Timberlake, Eisenberg Accept Facebook Movie’s Friend Request
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 23, 2009
Aaron Sorkin is writing the script, David Fincher will be seated in the director’s chair, and now The Social Network, otherwise known as “The Facebook Movie,” is getting a surprisingly solid cast of leading men. Is there no end to how oddly impressive this project will become? No end to the names that will sign on, sign up and accept the invite to part of one of the most talked about movies of the next 12 months?
Confirming previous rumors, Variety is reporting tonight that the Columbia Pictures produced film has found its three male leads. Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, Zombieland) will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (a brilliant bit of casting, if you ask me); Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook’s founding president (another brilliant choice, as Timberlake has proven time and time again to have the chops); and Andrew Garfield (Boy A, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) will play Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who eventually fell out with Zuckerberg over money.
The clear winner here is Eisenberg, who is a near-perfect match for Zuckerberg, in both physical appearance and mannerism. Even though he’s gained a lot of exposure over the past year and is seen as someone who can only play one type of character, I think he will do extremely well in this role. Timberlake is a solid choice as well. As I mentioned above, he’s been slowly but surely proving himself as an actor for a while now, especially with his work on Saturday Night Live. His problem thus far has been project selection. Between Alpha Dog and The Open Road, he’s punched a ticket to nowhere several times now. Signing on to a Fincher-directed Facebook pic is a great step. Garfield is good stuff as well, with several good, small performances, as well as a jaw-dropping performance in 2007’s Boy A. He’s a great pickup for this project.
Overall, the Facebook movie is looking great. It will be fascinating to see how it evolves from here. Shooting is set to begin next month in Boston, and later in Los Angeles.
What do you think about the main casting for The Social Network?
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