of reason’ in the corner in a straighter stance, much like his character Cyrus in the 2010 film. In fact, Hill again demonstrates that taking on the straighter-laced roles where he can diffuse the tense with intelligent, deadpan humour input is his true acting forte.

Thankfully, Pitt’s infectious energy transcends the wordy baseball mumbo jumbo, and the passion that all involved feels for the game shines through. Part of this is the sense that both you and the characters are venturing into the unknown and want to see change in an unbalanced system. The script glosses over the ones and zeros and endless charts of the analysis and manages to make a coherent narrative out of Michael Lewis’ complex book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”. Again, this is down to the winning onscreen team of Pitt and Hill, but more so because of award-winning The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin being part of the scriptwriting team.

Capote director Bennett Miller turns to his muse, Philip Seymour Hoffman, to portray the stubborn face of the old system by casting the actor as Art Howe, the A’s team coach. Although against the statistical invasion of the game, Howe is delivered a chance to know what it feels like to succeed against all adversity, with the A’s winning 20 games in a row, which broke an actual AL record in 2002. As an underdog himself with little say in his team’s makeup, Howe begins to appreciate how the ‘misfit toys’ – as the players are called – can have their glory, and it’s spiritually uplifting to watch.

Thankfully, Miller does not take the conventional, backslapping route at the end, and throws up a few satisfying surprises where his lead character is involved. Sadly, the system wins, which admittedly does have the sense of defeated purpose. However, Moneyball has to be taken as one of those films where the journey is more important than the end result, and it’s one of guts, determination and sporadic humour. Full credit to Pitt, too, for creating an ingenious and unorthodox career-defining role for himself at this stage in his varied career.

***½~ (3.5/5)

HBO have picked up Aaron Sorkin’s news drama, tentatively titled More as this Story Develops, to series.

Set behind the scenes at a cable news show, the HBO series will star Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale), Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl), Alison Pill (Milk), Olivia Munn (Date Night), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sam Waterston (The Killing Fields) and Josh Pence (The Social Network).

Greg Mottola (Paul) has directed the pilot episode, with Scott Rudin, one of the minds behind The Social Network, on board as producer.

More as this Story Develops will air in 2012.

Source: Variety

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been getting some awesome new looks at the upcoming sports drama film, Moneyball, ahead of its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, including a new trailer, some new images, a first poster, and a first TV spot, all of them excellent.

We’ve now got another great poster to add to the first, courtesy of IMP Awards, and it sees Brad Pitt in the bleachers of a baseball field.

What I’ve really liked about the ad campaign for the film so far is that it’s not trying to be something it’s not (as strange as that may sound). We’ve been getting a really nice feel for the film, without any sense of things being heightened, exaggerated, or sensationalised to attract an audience. Nor does it look like a film that has all its best bits crammed into the trailers, which is always nice.

Much like the first, this new poster is nice and simple, focusing solely on Brad Pitt with the baseball field in the background. For me, this is an ad campaign that’s been perfect so far. Simple works. The movie doesn’t look like a hard sell, with a combination of Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman starring, and with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (TV’s The West Wing, The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York).

“Based on a true story, “Moneyball” is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s more than baseball, it’s a revolution – one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he’s tearing out the heart and soul of the game.”

Absolutely brilliant. In my eyes, there aren’t that many sports movies that make the genre great. There are plenty of sports films that get the formula under their belt just fine, but there are far fewer that actually make the memorable cut above the rest. By all accounts, everything we’ve seen from Moneyball so far suggests it will be making a name for itself near the top. Unfortunately for us, America gets to see it at the end of September, and we’ll have to be patient until November to find out. I can’t wait. Without further ado, here is the great new poster. As usual, click to enlarge.

Every once in a while, a brilliant sports film comes along that has all the elements of success going for it, and this first TV spot from LatinoReview.com definitely suggests that Moneyball will be the next one to succeed.

Adapted from the book by Michael Lewis of the same name, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball is led by Brad Pitt and also stars Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The TV spot is probably the most inspirational 30 seconds of footage I’ve seen in a while, and it reminds me of those other great sports films that have come before it. In my opinion, good sports films are few and far between, but when they do come, they are excellent. Some might criticise them for their often formulaic nature, but when they’re made so well, it doesn’t much matter to me.

In the same vein as great sports films like Remember the Titans, Coach Carter, and last year’s Academy Award-winning The Fighter, Moneyball tells the story of an underdog that tries to go against the conventions of the system:

“Based on a true story, “Moneyball” is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s more than baseball, it’s a revolution – one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he’s tearing out the heart and soul of the game.”

Directed by Bennett Miller, who earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for Capote, on which he worked with Hoffman, Moneyball has been scripted by two exceptional Oscar-winning writers, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Zaillian’s credits include Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, American Gangster, and the upcoming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake. Sorkin’s credits most notably include creating and writing the TV series The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and has more recently returned to film with last year’s critically acclaimed, The Social Network.

If you’ve seen any episodes of The West Wing, you’ll know that few do inspiration like Sorkin does, and Moneyball is definitely shaping up to be a great inspirational feel-good film. I’m a big fan of everything Brad Pitt does, and I can’t wait to see him take the lead on this. The first trailer for the film was released last month, and this first TV spot follows it up nicely, with a release date scheduled for 4th November this year. Without further ado, here it is.

