Sorkin "Friended" By Facebook for Biopic

Aaron Sorkin's newest writing project? A biopic about the creators of Facebook. Sorkin, a famed and sought after LA-based writer, has long had a fan in me. And I sure do love me some Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, creator of the social networking phenomenon, has turned down billion-dollar offers in order to remain independent. The many ownership debates, Facebook's remarkable growth and its presence in the media certainly makes for some good film fodder. And Sorkin definitely has a gift for eloquently turning fodder into though-provoking entertainment.

Sorkin got his start writing for the stage and was quickly swept off to Hollywood where he has penned several successful and critically-acclaimed films. His screenplay writing credits include A Few Good Men, Malice, The American President and Charlie Wilson's War. Sorkin is probably best-known and most-loved for creating and acting as head writer for three very popular TV series: Studio 60, The West Wing and Sports Night.

Last year saw Sorkin returning to Broadway as the author of the very mediocre The Farnsworth Invention. As I stated in my review, it seems as though the producers (which included Steven Spielberg) could not decide if Farnsworth was a film or a play and made the wrong choice. Perhaps the forthcoming film Flash of Genius, which also tells the story of an inventor who gets the shaft, will work better.

In addition to the Facebook film, Sorkin has been tapped for The Trial of the Chicago 7 and the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Follies. I have every confidence that Sorkin will deliver with a heavyhitting courtroom drama, as that is his sweet spot. I have reservations about how he will handle Follies. Hopefully he is more successful bringing stage to screen than he is trying to morph a screenplay to the stage.

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Related Article: Aaron Sorkin To Write Facebook Film

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My Latest Broadway Prediction...

Life has been a flurry of activity lately. The Rising Stars will be hitting the stage in under a week, so a lot of the evenings have been focused on that. There are also a few acting opportunities that I might pursue. And acting is always tempting... I guess it all depends on how 2008 starts looking as theatres announce their seasons. I have a couple potential directing gigs and that always plays a big part in planning out the year. Sad that I have to plan the year this far in advance. And then there is the ol' corporate grind, which continues to occupy the daytime slot.

But I digress...

True to my theatre-geekedness, I had to hop on to Blogger to give you another prediction. (NOTE: Scroll back to my Spring Awakening posts and you'll see what I mean).

As soon as they are on sale, I urge you to get tickets for The Farnsworth Invention, a courtroom drama penned by one of my favorite contemporary authors, Aaron Sorkin. Mr. Sorkin has not written for Broadway since he wrote A Few Good Men and got whisked away to Hollywood. If "You can't handle the truth!" is a part of your vocabulary or you are a fan of West Wing or Studio 60, I am fairly confident that this excursion will not disappoint.

Hank Azaria stars in this courtroom drama with Jimmi Simpson, who originated the role of Philo T. Farnsworth. This fact-based play about the bitter legal battle between Farnsworth, the boy-genius that invented television, and David Sarnoff (Azaria), the head of RCA, sounds intriguing. Sorkin will undoubtedly give us a meaty monologue or two with a few points about the words "patent pending."

The show opens on November 14th with previews beginning October 15th. For more information go to http://www.farnsworthonbroadway.com/.

That's it for now. Back to the mayhem.

Peace.