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Pre-screenings are just one of the many perks to being part of Emerson College’s Visual Media Art department. During a pre-screening of the upcoming film The Social Network,  screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) shared his writing process and the experience he had narrating the story of arguably one of the biggest online social phenomena of the century, Facebook.

It was surprising to learn that he did not have much familiarity with Facebook before taking the job. He explained it like this: It was like knowing that there is a carburetor under the hood of the car, but not really knowing where it is or what it does. He had a good deal of work to do in order to fully understand and grasp what Facebook is used for and how it has continued to evolve from its inception in 2004. Aaron didn’t build his own profile page, but instead experienced the website through a fan page that he set up. (After he finished the script, the page has since been taken down.)

Because of the complex coding involved in Facebook, as well as shooting some scenes at Harvard University, Aaron recruited the help of computer science professionals to enhance the language of the script. In one memorable scene, Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, happens upon a wonderful idea while sitting in one of the most notoriously difficult classes Harvard offers in computer science. The professor asks a question as Mark gets up to leave the classroom. He gives a flawless answer over his shoulder as he rushes out.

I couldn’t tell you what any of his answer meant, and neither could Sorkin. This is what research assistants are for, he chided. The language used in that particular scene is highly technical and unless you have a background in computer science or building websites, it’s just incomprehensible. However, the message that it conveys is powerful. Mark Zuckerberg was not only ahead of his time, but was unchallenged in this academic atmosphere. It sets up his character beautifully and initiates audience expectations so that we are not at all surprised when he goes back to his dorm to create a program that becomes so popular in the same night that the entire Harvard network crashes, all while throwing back a few cold ones. It was one of my favorite sequences in the film.

From the first scene it was clear that this script was written for those who love quick dialogue. Aaron described himself as a primarily dialogue writer, and it sounds like tap dancing from the first scene. He was open about his struggle with structure and finds comfort in the minutia of the language. The script, he said, was not re-written all that much as many other scripts do. Pretty much what he wrote is what ended up on screen.  Impressive.

An audience member asked about working with the film’s director, David Fincher. Sorkin described Fincher’s style as one that wears out his actors. They do as many takes as necessary for Fincher to feel satisfied, which makes for long days for the cast and crew, yet gives the desired effect of worn college students pushing the limits of their relationships, their creative minds, and their investments.

It was wonderful to have first hand accounts of the production process for this particular film and to have a chance to interact with the screenwriter.  Another one of our Graduate Student Ambassadors, Sarah Diane, wrote a blog post about Aaron Sorkin last year. To check it out, click here.

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