I have been following The Social Network Part II for a long time. I first wrote about it nearly five years ago when I went on about various scenarios I want to see in Aaron Sorkin’s next Facebook movie. Though not much has happened over the years, that recently changed when it was revealed that the long-awaited sequel is still in the works and was gaining a lot of traction. It’s safe to say that I’m excited, and this news has my attention…

However, though I’m extremely excited to dive back into the world of this mammoth social media company and all its big controversies, I am also a little worried about the movie that seems like it won’t see the return of its original cast or director, David Fincher. Here are a few thoughts I have about The Social Network Part II.

Nothing Against Aaron Sorkin As A Director, But I Don't Think It'll Match What David Fincher Did

Don’t get me wrong, I think that Aaron Sorkin is one of the greatest screenwriters, playwrights, and TV creators of the past 25-30 years (and possibly of all time). I consider The West Wing and The Newsroom two of the best TV shows of all time, his plays like A Few Good Men and To Kill a Mockingbird (his adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel is outstanding) are in a league of their own, and his movies like The Social Network and Moneyball show off his incredible skill as a writer.

However, he’s no David Fincher when it comes to directing. Yeah, there are few that come close to touching Fincher, at least when discussing living filmmakers, but the acclaimed director, with his signature style, made The Social Network into a damn-near perfect film. That said, I have faith in Sorkin as a filmmaker, but I really hope that the nuance and punchiness of Fincher’s 2010 directorial effort isn’t lost with someone else sitting behind the camera. We shall see…

However, I Am Excited To See How Sorkin Approaches Facebook From A Different Angle

Though the last courtroom scene in Trial of the Chicago 7 was a little cheesy, Sorkin has shown us over the years that he’s more than competent as a director, especially in detail-oriented films with a lot of moving parts. So, I’m excited to see what he does with a movie that takes a deep dive into the complexities of a social media platform like Facebook and a CEO like Mark Zuckerberg.

One thing that has me excited about The Social Network Part II is that, according to Deadline, the sequel will take a different approach to Facebook and will instead be on the outside looking in opposed to focusing on its creation and early days. When covering the film in June 2025, the outlet reported that it will explore the story behind Jeff Horowitz’s articles titled “The Facebook Files,” which were first published by the Wall Street Journal in October 2021. The bombshell report exposed all kinds of stories from the inner workings of Facebook at the time, as well as all the harms caused by the company on a global scale. This makes it seem like Zuckerberg won’t be the lens through which we see the story unfold, which is really promising.

It Doesn't Sound Like Jesse Eisenberg Is Coming Back, But His Rumored Replacement Is Promising

The Social Network was a Best Picture loser that should have won, and its star, Jesse Eisenberg, should have taken home the Best Actor Oscar at the Academy Awards way back when. However, it sounds like Eisenberg won't get a chance to play Zuckerberg and get an Oscar nom this time around, as the role is reportedly being recast. That said, the name that keeps coming up has me a little more intrigued about the upcoming sequel.

In July 2025, Variety reported that Oscar nominee and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Jeremy Strong was being eyed to play Zuckerberg in the sequel. Over the years, Strong has proven that he’s more than capable of handling intense and powerful figures, whether it’s his take on Kendall Roy on HBO’s Succession or Donald Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. If the Facebook founder is going to be presented in not the best light and not really be the protagonist, then I think Strong is a perfect choice for the part, even if I’m bummed this might mean we won’t see Eisenberg play Zuckerberg again.

I'm Also Curious To See How Mikey Madison And Jeremy Allen White Do In This

Scott Cooper’s Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere may not be the only place we see Jeremy Strong and Jeremy Allen White, as the two could be sharing the screen again soon after the upcoming music biopic lands on the big screen. In July 2025, Deadline reported that the Emmy-winning star of The Bear was being eyed for a role along with Oscar-winning actress Mikey Madison, who is coming off a career-defining role in Anora.

Though their characters’ identities have not yet been confirmed, the outlet reported that these two up-and-coming actors were Sorkin’s picks for The Social Network Part II. There could be a situation where White stands in for Jeff Horowitz at the Wall Street Journal, with Madison taking on the role of a Facebook whistleblower, which could add another dynamic to the movie.

What's The Over/Under Going To Be On 'Walk And Talks' In The Social Network Part II

Every writer, director, and producer has their own signature touch that they insert in all of their movies, shows, and other programs. That’s more true for Aaron Sorkin than pretty much everyone else, specifically when it comes to his “walk and talks:” scenes where people have intense conversations while walking through the White House in The West Wing, a TV studio in The Newsroom, or the bowels of the Oakland Coliseum in Moneyball.

One thing I want to know, and I guess I need to check with some oddsmakers for this, is what the over/under will be for “walk and talks” here. Depending on the runtime, we could see at least four or five of these scenes, but I’m willing to take the over.

Though I have some concerns, am apprehensive about a few things, and don’t know what to expect, I’m extremely excited for The Social Network Part II, and I can’t wait to see how this shakes out.

It’s been nearly 20 years (or five presidential elections) since Josiah Bartlet left the fictional White House of The West Wing. Yet, with the series as rewatchable as ever for those with an HBO Max subscription, there’s no shortage of calls for a revival. Executive producer John Wells said it’s something he and creator Aaron Sorkin have discussed over the years, but he admitted to being “worried” about rebooting the political drama today.

The West Wing is the kind of show that makes you feel a little better about the world, even if you just have it on in the background while folding laundry. So there’s no mystery why fans are craving more from that idealized universe. It doesn’t help that cast members like Joshua Malina constantly tease reunion talks, or that Richard Schiff pitched an idea that Sorkin apparently loved. The famed screenwriter himself has even teased ideas for new episodes. However, in today’s politically volatile climate, John Wells has reservations, telling THR:

There’s certainly a challenge in today’s world to create anything with “political” in the description without alienating a large portion of potential viewers. Would a theoretical West Wing reboot be able to avoid making political statements? Would audiences infer them anyway? John Wells points out that’s never what The American President-inspired series was about, continuing:

The West Wing evolved from its original premise when Martin Sheen’s President Bartlet ended up being such a profound presence on the series. The president was originally not intended to be a main character, with Aaron Sorkin wanting to focus on the day-to-day happenings of the White House senior staff.

Of course, fans still got that, with Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, John Spencer and more always trying to put the good of the American people first, even when they fell short. I’d love to think something like that is still possible. I mean, political dramas do still exist on the 2025 TV schedule.

Could we not visit a world where Sam Seaborn was president (assuming he’s been found since Rob Lowe’s “Missing Person” milk cartons went out)? Or, as Richard Schiff supposedly proposed years ago, focus on government outside of the White House, perhaps at the state level, where OG characters could still pop in to consult?

It feels like there are definitely ways to revisit one of the best shows currently streaming on HBO Max, but I also think John Wells has a pretty valid concern. I expect we’ll continue to be teased with such a project for years to come. For now, though, it fans can see two of their favorite senior staffers reunite in a different fictional White House.

Allison Janney plays Vice President Grace Penn on The Diplomat, and Bradley Whitford will join the cast as her husband in Season 3 this fall. Keep your eye out for that 2025 Netflix premiere date, and in the meantime, go ahead and rewatch your favorite episodes of The West Wing on HBO Max.

We're getting closer and closer to the sequel, or "companion" piece, as producers are calling it, to 2010's The Social Network. The Social Reckoning is on the way as part of the 2026 movie schedule. There will be an entirely new cast, including the part of Mark Zuckerberg, and this one is being written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

Sorkin wrote the first movie, but it was directed by David Fincher. Fincher isn't involved this time around. Now that we have a title for the movie, we've also learned a little more about what to expect from the continuation of the Facebook story, and this one may not be quite as light as much of the first one was.

Here is everything we currently know about The Social Reckoning.

What Is The Social Reckoning Release Date?

The Social Reckoning will be released on October 9, 2026. Filming began in October 2025 in Vancouver and was expected to be completed in December, but we've not heard confirmation as of this writing that it has wrapped.

The Social Network Part II Cast

The first film really ignited the careers of both Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, both of whom have gone on to have very fulfilling careers in the last fifteen years. Eisenberg earned an Academy Award nomination for his part in the film, but has confirmed he will not be returning for this continuation. Gardfield has also stated he will not be returning, either.

However, the first cast members' names have been released, and it's an impressive list that includes Emmy and Oscar winners. That includes who will be playing Zuckerberg, as well as other familiar names important to telling the story. In fact, some of the characters provide some hints as to what we'll see in The Social Reckoning.

Jeremy Strong

Probably the most anticipated question about the casting of The Social Reckoning is who will play Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. We now have the answer, and it's none other than Emmy Award-winner Jeremy Strong. This is an interesting choice, but there is no doubt that Strong has the chops to play any role, and his take on Zuckerberg will be fascinating, especially at this pivotal time in the Facebook CEO's career.

This will be the third film in a row where Strong will be playing a real person. In 2024, he earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Roy Cohn in the Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice. In 2025, he played music manager Jon Landau in Delivery Me From Nowhere, along with one of his co-stars in this movie, Jeremy Allen White.

Mikey Madison As Frances Haugen

Oscar-winner Mikey Madison will play Frances Haugen, who is a former data engineer at Facebook-turned-whistleblower. Haugen worked with Congress and the press to release The Facebook Files, which opened up the social media company to a slew of criticisms over how it handled content from its millions of users.

Madison had a huge breakout year in 2024 when she starred in Anora as the titular character. She won an Academy Award for her performance, and the movie took home Best Picture as well. This will be her first role since that breakout performance, so I'm excited to see what she does with the role.

Jeremy Allen White

Jeremy Allen White is probably best none right now for playing the lead in The Bear, which you can watch with a Hulu subscription. Of course, that's hardly all White has been busy with lately. He crushed it earlier in 2025 as Bruce Springsteen in Delivery Me From Nowhere, about The Boss recording his seminal album Nebraska.

White will be playing Jeff Horwitz, the Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote the first story about The Facebook Files and broke the news that led to Frances Haugen's testimony in front of Congress.

He's going to keep busy in 2026, both in this movie and in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Oh, and yeah, there will be another season of The Bear in 2026, too.

The Rest Of The Cast

Comedian, podcaster, and star of The Mandalorian, Bill Burr, has also been named to the cast in an undisclosed role, as have a number of other actors:

• Wunmi Mosaku
• Billy Magnussen
• Betty Gilpin
• Gbenga Akinnagbe
• Anna Lambe
• Aidan Laprete
• Kelley Pereira
• Nelson Franklin
• Portia Doubleday
• Patrick Fischler
• Joey Brooks
• Sierra Capri
• Tehmina Sunny

We don't yet know the names of the characters those actors will be playing.

What Is The Social Reckoning Going To Be About?

While plot details are sparse, we do know that The Social Reckoning is based on The Facebook Files from The Wall Street Journal, which was an “explosive series of articles” that exposed Facebook's controversies, including data leaks, corruption, and more.

Deadline reported in June that the impact of the January 6th Capitol Riots in 2021 played a large role in Aaron Sorkin's inspiration for this sequel, and how Facebook might have played a part in inciting those events, as well as how the site has harmed the mental health of teenagers, inspired violence, and much more.

The film will examine the impact of social media on our society as a whole over the last fifteen years or so, as well as the scrutiny Facebook has faced due to troubling accusations and reports. It sounds about right, given how much social media has evolved since the first film was released.

Aaron Sorkin Will Direct And Write

One major change from the first film is that David Fincher will not be directing this one. Instead, the reins have passed to Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay for the first film and has since become a top director in Hollywood.

Sorkin has also written The Social Reckoning, which he adapted from the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. The screenplay won an Oscar in 2013. Sorkin, of course, has a fantastic screenwriting resume, including Moneyball, Steve Jobs, A Few Good Men, and, of course, the first four seasons of The West Wing.

Sorkin has proven himself to be a great director. He has helmed three critically-acclaimed films: The Trial of the Chicago 7, Being the Ricardos, and Molly’s Game. He has a fantastic track record, so there is no reason not to trust this one in his capable hands.

We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available!

Some major motion pictures, no matter how beloved, have the tendency to fade into the background. That’s not the case with The Social Network, as the historical drama based on Facebook’s origin story is just as relevant on the 2025 movie schedule as it was in 2010.

For years, writer Aaron Sorkin’s hopes for a Social Network 2 have stood as one of the greatest “What if?” scenarios in the movie business. And now that wish sounds like it’s about to be granted, but with a huge change in the starting lineup.

Almost 15 Years Later, The Social Network 2 Is Finally Happening

For the moment, this long-awaited project is being called The Social Network Part II, per reporting out of Deadline. Breaking along with that news were some details on the source material that The West Wing creator: a Wall Street Journal series of articles published in October 2021 called The Facebook files, which "exposed the inner workings of — and multiple harms caused by — the world’s largest social network."

However, this news comes with a shocking substitution - as previously promised. When it comes to The Social Network Part II, the key party missing is director David Fincher. Which is both exciting, but also concerning when it comes to the development of this sequel to a perennial Fincher favorite.

The deal for The Social Network’s sequel has Aaron Sorkin doubling as writer and director. With this being his first film since 2021's Being the Ricardos, the hire is one of necessity thanks to another hotly-anticipated sequel.

David Fincher's Absence From The Social Network Part II Is Concerning, But Expected

As noted in Sorkin’s 2021 ReelBlend interview, his first choice for the directing post was, naturally, David Fincher. However this project looks like it’s on greased rails at this point, as it seems that Fincher’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel, part of his current relationship with Netflix, would prevent him from doing so.

Which, of course, leads to the concerns over The Social Network Part II's impending production. That’s not to say that Aaron Sorkin can’t direct his own material, as he’s tackled historical dramas of varying scope through projects like Molly’s Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Rather, this is a note that’s meant to highlight how the trademark sheen of David Fincher’s style is going to be sorely missed, as it’s part of what made the first movie so brilliant.

No matter what director you’re putting in the chair, facing off against the mythic profile of The Social Network is a daunting task. Based on my own personal bias, I think the director that’s done the best job of succeeding in that respect is Danny Boyle - who landed Sorkin’s undeserved flop Steve Jobs after David Fincher departed the project.

Having said that, I’ll be curious to see what Aaron Sorkin has to say in The Social Network Part II. The intervening years between these films has given him a wealth of world events to examine through another picture. Of course, now the big question in the room is, will Jesse Eisenberg be reprising his role as Mark Zuckerberg? There’s plenty of time to figure that out, because at the moment, this picture doesn’t have a production schedule or release date in mind.

Much to my chagrin, Andrew Garfield didn’t get an Oscar nomination for his legendary turn as Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network back in 2011. However, his performance in the film about Facebook is one of the elements that is still taking the internet by storm. For example, his laptop smashing scene went super viral on TikTok earlier this year, and now the actor is sharing his surprisingly deep thoughts on those videos.

At the moment, Garfield is promoting his romance on the 2024 movie schedule, We Live In Time. However, along with chatting about that and topics like taking a break from acting, he’s also opening up about his older films, like The Social Network. During an interview with THR he was asked about the viral TikToks of people lip-syncing to his “I’m sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners…” speech, and his response was amazing as he said:

He makes a fabulous point. The scene in The Social Network, which serves as the film’s climax as Eduardo finds out that his shares in Facebook have been diluted, is loaded with emotion and rage. Plus, when you mix this amazing performance from Garfield with the masterful direction of David Fincher and a quick-witted script from Aaron Sorkin, you get a masterpiece. It’s no wonder thousands of people created TikToks that were socred with the actor screaming the following:

I know I’ve certainly been entertained by TikToks like the one below (which has well over 1 million views, by the way). I also think Garfield is right, “subliminally” and consciously it is great to see someone searching for justice and smashing technology.

While the scene these folks are recreating is ultimately about diluted shares (of all things), deep down it’s also about betrayal, loss of friendship and sticking it to the man. So, I get where Garfield is coming from.

On top of that, this scene and movie are simply a masterclass in filmmaking. The Social Network cast is top tier as it's led by Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg. It’s also easily one of David Fincher’s best films as he turned a story about the origins of this popular social media into an intense thriller.

Even though the film is almost 15 years old, it’s still ever-present in pop culture. People like Dylan O’Brien have made viral videos recreating it, while many others took to using the dialogue for their TikToks a few years later.