Marisa Tomei (Cyrus), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Olivia Munn (Date Night) are in talks to star in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO drama series.

Tentatively titled More as the Story Develops, the Scott Rudin-produced HBO series will be set behind the scenes at a cable news show, with Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale) set as the male lead, Will McAllister.

Tomei will star as the show’s executive producer, Pill as a young associate producer on the show, while Munn will play a financial analyst who works at the same network.

Greg Mottola (Paul) will direct the pilot episode, with production expected to begin shortly.

Source: The Playlist

Will Gluck (Easy A) is in talks to direct Sex on the Moon, an adaptation of Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History.

Sex on the Moon is written by Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted by Aaron Sorkin into the Academy Award winning The Social Network.

The book follows Thad Ryan Roberts, a geologist and high-achieving NASA intern in Texas who, in an effort to impress a girl, orchestrates a plan to steal lunar rocks from the Johnson Space Center and sell them on the Internet.

Like The Social Network, Sex on the Moon will be produced by Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Kevin Spacey.

Gluck’s latest directorial effort, the sex comedy Friends with Benefits, will be released in the UK on September 2.

Source LA Times

Last night was, once again, the biggest night in the movie industry.  It was Oscar’s 83rd year and it was once again a bit of a snooze-fest.  Every year I sit down to watch this thing hoping and praying it’ll be better than the previous year.  Every year I’m left with the same feeling.  Maybe it’ll be better next year. 

I don’t know what the solution is because it’s impossible to please everyone.  This year they obviously tried to appeal to the younger generations by having Anne Hathaway and James Franco host.  I’ll give them points for trying, but in the end it all fell a bit flat.  It’s a shame really.  But c’est la vie, there’s always next year.

The highlights for me consisted of:

Christian Bale’s beard.  And seeming to forget his wife’s name.  Say what you want about the guy being an ass or whatever.  The man grows a FANTASTIC beard.  Not a lot of guys can say that.  I still do a double take when I hear him use his natural accent too.  I always forget about it.  I sat there in stunned silence when he was trying to thank his wife too.  Then I imagined what he felt.  How horrifying.  At least he didn’t forget to thank her completely.

Aaron Sorkin’s acceptance speech.  Sure it was long, but he thanked loads of people and didn’t give a damn that the orchestra was trying to play him off.  I always find it funny when people do that.  I imagine it’s their way of giving the producers the finger and I say good on ‘em.

Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law.  Maybe those two should host next year.  They play off of each other so well, have chemistry and are loads of fun to watch.  It’s what made Sherlock Holmes so good.  Listen up Academy….they’re gold.  RDJ is incredibly easy on the eyes, and a lot of women (not me so much) think the same thing about Jude Law so you get the female audience.  RDJ also exudes “cool” so the guy factor will watch just because of that.  It’s a win-win.

Kirk Douglas.  This is equal parts of happy and sad.  It breaks my heart to see Kirk Douglas these days.  Much like seeing Dick Clarke.  But I’ll give it to Kirk….he was great.  He was funny and charming and a sight to behold.  He was hard to understand at times, but he still commands respect.  Melissa Leo is a lucky woman to have gotten her award from such a legend.

I know acceptance speeches are a necessary evil and each winner deserves the right to get up there and thank everyone on the planet, but I have such a hard time sitting through them.  I did however like the speech given by David Seidler for his Best Original Screenplay win.

I also kind of like that the guy behind Nine Inch Nails won an Oscar.  That’s pretty cool.  I was rooting for Hans Zimmer because I adore the Inception soundtrack, but I’m happy for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  The score to The Social Network was great and their award was well deserved.  I was hoping he’d bust out in a medley of NIN stuff during his speech though.  Sadly, he didn’t.

The rest of the show however was stilted and seemed somewhat forced.  Roomie said that to her, it seemed like Anne Hathaway did a big huge bag of blow, and James Franco smoked a big joint.  She was hyper and he wasn’t.  Hell, he was even non-existent though the second hour.  He was probably back stage  mackin’ on cupcakes.

The annual In Memoriam piece was better than last year.  Although I prefer last year’s performance by Queen Latifah.  They screwed up last year however by focusing more on the performer with shots of the dearly departed going on in the background.  This year we got Celine Dion.  But they actually focused on the dead and not on the living dead.

There was also no mention of Corey Haim in this years montage either.  Last year we went through the same scandal with Farrah Fawcett.  I’m sure the Academy will say the same thing they said last year, “we didn’t have enough time to include everyone.”  It’s really a shame too because they all deserve some recognition.  But on the flip side, the telecast was already too long so I can see their point.  It wouldn’t have been a big deal to throw in a picture of him and give him two seconds though.

The Best Song performances are always hard for me to watch.  I just get bored.  Thankfully they’ve done away with the awful dance numbers, but can these be the next to go?

The auto-tune section was dreadful as well.  Turning non-musicals into musicals by doing this was just as irritating as turning a non-3D movie into a 3D movie and it wasn’t necessary.  Stop going for the quick laugh and for the love of God, stop using footage from the Twilight movies.

I think that about covers my feelings on this year’s show.  Like I said, I don’t know what the solution is but they need to do something to at least make the show entertaining.  Either that or cut out all the peripheral stuff, do a marathon award presenting session and get the show done in about an hour and half, two max.   Maybe they need to include the countdown clock from 24.  That way people know how much longer they have to wait.  I’m just sayin’…..it’s just an idea.

