Script To Screen: “The Social Network”
The final scene from the 2010 movie The Social Network, screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, based on a book by Ben Mezrich.
Plot Summary: Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
INT. FIRST DEPOSITION ROOM - NIGHT MARK is sitting alone.-in the conference room. The only
one left is MARYLIN, whose voice we just heard. The
lights of the San Francisco skyline fill the huge picture
windows. MARYLIN
Mark?
MARK looks up at her... MARYLIN
We're done for the day. MARK
Yeah, I was just sitting here.
MARYLIN
What happened to Sean? MARK
He still owns 7% of the company. All you
had all day was that salad. You want to
get something to eat? MARYLIN
I can't. MARK
I'm not a bad guy. MARYLIN
I know that. When’s there’s emotional
testimony I assume 85% of it is
exaggeration.
MARK
And the other 15%? MARILYN
Perjury. Creation myths need a devil. MARK
What happens now? MARYLIN
Sy and the others are having a steak on
University Ave. Then they’ll come back up
to the office and start working on a
settlement agreement to present to you.
MARK
They're gonna want to settle? MARYLIN
Oh yeah. And you're gonna have to pay
a little extra. MARK
Why? MARYLIN
So that these guys sign a non-disclosure
agreement. They say one unflattering word
about you in public and you own their
wife and kids. MARK
I invented Facebook. MARYLIN
I’m talking about a jury. I specialize
in voir dire--jury selection. And what
the jury sees when they look at the
defendant. Clothes, hair, speaking style,
likability--
MARK
Likability? MARYLIN
I've been licensed to practice law for
all of-20 months and I could get a jury
to believe you planted the story about
Eduardo and the chicken. Watch what else.
Why weren't you at Sean's sorority party
that night? MARK
You think I'm the one who called the
police? MARYLIN
Doesn't matter, I asked the question and
now everybody's thinking about it. You
lost the jury in the first 10 minutes. MARK
(PAUSE)
Farm animals? MARYLIN
Yeah. MARK
I was drunk and angry and stupid. MARYLIN
And blogging. MARK
And blogging. MARILYN
(PAUSE)
Pay them. In the scheme of things it’s a
speeding ticket. That’s what Sy will tell
you tomorrow. MARK
Do you think anybody would mind if I
stayed and used the computer for a
minute? MARYLIN
I can't imagine it would be a problem. MARK
Thanks. I appreciate your help today, MARYLIN
You're not an asshole, Mark. You just
want to be. MARYILIN, who's been putting on her coat, takes her
briefcase and exits. MARK sits down at the computer. He logs on to Facebook. He types a name in the search box: “Erica Albright”. Erica’s name and picture come up, along with Boston
University, ‘07. Mark smiles. She’s on Facebook. He moves the mouse back and forth between two boxes: “Send
a Message” and “Add as a Friend”. He clicks on “Add as a Friend”. A box comes up that reads: “Your request to add Erica
Albright as a friend has been sent.” Then MARK clicks to his homepage and waits for the
response. And waits...then hits “Refresh”. TITLE:
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss received a settlement of 65
million dollars and signed a non-disclosure agreement,
They rowed for the U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing and placed
sixth. MARK is still waiting...then hits “Refresh”. Eduardo Saverin received an unknown Gash settlement. His
name has been restored to the Facebook masthead as a
founder. MARK is settling into his chair. He'll wait all night if
he has to. Facebook has 500 million members in 207 countries. It's
currently valued at 25 billion dollars. Mark zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in the world.
MARK waits...
And waits... AND WE SNAP TO BLACK ROLL, MAIN TITLE
Here is the scene from the movie:
Trust me, the dialogue in the first half of the scene is virtually identical from script to film. Hey, who would think to futz with Sorkin dialogue?
The big addition to the movie version is The Beatles song “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.” Check out how perfect the lyrics are for the movie:
“Baby, You’re A Rich Man”
How does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people?
Now that you know who you are.
What do you want to be?
And have you travelled very far?
Far as the eyes can seeHow does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people?
How often have you been there?
Often enough to know
What did you see when you were there?
Nothing that doesn’t showBaby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo
What a thing to do
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man tooHow does it feel to be
One of the beautiful people?
Tuned to a natural E
Happy to be that way
Now that you’ve found another key
What are you going to play?Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo
What a thing to do
Baby, baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man too
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby you’re a rich man
Baby, baby you’re a rich man too (fade out)
The song takes the scene which is good on the page and makes it great.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more Script To Screen articles, go here.