Overall, while Andrew Garfield’s filmography is loaded with highlights – like Tick, Tick…Boom!, Hacksaw Ridge and more – The Social Network is one of the crown jewels in his career. And it’s partially because it resonated with so many people likely for the deep reasons he stated above.

To go back and rewatch this movie that inspired thousands of TikToks with millions of views that Andrew Garfield responded to in a very eloquent way, you can stream The Social Network with a Max subscription. Then, make sure to catch the actor’s latest project We Live In Time – which has also caused quite the viral conversation on social media – when it hits theaters on October 11.

The West Wing was one of the most popular and successful TV dramas when it was on the air in the early 2000s. In an era when it seems every popular series is being remade or rebooted, creator Aaron Sorkin has been asked more than once if a West Wing sequel series could be in the cards. Now, after a recent trip to the actual White House, it sounds like a return trip to the fictional West Wing may be closer than ever. So, in the words of Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlett, I wonder “What’s next?”

Aaron Sorkin and some cast members from The West Wing were recently at the actual White House as part of a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the series. Variety asked Sorkin if he would ever consider bringing back the show, and he’s upfront about the fact that he would do so if he had ideas for it. It sounds like coming up with ideas hadn’t been something he’d really been spending time on, though that may be changing. Sorkin said...

Apparently, spending the day at the White House has gotten some of Sorkin’s creative juices flowing. He said that being in the building and just walking around caused him to come up with at least a couple of ideas for episodes that the original show never tackled that he now wishes they had done. Sorkin continued…

Sorkin didn't go into detail about his ideas, but that may be a good thing. It could indicate that he wants to keep the ideas secret in case he actually decides to use them, in theory. The odds of a West Wing reboot have always seemed pretty slim, but it’s probably safe to say the possibility is greater now than it has been in the past.

One of the reasons Sorkin says he’s never really considered a West Wing reboot is the show would necessitate a new cast, and he thinks the audience would probably have a hard time accepting a new ensemble. To be sure, the West Wing cast of Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney and more are absolutely iconic and will forever be known for their West Wing roles.

It's unclear if West Wing owner Warner Bros. has looked into a revival series. Thus far it seems its mostly been fans, and cast members like Richard Schiff who have suggested ideas to bring the show and at least some of the cast back.

Still, Sorkin has revealed some ideas for how to do a West Wing reboot. He’s suggested that Sterling K. Brown could star in such a series, and seeing his work as Leo McGarry from the West Wing special that was produced for Max a few years ago (filling in for the late John Spencer) it seems clear he’d be perfect in such a role.

There are even ideas within the show itself that could help make a reboot happen. Before Rob Lowe left The West Wing it was suggested his character could be President one day. Perhaps that's a way to make a reboot happen while including at least some of the original cast. As a fan I would love to see more, in whatever form it takes.

Back in the early aughts, The West Wing had a pretty heady task in winning over American audiences in the wake of the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal. But with an idealized White House, an amazing cast and the musical writing of Aaron Sorkin, the political drama did just that. Before there was The West Wing, though, there was The American President, the romantic comedy starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening that was also penned by Sorkin. That’s no coincidence, either, as it turns out the idea for the NBC series was inspired by Rob Reiner’s 1995 film. 

It’s easy to see the similarities between the two projects. Aaron Sorkin’s quick and witty dialogue is unmistakable, and their two fictional presidents — Michael Douglas’ Andrew Shepherd and Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlet — are equally beloved for being smart, capable and, above all, good-hearted. So how did a romantic comedy film deliver one of the best television shows of all time? 

How The West Wing Was Inspired By The American President 

In The American President, the story mostly focuses on the president himself and his budding relationship with environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) in a re-election year. The West Wing was intended to be the opposite — the exploration of the president’s senior staff with very little of the big guy himself — made possible through Aaron Sorkin’s overachieving first script. The writer said in The West Wing (The Official Companion): 

While Martin Sheen’s portrayal of President Bartlet necessitated that he play a bigger role in the series than originally intended, his character’s story never overshadowed those of his staff, as we were gifted with one of the best ensemble casts of all time in John Spencer (chief of staff Leo McGarry), Bradley Whitford (deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman), Richard Schiff (communications director Toby Ziegler), Rob Lowe (deputy communications director Sam Seaborn), Allison Janney (press secretary C.J. Cregg), Dulé Hill (president aide Charlie Hill) and many others over the course of its seven-season run. 

The West Wing’s Pilot Script Came Straight From The American President’s Cutting Room Floor 

It’s funny to think that the first draft of The American President might have included larger stories for chief of staff A.J. (played by a pre-Bartlet Martin Sheen) or staffer Lewis (Michael J. Fox), but apparently that’s exactly what happened. The West Wing’s executive producer John Wells recalled that being part of his conversation with Aaron Sorkin as The West Wing was being developed. Wells told Empire: 

One of those stories that was left on The American President’s cutting room floor became the basis for The West Wing’s series premiere, which aired on NBC on September 22, 1999. In the same interview with Empire, Aaron Sorkin said: 

This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen at least The West Wing’s first season and Rob Reiner’s rom-com, as there are some pretty obvious similarities between the two. 

In the episode “A Proportional Response,” Jed Bartlet expresses frustration after being advised to issue a measured attack against forces abroad that shot down a plane carrying U.S. citizens. His question “What is the virtue of a proportional response?” is practically identical to Andrew Shepherd’s in a similar situation in The American President, where he tells his advisors: “Someday, someone's gonna have to explain to me the virtue of a proportional response.”

In The West Wing episode that followed — “Five Votes Down” — Bartlet’s gun control bill is one of the central focuses, particularly how the staff tries to drum up support for their admittedly weak legislation. It’s also the episode where Leo’s wife leaves him, as he tells her that as long as Bartlet is in the White House, his job is more important than his marriage. 

Fans of The American President will surely see similarities to the movie here, as President Shepherd steals votes from Sydney in order to get his crime bill passed. His girlfriend loses her job over it and in her breakup rant she tells the president, “Congratulations, it’s only taken you three years to put together crime prevention legislation that has no hope of preventing crime.” 

Several Cast Members Appeared In Both The Movie And The TV Series 

There are plenty of actors you probably forgot were on The West Wing, but several of them you may have recognized from The American President, because the plot isn’t the only place where the two overlap. Obviously Martin Sheen was promoted to the Oval Office for the NBC series after serving as chief of staff in the movie, but he’s not the only Sorkin player to double-dip. 

Anna Deavere Smith recurred as National Security Advisor Nancy McNally from Seasons 2 to 7 after playing press secretary Robin McCall in The American President; Joshua Malina, who joined The West Wing in Season 4, was a colleague of Sydney’s in the romantic comedy; and Nina Siemaszko, who played Sydney’s sister in the movie, appeared in nine episodes of The West Wing as one of the First Daughters. 

Both of these projects are beloved pieces of work from Aaron Sorkin, and fans of The West Wing are likely more than grateful that the writer was so inspired by his White House research that he created the characters of the Bartlet White House that we love so much. The West Wing is currently one of the best shows streaming on Max, so fire up your Max subscription. While The American President isn’t available to stream anywhere currently, you can rent or buy the movie on digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video or YouTube. 

The West Wing cast was known for being incredibly good at delivering Aaron Sorkin’s fast-paced dense dialogue all while walking. On The Bear, they take the idea of a walk and talk and turn up the volume, literally. So, when I interviewed Ebon Moss-Bachrach about his show that is mentioned many times on the 75th Emmy winners list, I had to ask about what their scripts look like, and how The Bear cast goes about performing all the yelling and fast-talking that’s in the show.

Long before Season 3 of The Bear was announced, and the show cleaned up at the Emmys that aired on the 2024 TV schedule, I interviewed Ebon Moss-Bachrach about Richie and Season 2 of the beloved FX dramedy. While we talked about what fuels Cousin and how incredible Jeremy Allen White is as Carmy, we also chatted about the logistical side of the show, specifically the scripts. Anyone who has seen this series knows there’s a lot of yelling, screaming and talking over each other, and Moss-Bachrach explained to CinemaBlend what that looks like on the page:

As Ebon Moss-Bachrach said, when they get the script, all that yelling is in there, and the moments where characters are talking over each other are written too, it’s not typically off the cuff. 

Many beloved shows and movies are known for doing this too, like the aforementioned West Wing, which Aaron Sorkin famously wanted performed word perfect. These scenes are choreographed masterpieces, and it’s all because of how the actors deliver the precisely written dialogue. 

You can see this in effect in the Season 2 finale of The Bear which shows the restaurant in full action and centers around Ayo Edebiri rattling off order after order in an epic one-take. However, while the script is typically the Bible, according to the first-time Emmy winner, it’s also not the end-all-be-all as he said:

So, while the majority of what The Bear cast says is scripted, they also have opportunities to put their own spins on it. However, for the most part, as Ebon Moss-Bachrach put it, what looks like chaos on screen is actually meticulously planned and choreographed dialogue. And honestly, that makes The Bear even more impressive and 100% deserving of its Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Emmy. 

To see these brilliant scripts and actors, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach, in action, you can stream The Bear with a Hulu subscription. 

It's hard to believe Entourage ended its eight-season run so long ago, in 2011 (not counting the less-than-well-recieved movie in 2015). For the length of the show, one thing that kept audiences coming back for more each week was the great celebrity cameos. What started as a trickle in the first season, became a flood towards the end, with big stars always showing up, usually with hilarious results. Here is our list of some of the funniest celebrity cameos on Entourage. 

Mark Wahlberg

It makes sense that Mark Wahlberg would be the first cameo on the show, appearing in the very first episode of Season 1. Entourage was (very) loosely based on his experiences in Hollywood as a young actor, and the Boogie Nights star was a producer of the show. 

David Schwimmer

A great thing about the cameos was that often the celebrities weren't afraid to poke a little fun at themselves. Take, for example, David Schwimmer's spot in the Season 6 episode "Running on E." Schwimmer sits in a pitch meeting with super agent Ari Gold's (Jeremy Piven) team and offer after offer is for the Friends star to play some sort of neurotic character for comedic effect. The frustration for Schwimmer is palpable. 

Peter Dinklage

One of the most common tropes on the show was the stars taking potshots at Ari. Ari was a character we all loved to hate, but it turns out most of the celebrities playing themselves also hated Ari. Peter Dinklage is one of those when he trades barbs with Ari at a party in the Season 2 "Sundance Kids."

John Stamos

John Stamos was the perfect type of celeb to show on Entourage. It was always fun to see how a cameo appearance might just be an opportunity to take down lovable loser Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon). In a bit of a twist, after getting insulted by Stamos a few times, the two play an epic match of ping pong that ends predicably for Drama in the Season 7 episode "Tequila Sunrise." 

Jeffrey Tambor

Jeffrey Tambor plays a jerk like few others can in Hollywood. When he's playing a fictionalized version of himself being to jerk to his kids, it's comedy gold. Fictional life as a jerk and real life have blurred together for Tambor, but his appearance in Season 6 is still really funny. 

Matt Damon

Matt Damon takes charity very seriously, so his cameo on Entourage, in the Season 6 finale, fits perfectly. It's also a rare time that Vince (Adrian Grenier) is the one getting clowned when he tries to dodge both Damon and Bono into giving money to their charity to help children.  

Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer's guest spot on the show is a little different than most on this list. He doesn't play himself, but the role is so brief – and so funny – that it had to be included. In Season 1, the Top Gun: Maverick star plays a "sherpa" living in a giant house in Beverly Hills like a '60s hippie. 

Snoop Dogg

No one brings joy like Snoop Dogg. There is never a time when people are unhappy to see the legendary rapper show up somewhere on TV and Entourage is no exception. The brief interaction between Snoop, Vince, and Eric (Kevin Connolly), partly highlights the confusion of how to pronounce "Cannes" in the Season 4 episode "The Dream Team."

James Cameron

The Season 2 episode "Sundance Kids" really kicked the cameos on the show into overdrive and one of the best of the whole series is James Cameron. Vince is trying to land a role in his Aquaman movie, so Turtle and Drama try to help (and fail). The best part, though, is Cameron's interaction with a barista (played by This Is Us star Chrissy Metz). 

Tom Brady

Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is a die-hard New York Giants fan, so when he meets Tom Brady at a charity golf tournament, he does what any self-respecting fan would do, he blows him off and refuses to shake his hand. It's brilliant. 

Martin Scorsese

Entourage proved just how big it was for celeb cameos when none other than Martin Scorsese appeared for a brief scene to offer Vince a role in his fictional The Great Gatsby movie in the finale of Season 5. You know you've made it when Scorsese gets involved. 

Scarlett Johansson

Season 1 ends with a big-time star appearance when the one and only Scarlett Johansson cameos on the phone with Vince, after Eric promises him to land a date with the superstar actress. It works, though it's the last time we'd see Johansson on the show. 

Stan Lee

Comic legend Stan Lee became the king of cameos with his iconic moments in the MCU universe for years, a streak that ended with his death in 2018. It's all too appropriate that we include him on this list, not only due to Lee's status as a cameo-king but because his quick role is just so funny as he can't quite place where he's seen Vince's adult film star girlfriend, Sasha Grey, before.

Lamar Odom

Entourage was replete with professional athletes throughout its run. Lamar Odom shows up pretty early in the show's run, in "An Offer Refused" in Season 2. The cameo is notable because of the way Drama gets obsessed with how men's calves look, including Odom's, which understandably freaks the NBA star out. 

Bono

Bono's appearance in the Season 6 finale is brilliant. He only appears via computer screen, as he's on a video call with Matt Damon and teams up with Damon to gang up on Vince to guilt him into getting on board with their charity. It's vintage Bono, pushing a charity but not taking himself as seriously as the world perceives him to be. 

Bobby Flay

Ari being a jerk to someone isn't a surprise, but Ari being a jerk to Bobby Flay is, pardon the pun, pure gold. Flay is great playing himself as the chef at his own restaurant, one of Ari's favorites, but the two bicker before Flay has had enough in the Season 8 episode "Whiz Kid." 

Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara's cameo is notable because she's not playing herself. While she herself is perfect for the role as a Colombian actress auditioning for the movie Medellin, it's funny because of how ridiculous the rest of Vince's team reacts to her. The first episode of Season 2 is one of the most unique, and funniest, of the show's run. 

M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan's appearance in the episode "Sorry, Harvey" in Season 4 is classic Entourage. Playing himself, he's angry at Ari for not reading his latest script and confronts the super agent to call him on it. It's the kind of cameo we've come to expect from this show, a major star fighting with Ari. 

Christina Aguilera

The Season 7 finale, "Lose Yourself" is one of the saddest of the show, for a few reasons. One is Ari throwing a lavish party for his wife to keep her from leaving him complete with Christina Aguilera singing "You Are Beautiful," only to have his wife not show.  Aguilera gets mad at Ari (naturally) and demands his Lakers playoffs tickets to keep performing. 

Adrian Peterson

NFL superstar Adrian Peterson selling a dinosaur skull. Is there anything more that needs to be said? The Season 7 episode "Tequila and Coke" has a great moment poking fun at people investing in fossils, and yes, Nic Cage gets a shout-out. 

Zac Efron

It's no surprise that Ari would be trying to steal a client from another agent, but what makes Zac Efron's cameo on Entourage so funny is his interaction with a fan while on the phone with Ari. A mom using her daughter to get Efron's autograph (and pushing for, um, more) is hilarious. 

Kanye West

Vince and his crew have no problem asking anyone for a favor. Kanye West is the victim of one of the most outlandish requests when they beg him for a ride on his private plane to France, even though Ye is headed for London in "No Cannes Do" from Season 4. The rapper is stunned and doesn't hide it, but still, who can turn down Vince? No one, not even Ye.

David Spade

David Spade is the perfect star for a cameo on Entourage. In his, he's got women on both arms and plays a total jerk. While he's surely not a jerk, he somehow has that public perception, which is what makes the cameo so much fun in the Season 8 episode titled "The Big Bang." Spade is just hilarious. 

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is clearly a good sport. Despite the show taking a shot at the pro golfer's failure at the 2006 U.S. Open, he later agreed to appear on the show, if only to show up Ari. A chance meeting on the golf course between Mickelson, and Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara, led to the role. Kizmet. 

50 Cent

50 Cent makes one of the briefest cameos on the show, but it's one of the best. When he sees Turtle driving, he pulls up alongside and manages to take Turtle down a notch, despite the fancy ride he's driving in. Turtle has a rough time in his birthday episode, "One Car, Two Car, Red Car, Blue Car," from Season 6.