This post was original content of  www.ReelGoddess.com and is posted here with permission.  C’mon over and see me some time!

You can also follow me on Twitter at @baddladd.

Internal industry politics and sentiment are always a decisive factor in the Oscar beauty contest, and must always be accounted for (despite the assertions by many that Mickey Rourke would win for The Wrestler a few years ago, I was certain he wouldn’t as he pissed a lot of people off in the early years of his stardom). After a stretch of some years in which darker films have received a lot of accolades (The Hurt Locker, No Country For Old Men, and The Departed), my guess is that the AMPAS voters will go lighter, making for a more predictable Academy Awards shows.

With no further blather then (keeping my speech SHORT!), here’s how I think it will play out on Sunday evening for the top awards (note that these are my predictions, not a consensus of the HeyUGuys contributors):

Writing (Original Screenplay): One would hope the Academy voters would be generous enough to give it to Christopher Nolan’s challenging and demanding script for Inception, but I think that the film is too cerebral (and thus confusing) for many of them. I admire Inception, and what it represents (a studio spending a huge amount of money on an art house heist movie), but don’t love it as it felt it was too coldly mechanical much of the time. I think this is one of several major awards that are going to go to The King’s Speech.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Aaron Sorkin’s superb script for The Social Network, an adaptation of Ben Mezzrich’s ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, is a shoe in; if it wasn’t in the running I would think the Coen’s sublime adaptation of Charles Portis’ ‘True Grit’ would grab the brass ring (‘Fill your hand you son-of-a-bitch!’).

Actress in a Supporting Role: It’s Melissa Leo’s to lose. She is nominated for her turn as a vile matriarch in The Fighter, but Leo’s statuette will also be the Academy’s acknowledgment of all great work she has done previously (including her Best Actress nominated turn in 2009′s Frozen River). Jacki Weaver delivers a performance of almost Shakespearean majesty as another evil mutha in Animal Kingdom, and I’d vote for her, but I don’t think many actual voters will have watched this very downbeat Australian crime drama; if they have cued up their screeners she could be a dark horse surprise however, as she is truly amazing.

Actor in a Supporting Role: I would absolutely love to see John Hawkes win for his hillbilly hard-ass Teardrop in Winter’s Bone; his chilling roadside standoff with lawman Garrett Dillahunt, conducted entirely via a wing mirror, is one of the most heart-stoppingly intense scenes I watched in the past year. However, I think sentimentality will rule the day here as well, and Geoffrey Rush will win for The King’s Speech. And I think Andrew Garfield should have been nominated for The Social Network rather than Mark Ruffalo for the lightweight The Kids Are All Right.

Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman for The Black Swan. The Academy often favors performances that involve a lot of overt heavy lifting, and her fragile ballerina who suffers a mental breakdown is the heaviest by far of the nominated performances in this category. My vote is for Jennifer Lawrence as the determined teenage detective Bree in Winter’s Bone, but alas, it’s not to be.

Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth for The King’s Speech, of course; Firth’s emotionally strangled upper class Englishman, his stock in trade, is unstoppable this year. I wish Jesse Eisenberg would nab it for his riveting portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in the best American film of 2010, but he won’t. Javier Bardem was tremendous and heartbreaking in Biutiful, but this isn’t a heartbreaking and downbeat year for Oscar.

Directing: David Fincher for The Social Network. The Academy will acknowledge Fincher, arguably the greatest director of his generation, for his work on this masterful film and his influential earlier works like Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac.

Foreign Language Film: Bardem’s excellent work will be acknowledged here: Biutiful will take it.

Documentary Feature: Banksy’s the man: Exit Through the Gift Shop. The lefties could surprise me though; Matt Damon may rally the troops and Inside Job could take it, but I’m doubtful.

Animated Feature Film: Three words (ok, two words and a number): Toy Story 3.

Best Picture: The King’s Speech. I enjoyed this film as much as anyone else, but never shook off the feeling that I was watching a BBC drama that had been elevated to the level of a theatrical feature. There’s really nothing much that’s cinematic about it, unlike Inception orThe Black Swan or The Social Network or the lovely to look at True Grit (here’s hoping Roger Deakins nabs the Cinematography award).  But, as America struggles to find its way forward and out of its social, political and economic morass, a film about overcoming severe personal adversity, starring a stuttering royal and his eccentric ‘advisor’ set in the quaint England of the not too distant past, is just the sort of feel good fare that voters will embrace as an escapist antidote.

Feel free to return to this article on Monday and thumb your nose at me for every one I got wrong…if I do get any wrong. As for me, the Oscars are on far too late but I’ll be up early Monday morning with my tea and toast to watch a recording of the show before I look at email or any broadcast television.

Last night HeyUGuys had the pleasure of attending the 31^st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.  Hosted at the BFI Southbank, it was a great evening, featuring talented names aplenty all supping from complimentary miniature bottles of Moët served up classily with bendy straws.

It might not have the same profile as this weekend’s BAFTA ceremony, but with its awards voted for by more than 120 members of the London Circle – including critics, broadcasters and writers – it’s certainly not an event to be ignored. And with this article, accompanied by our own personal photographs from the occasion (click any image to enlarge), you can feel like you were there.

First to arrive on the red carpet were Lesley Manville, who would pick up British Actress of the Year for her performance in Mike Leigh’s Another Year, and actor Thomas Turgoose, nominated for Young British Performer of the Year for his part in The Scouting Book For Boys. Though it turned out that Turgoose was to miss out on this occasion (the award going to Conor McCarron for his role in NEDs), he was more than happy to discuss his upcoming work with us.

Known for his collaborations with director Shane Meadows, we inquired as to whether Thomas had any news on the latest This Is England sequel, this time set in 1988. “It’s like a Christmas special,” the actor revealed, giving a nice hint at when we can expect to see it on air, “But I’m not allowed to say what happens in it! Literally only about seven people have the script at the moment, but I think you can expect some surprises. In fact, you should definitely expect some pretty major surprises. It’s going to do well, I think.” What a tease!

But with all Turgoose’s projects to date being set in familiar English territory, would the actor ever consider the move across the pond? “No, definitely not. Well, to be fair, I guess I’d consider it if it was a good offer, but I still live in Grimsby at the moment – I’ve never been to America. I won an award at Tribeca once, Robert De Niro’s festival, but I had to do my maths exam!”

Shortly after Thomas left us, a wave of excitement rippled through the autograph hunters on the other side of the carpet. “Danny!”, the shouts came, “Danny who?”, we wondered, flicking through our list of attendees. Turning around, it soon became apparent than one certain Mr Danny Boyle (nominated for British Director of the Year for 127 Hours) had apparently sneaked into the ceremony unannounced, using a back entrance and avoiding the pomp of the red carpet. Dressed casually in jeans and a zip-up jumper, he posed for some publicity shots with a bottle of Moët before making his way back inside.

Next to come our way was Gareth Unwin, co-producer of The King’s Speech.  Speaking about the film, he had nothing but praise for how his colleagues approached the screenplay. “We always knew the script had humour,” Unwin explained, “but it wasn’t until Colin and Geoffrey started vibing off each other on set that we realised we had this kind of comedy bromance in the making.  If you watch the film, I think there’s this wonderful ebb and flow between high drama and real humour, which Tom Hooper manages wonderfully.”

The film’s screenwriter David Seidler followed soon after and expressed how grateful he’d been to hear about those audience’s that burst into spontaneous applause at the end of their screenings. “When it started happening in America, at the film festivals, I was really blown away by it,” he shared. “And when we were at Toronto and two thousand people stood as one and applauded, I completely lost it. I disgraced myself – tears rolling down my face – and then they put a spotlight on me!” Clearly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of praise the film has been drawing, Seidler added; “I keep on looking over my shoulder waiting to see the guy who really wrote it! I’m waiting for the alarm clock to go off and to realise that it’s all been a dream.”

When asked about the current situation regarding the film’s American certificate battle, the writer responded that “the film would have to be re-cut anyway eventually for aeroplane use and for television, so that was always going to happen.” Speaking honestly, Seidler added that he thought that “the possible error of judgement was to talk about it before the Oscars, amongst the general public. Harvey Weinstein’s a very bright man, he loves film and he’s a great marketer, but I think announcing it this early was not one of his best ideas.”

With Colin Firth being whisked past before we got a chance to lunge in with any questions about the upcoming Gambit remake, the only thing we did manage to overhear at this point was the Sunday Mirror attempting to grab an exclusive scoop of Colin’s favourite party trick. “I don’t have any party tricks, I’m afraid. I’ll have to get back to you on that one!” Drat. Though after winning his award, the star did later reveal to the News of the World that he’d been having a little jam on his guitar just the day before. Asked whether he’d ever like to set up his own band, Firth grinned as he replied; “Who says I haven’t?” King George VI rocking a six string? You heard it here first! And there’ll be more from Mr Firth later on.

Incidentally, Mrs Firth – better known as Livia Giuggioli – dazzled many of the press with an eye-cathing Henrietta Ludgate structured dress and multicoloured heels. For pictures, see the gallery at the end of this article.

With Aaron Sorkin also slipping through our fingers on the red carpet (don’t worry, we got a hold of him later on), it was time to head inside to the Winner’s Room, where we were visited by the successful gong collectors after they had received their awards.

Among the first to join us was Olivia Williams, picking up the award for British Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Ghost. Williams had no trouble relating what had first drawn her to the project. “Well, there’s the obvious attraction of being married to Pierce Brosnan and shagging Ewan McGregor,” the actress quipped, much to the delighted agreement of the female attendees, “but there’s also the attraction of getting to work with the greatest living auteur, possibly the greatest ever auteur, Roman Polanski. I’m still looking for the down side.”

Sharing her experience of Polanski’s directorial style, Williams suggested that the director was frank, but fair. “He tells you what he wants you to do and if you don’t do it right then you go back and do it again. But he’s always right, so if you don’t do what he tells you, you’re a fool. He’s the master of suspense and it was an honour to work with him.”

Speaking to us after receiving her award for British Actress of the Year for her part in Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Lesley Manville paid tribute to to the other actresses in the film, including Ruth Sheen who she was nominated against. ”There have been some great parts for women this year,” Manville told us, “and especially women over 40, which I think is a good move.”

Relating her fondness for Leigh, whom the actress has worked with on six occasions, Manville said; “he’s great director. The work you do with him so collaborative. You really do get asked to work with him and create the characters from scratch. With Another Year, I think he’s made a great film about the human condition and how difficult it is for all of us to try and form those relationships that can last throughout a lifetime.”

