Thursday, September 24, 2009
Facebook movie gets a cast
I got myself all worked up in this space a few months back after seeing footage from the upcoming sequel Tron Legacy, which is due at the end of 2010. At the time I mentioned that I’d heard that French electronic music duo Daft Punk had signed on to provide the score, which seemed almost too perfect to be true. Evidently they’re still on board, as the following track just turned up online from their score. I’ve never been a big Daft Punk fan, but I like this if for no reason than it reminds me of the music that played in boss fights in the video games I grew up playing. And what could be better for a new Tron movie?
At this point I don’t know what I find weirder, that they’re making a Tron sequel or that I’m this genuinely excited about it.
I’m far from what you’d call a Diablo Cody fan; by the time I got around to seeing Juno it had long since been the Indie Hit of the Year, and I was already sick of hearing about it. I certainly didn’t dislike it, but I thought the screenplay was too cute by half and Cody seemed to be a bit too in love with her own cleverness. (But apparently a lot of pe
ople online really, really hate her for some reason I don’t understand. The Internet can be a sad, weird place.) And I’m not enough of a fan of horror movies or Megan Fox to care much about Cody’s recent Jennifer’s Body.
But I can’t say I didn’t crack a smile when I read that Universal has hired Cody to write and produce movies based on the Sweet Valley High series of novels, about a pair of identical twin high school girls with totally different personalities. Cody’s apparently a huge fan of the series, which has something like 150 titles in print(!), and as much as Sweet Valley High obviously isn’t my thing, I think the property would probably produce some fun movies with Cody’s distinctive style and humor. And really, fair’s fair; women have long been getting the soiled end of the nostalgia-movie stick. My geeky ass has been treated to big-budget movies based on beloved comic characters and toy lines for almost a decade now, with nary a My Little Pony or Jem movie to be seen.
Speaking of which, as much I’m very much in the target audience for movies based on comic books and old toy lines, even I have my limits. As the success of the first Transformers begat G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe’s subsequent success (which surprised me almost as much as the movie’s not being awful did) h
as prompted Columbia to pick up the rights to a movie based on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (which Warner Bros. wisely dropped a few weeks back). And Universal is also working on a Barbie movie.
Now, I liked He-Man when I was a kid. A lot. I dragged my mom to see the cruddy 1987 Masters of the Universe movie starring Dolph Lundgren and Courtney Cox (it was bad even when I was 9). And I don’t know if I can adequately express how terrible an idea a new He-Man movie is. And Barbie doesn’t even have a story. (Though neither did the Sex and the City Movie, and that didn’t seem to hold that movie back from making a mint.)
It’s no secret that Hollywood loves to chase trends and capitalize on concepts and ideas that are financially successful. But this thing with movies based on toy lines and board games – plans are also afoot for movies based on Monopoly and Battleship, I kid you not – is going too far. Enough. Please just stop.
So apparently they’re making a movie about Facebook. Which isn’t news in itself, as the project was first announced months ago. The behind-the-camera talent has been in place for a while – David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is attached to direct, and West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin wrote the script – but this week the cast started to come together. Variety reports that Jesse Eisenberg will play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became president of Facebook, and Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder who had a falling-out with Zuckerberg as the site became a huge deal.
Now, I love me some Fincher, and while I’m not Aaron Sorkin superfan #1, I’ve seen a bit of the early seasons of The West Wing, and the guy can definitely write. So from that standpoint, as much as I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of a movie about the creation of a website, I feel like The Social Network (which is the movie’s title) is in fairly good creative hands. And the basic story about friends creating something that becomes hugely successful and how that affects their relationship is certainly fodder for a good movie. But a lot of this will end riding on the cast, and this looks like a decent enough one. I like Eisenberg (he was fantastic in the excellent coming-of-age comedy/drama The Squid and the Whale, and I have high hopes for the upcoming Zombieland), and as much as part of my brain still tells me I should hate him, I’ve can’t say I’ve ever disliked Timberlake in anything I’ve seen him in. Garfield I’ve actually never heard of so I have no idea what to expect from him, but like Meat Loaf says, two out of three ain’t bad.