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin's first cameo (he made two) on Entourage came in an episode named after him, "The Sorkin Notes" in Season 6. Sorkin is caught up in some drama in Ari's office that he wants no part of and is hilarious in a rare acting role for the writer and director. Now can we get that West Wing revival starring Sterling K. Brown that Sorkin had an idea for, please?

Dean Cain

Another very brief cameo comes from Dean Cain. The former Superman actor disrupts one of Drama's auditions, which crushes Drama, as he figures there's no one he can compete with Cain for the part. It's vintage Johnny Drama in the Season 6 episode "Scared Straight." It's another moment in which you can't help but feel terrible for Drama. 

Eminem

The Season 7 finale, "Lose Yourself," not only foreshadows Vince's downward spiral, but Eminem's cameo. In one of the lowest moments of Vince's life, he first insults Minka Kelly, then gets into a fistfight with Eminem. It's as sad as it is funny, a line the show walked brilliantly in the episode. 

Alex Rodriguez

How tragic would be to hear that you lost out on a ton of money from former Yankee Alex Rodriguez? That's what happens to Turtle when the shortstop-turned-third-baseman shows up on screen to tell Turtle that the tequila company he once owned a lot of stock in went public after he sold out. Ouch. 

Steve Nash

Poor Steve Nash. The NBA star was at the height of his fame when he was unwittingly cornered by Eric at his manager's office (Scott Caan). Eric dumps all of his girlfriend problems on the Canadian basketball player's feet in the Season 6 episode "Murphy's Lie," and all Nash can do is look stunned. 

Johnny Galecki

Johnny Galecki's role in Entourage was a little more than one cameo, it was more like three cameos over three episodes and he plays a fictionalized version of himself who makes Eric's life hell by dating Eric's ex-girlfriend Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui). This version of Galecki is terrible but completely hilarious. 

Jessica Simpson

As Ari tries to protect his client base, he's forced to go hat in hand to a client who's mad at him for not caring when her dog died. Jessica Simpson meets Ari at the door in "Bottoms Up" from Season 7, and in classic Entourage fashion, makes Ari look like the jerk that he is, despite his insincere attempt to gift another dog to Simpson. It sums up everything a great Entourage cameo should be. A big star, an unrepentant Ari, and some choice lines. 

This is a list that could be almost endless, and we didn't even get into the multiple cameos in the Entourage movie, one of which featured Channing Tatum that didn't actually happen. 

Spoiler alert! This story discusses the events of This Is Us’ Season 6 episode called “Every Version of You.”

It was Randall’s turn for the Big Three Trilogy treatment, and This Is Us’ latest episode made a big move to clear up another of the series’ mysteries by addressing Randall’s political future. The Season 5 finale showed us that in five years the Philly councilman seemed to have taken some leaps in his career, as evidenced by a big magazine profile. “Every Version of You” set him on that path, and Sterling K. Brown revealed that another hit NBC drama — The West Wing — may have been the inspiration.

“Every Version of You” put Randall and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) on a road trip to Boston to pick up Deja (Lyric Ross) after her boyfriend Malik (Asante Blackk) broke up with her. Road trips have always been transformative for the character, and this one was no different, as Randall confided in Rebecca not only that he was considering running for Senator, but that if he ran, he would win. This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman may have gotten the idea for Randall’s political ambitions when Aaron Sorkin discussed an idea for a West Wing revival starring Sterling K. Brown. The actor told People:

Dan Fogelman actually got a chance to see how Sterling K. Brown looked in a White House setting, as the actor did take part in 2020’s A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote. The original cast of The West Wing reunited for a stage performance of the Season 3 episode, “Hartsfield's Landing." Brown played the part of Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, as the character’s original actor, John Spencer, died in 2005 during the political drama’s final season. 

Assuming Randall wins the upcoming Senate election (which I am, because time is running out on this series), does that mean he’ll follow in the footsteps of Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlet as one of NBC’s fictional U.S. Presidents? It’s always possible! In the Big Three’s young adult timeline, Randall (Niles Fitch) was shown talking his way out of some trouble he got into with Kevin and Kate, and he told the officer: 

Randall spoke it into existence, and I can’t wait to see where he ends up. (And if Aaron Sorkin wants to go ahead and continue that storyline in a spinoff, that would be absolutely just fine with me.) 

“Every Version of You” was the final episode of Season 6’s Big Three Trilogy, with one episode each that focused on Kevin, Kate, and Randall. In “The Guitar Man,” Kevin started work with Nicky and Cassidy on the cabin his father always wanted to build for Rebecca. Seeing the veterans who Cassidy had hired for the crew inspired him to start Big Three Homes, which would employ military veterans.

Kate, meanwhile, made a big decision in “The Hill,” when she did not fold to the ultimatum that Toby presented when he said that her moving to San Francisco was the only way their marriage was going to work, and instead put her name up for an open position at the school where she’d been teaching with Phillip. 

This Is Us’ final chapter is officially past the halfway point. The past three weeks have set the Pearson triplets down their paths, so let’s all stock up on tissues and meet back at NBC next Tuesday, April 5 at 9 p.m. ET. In the meantime, check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon. 

These days, Nicole Kidman’s name seems to be more or less synonymous with streaming content. While the iconic actress still regularly makes films intended for theatrical release, some of her most ambitious projects of late have been for platforms like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. It looks like even some controversy isn’t enough to break her successful streak on streaming services, too – because despite backlash toward her casting, her newest film Being The Ricardos pulled in big viewership numbers. 

For the week of December 20 through 26, Being The Ricardos placed third on Nielsen’s movie streaming chart, having been viewed a total of 604 million minutes in that time period. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elf and Home Alone placed first and second, with 782 million and 700 million minutes, respectively. Netflix’s Don’t Look Up was fourth on the chart, with 521 million minutes. The I Love Lucy-centric film was released on December 21. 

These are impressive numbers for the Aaron Sorkin-directed Amazon Prime Video film. Competing with eternally popular Christmas classics during a holiday weekend is no easy feat, but Being The Ricardos held its own. The film, which stars Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, follows the highs and lows of the power couple’s lives. 

When the biopic was first announced, the news of Nicole Kidman’s casting was met with backlash from fans who didn’t feel she was the right person for the role. Aaron Sorkin later defended the decision to cast Kidman, telling THR that he didn’t want the actors playing either of the lead roles to try to perfectly impersonate the iconic stars’ voice or physical mannerisms. 

Despite the initial backlash, the film ultimately seems to have landed pretty well. It currently holds a 65 percent fresh rating from critics and a 75 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg gave Being The Ricardos four stars in his review, and praised the two leads, saying they gave two of the best performances of the year. 

In the past few years, Nicole Kidman has branched out beyond the big screen, with performances in the twisty The Undoing and Big Little Lies for HBO. The latter saw big gains in viewership due to the network’s streaming platform, according to THR. Before her latest feature, Kidman previously ventured in the exclusive streaming realm on Hulu's soapy Nine Perfect Strangers. 

The Oscar winner has also proven to be adept at playing real-life roles. Being The Ricardos is the the third film she's made in this vein, following her turn as Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell in 2019 and her Oscar-winning performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours. 

Nicole Kidman seems poised to continue her streaming service domination, too. She's set to star in another Amazon Prime Video production, an adaptation of Janelle Brown's Pretty Things. Being The Ricardos is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime. 

Over the past few years, there’s been a ton of conversations revolving around representation in the film industry. In addition to the call for more diversity on and off screen, some have advocated that more LGBT+ character should be played by queer actors. Aaron Sorkin recently went viral when speaking against this concept, leading Billy Eichner to respond. And he definitely didn’t hold back.

LGBT+ representation is clearly an issue Billy Eichner feels strongly about, with his new movie Bros making history for being made up of an entirely queer cast. So when the legendary Aaron Sorkin came out against the concept of gay characters being played exclusively by LGBT actors, Eichner also made his voice known. The Billy on the Street host posted on social media that Sorkin was:

Well, that certainly was honest. Billy Eichner is not holding back when addressing Aaron Sorkin’s viral comments about LGBT representation. Luckily he’s able to make a difference in this regard thanks to his own upcoming projects.

Billy Eichner responded to Aaron Sorkin over on his personal Twitter account, with the tweet in question getting thousands of likes. Because while acting is all about stepping into someone else’s shoes, the film industry has a history of shutting out openly queer actors. And as such, he seems to think that Sorkin's point of view is a bit tone deaf.

For those unfamiliar, Aaron Sorkin recently offered his thoughts about representation while doing press for his latest movie, Being the Ricardos. The subject was broached at least partly due to conversations surrounding Javier Bardem’s role as Desi Arnaz. Arnaz was Cuban, Bardem’s family is from Spain. Sorkin’s comments read:

Clearly the discourse surrounding representation in the media is going to continue for the foreseeable future. Because while more queer stories are being told, there’s been some backlash to straight actors taking roles that otherwise could have been played by LGBT+ folks. A recent example of this would be James Corden’s role in the movie musical The Prom, which some people found offensive and stereotypical. 

Billy Eichner’s Bros is currently expected to arrive in theaters on August 12th, 2022. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. Or go watch Being the Ricardos – now available on Prime Video

Celebrity profiles are often divisive. In addition to revealing hidden details about stars’ personalities and lives, they can create controversy and a lot of online chatter. That was the case with a recent profile on Succession’s Jeremy Strong. The story in The New Yorker provided an entertaining if not somewhat troubling look at the actor’s eccentric approach to getting into character. While fans online debated over whether the profile treated Strong fairly, two of his most famous colleagues, Jessica Chastain and Aaron Sorkin, weighed in. 

Usually, Jessica Chastain uses her social media to show off her meme game or give a wink and a nod to her own viral moments. However, after Michal Schulman’s profile of Jeremy Strong hit the internet earlier this week, she was using Twitter for a much different reason -- to defend her former co-star against what she felt was an unfair portrayal: 

Jessica Chastain returned to the platform a few days later to share a letter on the behalf of Aaron Sorkin. While the Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director doesn’t use social media, he still felt compelled to speak up about the story: 

The filmmaker's letter is mostly a transcript of his conversation with The New Yorker writer, but also indirectly refutes some of the points made in the profile. Schulman used quotes from the Social Network scribe to illustrate a picture he painted of Jeremy Strong’s seemingly disruptive on-set behavior. That included anecdotes about the actor requesting to be sprayed with real tear gas and putting a fart machine under his Trial of the Chicago 7 co-star Frank Langella's chair. But the director's transcript offers a more nuanced picture of his insights into Strong’s approach to acting and what it is like to work with him:

By the end of his letter, it’s clear that his opinion of the actor is much better than some may have assumed when reading the New Yorker story. He drove this point home by saying:

Michael Schulman hasn’t responded to either Jessica Chastain or Aaron Sorkin’s critiques of his profile of Jeremy Strong. But in a recent tweet, he did indirectly acknowledge the fervor his most recent piece has caused – and thanked everyone for reading. 

In 2010 writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher came together to create a movie that many would regard as one of the best movies of this millennium. The Social Network, which tells the story of the creation of social media giant Facebook, is seen by many as a movie that becomes only more relevant the more times goes on and the bigger Facebook has become. Many fans and critics have suggested that a sequel should be made at some point. It sounds like Aaron Sorkin is potentially still on board with that, but he would like to see David Fincher also return to direct it.

While Aaron Sorkin made his name in Hollywood as a writer, he’s recently turned his focus to also directing the movies that he writes. He’s previously been behind the camera for Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and most recently his new film, Being the Ricardos. But, while Sorkin says he loves directing, he recently told our own Reelblend Podcast that, if The Social Network 2 actually did happen, he wouldn’t want to direct it himself. He explains... 

Considering that Aaron Sorkin’s last three film projects have been movies that he both wrote and directed, one might think that he was done writing for anybody but himself. There’s certainly an argument that if you want something done right, you should do it yourself. Nobody is going to have a better idea how to direct one of Sorkin’s scripts than the man himself, but he says he wants to continue working with other directors as well, and clearly he’d be happy to work with David Fincher at least one more time. 

When you think about just how big, and controversial, Facebook has become, it’s hard to argue that there isn’t more story to be told. While it seems more than likely that story will be told in movie form at some point, doing it as a direct sequel to The Social Network, bringing back that cast, as well as the writer and director, makes a lot of sense.

And while Aaron Sorkin admits that he hasn’t really done any work on a potential sequel, he’s clearly on board with the idea on a conceptual level. He thinks it should happen. At the same time, this idea has been kicking around for a while, and there’s been little to no forward momentum. While there might be some interest, it doesn’t seem it’s in the right places, at least not right now. 

Aaron Sorkin returns to ReelBlend to discuss his new movie Being the Ricardos (starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem) which is now in theaters, and on Prime Video later this month. He tells great stories about collaborating with Kidman, his machinations on a sequel to The Social Network and the time he broke his nose while writing a scene. 

We are honored to welcome Aaron Sorkin back on the show. If you missed his first appearance on the show, look for our interview with him on The Trial of the Chicago 7 on our usual feeds. 

Stick around after the interview to hear our reviews of Being the Ricardos, Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of West Side Story and Adam McKay’s star-studded Don’t Look Up. 

Timestamps (approx. only)

00:03:40 - Weekly Poll
00:09:01 - Aaron Sorkin Interview
00:33:24 - This Week In Movies
00:36:22 - The Unforgivable Review 
00:42:07 - Don’t Look Up Review
00:51:36 - West Side Story Review
01:02:17 - Being the Ricardos Review
01:10:24 - Our Favorite Janusz Kaminski Movies

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Every year around this time, a fresh crop of prestige biopics and docudramas arrives to resurrect an old debate: when an actor is playing a real person, what defines a quality portrayal?  Is it totally about their ability to capture the essence of an individual in the context of the story that is being told, or is there a necessity for the performer to utterly disappear physically and turn invisible in their depiction – perhaps allowing the audience to believe that they are watching archive footage? The fact that this discussion is annually perpetuated by different projects taking different tactics suggests that there is no genuine answer, but in 2021, Aaron Sorkin’s Being The Ricardos is adding a fantastic new wrinkle to the conversation.

The project has been at the center of light controversy since its casting stage, with some fans questioning the choices to have Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem respectively playing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz – the argument being that there are other actors in Hollywood who physically make better doubles of the I Love Lucy stars. Actually watching the film, one does have to concede that the loud online faction was partially right, as the movie doesn’t make the overt effort to have its two principals “become” Lucy and Desi; what’s ultimately more interesting, however, is the way in which the leads discover the powerful energies of the Hollywood legends and deliver performances that create spectacular contrast between their identities in front of the camera and behind it.

Structured in part as a faux documentary, with Linda Lavin, John Rubinstein, and Ronny Cox portraying I Love Lucy writers in contemporary interviews reflecting on their time making the show, Being The Ricardos sees Aaron Sorkin specifically focus on one week in the making of the hit television series – a week earmarked by controversy. As the writers and stars go through the stages of getting a new episode up on its feet, everyone nervously waits for a major bombshell to drop, as there is a slowly circulating rumor that Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) is a communist.

To deal with the stress, Lucy throws herself into her work, taking an even more commanding role in the creative decisions than usual, but, naturally, this leads to other feathers being rustled. Lucy’s firm hand on the wheel in production challenges Desi’s (Javier Bardem) more traditional view of masculine and feminine roles – and at the same time he is fighting on her behalf to try to get her recently announced pregnancy incorporated into the plot of the show. Fights about the origins of certain ideas are endless in the writer’s room, with showrunner Jess Oppenheimer (Tony Hale) stuck in the middle between Madelyn Pugh (Alia Shawkat) and Bob Carroll Jr. (Jake Lacy), and there is disharmony in the supporting cast as I Love Lucy co-stars Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) and William Frawley (J.K. Simmons) have no compunction about exhibiting their dislike of one another.

Flashbacks about the origins of Lucy and Desi’s relationship and the creation of I Love Lucy add more spice to the conflict stew, creating a quite complicated gumbo, but every ingredient not only serves to heighten the drama, but also exposes the immense social complexity of the era, and the way in which Lucille Ball was constantly pulled in multiple directions as a wife, mother, and woman in a male-dominated industry.

Aaron Sorkin bites off a lot with Being The Ricardos, but he does manage to chew it.