Next came the return of the man of the moment, Colin Firth, fresh from receiving his prize for Actor of the Year.  It is the second year in a row that Firth has won the award having won last year for his role in A Single Man. Speaking in a similar vein to screenwriter David Seidler, Firth suggested the response to the film had been humbling, explaining that “to hear that people are actually standing up or clapping or expressing a personal response is probably as good as it gets.”

Going on to praise the validity not only of the Critics’ Circle, but every audience, Firth commented that “films like this depend entirely on what people say about them. They don’t depend on the money because there wasn’t much, they don’t depend on a big studio machine or a big financial apparatus.” Asked about reports that the Queen has both watched and enjoyed the film, he said that “it means a very great deal to me if that is the case.”

But despite the success of The King’s Speech, it was The Social Network that came out on top, winning Film of the Year. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was on hand to claim all four of the film’s awards – including his own for Screenwriter of the Year. “Andrew [Garfield] won tonight, David Fincher won tonight,” Sorkin summarised, “but of course the one we’re most proud of is the one we all won together.”

The key to the film’s success, Sorkin suggested, is the number of ways it can be interpreted. “I think if you line up ten people and ask them what they just saw after seeing The Social Network, you’re going to get ten different answers,” he said, “One of those answers is going to be that old media was sticking it to new media. Now, that certainly wasn’t my intention, but I don’t think it’s any less valid to take away than any of the other nine.”

When we asked him if he ever felt weary during the writing process as to how audience’s would take to a project about the founding of Facebook, Sorkin gave us an insight into his process. “I try to write what I like, what my friends would like and what I think my father would like. After that you keep your fingers crossed,” he explained. “I think if you try to write for what you think everybody’s going to like, that’s a good recipe for a bad movie.” Not wishing to take all the credit, however, Sorkin suggested that there were still “about a hundred different ways to make this movie badly. David [Fincher] managed to avoid every cliché.”

But before Mr Sorkin left, we seized the opportunity to try and wangle any exclusive news we could about his upcoming HBO series, which is set to portray the goings on of a cable news network.  ”It’s coming along well,” he shared, “I’ve written the pilot and we’re at the beginning of casting now.” The title? “More As The Story Develops.” And until we find out more, it seems very apt.

So, there you have it – the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards – done and dusted for another year! Click here to read a full list of the night’s nominees/winners and please feel free to look at the remainder of the night’s photos in the gallery below, including appearances by Will Poulter, Dexter Fletcher and winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Film award, Kristin Scott Thomas.

See you next year!

Tonight saw the fall of the 31st Critics’ Circle Film Awards, which was held for the first time at London’s BFI Southbank. Our full report will be online later today with all the red carpet gossip and winner’s reactions. Want to see Danny Boyle advertising Moët, hear about Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO series, or find out whether Colin Firth has a favourite party trick? Then don’t miss out!

To whet your appetite in the meantime, though, we can now give you a full list of all the night’s winners. It was The Social Network and The King’s Speech which came out on top, grabbing four and three awards respectively, with Another Year, NEDs and Monsters also scooping rewards for their British talents.

The list below shows winners in red whilst blue text indicates the “Runners Up” as ruled by the critics board, so you can know who came close.

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER

• Banksy- Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Clio Barnard – The Arbor **Runner Up**
• J Blakeson – The Disappearance of Alice Creed
• Gareth Edwards – Monsters **Winner**
• Chris Morris – Four Lions

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

• Jessica Barden – Tamara Drewe **Runner Up**
• Conor McCarron – NEDs **Winner**
• Will Poulter – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Saoirse Ronan – The Way Back
• Thomas Turgoose – The Scouting Book For Boys

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Helena Bonham Carter – Alice in Wonderland
• Christine Bottomley – The Arbor
• Minnie Driver – Barney’s Version
• Rosamund Pike – Made in Dagenham **Runner Up**
• Olivia Williams – The Ghost **Winner**

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• David Bradley – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Pierce Brosnan – The Ghost
• Andrew Garfield – The Social Network **Winner**
• Tom Hardy – Inception
• Peter Wight – Another Year

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

• Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
• Lesley Manville – Another Year **Winner**
• Rosamund Pike – Barney’s Version
• Ruth Sheen – Another Year
• Tilda Swinton – I Am Love **Runner Up**

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR

• Riz Ahmed – Four Lions
• Christian Bale – The Fighter **Winner**
• Jim Broadbent – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
• Andrew Garfield – Never Let Me Go

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

• Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right **Winner**
• Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
• Natalie Portman – Black Swan **Runner Up**
• Noomi Rapace – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

ACTOR OF THE YEAR

• Jeff Bridges – True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
• Colin Firth – The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
• Edgar Ramirez – Carlos **Runner Up**

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

• Dogtooth
• I Am Love **Runner Up**
• Of Gods and Men **Winner**
• The Secret in Their Eyes
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR

• Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg – The Kids Are All Right
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – True Grit
• Chris Morris, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell & Jesse Armstrong – Four Lions
• David Seidler – The King’s Speech **Runner Up**
• Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network **Winner**

BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Clio Barnard – The Arbor
• Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
• Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Mike Leigh – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Christopher Nolan – Inception

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan **Runner Up*
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – True Grit
• David Fincher – The Social Network **Winner**
• Christopher Nolan – Inception
• Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR (THE ATTENBOROUGH AWARD)

• 127 Hours
• The Arbor
• Another Year **Runner Up**
• The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Monsters

FILM OF THE YEAR

• Black Swan
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King’s Speech **Runner Up**
• The Social Network **Winner**
• Toy Story 3

And finally, the Critics’ Circle named their TOP 10 FILMS OF 2010 as follows:

1. The Social Network
2. The King’s Speech
3. Black Swan
4. Toy Story 3
5. The Kids Are All Right
6. Another Year
7. True Grit
8. Inception
9. I Am Love
10. Winter’s Bone

And that just about wraps it up for the night’s accolades. Let us know what you think of the winners and don’t forget to check back later on for our full report of the evening’s event, complete with pictures and words from the guests themselves.

