Everything You Need to Know About the Social Network Movie

The Social Network, set to hit theaters on October 1, 2010, is a drama directed by David Fincher about the founding of the social networking Web site, Facebook. The film concentrates on the tumultuous first years of Facebook, focusing on founder Mark Zuckerberg, who lauched the site from his Harvard dorm room in 2004. It was written by Aaron Sorkin and adapted by Ben Mezrich's 2009 nonfiction book The Accidental Billionaires.

Casting for the movie began in August 2009, with Jesse Eisenberg being the first actor announced to be attached to the project during the following month. Eisenberg stars as Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and in 2009, he shared his excitement with the Baltimore Sun stating, "Even though I've gotten to be in some wonderful movies, this character seems so much more overtly insensitive in so many ways that seem more real to me in the best way."

The film also stars Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello and Justin Timberlake as Facebook co-founders Eduard Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Sean Parker. The star-studded cast also includes Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones and Brenda Song.

The Social Network, the movie is told in a series of flashbacks recalled during a court hearing. The film begins on the night of February 4, 2004 when Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend, Erica, in a bar. He then returns home in a drunken stupor and transforms Harvard's online collection of student photos into a Web site where he and his friends rank the Harvard women as various farm animals. His "Facebook" is so popular that it crashes the entire Harvard network within a half hour.

Zuckerberg then drops out of college and moves to California, where he teams up with Sean Parker, the co-founder of the music piracy site Napster, to build his Facebook. The movie focuses on the first turbulent years of Facebook, the global social networking site that is now considered a revolution in communication. Within six years of the creation of this social network, Zuckerberg is named the youngest billionaire in history. However, with a large amount of success comes responsibility as well as both legal and personal difficulties as the tag line of the movie reads, "you don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."

Although Zuckerberg was not consulted during the writing of the book, The Accidental Billionaires, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin was. However, it has been said that the portrayal of the characters in the movie are not entirely true. Facebook co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz called the film a "dramatization of history," according to the International Business Times.

After the film's script was leaked on the Internet, it became evident to Zuckerberg that he was not going to be portrayed in the most positive manner. He later made a statement that he wanted to establish himself as a "good guy," according to The Times Online. Moskovitz told International Business Times, in regards to Zuckerberg "the plot of the book/script unabashedly attack [Zuckerberg], but I actually felt like a lot of his positive qualities come out truthfully in the trailer. At the end of the day, they cannot help but portray him as the driven, forward-thinking genius that he is."

Zuckerberg has not been actively endorsing The Social Network and when asked about it he replied, "I just wished that nobody made a movie of me while I was still alive." According to The Times Online site, critics who have seen the script for the movie say it portrays Zuckerberg as a "borderline-autistic conniver."

The movie is being produced by Kevin Spacey, who told MTV it's a "great story for people that don't really know how it happened. Very filmic, very modern, very cool." This will be the second project that Spacey and director David Fincher have worked on. Their earlier film, Se7en, was a dark, violent, horror movie, which is exactly what Fincher is known for. Spacey told MTV News that The Social Network, however, will take a different approach and "probably be a lot funnier than people might expect it to be."

Whether the film is true to real life or not, it's sure to attract moviegoers when it makes it big-screen debut on October 1. Facebook users will without a doubt flock to theaters to watch it then report their reviews, positive and negative, via status update on their favorite social network.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/http://wendysuto.articlealley.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-social-network-movie-1755275.html

Just starting out, how should I manage my budget?

I just graduated from college and have my first full time job, making about $1,300 a month (after taxes). In four months my pay will increase to about 1,550 a month (after taxes). I am single, have exactly $7,000 in student loans, no car payment, no credit card debt, and am living in a family rental house for no rent or utilities (thank you gran and gramps!). Because I carpool, I have minimal gas expenses (they pay, I drive). My parents have been supplementing my budget for the last few months, so I'm not exactly sure how much I spend in food (though I never eat out because of allergies). I am currently tracking that spending carefully.

Anyway, using this info, I was wondering if someone who's more of a financial guru than I could give some suggestions as to how I can put this money to the best use (in other words, what to save for first). I can't stay in this (free) living situation forever, and have told my family that I'd like to be out by sometime next summer. However, if I can come to them with a really good game plan for saving for a house instead of wasting money on rent, they may let me stick around a few years. I am currently driving an old car that my parents paid off, but though they say I can keep it I'd really like to get my own so my little sister can have the same privilege of driving it during her teenage years.

Right now, I'm thinking to put a large amount of my paycheck away each month for student loans, so I can pay them off quickly to avoid interest. My next big hurtle would be getting into a car, putting away a nest egg and finding a place to rent, or deciding how much I need to save for a down on a house (if I can afford one at all). My projected gross income going into my second year with this company is 25k, and will continue to go up if I pass my performance reviews. I'm good at saving, but need a break down of how much to put towards which goal each month...

I like the idea of saving for a house, but how much could I afford? And how much of a down payment would I need?
I should mention that I graduated from college at 17 and only got this job 2 weeks after my 18th birthday. So no, I'm not milking my parents. I flat out couldn't get on my own until now.

And it's actually my parents helping me with gas, because I add 20 minutes to my commute every day so I can drop my sisters off at high school.

Answer
Sophie is pretty much right on, except when she says you are shirking your obligations. You are wise to limit yourself to the free housing for as long as you can. That is a better plan than moving out and going broke.

Sorry, but if your parents have been supplementing your budget, you have NO money to save. You can only "save" if you pay less on your student loans, and that is not really savings, and it costs interest as you noted. But something in your spending seems wrong. Without the major expenses (rent, utilities, car payments) you should be able to meet the minimum payment on the student loans (as a place to start looking at your budget) and still have money left over without your parents help.

Even though it costs, it might be wise to build up a savings account instead of being so aggressive on the student loans. Not paying them (off so fast) is sort of like borrowing money at a lower interest rate [you did not say what - accountants like facts and figures ! ] so that you can use green cash for unexpected expenses (: new tires, dental bill,,,) instead of incurring expensive (18+%) interest charges. $1,000 not paid on the student loans might pay for itself if that amount in the bank means you do not have to pay service charges. [Right now you have to focus on the small things. All in all, you seem very prudent, so keep living a sensible lifestyle.]

Instead of setting aside money each month for bigger expenses, I find that life evolves into paying a different big expense every month. [for me: annual house insurance one month, 6 months car insurance the next month, new car tires in month 3, kids school clothes in September, ,,,, next round of car insurance, then land taxes on house, then Christmas, then,,, - as an example.]

Car or an apartment will be what to save for next, depending on how you proceed. Consider getting an apartment close to work, or at least near public transportation and save the car costs.

You probably cannot get a house until you are 30+ even if prices are depressed in your area, because taxes, insurance, and repairs are not depressed.

If you do not have healthcare, you can be covered on your parents plan up to age 26. Your decision, based on cost, etc.

You sound like you are doing things right. Keep moving forward, and you will get there.

If you believe you can answer this question better? Kindly help others and answer below, in the

comments section.

Sponsored Ads: