Spotify just got even cooler with an enhanced version of Spotify Radio (which lets users create unlimited stations by artist, track, or genre, receive recommendations with an improved feature, and skip as many songs as they wish. This should make... Read the rest of this post
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Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hulu, Millennials, glee, Ypulse Essentials, Adele, old spice, angry birds, the social network, Marc Jacobs, Amazon Prime, America's Next Top Model perfume, celebrity perfume, Face Match, Google Currents, Lisa Frank clothes, MANta Clause, MarcFam, Nickelodeon Toy Machine, Spotify Radio, YALSA finalists, Itunes, Add a tag
Blog: Sara Dobie's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Film, Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network, Andrew Garfield, David Fincher, Add a tag
The trailer for David Fincher’s The Social Network was genius. It featured a choir in the background, singing Radiohead’s song “Creep” over images of Facebook, the website. Without the song (and Jesse Eisenberg’s face), I would have groaned. A movie about social networking? Get real. But the trailer did have the song. It did feature Eisenberg (who I’ve loved since Zombieland). Plus, I knew it was directed by David Fincher (who I’ve loved since Fight Club). So what could go wrong?
Evidently, a lot.
I don’t mean to speak badly of the film. The Social Network, as an entity, was irrevocably interesting. It follows the evolution of Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, as he becomes the founder of Facebook and the youngest billionaire in history. It follows him through a bad breakup, a brilliant idea, lawsuit after lawsuit, and finally, regret over being an a$$hole. The film features those brilliant Fincher camera angles. It features outstanding performances from Eisenberg (who was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award) and Andrew Garfield (who’s in line to be the next Peter Parker/Spiderman). And like I said, the story is excellent. The dialogue is awe-inspiring.
So what’s my beef?There’s an expression, honed by screenwriter Blake Snyder. It’s known as a “save the cat” moment. Generally speaking, the “save the cat” moment is a moment early on in a movie, where the hero does something noble, making the audience like him and root for him for the rest of the story. It is a vital part of introducing a hero. Arguably, there are no “heroes” in The Social Network. I don’t have a problem with this. My problem is that scene one of The Social Network makes me physically and psychologically disgusted by the character of Mark Zuckerberg, and yet, we are expected to spend the next two hours with the guy. He comes off as egotistical, entitled, and chauvinistic. If I was the girl talking to him in scene one, I would have punched him in the face.
I have a similar complex regarding Evita. Evita, the musical and Madonna film, features beautiful music. However, Eva Peron is a person whose portrayal in the musical/movie offends me. She meant a lot to Argentina, but at her basest, she was a power-hungry, gold-digger. Why does she deserve to be immortalized?
Zuckerberg does deserve to be immortalized in the same way Bill Gates deserves it. They both made huge strides in the computer/internet world. For that, they deserve respect. However, in the movie, I was distracted by my dislike for Zuckerberg to the point of hoping the movie would be bad enough to turn off so that I wouldn’t have to support the little jerk with my attention. However, the movie wasn’t bad enough; I watched it to the end, but I didnBlog: OUPblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: oscars, words, Dictionaries, Online Resources, true grit, black swan, academy awards, oxford dictionary, bryan garner, Javier Bardem, the social network, *Featured, Lexicography & Language, the king's speech, TV & Film, Biutiful, grace labatt, the fighter, The Kids are All Right, Add a tag
By Grace Labatt
The 2011 Academy Awards® take place this Sunday, February 27, the culmination of months of speculation about who will wear what, who will have the hardest time with the TelePrompTer, and, of course, who will win. But regardless of who goes home with an Oscar—whether it’s Natalie Portman for playing a tormented ballerina or Annette Bening for playing a tormented wife—language lovers already have plenty to celebrate with this year’s honorees. Films in 2010 had an array of unusual linguistic choices that highlighted their screenwriters’ unique skills.
Kings and billionaires, both accidental
The film to generate the most adulation for its language was probably The Social Network, in which the dialogue from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was spoken so quickly (and so articulately, even for Harvard students) that a 162-page script became not a five-hour saga but a two-hour rush of suspense. Sorkin’s script made legalese and technology terms not just comprehensible but exciting, introduced the term “Winkelvii” (to describe the pompous Winklevoss twin characters), which now gets 14,000 hits on Google, and reminded us that articles are never hip—according to one of the characters, Facebook’s success is rooted in founder Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to drop the “The” from the title.
The Social Network is a frontrunner, but its main competition is The King’s Speech. One of the central themes of this historical biopic of King George VI is the importance of clarity in communication—something all writers and speakers strive for, and a goal achieved by the film itself. At once point King George remarks, “I am the seat of all authority because they think that when I speak, I speak for them.” Scriptwriter David Seidler uses this tactic—words as tools to enthrall and enlist—to make audience members align themselves with an actor playing a king (which couldn’t be further from what most audience members are).
Ballerinas, boxers, and LaBoeufs
Three other best picture nominees couldn’t be more different from one another, but are united by a common thread. Black Swan, True Grit, and The Fighter all delve into a distinctive subculture and embrace that culture’s linguistic idiosyncrasies. Dancers, cowboys, and boxers use language that would sound foreign to anyone outside their professions: chaîné, tendu, fouetté, rond de jambe, tinhorn, 0 Comments on And the winners are…language lovers! as of 2/25/2011 11:29:00 AM
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: The Social Network, The Accidental Billionaires, Thad Roberts, Trigger Street Productions, Sony Pictures, Scott Rudin, Kevin Spacey, Ben Mezrich, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Sex on the Moon, Celebrities, Adaptation, Facebook, Add a tag
Author Ben Mezrich‘s latest project is a nonfiction book entitled Sex on the Moon. According to the LA Times, Sony Pictures has already optioned the film rights to the book proposal.
Here’s more from the article: “The new film tells the story of Thad Roberts, a once-promising young scientist working for NASA who back in 2004 hatched a crazy plan to steal highly prized moon rocks from his bosses at the Johnson Space Center and sell them on the Internet. The motivation: wanting to impress his girlfriend.”
Read more about the incident at this link. The production team behind The Social Network — Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti, Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca — will reunite for this project. Mezrich (pictured, via) tweeted the news: “The cat is out of the bag, new book new movie same amazing producers and studio…”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Add a CommentBlog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Jesse Eisenberg, Aaron sorkin, Movies & Music, the social network, Add a tag
In this week of ubiquitous Facebook chatter, it seemed only appropriate to cap things off by addressing the creation myth that's been stirring the pot. And so, last night I caught "The Social Network" with a couple friends at a crowded movie theater... Read the rest of this post
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You’re right…he didn’t come across as a “cat person.” (Had not heard that expression about “saving the car” before.)
I Knew “jump the shark.”
Thanks!
Obviously I meant “saving the cat.” Duh.
Haha … I like saving the car, too
Good article, I completely agree. It needed a save the cat moment, even if it wasn’t true. I was surprised by how much success the film had. Aaron Sorkin is a genius, but everything else… meh.
I like “meh.” Meh is a good description of how I felt after the film.