I would want to be nominated for an Oscar just sop that I could go along to this invite only do. All I have to do is create a masterpiece and then maybe I’ll get to get!

Yesterday, 152 of the men and women who have been nominated for an Academy Award at the 2011 ceremony were invited along to a lunch where they could meet and mingle with their counterparts. Get ready for a rather long list but some of those present included:

Jeff Bridges, Annette Bening, Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Michelle Williams, Javier Barden, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Wahlberg, Lee Unkrich, Christopher Nolan, Aaron Sorkin… the list goes on and on!

This photo comes from The Sun but if you want to see a whole hose of others, head over to Getty where you can see preview versions.

Man I wish I was there!

The fifth annual Richard Attenborough Film Awards took place in London, UK last night and it was quite an occasion!

The Social Network was named film of the year, with Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) picking up the awards for actor and actress of the year, respectively.

The full press release is embedded below:

13 December 2010 — – UK regional critics today announce their Film of the year, as a highlight of the fifth annual Richard Attenborough Film Awards (RAFA’s). The prestigious accolade goes to The Social Network, which also wins Screenwriter of the year for Aaron Sorkin.

The RAFA’s – the UK’s regional film awards – comprise fourteen categories. Seven are exclusively for UK regional film critics, while a further seven are decided by public votes. In recognition of their achievement, each winner will receive a RAFA award, remodelled for 2010 and engraved with Lord Attenborough’s signature.

Voting in the seven categories for regional critics took place online between 15 November and 6 December 2010. The voting constituency was staff and freelance arts and entertainment writers, critics and editors in all branches of UK regional media.

UK Regional Critics’ Vote Winners:

Film of the year

- The Social Network.

Filmmaker of the year

- Christopher Nolan (Inception).

Screenwriter of the year

- Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network).

Actor of the year

- Colin Firth (The King’s Speech).

Actress of the year

- Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Rising star of the year

- Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Let Me In)

Legend of the year

- Sir Michael Caine CBE.

Meanwhile, the seven people’s choice awards are detailed below. Toy Story 3 picked up three RAFA’s, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was awarded with the British film of the year award.

UK Public Vote Winners:

British film of the year – in association with The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV)

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Film star of 2010 – in association with Newsquest Group

- Angelina Jolie (Salt and The Tourist).

Animated film of the year – in association with HMV

- Toy Story 3.

Breakthrough star of the year – in association with HMV

- Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Let Me In).

3D film of the year – in association with Cineworld

- Toy Story 3.

Top film character of the year – in association with MoviePreviewGuide.com

- Edward Cullen (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse).

Family film of the year – in association with The Birmingham Mail

- Toy Story 3.

Lord Attenborough, the curator of the ceremony, was quoted as saying:

“The last year has shown the cinema to be both resilient and innovative, with large audiences eager to enjoy the unique theatrical experience. It has also brought a superb crop of terrific films with compelling performances from both experience and fresh talents. I offer my warmest congratulations to this admirable set of winners.”

The winners for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.

The Social Network picked up the Best Picture award, while it’s director, David Fincher, tied with Olivier Assayas (Carlos) for the coveted Best Director award.

Colin Firth and Kim Hye-ja received the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

The winners in full are listed below:

Best Picture

- The Social Network

Best Director

- Olivier Assayas (Carlos) and David Fincher (The Social Network) (tie).

Best Actor

- Colin Firth, The King’s Speech.

Best Actress

- Kim Hye-ja, Mother.

Best Supporting Actor

- Niels Arestrup, A Prophet.

Best Supporting Actress

- Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom.

Best Screenplay

- Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network.

Best Cinematography

- Black Swan.

New Generation Award

- Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture.

Best Documentary

- Last Train Home.

Best Foreign Language Film

- Carlos.

Best Animated Film

- Toy Story 3.

Best Music/Score

- The Ghost Writer (Alexandre Desplat) and The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).

Best Production Design

- Inception (Guy Hendrix Dyas).

Douglas E. Edwards Award for Independent/Experimental Film

- Film Socialism.

Legacy of Cinema Award

- Serge Bromberg (Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno).

- The F. W. Murnau Foundation and Fernando Pena for the restoration of Metropolis.

Career Achievement

- Paul Mazursky.

The winners for the 10th New York Film Critics Online Awards were announced earlier today in America.

The Social Network (David Fincher) and Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky) swept the board, each picking up three awards.

The winners in full are detailed below:

Best Picture

- The Social Network.

Best Actor

- James Franco, 127 Hours.

Best Actress

- Natalie Portman, Black Swan.

Best Director

- David Fincher, The Social Network.