I’ll certainly be following the development of The Social Network as it moves along, if for nothing other than to try to figure out exactly what the movie will be like.
Now, I love me some Fincher, and while I’m not Aaron Sorkin superfan #1, I’ve seen a bit of the early seasons of The West Wing, and the guy can definitely write. So from that standpoint, as much as I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of a movie about the creation of a website, I feel like The Social Network (which is the movie’s title) is in fairly good creative hands. And the basic story about friends creating something that becomes hugely successful and how that affects their relationship is certainly fodder for a good movie. But a lot of this will end riding on the cast, and this looks like a decent enough one. I like Eisenberg (he was fantastic in the excellent coming-of-age comedy/drama The Squid and the Whale, and I have high hopes for the upcoming Zombieland), and as much as part of my brain still tells me I should hate him, I’ve can’t say I’ve ever disliked Timberlake in anything I’ve seen him in. Garfield I’ve actually never heard of so I have no idea what to expect from him, but like Meat Loaf says, two out of three ain’t bad.
I’ll certainly be following the development of The Social Network as it moves along, if for nothing other than to try to figure out exactly what the movie will be like.
***
I got myself all worked up in this space a few months back after seeing footage from the upcoming sequel Tron Legacy, which is due at the end of 2010. At the time I mentioned that I’d heard that French electronic music duo Daft Punk had signed on to provide the score, which seemed almost too perfect to be true. Evidently they’re still on board, as the following track just turned up online from their score. I’ve never been a big Daft Punk fan, but I like this if for no reason than it reminds me of the music that played in boss fights in the video games I grew up playing. And what could be better for a new Tron movie?
At this point I don’t know what I find weirder, that they’re making a Tron sequel or that I’m this genuinely excited about it.
***
I’m far from what you’d call a Diablo Cody fan; by the time I got around to seeing Juno it had long since been the Indie Hit of the Year, and I was already sick of hearing about it. I certainly didn’t dislike it, but I thought the screenplay was too cute by half and Cody seemed to be a bit too in love with her own cleverness. (But apparently a lot of pe
ople online really, really hate her for some reason I don’t understand. The Internet can be a sad, weird place.) And I’m not enough of a fan of horror movies or Megan Fox to care much about Cody’s recent Jennifer’s Body.But I can’t say I didn’t crack a smile when I read that Universal has hired Cody to write and produce movies based on the Sweet Valley High series of novels, about a pair of identical twin high school girls with totally different personalities. Cody’s apparently a huge fan of the series, which has something like 150 titles in print(!), and as much as Sweet Valley High obviously isn’t my thing, I think the property would probably produce some fun movies with Cody’s distinctive style and humor. And really, fair’s fair; women have long been getting the soiled end of the nostalgia-movie stick. My geeky ass has been treated to big-budget movies based on beloved comic characters and toy lines for almost a decade now, with nary a My Little Pony or Jem movie to be seen.
***
Speaking of which, as much I’m very much in the target audience for movies based on comic books and old toy lines, even I have my limits. As the success of the first Transformers begat G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe’s subsequent success (which surprised me almost as much as the movie’s not being awful did) h
as prompted Columbia to pick up the rights to a movie based on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (which Warner Bros. wisely dropped a few weeks back). And Universal is also working on a Barbie movie.Now, I liked He-Man when I was a kid. A lot. I dragged my mom to see the cruddy 1987 Masters of the Universe movie starring Dolph Lundgren and Courtney Cox (it was bad even when I was 9). And I don’t know if I can adequately express how terrible an idea a new He-Man movie is. And Barbie doesn’t even have a story. (Though neither did the Sex and the City Movie, and that didn’t seem to hold that movie back from making a mint.)
It’s no secret that Hollywood loves to chase trends and capitalize on concepts and ideas that are financially successful. But this thing with movies based on toy lines and board games – plans are also afoot for movies based on Monopoly and Battleship, I kid you not – is going too far. Enough. Please just stop.
Labels: Movie news
¶ 11:15 AM