Biopics are often sunk by their efforts to try and do too much, and Being The Ricardos takes some bold risks dancing on that line. Aaron Sorkin very much tries to have it all by focusing on a singular week-in-the-life structure and also including the flashbacks and talking heads that add history and greater context to the events. In less skilled hands, the material could have emerged a jumble, but it plays because of Sorkin’s brilliant ability to take what could be a chaos of conflict and organize it all so that each piece of drama is designed to bounce off of another.

One could make the argument that the movie is overdramatized to the point where it strains credulity and sacrifices verisimilitude – pushing together key events that didn’t really collide in a seven day span as portrayed – but it’s a choice that works when you accept the emotional truth over the factual truth in the narrative and understand it as a depiction instead of a recreation.

The storm that Aaron Sorkin whips up from true stories is orchestrated as a means of best encapsulating the lives and experiences of Lucy and Desi, and in doing so he successfully shows sides of the two performers that audiences may have never known about or even thought about. We may think of her as a clownish redhead and he as a charismatic bandleader thanks to their iconic characters, but what unfolds in Being The Ricardos adds fascinating extra dimensions to them, and it’s because of Sorkin’s specific approach.

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem deliver unexpected and awesome turns as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

The writer/director’s call not to cover his stars in prosthetics and heavy makeup is a nice metaphorical representation of his methodology, and what completes the picture is that both Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are both phenomenal in the film. Rather than getting audiences to be impressed/distracted by an aesthetic transformation, the stars do their roles incredible justice by nailing mannerisms and physicality – not to mention their great accent work.

They are complicated performances – if not especially because of Lucille Ball playing “Lucy” and Desi Arnaz playing “Desi” in the show within the movie – but the two Academy Award winning stars do genius work playing the different attitudes and dynamics. Nicole Kidman proves herself surprisingly adept at physical comedy, getting legitimate laughs in a recreation of an I Love Lucy gag where she goes grape-stomping at an Italian vineyard, but she is also exceptional in illustrating Ball’s genius comedic mind behind-the-scenes and her struggle dealing with the multitude of pressures in her life (such as being a model for women in Hollywood and her overwhelming desire to have a real “home”).

Being a Cuban immigrant married to a white woman in 1950s America, Desi Arnaz most certainly faced plenty of pressures of his own, and while Being The Ricardos does lean more on Lucille Ball’s story, the excellence in Javier Bardem’s turn is undeniable. He’s magnetic and charismatic in ways we’ve never seen before in the role (on the other side of the solar system from his characters in movies like No Country For Old Men, Biutiful, and Skyfall), but it’s also amazing to see him blend that charm with determination while arguing his vision for I Love Lucy with producers and network executives. It’s an awesome performance that perfectly matches Nicole Kidman’s.

After Molly’s Game and The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin is in comfortable and familiar territory operating behind the scenes of a television show in Being The Ricardos, and in every way it enhances his reputation as an auteur. There are points where he can’t seem to help himself and he allows certain sequences to become overwritten – including an emotional cast gathering in the third act – but there is also an overwhelming love of the creative process demonstrated that will garner the appreciation of any film and television fan. It’s messy, but well-made, and a wonderful tribute to its subjects.

Nicole Kidman has been a busy actor as of late. In the past couple years alone, she’s starred in three limited series (Big Little Lies, The Undoing and the upcoming Nine Perfect Strangers), kicked back on her dancing shoes for The Prom and portrayed anchor Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell. The Aussie actress is currently back on set to play Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, and fans have seen her look.

The 53-year-old star is teaming up with Javier Bardem to play ‘50s television icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz while they were the stars of I Love Lucy. The biopic from The Trial of the Chicago 7’s Aaron Sorkin will take fans through a week of production between the camera rolling of the popular sitcom. Unfortunately, some photos have been leaked of Nicole Kidman as the late actress, and they are not into it. As one Twitter user shared:

Nicole Kidman is certainly a unique choice for Lucille Ball, most glaringly because she is not a comedian. More recently, we’ve come to know the actress primarily for dramas where she has little opportunity to play for laughs. The same can also be said for Javier Bardem. The main thing that fans are pointing out is Ball’s ability to do physical comedy:

Writer/director Aaron Sorkin recently spoke about his decision to cast Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball, sharing that she will not be playing Lucy Ricardo, but Lucille Ball. He said there are a few moments in the film that feature I Love Lucy, but the movie will not heavily feature her comedic work. Even so, some fans wish he had hired an actress who could better embody her funny side. Many are campaigning for Will & Grace’s Debra Messing:

Debra Messing actually embodied Lucille Ball energy on a 2020 episode of Will & Grace, when Will claimed living with Grace is like Ricky and Lucy, and they imagined themselves in this scenario. That definitely explains all the love for Debra Messing as the red-headed icon. Cue footage of basketball player Isiah Thomas that's excellent for this scenario:

HollywoodLife certainly stirred the pot when it leaked the photos with a caption claiming she is the “spitting image” of Lucille Ball. Again, this set photo is not an official image from Being the Ricardos, and we don’t yet know how Nicole Kidman will look in the finished product. But from what has been seen so far, fans are unhappy, with one making extra fun with this tweet:

Before Nicole Kidman nabbed the role, Cate Blanchett had been attached to play Lucille Ball. Being the Ricardos is an Amazon Studios film that will follow Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated work on The Trial of the Chicago 7. What do you think of Kidman playing the I Love Lucy star? Leave your thoughts in the poll below!

This poll is no longer available.

Tom Holland has likely lived many actors' dreams because he is Spider-Man in the MCU. Between his stand alone films and his other Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances he's been Spider-Man on the big screen more than any other actor. That's certainly a bucket list item for a lot of people. Beyond playing the wall crawler, Holland has been able to play a number of other types of roles in his career. He's been in historical dramas and science fiction films, and his new film Cherry puts him in the shoes of a former soldier who turns to a life of crime. But the actor says there's one type of movie he wants to be a part of, the courtroom drama.

Tom Holland reveals his desire to play a lawyer in a courtroom drama. He specifically references A Few Good Men as the sort of movie that he'd like to be part of in the future. So, if Aaron Sorkin would like to write another big courtroom movie for him to star in, Holland is here for it. According to what the actor told USA Today...

At 24 years old, Tom Holland is only a bit younger than Tom Cruise was in 1992 when he starred in A Few Good Men, and so it's not too hard to see an actor like Holland in a role like that if the movie were made today. Cruise himself was best known for action films like Top Gun at the time, but was in the middle of showing a more dramatic side in the late '80s and early '90s thanks to roles like A Few Good Men.

While I'm not sure Aaron Sorkin is looking to write another courtroom drama right now, considering his most recent film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, is a return to that setting already, I can certainly imagine Tom Holland reciting some signature Sorkin dialogue, and it would probably be pretty awesome to see.

Courtrooms are natural places for drama. The adversarial system of two sides competing for opposite ends makes for obvious conflict without violence. They're popular both on television and on the big screen. They also tend to allow actors to flex some serious muscle on the screen, which frequently translates into awards consideration for such roles.

And hey, A Few Good Men is nearly 30-years-old, which makes it a prime candidate for a remake, so if anybody gets the idea to do such a thing, it sounds like Tom Holland is interested in playing the lead. But then, who do you get to play the Jack Nicholson role? That's the real question.

Last night saw the 78th Golden Globe Awards unfold on NBC, and among the nominees this year were filmmakers David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin, who previously collaborated on 2010’s The Social Network. This time around, Fincher and Sorkin both had skin in the Best Screenplay category, and while the latter ultimately emerged victorious, the former handled the loss quite well with a trusty adult beverage.

In case you missed the awards ceremony, David Fincher stood in for his late father, Jack Fincher, who penned Mank, while Aaron Sorkin was nominated for writing fellow Netflix movie The Trial of the Chicago 7. When it was announced that Sorkin won the Best Screenplay trophy, Fincher responded by taking a shot, as you’ll see below (courtesy of Uproxx writer Mike Ryan).

Hey, if you’re going to take a loss in good spirit, you might as well do so with alcohol. To be sure, I’m sure David Fincher would have been happy to accept the Best Screenplay Golden Globe on behalf of Jack Fincher, who passed away in 2003. But he also didn’t seem to broken up about Aaron Sorkin winning for The Trial of the Chicago 7 instead, and since he was in the comfort of his own home, he was free to indulge in the libation of his choice. The others nominated in the Best Screenplay category were Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton for The Father, and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland.

It’s worth noting that David Fincher didn’t simply take a shot because he lost to Aaron Sorkin. Later in the night, he took a second shot when he lost the Best Director award to Chloe Zhao. At least he’s consistent, and this time, Fincher could take comfort knowing Aaron Sorkin lost that award as well, with the other nominees including Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman and Regina King for One Night in Miami. Not to worry, David Fincher, with the Oscars still to come, Mank still has other opportunities to shine this awards season.

While The Social Network marks the only time David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin have worked together, it was an impressive outing for the duo, with Fincher directed and Sorkin writing the screenplay. Chronicling the founding of Facebook and starring actors like Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, The Social Network was met with critical acclaim and made nearly $225 million worldwide off a $40 million budget. Among the accolades it received were three Academy Award wins (including Sorkin getting the Best Adapted Screenplay trophy) and nominations in five other categories. Considering that Sorkin has expressed interest in doing The Social Network 2 if Fincher directs again, fingers crossed that project comes together someday.

It’s a good bet that both Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 will get some Academy Awards love, though we won’t know for sure until the nominations are announced on March 15, with the ceremony itself following on April 25. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news concerning those movies and many more. You’re also welcome to discover what’s on the way with our 2021 release schedule.

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It seems that Aaron Sorkin is on a bit of a roll - the director has had great success with the recent release of The Trial of the Chicago 7, and he's now working on a biopic of Lucille Ball that's titled Being The Ricardos. The biopic is set to star Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, so the all-star cast is already a promising leg up for the film. When thinking of Lucille Ball, most would naturally make the I Love Lucy connection and leave it at that. This seems not to be the case, as Sorkin has said there won't be much I Love Lucy in the biopic at all.

While the name Being The Ricardos would suggest the film would be heavily about Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and their roles in the famous sitcom, that just doesn’t seem to be the case. Aaron Sorkin, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, says that Nicole Kidman will be primarily play Ball herself, rather than the actress spending a lot of time portraying her iconic, wacky housewife character Lucy Ricardo. Here’s what Sorkin has to say:

So, Nicole Kidman is an actress playing an actress, rather than an actress playing an actress playing a housewife... got it. This honestly could make for a killer biopic, as most people really don’t know anything about Lucille Ball besides her iconic I Love Lucy character, with some even thinking of the two Lucys as interchangeable/one and the same.

The fact is that Lucille Ball is much, much more than just one role. Even though she appeared as her character Lucy Ricardo in other productions than just I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball has over 100 TV and movie credits to her name, most of which are not her iconic character.

Lucille Ball was also a real person who had her own experiences and drama. In the same interview, Aaron Sorkin teases a “big event” that the biopic will center around. As he put it:

As evident in The Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin is fantastic at tackling historical and controversial events. While the upcoming Lucille Ball biopic would seem to be a little more lighthearted than his last film, his tease at the big unknown event could indeed lead into a more scandalous film. This could also be evident by his casting of Nicole Kidman, who is no stranger to playing strong female roles that have a dark side.

Aaron Sorkin’s Being The Ricardos doesn't have a release date yet, but will most likely be some time next year. This gives you plenty of time to knock back some classic Lucille Ball films, though maybe not quite all of them.

It has already been 10 years since David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin teamed up for one of the most impactful movies of the modern era with The Social Network. The 2010 drama based on the formation of Facebook went on to win an Academy Award for best original screenplay and the social media company continued to grow at an exponential pace in the years following the film's release. And ever since then, thanks to the masterful approach to the first movie, and everything that has happened to Facebook over the past 10 years, there are plenty of reasons why The Social Network 2 should become a reality.

Hell, Aaron Sorkin himself has gone on the record saying that he wants to write a second movie based on the rise of Facebook, and has even said in the past that he often talks about everything going on with the social media giant with the producers of the first film and those conversations often end in "Isn't it time for a sequel?" Now, it should be noted that there are currently no definite plans to make a followup to The Social Network, but Aaron Sorkin did tell MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Gamesradar) in October 2020 that he wants to write the movie but only if David Fincher returns to direct it. And considering everything that has happened in the past 10 years, now is the perfect time for the two to get back together.

So, with that in mind, here are six things I want to see included if Aaron Sorkin actually writes The Social Network 2.

Sheryl Sandberg Is Hired As The Company's First COO In 2008

Besides Mark Zuckerberg, there hasn't been a more prominent voice and driving force of Facebook's initiatives the past 10 years than Sheryl Sandberg, who joined the company as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2008. Since then, Sandberg has helped turn Facebook from a fairly large social media company to THE social media company. Through her overseeing of the company's business operations like sales, marketing, and public policy, Sandberg has been at the forefront of the company's success, and controversies, over the years.

These reasons alone should earn the former Google executive and author of the New York Times best-selling book Lean In, should be included in any sequel to The Social Network. And while not as brash or driven by ego as Justin Timberlake's version of Sean Parker, the movie version of Sheryl Sandberg would be a force to reckon with, for better or for worse.

Facebook Goes Public And Flops On The Stock Market

The story of Facebook can be split into two sections: before and after the company's 2012 NASDAQ debut. For those who don't remember, the social media platform's debut on the stock market was anything but what Mark Zuckerberg and countless investors had hoped for leading into the morning of May 18, 2012, but it's the fate they were dealt. Shortly before trading was set to begin on the NASDAQ exchange, a glitch was discovered that would cause a number of issues for investors throughout the first day of trading and into subsequent days, resulting in the price of shares dropping from $38/share to $20 by August 2012.

Following Mark Zuckerberg (hopefully Jesse Eisenberg would reprise the role) and company during that tumultuous opening and chaotic months that followed would make for a great section of the movie, if Aaron Sorkin would want to structure it in a way similar to Steve Jobs.

Facebook Conducts A Psychological Experiment On Nearly 700,000 Users

Just months before Facebook eclipsed the one-billion user milestone in October 2012, the company conducted an experiment on the 689,003 randomly selected users who had no idea their news feeds were being toyed with. According to a New York Times article from 2014 (when the study was first revealed), Facebook manipulated the feeds of those users to change the number of positive and negative posts they would see on any given day. The company did so to better understand how emotions are spread through social media habits. Obviously, users and critics were none too pleased with the psychological study even though there was nothing illegal on Facebook's part.

This act of conducting a study on more than a half-a-million users without their knowledge was would be just one of the first major instances of Facebook seemingly acting before thinking, and could serve as a great jumping off point for some of the larger controversies that would come in later years.

The Social Media Company's Role In Civil Unrest In Developing Nations

Facebook has long had a problem with false information being pushed and shared as if its truth for a number of years, and while it has become a major issue in the United States for some time now, it's much, much worse in developing nations. In a Guardian article on Facebook's monopoly in third-world countries, it was reported that in some parts of the world, users who cannot afford access to the internet are allowed to use Facebook for free on their smartphones. At first, this sounds like a great idea, but then you have to think about how misinformation is spread over the platform with little to interference from Facebook.

This came to a head in Sri Lanka in 2018 when various Facebook users and groups shared inflammatory and untruthful information about Muslims, which resulted in widespread civil unrest, violence, and scores of deaths. But Sri Lanka wasn't the only case, as the New York Times reported about similar instances in Myanmar with similar violence against the country's Rohingya minority. How Facebook, and its upper management responded to these events would be fascinating and terrifying to see in a second movie.

The Cambridge Analytica Scandal

In 2018, one of Facebook's biggest controversies — the Cambridge Analytica data scandal — came to light and showed the world just what the company and third-party companies were doing with user's personal data, which was being collected and sold without their knowledge for years. According to Wired, Cambridge Analytica had purchased Facebook data on tens of millions of Americans and helped construct a "psychological warfare tool" that was later used by Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to play on users' habits to prop up their candidate and demean Hillary Clinton.

Honestly, the Cambridge Analytica scandal could be a movie on its own, especially with all of the Congressional hearings carried out in the wake of the leak that exposed the long-running program. Aaron Sorkin could even structure the movie around the hearings similar to how he split up The Social Network around the different depositions.

Facebook Appears In The Mueller Report

And then there is the time Facebook appeared in special counsel Robert Mueller's 2019 report on Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. Similar to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) reached millions of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users in the United States leading up to the election, according to the report (via CNBC), and helped organize rallies and spread misinformation against Hillary Clinton.

This is not to say Facebook, or other social media companies, were complicit in the actions of the IRA, but the setup of the platforms allowed for something like this to happen. It would be interesting to see how the smear campaign by the agency, as well as Facebook's response, would carry out in a movie such as The Social Network 2.

These are just a few of Facebook's biggest moments and controversies from the past 10 years that I want to see in The Social Network 2, if Aaron Sorkin and everyone else can convince David Fincher to jump on board. And even though Fincher isn't a fan of getting into the sequel business, hopefully, this one comes to fruition one day.

Quick question for the peanut gallery here. Does that last courtroom scene in The Trial Of The Chicago 7 work for everyone else? I obviously have my own thoughts about what went down, but one of the great things about seeing a movie in a theater is you can tell what the consensus reaction of the room is. Since I watched it with one other person on Netflix who agreed with me, however, I really have no idea whatsoever how other people felt. So, let’s talk it out.

Spoilers: I can’t believe I have to say this on account of it being so freaking obvious from the title, but if you haven’t seen The Trial Of The Chicago 7 yet and you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading this article. Go watch the movie and then come back. Don’t read the article and then yell about how I ruined it in the comment section. That wouldn’t make any sense.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the sentencing scene in The Trial Of The Chicago 7. Basically, after months of real time trial and two hours or so of runtime for viewers, five of our title seven (not including Bobby Seale since he wasn’t a defendant at that point) are convicted and ready for sentencing. The truly outrageous Judge Julius Hoffman (who was apparently like that in real life) tells Tom Hayden he can offer a brief statement in the defense of all five. Instead, in a moment that sort of happened in real life but much earlier in the trial, he has the names of deceased Vietnam War soldiers read into the record.

The judge apparently stopped the display after only a few names were read in the real trial when it happened prior to the sentencing phase. He tries to do the same in the movie, but Hayden keeps talking while everyone stands up and cheers. The other defendants get excited. Jerry Rubin raises his fist. Eventually others join him. The audience in the courtroom stands up and applauds. The buttoned up squares angrily storm out. David Dellinger's kid climbs on his chair. Even the US Attorney Richard Schultz (the lead prosecutor), who is portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic figure, rises to honor the fallen soldiers in a moment that is clearly meant to be the film's emotional crescendo.

Now, on the whole, I really enjoyed The Trial Of The Chicago 7. I would strongly recommend it to most people with an interest in adult dramas, politics, history or just great acting. I thought it was well-written, had some truly spectacular scenes, particularly the argument between Sacha Baron Cohen’s Abbie Hoffman and Eddie Redmayne’s Tom Hayden about what winning means in liberal politics, and was a great introduction into the fascinating world of the late 1960s. But I also thought the last scene was a bit beneath the movie.

I'll actually go a step further. I think the last scene in the movie is bad. It feels forced. The music is sentimental and obvious. It's overly tidy for its subject matter that's much more nuanced and complicated. It has only a passing connection to the facts of what really happened. It feels like something from a lesser movie. I get the bind screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was in. The movie is about the original trial. The original trial ended in defeat for 5 of the 7 defendants. You want a moment for the audience to be able to celebrate with these characters we've been watching, but there had to be a way to do it that didn't feel so contrived. Sorkin is a master at writing. I realize the subject matter did him no favors here, but if a movie is gonna get hit with 5 star reviews and have over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's fair to offer some criticism of what should be its most important moment.

Maybe I’m just being cynical though. Most of the rest of the movie is excellent, and maybe it really deserved that last moment of victory, even if it came amidst a larger defeat. It’s not as if other movies haven’t done some version of the same thing. In fact, there are entire YouTube montages dedicated to movie slow claps. I'll defend it in Cool Runnings for example. What do you think? Does all the clapping in the final scene work for you? Let us know by voting in the poll below…

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I wouldn’t necessarily describe Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 as a comedy. The movie follows the true-life trial of seven protestors who got caught up in a wave of violence and police brutality outside of the Democratic National Convention in 1968. In telling their story, the movie makes shockingly relevant connections to our contemporary headlines… but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that yes, there are laughs in this movie. Well-earned, material-sensitive laughs. They were unexpected, and also appreciated as tension breakers.

When we had the opportunity to interview The Trial of the Chicago 7 co-lead Eddie Redmayne about the movie, I had to ask him about how they approached the humor in the script, because the subject matter could make this story very preachy and overly dramatic. But as he points out, if you are familiar with Aaron Sorkin’s approach as a screenwriter – in movies like The Social Network, Steve Jobs, Moneyball or Charlie Wilson’s War – then you know that humor often is an entry point for the storyteller. Redmayne said:

Redmayne’s right. Aaron Sorkin is a master at seeing what’s humorous in what’s really an absurd situation, and there are moments during the trial that was staged for The Chicago 7 that will have you shaking your head and wondering how we allowed ourselves to get to that point. Then, you might look around and keep asking yourself that question.

But that humor, while subtle, helps Aaron Sorkin’s film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, fly by on its own energies and intelligent creativity. It’s a vital history lesson embedded in a vibrant courtroom thriller, where Eddie Redmayne plays social and political activist Tom Hayden opposite Sacha Baron Cohen’s Abbie Cohen and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Bobby Seale. Here’s Redmayne, talking about Sorkin’s funny bone:

The good news is that you no longer have to wait to watch what I consider to be one of the best movies released this year. Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming on Netflix, so make it part of your weekend plans. I expect we will be discussing this one during the duration of the crazy Oscar season we are about to wade into.

Nobody does political drama quite like Aaron Sorkin, and this fall he has delivered another fantastic and fascinating depiction of our government and legal system with Netflix’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7. As you can likely draw from the title, the film centers on the court battle waged against the eponymous group of anti-war activists protesting the Vietnam War during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and it not only provides brilliant star-studded drama, but also a fascinating lens to look through at our modern world.

You might know some of the history behind the Trial Of The Chicago 7, but if you’re shaky on the details, this feature will explore not only how the Aaron Sorkin film wraps everything up, but also how it sits side by side with reality. To start, let’s do a bit of recap.

What Happens At The End Of The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Following the dismissal of the damning testimony from former Attorney General Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton), the state of things seems dire for the defense of the Chicago 7 – and it doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse. After learning that their would-be star witness would not be allowed to take the stand in front of the jury, attorney William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) reveals that the prosecutors possess a tape featuring a recording that Kunstler describes as “the sound of [Eddie Redmayne’s Tom Hayden] starting the Chicago riots.”

This is a terrible blow given that Tom was selected as the only defendant in the group who would not plead the fifth and testify in court. Rather than wilt away from the newly introduced evidence, the Port Huron Statement co-author insists that he is willing to stand up against the prosecution and the interrogation from Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Kunstler decides to put this thought to the test by playing out what his experience in the witness box being cross-examined would be like, pressing him on the events that transpired on the night of August 28, 1968 and the words he shouted while on stage in front of a park full of fellow protestors.

As Hayden and Kunstler duel, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 brings the events being described to life – beginning with a group of police officers assaulting a young member of the crowd who attempts to get a better look at the stage by climbing a flagpole. When Tom’s friend/fellow defendant Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) attempts to deescalate the situation, one of the cops beats him on the back of the head with a nightstick. Witnessing this, and ignoring requests from David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) for him to calm the crowd, Tom grabs the microphone at the center of the stage and says,

Tom begins to crack under the pressure from his lawyer’s faux questioning as the film shows anti-war activists trying to make their way out of the park and into the streets of Chicago – finding resistance in the form of officers launching tear gas and using batons (the original footage cut together with archive footage from the actual event). Clips of “stand-up” performances by Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) begin to add to the storytelling as it’s discussed how herded protestors ended up in front of the Conrad Hilton hotel and were ultimately forced by police through the street-level glass windows.

Recognizing the severity of the situation through William Kunstler’s pressing, Tom appears defeated and notes that what he meant was “our” – as in “if our blood is going to flow, let it flow all over the city” (a suggestion that the goal was not violence and agitation, but rather to have the police brutality witnessed by the people of Chicago). He knows that he can’t take the stand, and tells his lawyer that Abbie Hoffman should speak as a witness instead.

During the trial, Hoffman does just that, and is questioned by both his own lawyer and Richard Schultz. He explains his belief that he is on trial not for starting a riot, but instead for “transporting ideas across state lines,” and in the spirit of a presidential election being seen as a revolutionary overthrow of government, he explains that the anti-war protests during the Democratic National Convention was essentially a voter registration drive. He is asked about Tom Hayden’s statements, which he counters by saying that anything can be manipulated out of context. Finally he is asked if he went to Chicago to start a confrontation with the police, but the scene fades out before his answer is given.

Flashing forward, the 151st day of the trial is the sentencing, and Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), and Abbie Hoffman are led into the court one final time. It’s implied that, as predicted, John Froines (Daniel Flaherty) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) were both judged innocent so that the jury would feel less uncomfortable about throwing the book at the main five. Judge Hoffman (Frank Langella) explains that it is the right of the defense to deliver a statement before final judgment is delivered, and Tom is selected for the task.

While he is told that being respectful of the court, remorseful, and brief would earn him and his fellow defendants leniency, Tom chooses to defy the recommendation by reading aloud Rennie’s catalogued list of all the soldiers killed in Vietnam since the beginning of the trial. A furious Hoffman attempts to get him to stop, but the entire gallery stands, applauds and cheers. Richard Schultz also gets to his feet in reverence to the fallen, leading his boss/chief prosecutor Tom Foran (J. C. MacKenzie) to storm out.

In white text over a still frame (the details of which we’ll get into later in this feature), it’s explained what ended up happening with the case following the sentencing and what later happened to the members of the Chicago 7 and Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). First, though, let’s take a look at how the events portrayed line up with actual history.

How The Film Compares To The End Of The Trial

Aaron Sorkin is a filmmaker who knows a thing or two about capturing history honestly in his storytelling – though it should also be noted that, to use an old cliché, he doesn’t make documentaries. Certain parts of stories are changed and details are altered for dramatic effect or structural purposes, with the intent always being to portray an entirely emotionally honest version of events that may not be entirely factually accurate. He did it with The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs, and he does it again in The Trial Of The Chicago 7.

One standout example of a difference between the film and reality is in regards to the courtroom treatment of defendant Bobby Seale. Believe it or not, as horrible as the events depicted in the movie are, Seale’s treatment was even worse in real life.

In Aaron Sorkin’s version of events, Seale is severed from the case against the Chicago 7 just minutes after being chained to a chair and gagged, but things didn’t play out that quickly in the real case. Seale actually spent multiple days sitting in court in those restraints before William Kunstler's pleas against it were heard. Judge Hoffman also tried to sentence the Black Panther co-founder to four years in prison for contempt of court, but that was overruled on appeal.

All that being said, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 might not be a perfect representation of history, but for the most part it is accurate. Some of the more outlandish details, such as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin arriving to court in police uniforms cloaked in judges robes, are taken straight from the true story, as is the key portion of the film where former Attorney General Ramsey Clark is forbidden from providing testimony in front of a jury.

What Happened To The Chicago 7 And Bobby Seale After The Trial

As noted at the end of the film, five of the seven defendants in the landmark case were sentenced to five years in prison by Judge Julius Hoffman, but, as teased earlier in the film, that sentence wasn't permanent. After the verdict was reversed by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a new trial was ordered, but the case was never actually retried – allowing all the members of the Chicago 7 to walk away free. As for their futures individually…

Tom Hayden

In the years after the trial, Tom Hayden only became more involved in politics, and launched multiple campaigns for positions including senator and governor of California. He spent 18 years serving in both the California State Assembly and State Senate, and he was a prolific writer of political works. He passed away in October 2016.

Rennie Davis

Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis went their separate ways for the most part following the trial of the Chicago 7, with the latter spending the early 1970s following Guru Maharaj Ji as a member of the Divine Light Mission. Following the disbandment of the organization in the early 1980s, Davis became a venture capitalist with a focus on emerging technologies.

David Dellinger

David Dellinger continued participating in pacifistic activist work for the rest of his life, notably taking part in events such as a sit-in at the 1996 Democratic Convention (which was held in Chicago) and a march from Vermont to Quebec City to protest the creation of a free trade zone. He died at the age of 88 in 2004.

Jerry Rubin

Like Rennie Davis, Jerry Rubin also became a part of the business world in the years following the trial depicted in the film. With the reported aim of bringing social consciousness to the industry, he became a stockbroker with John Muir & Co in the 1980s, and later became involved in health food-related multi-level marketing. In 1994 he was struck by a car while living in Los Angeles, and while he initially survived the collision he died of a heart attack two weeks later in the hospital.

Abbie Hoffman

Of the members of the Chicago 7, Abbie Hoffman sadly had the shortest life – though he certainly lived loudly. He famously interrupted the performance by The Who at Woodstock in 1969, taking to the stage to protest the jailing of White Panther Party co-founder John Sinclair, and in the mid-1980s found himself in court once again, charged with trespassing after protesting CIA recruitment on the University of Massachusetts - Amherst campus (he was ultimately acquitted). He published a book titled “Steal This Book” in 1971. In 1989, at the age of 52, he committed suicide.

Bobby Seale

Following his separation from the trial of the Chicago 7, Bobby Seale’s legal issues didn’t entirely go away, as he was still a defendant in a murder trial in Connecticut, but he was later ruled innocent. His activist work as a co-founder of the Black Panther Party has continued in the decades since the trial, and he has written multiple books, including an autobiography, titled A Lonely Rage.

Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is now available exclusively on Netflix, and stay tuned for more of our coverage of the film here on CinemaBlend.

Sometimes making movies can be a funny process. All it takes is an idea and a desire to get the ball rolling, even if that means it takes a long time to reach the finish line. In Aaron Sorkin’s case, Steven Spielberg was the driving force that got him involved with Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, and that was a little unexpected for Sorkin.

Since Aaron Sorkin is the master at writing compelling political and courtroom dramas, you’d think he’d have the idea for The Chicago 7 locked away somewhere to write about later. But that’s not how it went down. Aaron Sorkin recently interviewed on the CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast and told a pretty funny story about how he ended up writing The Trial of the Chicago 7:

That’s a pretty amazing story. No one would blame him for agreeing to do a project just because Steven Spielberg asked him to, even if he didn’t know what it was. If Steven Spielberg asks you to make a movie, you should probably just make it.

It’s been common knowledge this project has been in development for an excessively long time. Aaron Sorkin didn’t sit around writing the script, either. He wrote it back in 2007 with Steven Spielberg attached to direct. Unfortunately, Spielberg dropped out during the Writers Guild of America strike. Paul Greengrass hopped in the director’s chair after that but left after only two months.

While that project sat on the shelf, Aaron Sorkin delivered some of the best movies of the decade, including The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs. He also took his first directing job with Molly’s Game, a movie he also wrote. Eventually, to take Chicago 7 to the finish line, he announced he would be directing it himself.

Now, by the looks of critical reviews, it looks like he’s hit another home run. CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell in his review gave the film a perfect score, saying:

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will land on Netflix on October 16, 2020. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

On this week’s show, we welcome legendary writer Aaron Sorkin to discuss his latest film The Trial of the Chicago 7, his second feature as a director, and what an honor it was.

The film’s cast is absolutely stacked with Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II just a few of the A-listers bringing this true story to life. Stick around after the interview to hear our reviews of the film which you can stream on Netflix this week.

Also this week, we discuss Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins teaming back up for a Cleopatra remake. There’s a new limited series based on Stephen King’s The Stand coming to CBS All-Access, and the trailer is…underwhelming.

We have confirmation of Doctor Strange heading to Spider-Man 3, and so much more. If you listened to last week's show, you'll know that Sean absolutely called this one. We gave him a few minutes to gloat as we are all excited for what the Spider-Man sequel appears to be gearing up for.

Our BlendGame continues the spooky season with #ZombieMovieBlend. Next week, we are debating our favorite Science-Fiction Horror films. Let us know your pick using #SciFiHorrorBlend on Twitter.

Be sure to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube! You can also sign up to get an extra, exclusive episode of the show each week with a ReelBlend Premium subscription right here.

Aaron Sorkin has been a Hollywood heavy hitter on the writing front ever since A Few Good Men came out in 1992, but in 2017, he finally made his directorial debut with the Jessica Chastain-led Molly’s Game… which he also wrote. Now Sorkin is soon delivering the second movie he both wrote and directed: The Trial of the Chicago 7, which will be available on Netflix.

For those unfamiliar with this movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is based on the real life story of seven defendants who were hit with various charges by the federal government related to anti-Vietnam War and counterculture protests that took place in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It boasts an all-star cast that includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella and Mark Rylance, among others.

So what’s the critical consensus on The Trial of the Chicago 7? Going off the reviews that have been published so far, overall, it looks like Aaron Sorkin has another solid movie on his hands, if not necessarily ranking as one of the best on his filmography.

Starting off, CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell awarded The Trial of the Chicago 7 a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars in his review, calling it Aaron Sorkin’s welcome return to the “political-legal realm” that boasts an intelligent script and strongly showcases its entire ensemble, all of which adds to this being one the year’s best movie’s in Sean’s eyes.

While Slashfilm’s Chris Evangelista wasn’t quite as enamored with The Trial of the Chicago 7 as Sean was, he still found it to be a generally decent viewing experience, giving it a 7.5 out of 10 score. Chris felt that the movie does boast strong performances and Aaron Sorkin does a good job with “creating the kind of punchy, snappy, rat-a-tat dialogue that good actors love to sink their teeth into,” but Sorkin’s directorial style leaves something to be desired.

Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly was also similarly positive towards The Trial of the Chicago 7, giving it a B grade. As a history lesson, Leah thought that Aaron Sorkin “plays more than a little fast and loose,” but some of the actors, like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Rylance, get some of the most “fiery material,” and in the end, the movie is able to frame “the past not just as entertaining prologue but a living document; one we ignore at our own peril.”

Collider’s Matt Godberg fell into more mixed territory with The Trial of the Chicago 7, presenting it with a B- grade. Matt noted that the Netflix movie almost plays like a “rebuke” of A Few Good Men, and while the performances and cinematography are strong, and the feature as a whole is entertaining, it doesn’t stick the landing when it comes to political and social commentary.

Finally, Brian Truitt from USA Today especially enjoyed The Trial of the Chicago 7, stamping it with 3.5 stars out of 4. Brian thought that there were some character development issues given how many players are involved in the story, but the movie nonetheless features some incredible acting, particularly when it came to the “courtroom and legal-eagle stuff.” Brian also said that Aaron Sorkin’s second directorial effort is a “more confident and well-executed affair” compared to Molly’s Game.

These are just some of the reviews out now for The Trial of the Chicago 7, so feel free to browse around the interwebs to learn what other critics thought about the movie.You can judge The Trial of the Chicago 7 for yourself once it’s available to the public on Netflix October 16. Feel free to pair it with another Netflix original movie that come out this week, Enola Holmes, which stars Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill and Helena Bonham Carter.

As for what’s supposed to be hitting theaters in the near future, you can find that information in our 2020 release schedule and 2021 release schedule.

A top-tier Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama. Really, what else do I have to write in this review beyond that to convince you to check out The Trial of the Chicago 7? Sure, I can bloviate about Sorkin’s razor-sharp dialogue, his inspired casting (Sacha Baron Cohen as Flower Power provocateur Abbie Hoffman is a masterful stroke), and his uncanny ability to connect the dots from historical occurrences to our jarring contemporary headlines.

But the main reason to watch The Trial of the Chicago 7 is because it returns Aaron Sorkin to the political-legal realm where he has soared in exercises such as The West Wing, The American President, Charlie Wilson’s War and his masterpiece, A Few Good Men. By recounting the lopsided prosecution of the Chicago 7 (plus Black Panther president Bobby Seale), Sorkin comments on our current divisions – political, social and racial. It’s slick, well-assembled Hollywood entertainment that should entertain as it educates, and hopefully infuriates, its audiences.

Aaron Sorkin’s Trial of the Chicago 7 script unfolds like a melodic symphony of words and ideas.

Again, hardly a groundbreaking statement. Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin arguably is our strongest working screenwriter, no matter the genre he’s choosing to tackle. And he’s masterful at connecting the dots in an historical narrative that retells an important story – the invention of Facebook, the rise of Steve Jobs – from opposing points of view.

In 1968, leaders from various social and political parties converged on Chicago to make their voices and views heard during the run up to the Democratic National Convention. Following a series of violent confrontations that pit area police officers against protestors, eight men were arrested and charged with inciting riots, though the opposition they faced came more from a government establishment being bombarded on all sides by anti-Vietnam sentiment.

Sorkin finds fertile ground to till in explaining how the Chicago Eight ended up on trial. Hippie anarchists Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) got off on pushing the buttons of the D.C. elite. Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) subscribed to the ideals of the anti-war movement, while also believing Hoffman’s laissez-faire attitude did more harm than good for their cause. And Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) resents the fact that he’s only part of the trial so that the controversial Black Panthers can be prosecuted, which leads to unexpected fireworks.

You might need a scorecard to keep everyone straight until The Trial of the Chicago 7 settles into its groove, because Sorkin doesn’t pause to fill in gaps with arbitrary dialogue setting scenes. The kinetic energy created by his intelligent script carries you along until you grasp the big picture, while a repeat viewing allows you to burrow in and find the nuance that’s present for scholars of history and politics.

Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen and Aaron Sorkin’s full cast play their roles to perfection.

Sorkin’s scripts hardly struggle to lure A-list talent. Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) and the powerhouse duo of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men) all have done some of their best work reading Sorkin’s lines. The Trial cast isn’t loaded with marquee names, but the actors chosen fit beautifully into the script’s needs, even if they’re only needed for a brief cameo or significant transition sequence.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 showcases the entire ensemble. Cohen and Strong get to play fast and loose, in comparison to Redmayne’s conservative and book-smart approach, but every portrayal is important to the larger narrative. Bobby Seale’s plight comes off as the most dangerous, as he stares down Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) with no legal representation. And both sides of the judicial argument are expertly represented by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mark Rylance, personifying the parties they’re asked to represent with distinct visual cues and conclusions about the respect the court system deserves.

There’s one slight nitpick on an otherwise ideal The Trial of the Chicago 7.

And that’s the fact that Sorkin chose to direct his brilliant screenplay himself. He’s definitely improving as a filmmaker, moving to the substantially better Trial after the uneven Molly’s Game. And I eagerly anticipate where Sorkin might be as a director in, say, a decade. His work here is efficient. The package is glossy and polished, though the sheen doesn’t distract from the underlying message.

But just as Sorkin’s script attract top acting talent, they also positively hum when he allows genius filmmakers to apply their detached filters to the screenwriter’s material. Think of David Fincher layering an arrogant chill on The Social Network, or Danny Boyle choosing to film the different eras of Steve Jobs’ ascension in varying aspect ratios and competing film stocks. Would a different director have applied auteuristic flair to Sorkin’s masterful Chicago 7 script? Undoubtedly. So while I understand that Sorkin can only improve as a director by directing, I lament ever so briefly the true level of wizardry this already fantastic film might have achieved with that nudge from a generational talent.

Still, not enough of a knock to prevent The Trial of the Chicago 7 from getting a perfect grade from me. It’s one of this year’s very best films.

Something strange is falling over the land, though it isn’t anything to be afraid of. It’s just the season of witches, ghosts, and goblins arriving as per usual, thanks to October 2020 darkening your calendar’s doorstep. Naturally, with a new month comes some new offerings from the folks at Netflix, with the scary and supernatural represented alongside the serious and silly films that come from other genres. If you want to see what September 2020 brought with its own crop of originals and old favorites, you can head over to last month’s Netflix rundown below. Otherwise, let’s get on with the festivities, as the autumnal chill is about to hit with October 2020!

Week of October 1

Bom Dia, Verônica / Good Morning, Verônica - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/1/20

Carmen Sandiego: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/1/20

Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/1/20

Pasal Kau / All Because of You - NETFLIX FILM – 10/1/20

The Worst Witch: Season 4 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/1/20

A.M.I. – 10/1/20

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls – 10/1/20

Along Came a Spider – 10/1/20

Bakugan: Armored Alliance: Season 2 – 10/1/20

Basic Instinct – 10/1/20

Black '47 – 10/1/20

Cape Fear – 10/1/20

Code Lyoko: Seasons 1-4 – 10/1/20

The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) – 10/1/20

Employee of the Month – 10/1/20

Enemy at the Gates – 10/1/20

Evil: Season 1 – 10/1/20

Familiar Wife: Season 1 – 10/1/20

Fargo – 10/1/20

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma: The Second Plate – 10/1/20

Free State of Jones – 10/1/20

Ghost Rider – 10/1/20

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – 10/1/20

Gran Torino – 10/1/20

Her – 10/1/20

House of 1,000 Corpses – 10/1/20

Human Nature – 10/1/20

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – 10/1/20

I'm Leaving Now – 10/1/20

The Longest Yard (1974) – 10/1/20

The Parkers: Seasons 1-5 – 10/1/20

The Pirates! Band of Misfits – 10/1/20

Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire – 10/1/20

The Prince & Me – 10/1/20

Poseidon (2006) – 10/1/20

The Outpost – 10/1/20

Stranger than Fiction – 10/1/20

Superman Returns – 10/1/20

Sword Art Online: Alicization – 10/1/20

Troy – 10/1/20

The Unicorn: Season 1 – 10/1/20

WarGames – 10/1/20

We Have Always Lived in the Castle – 10/1/20

Yogi Bear – 10/1/20

You Cannot Hide: Season 1 – 10/1/20

A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/2/20

Ahí te encargo / You’ve Got This - NETFLIX FILM – 10/2/20

The Binding - NETFLIX FILM – 10/2/20

Dick Johnson Is Dead - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY – 10/2/20

Emily in Paris - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/2/20

Òlòt?ré - NETFLIX FILM – 10/2/20

Serious Men - NETFLIX FILM – 10/2/20

Song Exploder - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/2/20

Vampires vs. the Bronx - NETFLIX FILM – 10/2/20

Week of October 4

Colombiana – 10/4/20

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY– 10/4/20

Dolly Parton: Here I Am – 10/6/20

Saturday Church – 10/6/20

StarBeam: Halloween Hero - NETFLIX FAMILY– 10/6/20

Walk Away from Love – 10/6/20

Hubie Halloween - NETFLIX FILM – 10/7/20

Schitt's Creek: Season 6 – 10/7/20

To the Lake - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/7/20

Deaf U - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/9/20

Fast & Furious Spy Racers: Season 2: Rio - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/9/20

The Forty-Year-Old Version - NETFLIX FILM – 10/9/20

Ginny Weds Sunny - NETFLIX FILM – 10/9/20

The Haunting of Bly Manor - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/9/20

Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/9/20

Week of October 11

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/11/20

The Cabin with Bert Kreischer - NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL– 10/13/20

Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/13/20

Alice Junior – 10/14/20

BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY – 10/14/20

Moneyball – 10/14/20

A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting - NETFLIX FILM – 10/15/20

Batman: The Killing Joke – 10/15/20

Half & Half: Seasons 1-4 – 10/15/20

Love Like the Falling Rain - NETFLIX FILM – 10/15/20

One on One: Seasons 1-5 – 10/15/20

Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Season 2, Part 1 – 10/15/20

Rooting for Roona - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY – 10/15/20

Social Distance - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/15/20

Alguien tiene que morir / Someone Has to Die - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/16/20

Dream Home Makeover - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/16/20

Grand Army - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/16/20

In a Valley of Violence – 10/16/20

La Révolution - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/16/20

The Last Kids on Earth: Book 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/16/20

The Trial of the Chicago 7 - NETFLIX FILM – 10/16/20

Unfriended – 10/16/20

Week of October 18

ParaNorman – 10/18/20

Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2 - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY – 10/19/20

Carol – 10/20/20

The Magic School Bus Rides Again The Frizz Connection - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/20/20

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/21/20

Rebecca - NETFLIX FILM – 10/21/20

Bending the Arc – 10/22/20

Cadaver - NETFLIX FILM – 10/22/20

The Hummingbird Project – 10/22/20

Yes, God, Yes – 10/22/20

Barbarians - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/23/20

Move - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/23/20

Over the Moon - NETFLIX FILM – 10/23/20

Perdida - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/23/20

The Queen's Gambit - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/23/20

Week of October 25

Blood of Zeus - NETFLIX ANIME – 10/27/20

Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 4 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 10/27/20

Vilas: Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada / Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY – 10/27/20

Holidate - NETFLIX FILM – 10/28/20

Metallica Through The Never – 10/28/20

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight - NETFLIX FILM – 10/28/20

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY– 10/28/20

Bronx - NETFLIX FILM – 10/30/20

The Day of the Lord - NETFLIX FILM – 10/30/20

His House - NETFLIX FILM – 10/30/20

Somebody Feed Phil: Season 4 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/30/20

Suburra: Season 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 10/30/20

October TBD

ARASHI's Diary - Voyage - Ep 13 & 14 - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Brave Blue World

Start-Up - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Netflix’s Movie Highlights For October 2020

While it’s not the bad movie that Adam Sandler promised he’d make after Uncut Gems’ unfortunate Oscar shut out, there’s still a playful energy to be had with The Sandman’s latest film, Hubie Halloween.As Sandler’s Hubie DuBois prepares to save the town of Salem, Massachusetts with his eccentric energy, a serious threat is starting to make Hubie look like the hero he’s always wanted to be. Though should you want your spooky season offering of choice to be more romantic and sinister, Ben Wheatley’s remake of Rebecca dresses up a classic tale of love and the ghosts of the past. Lily James and Armie Hammer bring Daphne du Maurier’s mysterious couple to life in a more modern context, and their performances look as gorgeous as James and Hammer’s period appropriate threads.

Last, but not least, Aaron Sorkin’s dramatic biopic, The Trial of the Chicago 7, finally makes its way into the world. After seeing itself change hands through helmers like Steven Spielberg and Paul Greengrass over the course of more than a decade, Sorkin finally landed the director’s chair on his own script. Depicting the trial of seven activists accused of trying to incite riots outside of 1968’s Democratic convention, this incendiary Netflix original boasts a cast that includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; among others.

Netflix’s TV Highlights For October 2020

While Hubie Halloween is a pretty big deal for some, to other Netflix subscribers that’s not exactly the sort of thrills that spooky season promises. No worries, as creator Mike Flanagan has followed up his terrifying but heartbreaking series The Haunting of Hill House with another adaptation of an old classic. The Haunting of Bly Manor takes Henry James novella, The Turning of the Screw, and for the second time this year puts a more modernized spin on its story of a governess who’s hired to watch after a pair of children in a palatial manor. Oh, and there’s also ghosts, for those of you who don’t think babysitting is horrific enough.

However, if you're looking for something uplifting and hysterical, a double threat is headed to your Netflix queue in October 2020! For those who hunger for adventure, and love the kind-hearted enthusiasm that Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal exudes, the fourth season of Somebody Feed Phil will be here to take you on the vacations you wish you could go on, with the foods that'll make your mouth water. If you like your comedy delivered in the format of an award-winning sitcom, this year's Emmy darling Schitt’s Creek takes its last bow, with the sixth and final season headed to the Netflix lineup. Brace yourselves, because it's been heard on good authority that you will cry by the end of this show's run.

Whether you want to hide under the blankets, or laugh out loud into the crisp fall air, Netflix is here to bring both sides of October to your television! Keep in mind, all titles are subject to availability and change. So if something seems to have moved, you might want to check back here and see what the schedule has to say about that. It’s hard to believe it, but the countdown to November 2020 is about to start soon. So we’ll see you back here around this time next month, when leaves won’t be the only thing we’re raking through.

The streaming war has really heated up over the past few years, as various services compete for supremacy. Netflix has been putting out a ton of original movie content, in addition to their myriad TV series. Plenty of filmmaker have made their way to streaming, including the legendary Aaron Sorkin and his new legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. And Sorkin brought an A+ cast to bring the real-life story to life on film.

Aaaron Sorkin was preparing to film The Trial of the Chicago 7 back in 2007, which eventually fell through due to the writer's strike and Steven Spielberg dropped out as director. Sorkin is directing and wrote the new Netflix movie, which features familiar faces like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, and Michael Keaton. You can check out the trailer for the new drama below.

Aaron Sorkin is the master of legal dramas, and it looks like he's back in the groove for The Trial of the Chicago 7. The story itself is real, and will no doubt make for an even more visceral moviegoing experience when it hits Netflix in just days. And in the process the streaming service further proves itself as as force in the film world.

The trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7 quickly establishes the movie's setting: 1969 America in the midst of the Vietnam War. It's a time that notoriously divided the country, with protests against the war happening with our continued involvement overseas. We see the tension rising immediately in the footage, as Eddie Redmayne's Tom Hayden organizes protests during in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

We're also quickly introduced to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Richard Schultz, who is ultimately tasked with prosecuting the titular group of activists who were on trial. We watch as armed officers clash with protestors, and ultimately eight people are arrested over allegations of enticing a riot. Yes there are actually eight characters, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Bobby Seale being the outlier.

Fresh off of his Emmy win for Watchmen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a ton of exciting projects coming down the line. The Trial of the Chicago 7 saw him collaborate with Aaron Sorkin, with Abdul-Mateen no doubt thrilled to wrap his lips around the writer's signature dialogue. He's playing Black Panther Party co-creator Bobby Seale, who was notoriously tied and gagged for speaking up during the trial.

Throughout the the trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7 some of the twists and turns of the legal proceedings are teased. Jurors are removed and Frank Langella's Judge Julius Hoffman puts up various road blocks along the way including Bobby Seale not having legal representation. The details of this real-life trial are infamous, which is no doubt what interested Aaaron Sorkin.

Rounding out the cast are plenty of familiar faces including Sasha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Skins actor Daniel Flaherty, and American Horror Story favorite John Carroll Lynch. Additionally, the great Michael Keaton is playing lawyer Ramsey Clark and Succession's Jeremy Strong is portraying activist Jerry Rubin.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be released September 25th on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Thanks to the typical season-long awards race, the fall is generally the home for the year's most prestigious films, and in recent years Netflix has become a major player in that race with films like Alfonso Cuaron's Roma, Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. That trend is continuing this year with the release of Aaron Sorkin's The Trial Of The Chicago 7, and based on the trailer that has just been released, it looks like it is going to be a seriously intense ride through a tension-fraught period of American history. Check it out below!

Being one of the most well-respected filmmakers in Hollywood, Aaron Sorkin has never had a problem getting talented actors to be a part of his projects, but this film features what is perhaps his best ensemble to date. There are so many awesome actors in this thing that they don't even all appear in this trailer! You likely spotted Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but this is a cast that also includes Michael Keaton, William Hurt, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Rory Cochrane, Frank Langella, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and more.

Set in the late 1960s and featuring a very on the nose title, the film's story centers on the trial of the Chicago Seven – a group of counterculture activists whom the federal government tried to charge with conspiracy following a riot that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The film was originally going to be released by Paramount, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the studio sold the distribution rights to Netflix, and now the movie is one of their big releases for the fall season.

This is a film that has been in development for an excessively long time, and thus its pretty amazing to actually see this footage finally arrive. Aaron Sorkin initially wrote the screenplay for The Trial Of The Chicago 7 back in 2007 (so we're talking pre-Social Network and Moneyball), and the original plan was for Steven Spielberg to direct it. Unfortunately, the development of the film also happened to coincide with the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, which led to Spielberg dropping out. Then there was a time when Paul Greengrass was attached to make it, but that relationship lasted all of two months. The silver lining is that Sorkin gained some feature directorial experience in the years while the project sat on a shelf, and it was in 2018 that plans were announced for him to direct it himself.

The Netflix-released feature is just the second that Aaron Sorkin has directed, having made his debut in the big chair with Molly's Game back in 2017. The movie didn't exactly light the box office on fire, but it earned positive reviews and Sorkin's script was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the Oscars. To echo the sentiment above, after seeing the trailer for The Trial Of The Chicago 7 it would be none to surprising to see the film earn the filmmaker his fourth nomination at the big show... and possibly even take home a trophy for the second time (his first win being for The Social Network).

Originally the plan was for The Trial Of The Chicago 7 to be released on September 25, but the deal between Paramount and Netflix resulted in the release being pushed a few weeks. Now it is set up so that subscribers to the streaming service will have access to the film starting on October 16 – and given how much anticipation is surrounding the release, you can be sure that we'll have more coverage of the movie coming your way between now and its arrival online.

This years marks 10-year anniversary of the release of one of the greatest movies of the 21st Century, The Social Network, a film that remains just as popular and significant now as it was when it was released in 2010. Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, this blistering retelling of the early years of Facebook and the drama surrounding its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is a landmark in both storytelling and filmmaking in its depiction of the world's most visible and consequential social media platforms. But how it all came together is just as interesting, as these behind the scenes facts show.

Facebook Had A List Of Requirements In Order To Participate

You would think that a movie based on Facebook would have had the blessing from the social media giant, but that ended up not being the case. In the lead-up to the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011, David Fincher sat down with Timeout to discuss The Social Network, and during that interview, the director revealed that producer Scott Rudin had a series of conversations with Facebook during pre-production that ultimately fell through due to the company's requirements:

Later in the conversation, David Fincher revealed that representatives from Facebook attended an early screening and were "appropriately appalled" by what they saw in the finished product.

The Story Is Based On Three Separate, Conflicting Depositions

When writing the Academy Award-winning screenplay for The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin couldn't turn to Facebook to see how the early days of the company played out, so he turned to three separate and conflicting depositions that were taken over the course of two lawsuits filed at roughly the same time. In the video "How I Wrote The Social Network," Sorkin explained that even though the defendant (Mark Zuckerberg), the plaintiffs, and the witnesses all swore an oath to tell the truth, they each told very different versions of the story, which made things exciting:

This idea of having an unreliable narrator adds another dimension to the movie and gives the audience another factor to take into consideration when deciding who is wright and who is wrong in the various scenarios featured in the movie.

Aaron Sorkin Was Originally Set To Direct, But The Producers Wanted To Give David Fincher A Shot

The original plan for The Social Network was to have Aaron Sorkin both write and direct the project, which would have been a first for the scribe. As early stages of pre-production began to speed up, however, producer Scott Rudin decided he wanted to see if David Fincher would be interested in leading the charge behind the camera. Fincher told THR in 2011 that he was given the script on a Friday and that next Monday he agreed to come aboard, but only if Sorkin was okay with stepping aside. Once that happened, Fincher got to work and the rest is history. Sorkin would go on to make his directorial debut in the 2017 release of Molly's Game.

David Fincher Was Adamant About The Opening Scene Being Seven Minutes, Twenty-Two Seconds Long

Right off the bat, The Social Network throws the audience into the middle of the drama surrounding Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with the fast-paced and draining breakup scene between Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). Aaron Sorkin told THR in 2016 the reason behind this blistering speed of the dialogue goes back to the first meeting he had with David Fincher in which the director timed him reading each of the scenes how they sounded in his head, and the opener ended up being seven minutes, 22 seconds. In rehearsal, as the actors were preparing to shoot, Aaron Sorkin explained that David Fincher would be there timing each go at the scene and come back with notes pretty much saying:

Just go back and watch the scene for yourself and try and figure out the two actors were able to get out all of that complex dialogue in such a short amount of time and still have it make sense, even though it was eventually cut down to a little under five minutes in length.

Josh Pence's Head Was Replaced With Armie Hammer's In Post, But He Had To Learn Tyler Winklevoss' Lines

Throughout The Social Network, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) were established as two rowing-obsessed twins who try to get Mark Zuckerberg to help them launch their own website before later suing him for theft of their idea. Finding a set of twins that were six feet five inches tall and 220 pounds that could also act proved difficult for David Fincher, so he decided to cast Hammer to be the face of both twins while hiring Josh Pence to be a stand-in for whenever both brothers were on the screen at the same time. But just because Pence's face and voice wouldn't be in the final product, he still had to learn all the lines, as Fincher told EW in 2010:

David Fincher went on to explain that Josh Pence was awesome in response to the proposal and said that he'd love to be a part of the movie.

The Thrilling Henley Royal Regatta Scene Was Shot Just Weeks Before The Movie Was To Be Finished

David Fincher is typically known for the dramatic ways in which he frames his shots and shoots action, but The Social Network is essentially two hours of people talking in board rooms and writing code. That is, except for the beautiful and thrilling Henley Royal Regatta scene that shows the Winklevoss twins being narrowly beat by the Dutch rowing team. This whole sequence becomes even more thrilling when you realize that sequence and subsequent party scene were shot just weeks before the movie was supposed to be finished, as Fincher reveals in the film's director's commentary:

And the whole short depth-of-field and artistic feel to the whole rowing scene? Well, that decision wasn't just made to make it look more aesthetically pleasing but instead because the closeups were filmed at a different location that looked nothing like Henley, and this style allowed Fincher to better stitch the shots together.

Harvard Wouldn't Allow The Production On Campus

Besides the deposition scenes and the sections of the movie set in California, a large chunk of The Social Network was set at Harvard, where Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook back in 2004. There was just one problem with that, the university wouldn't allow the movie to be filmed on campus, as David Fincher explained in the short documentary about the movie's visuals on its Blu-ray release:

To get around this, the production crew filmed at other colleges that had a similar look as Harvard, while also filming establishing shots at sections of Cambridge, Massachusetts that overlooked the university.

To Pull Off The Exterior Shots Of Harvard, A Mime Was Sent To The Iconic Arches To Light Up The Area And Distract Authorities

The exterior shots of Harvard are some of the most prominent in all of the movie, but not being able to film on Harvard property initially proved to be a major issue for the production team. That is until David Fincher came up with a great workaround to capture the iconic arches at the entrance of the prestigious campus, as director of photography Jeff Croneweth revealed in a making of documentary:

Jeff Croneweth would go on to joke that they were there filming a multi-million dollar movie but still having to go back and use techniques that they would have used in film school.

Jonah Hill Was Considered For The Sean Parker Role Before Justin Timberlake Came Into The Picture

It is hard to see anyone but Justin Timberlake as the cocky and influential founder of Napster Sean Parker in The Social Network, but there was a time when Jonah Hill was in the running for the role. During a 2018 appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, however, the star of 2011's Moneyball (also written by Aaron Sorkin) revealed that even though the studio really wanted him to get the role, the decision ultimately came down to David Fincher who ultimately thought Timberlake was the better fit. And even though Hill doesn't harbor any ill will towards the director for passing him over, he is still bummed about it all these years later because he really likes the movie.

The College Party Scene Where Sean Parker Is Arrested Features The Only Handheld Shot In The Entire Movie

Pretty much every shot in The Social Network is smooth and calculated and gives off a very cool, calm, and collected feel to the movie, even when chaos is happening all around. That's not the case for the party scene where Sean Parker gets arrested for possession of cocaine and distributing to minors. In the director's commentary on the film's Blu-ray release, David Fincher explains that this scene contains the only handheld shot in the entire movie, stating:

By having the human element in this one shot, it adds a sense of realism and place that isn't seen all that much through the rest of the movie, and also shows the predictable unraveling of the Napster founder, proving Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) right.

Those are just 10 things about the making of The Social Network that make the film all that more interesting. What are your thoughts on David Fincher's landmark Facebook movie? Does it still hold up after all these years?

Aaron Sorkin made his directorial debut in 2017 with Molly's Game, but he's still best known within the world of film as a screenwriter extraordinaire. Among his notable works is 2010's The Social Network, which followed the formation of Facebook and the numerous lawsuits its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, was hit with. A lot has happened at Facebook in the near-decade since The Social Network's release, and Sorkin thinks its about time that a sequel delve deeper into Zuckerberg's company. In the writer's words:

Although The Social Network was adapted from the 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires by Brad Mezrich, Aaron Sorkin did a lot of his own research into Facebook, namely because Sorkin was tackling the script as Mezrich was finishing the book. So regarding Facebook's early history, Sorkin is quite knowledgeable. But time passes on, and while a sequel to The Social Network is only a topic of discussion for now, Sorkin thinks there's enough material from Facebook's last nine years to warrant exploring that on the big screen.

And Aaron Sorkin isn't the only one interested in tackling The Social Network Part 2 (it'd probably have a better title than that). Continuing in his interview with AP Entertainment, Sorkin said:

Facebook certainly hasn't been lacking in controversy in recent years, such as mishandling its users' private data and failing to effectively fight the spread of fake news. The Social Network showed audiences the cutthroat ways Zuckerberg established Facebook and made it successful, but a sequel could explore how the company has fallen from grace following the events depicted in the movie, which won four Golden Globes and three Academy Awards.

Aaron Sorkin didn't elaborate on whether or not he himself would want to write a sequel to The Social Network, although if he feels this strongly about such a project, one would imagine he'd be open to the idea of carving out time for it. It'd also be nice if David Fincher would return to direct, but arguably the most important returning element would be Jesse Eisenberg reprising Mark Zuckerberg. That way there's still a sense of continuity, and since Eisenberg earned numerous accolades for his performance and has only become more famous since then, it'd be worth doing whatever it takes to ensure his participation.

If a Social Network sequel does end up moving forward, we here at CinemaBlend will be sure to let you know about. As far as what movies are actually coming out, head to our 2019 release schedule to see what's arriving over the next year.

Recent years have inspired tons of rumors about potentially huge TV revivals, and Aaron Sorkin's highly lauded political drama The West Wing has been one of the more exciting prospects. In fact, former star Richard Schiff says he was talking to Sorkin recently, and the West Wing creator listened to Schiff's pitch for where the show could go in a new season.

Richard Schiff's take on the potential future of The West Wing is perhaps less of a straight revival pitch and more of a same-universe reboot with new characters, but the level of excitement within the fanbase should be about the same. After all, when Aaron Sorkin loves an idea, that idea usually finds its way to becoming a reality. Especially since NBC has basically given the Molly's Game filmmaker an open-door policy for a new West Wing-related project.

That fairly limited logline seen above definitely didn't account for all the ideas that Richard Schiff has about potentially returning to the role of Toby Ziegler. Appearing on the podcast Popcorn Talk, Schiff expanded his pitch and explained why he thinks The West Wing would probably need to change locations to somewhere outside of its titular setting.

The West Wing, which last aired in 2006, did not give Richard Schiff's Toby Ziegler the most sensible and fan-embraced final-season storyline, setting the character up to be indicted for leaking classified information. Schiff, along with plenty of fans, had criticized The West Wing's creative team for that left-field arc in the past, so having the series come back in some form could go a long way in rectifying Toby's decision-making.

Plus, I'm fully on board with the idea of The West Wing averting its focus and centering on the ways that politics runs people's lives outside of Washington D.C.'s most famous residence. There are certainly tons of other hallways around the district where characters can engage in their Sorkin-specific walk-and-talks.

While The West Wing hasn't aired any full-length episodes in nearly 13 years, that doesn't mean all the characters have been completely absent from our lives. For instance, the always phenomenal Allison Janney reprised the role role of CJ Cregg for a White House press briefing in 2016, and then again in 2017 for Samantha Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner. And everyone knows the third-through-the-hundredth times are the charm, so let's get C.J. back on TV on a regular basis in 2019.

When rumors about a West Wing revival were first kicked around in 2017, Aaron Sorkin had his own ideas for the show's potential new direction. Looking back, his vision couldn't have sounded more different from Richard Schiff's, even if it was a pretty interesting concept in general.

Would President Bartlett even return for Richard Schiff's revival pitch? And what about Bradley Whitford's Josh Lyman or Dulé Hill's Charlie Young? Once they start bringing a couple of West Wing characters back, they'd have to bring them all back, right? (Minus the dead folks, obviously.)

Do you guys want to see The West Wing return to audiences in 2019 or 2020? Let us know in the comments, and head to our midseason premiere schedule to see all the other great new and returning shows that are hitting primetime soon.

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Although he admitted to CinemaBlend that Molly's Game was not a poker movie during a recent interview, Aaron Sorkin also noted that authenticity in the poker sequences was still a key to getting the film right. To make that a reality, the freshman director brought in real poker players, and he even sanctioned some real gambling on the set of the film for a half hour each day. During the press junket for Molly's Game, Sorkin explained:

We've heard of actors going method for their roles, but this is something else altogether. To create an atmosphere of realism and authentic competition between the poker players on the set of Molly's Game, the legendary screenwriter pinned a check to the wall and offered it up to the player who could win the most chips in a set amount of time at the end of shooting. The result? Sorkin found himself with a considerable amount of B-roll that captured the cutthroat attitude that many of these real-life poker players bring to the table.

If you want to hear more about Aaron Sorkin's unorthodox methods of fostering competition on the set of Molly's Game, check out a clip from his interview with CinemaBlend below.