Best Supporting Actor

- Christian Bale, The Fighter.

Best Supporting Actress

- Melissa Leo, The Fighter.

Breakthrough Performance

- Noomi Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Debut Director

- John Wells, The Company Men.

Best Ensemble Cast

- The Kids Are All Right.

Best Screenplay

- Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network.

Best Documentary

- Exit Through The Gift Shop.

Best Foreign Language Film

- I Am Love.

Best Animated Film

- Toy Story 3.

Best Cinematography

- Black Swan.

Best Film Music or Score

- Black Swan.

Having been to see David Fincher’s modern-day analytical The Social Network twice, I felt moved to study several of the themes and how they may challenge one’s overall take on the the film.

Some critics have described The Social Network as a modern-day Citizen Kane; in that it examines current trends in a smart, yet understandable way. The creation of Facebook is something that, in 2003, pushed technology and online social networking further than it had ever been before. It allowed people from different countries to interact with one another in seconds, creating a new dimension for socialising. Despite being established seven years ago, the themes of technological advancement, social exclusion and determination are noticeable in today’s society.

The Social Network is loosely based on Ben Mezrich’s non-fiction novel The Accidental Billionaires and is a strange choice of material for Fincher, whose past films such as Se7en, Fight Club and the more recent The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, tended to rely heavily on his direction and vision over source material, leading to many labelling him as the auteur of his generation.

The Social Network, however, is a film that relies less on the direction, and more on the other aspects, such as script and the actors’ performances. It’s a truly modern-day piece of cinema, one that explores certain subjects relevant in today’s society. It’s one that asks questions of its viewers, and captures your imagination for the full running time, and pretty much does away with any pre-conceived ideas, immersing you into the full story, letting you make your mind up at the end, based solely on what you’ve seen on screen. It’s an intelligent way to present a piece of film. Fincher has stepped back and presented Sorkin’s script on the table for us to take however we please.

The film itself opens with Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) being dumped by his girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), which prompts him to create a website called Facemash.com, where users are presented with pictures of two fellow female students and asked to click on the one whom they find sexier. The site notches up 22,000 hits in the first hour and eventually crashes the Harvard network, which leads to Zuckerberg landing 6 months of academic probation for violating security measures. When he’s then asked to create a social networking website exclusively for Harvard students by the Winklevoss brothers (Armie Hammer and John Pence) and their partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella), he instead steals their idea and so Facebook is slowly unleashed upon the world, university by university, country by country.

This would all appear to be plain sailing. However, the Winklevoss brothers and their partner Narendra decide to sue Zuckerberg for stealing their idea, which eventually leads to Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Zuckerberg’s so-called best friend, suing him as well. The film goes between the two different depositions, while flashing back and telling the story of the creation of the social networking phenomenon and discovering why these two entities are suing the youngest billionaire in the world.

In terms of structure, it’s certainly an interesting way to present a film. Sorkin’s script is centred around the two court cases that form the ultimate conclusion of the film, while flashbacks are used heavily to flesh out the reasons behind the testimonies. While never being too long, or too talky, Sorkin allows time for the viewers to get to know the characters and understand their reasons behind their decisions, allowing you to feel for their situation, while never particularly portraying one character to be better than the other; everyone has their flaws, and this film documents that superbly.

Zuckerberg’s passion is what drives the main body of the film. He’s portrayed as a focused and highly intelligent - verging on autistic - student who, despite being hated by most people during his time at Harvard, never lets anything block his vision or interrupt his objective. He’s efficient, emotionally stunted and appears to be cold, but, as you’ll see at the end of the film, most definitely has an emotional centre that many fail to notice.

Throughout the film, he’s never shown to be engaging in university life, or his studies. It’s quite obvious that, to him, he’s intent on making an online community to connect everyone everywhere, rather than do anything for himself. However, he doesn’t appear to have this approach when it comes to his personal relationships. He never seems to warm up around people or share his most intimate thoughts – everyone, some way or another, leads back to his vision. There’s always a purpose behind the acts he commits or the people he interacts with. His negligence and naivety leads to the break-up between himself and his girlfriend Erica at the very start of the film, and the way his friendship with Eduardo erupts into a battle for control, neither of them particularly focused on money. Zuckerberg wants the success for himself, while Eduardo wants it to make his father proud.

Zuckerberg himself, who was somewhat of a social outcast, retreated into the world of Facebook, using his supreme intelligence to benefit others, while his own self-esteem and name suffered in the process. Throughout the film he is shown to have a limited number of friends, and those who are his friends, turn against him in a battle for power and control over what has been created. The theme of domination, and ambition, is necessary in exploring characters relationships, pitting them against each other. It’s evident from the beginning of the film that things will eventually turn for the worse, as the characters have similar takes on life, are from similar backgrounds and want to succeed in a harsh world as much as the next man.

There are, however, aspects of the film that don’t work quite as well as you’d expect. The structure of the film – though appearing solid and direct with its viewers, offering up information slowly, so viewers can follow the story without it getting ahead of itself – sometimes suffers due to its open-ended nature. The start of the film is perfect: it has the right tone, keeps viewers interested, while leaving open-ended questions that you assume will be answered in the second part. The latter half, however, isn’t nearly as effective. It’s slow, temperamental and can be described as dull in comparison. Although it still keeps you interested, it doesn’t have nearly the same hold on you as the first half did.

