So, Aaron Sorkin, writer of such films as A Few Good Men, The American Presidentand Charlie Wilson’s War, and, of course, creator of TV’s The West Wing, is apparently now working on a movie about Facebook for Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin (No Country for Old Men). Yes, that’s right, a Facebook movie. News comes to us directly from the social networking site, as Sorkin himself announced the project by admitting that he has absolutely no clue what Facebook is. And I guess he’s looking for assistance or questions or something. Obviously he’s the perfect guy to be scripting a film about the founding of the site.
I’m drawing a blank right now as to whether or not any websites have officially spawned movies (does AOL count?), but I do recall an idea from 3 years ago to make an internet dating movie sponsored by Friendster, which was to be directed by Harold Ramis and star Topher Grace. I guess the fact that Friendster faded from popularity in favor of MySpace and then Facebook ruined those plans. But is it possible that this new project will fare any better? Social networking sites have a habit of falling out of fashion rather quickly. Oh well, if Facebook: The Movie doesn’t work out, Rudin and Sorkin are welcome to go with any of these other ideas:
10. Friendster- Just because the other Friendster project didn’t pan out doesn’t mean the site can’t still inspire another movie. This one would be all about how Friendster rose to the top quickly and lived the good life until attempts to get even higher went awry and its fans abandoned it. You know, the age old story of celebrity. Sorkin might be interested because of the way it could parallel his hit stage play (and upcoming film) The Farnsworth Invention.
Do adults actually take President’s Day off? The studios, assuming *someone* isn’t going to work or school today, opened their movies on Thursday night and are going to keep tabulating grosses through the end of today. This means Jumper will easily cross $40 million in its first frame, all but guaranteeing its franchise potential. Also, I was barely aware that it had even opened, but 27 Dresses is currently grossing about three times as much per weekend as Cloverfield, and it may even gross $100 million before it fades from theaters.
Yawn. Variety launches their latest anti-internet screed, as Brian Lowry uses a post-strike think piece as the venue to rail against the “sometimes ugly, insular and semi-delusional worlds the Net can perpetuate.”
Will Arnett and Woody Harrelson are joining Will Ferrell on the Funny or Die comedy tour, to promote their upcoming Semi-Pro. Too bad for you, it’s been sold out for ages.
Sundance just released their short film lineup, and though I’m still going through the release, I know for a fact that there’s at least one film on there that you can watch right this second. FCU: Fact Checkers Unit stars Bill Murray, Kristen Schaal, Peter Karinen and Brian Sacca; it was written by Karinen, Sacca and director Dan Beers. I watched it a couple of months ago on YouTube. It’s good; it didn’t change my world, but it’s polished and funny. In the 3+ months since it’s been available at YouTube and FunnyOrDie, it’s already been watched about 750,000 times. At that point, is playing at Sundance even a big deal? Depending on where it plays and how often, they’ll be extremely lucky if 1,000 people see it in Park City–but I guess the hope is that it’ll be the right 1,000 people.
In any case, it’s not like this is your standard viral video–it clearly has a budget, and did I mention it stars Bill Murray?–but this is, as far as I know, the first instance of a online video hit making the jump to a festival the size Sundance. Please correct me if I’m wrong. And watch the short above–I have a feeling it won’t be on YouTube for much longer.
Do adults actually take President’s Day off? The studios, assuming *someone* isn’t going to work or school today, opened their movies on Thursday night and are going to keep tabulating grosses through the end of today. This means Jumper will easily cross $40 million in its first frame, all but guaranteeing its franchise potential. Also, I was barely aware that it had even opened, but 27 Dresses is currently grossing about three times as much per weekend as Cloverfield, and it may even gross $100 million before it fades from theaters.
