Aaron Sorkin is reportedly working on a film script that could act as a sequel of sorts to 2010’s The Social Network.
Aaron Sorkin, the famed writer behind films like The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and The Social Network as well TV shows like The West Wing, has been chatting about what he’s working on next.
Sorkin told The Town podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he blames Facebook for the events of 6 January when thousands of Donald Trump supporters attacked the United State Capitol Building in Washington DC.
The podcast hosts asked Sorkin’s thoughts how the social media platform, which was the subject of the 2010 David Fincher-directed film The Social Network, and social media in general had affected democracy. Sorkin wrote the script for The Social Network and even bagged an Oscar for it.
“Look, yeah, I’ll be writing about this,” Sorkin told hosts Matthew Belloni and Peter Hamby during a live recording of the podcast. “I blame Facebook for January 6.”
Sorkin wouldn’t elaborate on why he blames Mark Zuckerberg’s hugely popular social media platform for the Capitol attack, but he did confirm he’s working on a script about it.
“I’m trying. Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to — what they call inside the hallways of Facebook — ‘the infinite scroll’ … There’s supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity,” Sorkin said.
“There isn’t. There’s just growth. If Mark Zuckerberg woke up tomorrow morning and realized there is nothing you can buy for $120 billion that you can’t buy for $119 billion dollars, ‘So how about if I make a little bit less money? I will tune up integrity and tune down growth.’ Yes, you can do that by switching a one to a zero.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports that sources close to Sorkin had confirmed the writer was working on “a Social Network-adjacent screenplay” but the project was only in early stages. Sorkin previously worked on a script about the 6 January attack but the project didn’t move forward.
A spiritual sequel to The Social Network is certainly an appealing idea, especially since it feels like Facebook is a completely different platform than it was in 2010. We’ll be waiting anxiously for more news on Sorkin’s next project.