It’s assuring to see, then, that even after a comparatively poor second half, the ending is poignant, humourous and real enough to leave you feeling satisfied. Sorkin leaves the film with Zuckerberg as a hollow man in despair, representing the idea that success isn’t everything. No matter how many friends you may have in an online community such as Facebook, it doesn’t help in the fact you can still be lonely in real-life. Zuckerberg has quite clearly learned from his mistakes. He’s learned that in order to pass through life, he can’t rely on the millions of “friends” he has in an online community, but needs real-life friends in order to live and feel accepted.

The Social Network is a film that deserves your attention. It’s not only a film about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook, but also one of morality. One that requires your full attention and questions your beliefs and values;  but also one that rewards you with its passion, attention-to-detail and humourous nature. It’s a truly remarkable piece of cinema.

David Fincher’s The Social Network is the finest American film of the year, a brilliantly written, engrossingly crafted and superbly performed work that resonates like a sort of Citizen Kane for contemporary culture.

The Social Network is anchored by Jesse Eisenberg’s compellingly weird performance as programming wizard and world’s youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the man who unquestionably deserves the most (but not sole) credit for the creation of the communications phenomenon that is Facebook.

As portrayed by Eisenberg, Zuckerberg is a classic 21st century tech nerd, long on brains, but short on social skills such as empathy and charm. The film opens with him being dumped by his girl, somewhat understandably, in the famous Harvard hangout The Thirsty Scholar. Back in his campus dorm room, the hurt and mildly inebriated young man responds in the only way he knows how: by slagging her off online, on his blog. His initial lashing out at one girl escalates into a lashing out at most of the women at Harvard in a sophomoric, and decidedly misogynist, online prank that showcases his programming brilliance but results in an official reprimand from the university administration.

His talent now obvious to much of the university, Zuckerberg is approached by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (portrayed by the unrelated actors Armie Hammer and Josh Pence, who are transformed into identical twins by an astonishingly seamless bit of CG) with an offer to write and program an elitist appeal dating site for Harvard students.

Impressed by their social status (they are impossibly handsome, row for the university, are members of a very elite campus club, and are part of a wealthy family), the wannabe social climber Zuckerberg instantly agrees to take on the work, but in a flash or two of inspiration takes their concept much further, deciding in the process to do so without the involvement of the Winklevoss brothers and their business manager partner (Max Minghella). Calling on his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) for financial support and a few other friends to help with programming, Zuckerberg is now on course, to paraphrase the film’s tag line, to make 500 million friends, a billion dollars, and a few enemies.

After the disappointingly turgid Benjamin Button, director Fincher is himself back on course with this riveting cautionary tale, aided and abetted by Aaron Sorkin’s note perfect script, which plays like both a mystery (did Zuckerberg cheat his business associates and his best friend?) and a tragic character study (wealth and fame attained, but at what cost?). There has been some debate over how much of the story as portrayed is accurate, and how much is inspired by the real events and people involved, but whether or not the film takes some liberties is unimportant (and really, has there ever been a biopic or film based on real events that hasn’t played with the truth for the sake of better story telling?).

There hasn’t been a better film that so astutely portrays the contradiction that lies at the heart of the culture of living and socialising online; we have the ability to be in constant contact with more people than ever before, but the forum is at such a physical remove that quantity does not in any way equate with quality.

For people like Zuckerberg, who lack the basic social skills to to carry on such activities as dating, the online realm is both a protected sanctuary and an arena where a person’s very ability to create and manipulate the realm itself can garner the admiration that cannot be gained through ‘normal’ physical interaction.

Much has been written in recent years about the now suspected prevalence of mild forms of autism in people with extremely high IQs, and watching Eisenberg’s interactions with everyone from his best friend to university administrators and lawyers feels very much like one is watching someone who is blighted with some form of this. His eyes rarely display warmth and true engagement with others, except when he can’t contain his excitement about being in the company of those whose social status he covets (the Winklevoss brothers) or whose personality and sociability he envies (Napster founder Sean Parker, portrayed as an engaging hustler by Justin Timberlake). He is however possessed of extraordinary self assurance about his abilities, and in the scenes where he focuses his arrogant disdain towards those who take him to task for his actions, Eisenberg burns with a cold fury that is extraordinary to watch.

The last scene brings us back to the film’s ‘Rosebud’, and is a summation of Fincher’s and Sorkin’s feelings about the mode of social intercourse that Zuckerberg has played such a crucial role in ushering in; the irony of the film’s title is perfectly reinforced, and it is almost impossible not to feel sympathy for one of the most remarkably unsympathetic central characters in recent American cinema.

The cast of The Social Network discuss the film in a live webchat…

The wbcast is hosted by Olivia Munn, and features Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield and Armie Hammer. Legendry screenwriter,  Aaron Sorkin is also here to discuss the new movie which is wrote with Ben Mezrich.

Columbia Pictures have released a brand new interactive trailer for David Fincher’s The Social Network.

Loosely adapted from Ben Mezrich’s 2009 nonfiction book ‘The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal’ by Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network focuses on the tumultuous early years of Facebook, which was founded in 2004.

The Social Network features an impressive cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Rashida Jones, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara, Justin Timberlake and Max Minghella.

Check out the interactive trailer below:

The Social Network will be released in the UK on October 15.

You can read various critics’ initial reaction to the film here.

Movieweb reported this one.