Like The Social Network and Steve Jobs, Molly's Game is a film based on a captivating true story. It centers on former Olympic hopeful Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) and her journey into a seedy underworld as she develops a knack for running poker games in Los Angeles and New York City. The film has generated quite a bit of buzz because of its status as Aaron Sorkin's first time directing a feature, and the positive reviews of the film (such as CinemaBlend's own four-star review) make it abundantly clear that Sorkin seems to have nailed the directing game on his first time up to the proverbial plate.

Molly's Game is now in select theaters, and the film will open wide this weekend on January 5. If you are looking for a bit more information on the rest of the films slated to debut this year, then make sure to glance at our 2018 movie premiere guide and fill out your moviegoing calendars accordingly!

Poker has arguably become its own subgenre over the years, with films like Rounders and even Casino Royale going all in (see what we did there?) on their dissection of the sport. Given that history, one could easily assume that writer/first-time-director Aaron Sorkin would consider his new film, Molly's Game, a natural addition to that gaggle. However, the screenwriter recently sat down with CinemaBlend at a press event in Los Angeles and explained that Molly's Game isn't a poker movie because the poker is the not the element of the story that we invest in as an audience. Sorkin explained:

For Molly's Game to work, poker needed to be included in the story. There is no tale of Molly Bloom's character arc without the games she ran for a decade in Los Angeles and New York City. However, Aaron Sorkin's attitude towards the game was to make it dynamic and reflect the wheels that turned in Molly's head as she watched the games. This story is a movie about a woman dealing with an arsenal of personal demons, and the poker merely represents the thing that offers her an outlet and a path to fame and fortune.

This type of storytelling is not necessarily uncommon for a writer like Aaron Sorkin. In fact, looking at his recent filmography shows how he uses these kinds of backdrops to frame his films. Saying Molly's Game is a poker movie is arguably like saying that The Social Network is a movie about programming, or Steve Jobs is a movie about the Mac. They're merely framing devices to tell more in-depth and more personal stories.

If you want a closer look at CinemaBlend's conversation with Aaron Sorkin about his work on Molly's Game, then take a look at a clip from the interview below!

Molly's Game is currently out in select theaters, and the film will open wide this weekend on January 5, so make sure to read CinemaBlend's review of it before heading out to your local theater. Beyond that, we still have an entire year's worth of movies to get to, so take a look at our 2018 movie premiere guide to get a better sense of what's on the horizon over the next few months!

Aaron Sorkin is best known for his fast-paced, intellectual dialogue, which when used correctly can make a scene truly soar with words alone. But now with Molly's Game, he's taking his first steps into the world of writing AND directing, which can be daunting to even the best talents out there. It's an ambitious gamble, but one that pays off quite well for all involved.

Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) never meant to become the woman the world would eventually refer to as the "Poker Princess." If her plans were worth anything, she'd have been an Olympic skier and a successful law student in the prime of her life. But after an accident ends her skiing career, she ultimately makes her way into the high-stakes world of underground gambling. This decision would bring her the greatest success in her life, but also her biggest failings. Failings she'll now need the help of her defense attorney (Idris Elba) to find herself free of.

While this is Aaron Sorkin's debut as a writer-director hyphenate, Molly's Game finds him dealing the deck on both sides of the camera, he's chose a story that is well within his wheelhouse. Molly's an aloof character with a vocabulary that sets her apart from all competition, but ultimately belies her self image. In other words, she's the perfect Sorkin protagonist, which means that while his writer side has crafted a character he knows the ins and outs of, it allows him to focus on visually conveying that world he's all too familiar with. And as far as directorial debuts go, it comes off with only a minimum of hitches.

The minor hiccups in Molly's Game seem to come from the usual relationship with a writer such as Sorkin and his material. If the film's script were trimmed a little, or maybe just polished a little more in some spots, the entire film would have sailed much smoother. One particular scene between Jessica Chastain's Molly and her father, played by Kevin Costner, is one of those moments that could have benefitted from either treatment, as it manages to slide further into melodrama than needed. But even with some moments that take only the smallest gust of wind out of the film's sails, the story of Molly Bloom still manages to captivate the audience in its tense telling.

Naturally, a huge majority of that fact is due to Jessica Chastain, as she once more commands the screen with a presence of authority and snark that keeps the audience in Molly's corner. But Molly's Game wouldn't be a true Aaron Sorkin film if it didn't have our lead teamed up with someone else as her equal, particularly in the standard ping pong matches that his conversational scenes can turn into. This is where Idris Elba comes in, as he's so game for sparring with Chastain, their chemistry on screen puts on a clinic for why casting your leads is so important.

Molly's Game isn't perfect, but as it's Aaron Sorkin's first film as a director, it's a true testament to how much he's paid attention to the directors that have handled his work. Better still, the promise shown by Sorkin's eye for directing in this film With Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba turning in brilliant performances, their work ties Molly's Game together into a sharp legal drama / biopic hybrid. Last year, we got Miss Sloane, and this year we got Molly's Game. If this pattern means that we'll be getting a Chastain-led picture on a yearly basis, in order to help close things out in style, then I'll sign all of the petitions to make it happen.

TV shows about the White House are relatively common these days, but few can compare to the legacy of The West Wing. The brainchild of Aaron Sorkin, the NBC series perfected the walk-and-talk and delivered some of the most compelling political drama ever seen on the small screen. The West Wing's themes continue to resonate to this day, and Sorkin himself recently admitted that he would be interested in exploring the possibility of a revival with This is Us star Sterling K. Brown playing the new president. Sorkin addressed this idea while discussing his directorial debut on Molly's Game and said:

If you're one of the many fans that have wanted to see a West Wing revival for some time, then Aaron Sorkin's recent comments to THR should get you very excited. The series ended in 2006 with President Jed Barlett (Martin Sheen) ushering in the inauguration of the newly elected Democratic President of the United States Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). Now, with over a decade of space between the old series and the possible revival, The West Wing apparently could return with Bartlett coming out of retirement as an advisor to a new president played by Sterling K. Brown. Where the rest of the cast would fit into the equation is where things get trickier, but Sorkin can figure that part out later.

The West Wing had a long history of echoing real-life events during (and after) its run. It was one of the first shows to acknowledge the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and several significant issues tackled in the first season have gone on to become major political struggles in the 2010s -- such as a Supreme Court vacancy and hate crime legislation. To bring Barlett back as a mentor for the first black president (in the universe of the show) would line up with the MO of the series, and Sorkin himself.

It also seems that Aaron Sorkin's mental wheels have been spinning over the course of the last year. The legendary screenwriter took part in a Reddit AMA session last year and admitted that he had an interest in exploring a possible revival for The West Wing, but he didn't offer any other details aside from that. Now he seems to have a general premise in his head for how to continue this universe, and it sounds like something that could work in connection with the existing seventh season of the show.

We will keep you posted with more updates related to a possible West Wing revival as new details are made available; until then you can catch all of the old episodes on Netflix to get yourself up-to-date on the classic series. As for the modern era of television, you can check out our fall premiere guide and our midseason premiere guide to see what's coming over the next few months, and you can check out our handy cancellation guide to see which shows have sadly left us this year.

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In just the last decade alone, the work of Aaron Sorkin has attracted some of the most talented filmmakers in Hollywood. So when it came time for the Oscar-winning screenwriter to make his directorial debut with the upcoming film Molly's Game, how did he reflect on those past collaborations? Well, in his own words, by blatantly stealing from them. He recently told me,

I met Aaron Sorkin in Las Vegas last week during a press line at CinemaCon -- the annual convention for movie theater owners -- and used the opportunity to discuss his latest project. Specifically noting some of the names above, I asked how his work with great filmmakers influenced his approach and style, and it turns out that we can expect Molly's Game to be a bit of "All Of The Above."

Aaron Sorkin has spent his entire career working with great filmmakers, having started in the 1990s with two Rob Reiner movies, but has been on a real roll in recent years. His work with David Fincher on The Social Network yielded him an Academy Award, and both Bennett Miller and Danny Boyle made beautiful features from his scripts for Moneyball and Steve Jobs, respectively. It's interesting that all of the directors Sorkin mentioned have very distinct styles, so how they wind up being filtered through his unique brain should be one of the most curious things about Molly's Game.

In addition to leaning on his past experiences with great directors, Aaron Sorkin also admitted to me that he put a lot of trust in his colleagues in the making of his directorial debut. Though he has spent decades making movies, he still relied on the experience of his team to help him make the best movie he could make. Said Sorkin,

Based on the memoir "Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker," the new movie stars Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom -- a former Olympic hopeful who winds up on the FBI's radar after starting an illegal high-stakes poker game. Sorkin adapted the story himself, and has assembled an impressive supporting cast that also includes Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera and Chris O'Dowd.

You can watch both Aaron Sorkin and Jessica Chastain talk about their work together on Molly's Game in the video below:

Molly's Game sadly doesn't currently have a release date just yet, but it is set up to be distributed by STX Entertainment, and we'll have more details for you here on CinemaBlend as soon as they're available.

Screenwriters tend not to get the credit that they deserve in Hollywood these days, with only a few ever actually becoming households names. Arguably the most well-known and beloved screenwriter of the modern age is Aaron Sorkin -- the man behind modern classics like The Social Network and A Few Good Men. Sorkin has made a name for himself as one of the best writers in film and television, so imagine our surprise when we learned that he had set up meetings with DC and Marvel. That's right folks, Aaron Sorkin is possibly going to write a superhero movie at some point in the near future.

If Aaron Sorkin indeed is considering getting into the superhero business, then there is only one character that he should be looking at right now: Green Arrow. Oliver Queen seems like a character who is tailor made for Aaron Sorkin's particular screenwriting sensibilities, and as such we have compiled a list of reasons why a potential Green Arrow movie is the perfect project for this legendary (and endlessly prolific) scribe. Take a look at our arguments, and let us know which comic book hero you would like to see Aaron Sorkin get involved with. Now, on that note, let's kick this off with one of the most controversial aspects of Oliver Queen: his politics.

Sorkin Knows How To Write Politically Charged Stories

Regardless of your own political affiliation, it's impossible to divorce Oliver Queen from his personal political ideology. His far left, radical sensibilities came into play during the 1960s, and they are what set The Emerald Archer apart from other billionaire vigilantes in the comic book world. Whether or not comic book movies should come with political arguments is obviously a long-running debate in the online community, but it would be hard to imagine a Green Arrow movie without centering on that fundamental aspect of the character. Aaron Sorkin has never shied away from including this type of political rhetoric in his screenplays, and his work on projects like The Newsroom and The West Wing undoubtedly served as perfect practice runs to take a crack at the comic book world's most iconic liberal icon. It would be as if Jed Barlet picked up a bow and arrow and went to work on corruption.

Sorkin's Oliver Queen Could Be As Quick-Witted As The Comic Book Character

The characters who inhabit the world created by Aaron Sorkin already have a very particular set of superpowers; they are all naturally gifted at talking fast and coming up with endlessly witty responses to one another. Green Arrow is a hero with a sharp tongue (he stands right alongside Deadpool and Tony Stark in terms of zingers) and as such he is a character who requires a writer who knows how to craft lightning fast dialogue at each and every turn. Sorkin perfected the art of the "walk and talk" dialogue sequence with his work on shows like The West Wing and Sports Night. It seems entirely logical that his ability to create incredibly dense and layered exchanges between characters would serve the DCEU incredibly well within the halls of Queen Consolidated or the Star City Mayor's Office. Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen is dark, brooding, and quiet; it's time for a change.

Sorkin Excels At Writing Anti-Heroes

From The West Wing's Josh Lyman and Tobey Ziegler to The Social Network's Mark Zuckerberg and The Newsroom's Will McAvoy, Aaron Sorkin has long prided himself on being a screenwriter who can craft great stories centering on intelligently written anti-heroes. These are characters that audiences want to root for but are also ultimately bogged down by serious character flaws that plague them every step of the way. Within the world of DC Comics, few heroes epitomize that idea more than Oliver Queen. He is the epitomize of a man seeking redemption for past sins, and he is a perfect vessel for Aaron Sorkin to continue his hot streak. Sorkin admittedly hasn't tackled too many violent anti-heroes during his time as a screenwriter, but that only makes the prospect of him taking on Green Arrow that much more enticing. Arrow fights just as much as he talks, and we want to see that depicted properly on the silver screen.

Sorkin Works Well With Flashback Material

Oliver Queen has one of the most fascinating origin stories in all of the comics. After being marooned on a remote island in the middle of the ocean, he forges himself into a weapon and learns from his previously hedonistic and selfish ways. That said, we don't want to see a movie that is entirely devoted to Oliver's origin story because that type of movie has been done to death. On that note, Aaron Sorkin has proven time and time again (particularly with his work on films like Steve Jobs and The Social Network) that he knows how to craft coherent stories that don't necessarily follow coherent timelines in a linear fashion. His version of the Green Arrow narrative could cover flashbacks to his selfish days, his time on the island, and his time as the protector of Star City all while maintaining a strong sense of forward momentum and general clarity of creative vision.

Superhero movies have become so popular in recent years that these productions are recruiting talent you wouldn't normally think of being interested in the genre. Seriously, if you'd told me a decade ago that Cate Blanchett would play the villain in a Thor movie, I would have stared at you with skepticism. Still, occasionally a name will pop up in connection with a superhero movie that remains surprising, and today, that honor belongs to Aaron Sorkin, who apparently is being courted to write either a Marvel or DC movie.

While appearing at Las Vegas' CinemaCon earlier today, Sorkin informed ComicBook.com that he will be meeting with both Marvel and DC soon, which will be an interesting experience for him since he's never read any comic books. As he put it:

Well, folks, get ready for long takes of superheroes exchanging snappy dialogue with one another as they walk through a building. Seriously though, of all the writers to pick from, I never thought Aaron Sorkin would be game for a superhero movie, let alone from one of the Big Two. Sorkin is a writing legend in Hollywood, from A Few Good Men to Steve Jobs, not to mention his TV work like The West Wing and The Newsroom. Scoring him would be a major win for either Marvel and DC, but that will depend on whether they can pitch a character or group that catches his fancy as someone who's never been exposed to comic books.

Assuming Marvel or DC manage to entice Aaron Sorkin into coming aboard, it would be ideal if they don't put him on one of their bigger releases. Someone like him would be better suited for one of the quieter, less bombastic blockbusters. Preferably he would be attached to a movie analogous to Deadpool or Logan, where continuity isn't as essential and action, while still important, is placed on the back burner in favor of emphasizing story and character development. Still, since Sorkin doesn't have any comic book experience, it will certainly be difficult to find something that both appeals to him and fits with his style of writing. Difficult, but not impossible.

Which superhero movie would you like Aaron Sorkin to write? Give us your thoughts in the comments below, and in the meantime, Sorkin's next movie, Molly's Game (which also marked his directorial debut), is expected to be released later in 2017.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was a show that had all the right ingredients to obtain success when it premiered back in 2006. The cast was filled with actors who excelled in both comedy and drama, the Monday night time slot was solid, and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin was the creator and primary writer on the series. Expectations were high. Unfortunately, Studio 60 lasted for only a single season on NBC. Actor Steven Weber had a key role in the series, and he has come out and shared his thoughts on why the show failed:

Going by Steven Weber's thoughts on the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip cancellation, it seems that bad timing had a lot to do with why the show never got more than a single season. The West Wing had come to an end after seven seasons in May 2006, and folks who were already in West Wing withdrawal may have tuned in to Aaron Sorkin's new project expecting something somehow similar despite clear differences between the premises. Studio 60 was a dramedy set behind the scenes on a live sketch comedy show; The West Wing was a political drama followed the ups and downs of the White House staff. West Wing star Bradley Whitford had a leading role on Studio 60, and comparisons were not likely to be in favor of the new show. After all, The West Wing was really pretty great, and Studio 60 was very young.

The timing was also off thanks to the fact that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip happened to debut in the same TV season as the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which was also set behind the scenes on a live comedy show. The Tina Fey show was decidedly comedic and showed off her roots as an SNL writer and cast member; Aaron Sorkin's dramedy seemed somewhat silly in comparison. Studio 60 was never designed as a show in the same genre as 30 Rock, but their shared 2006 premieres on the same network meant that one probably had to go. Aaron Sorkin's post-West Wing notoriety sadly did not help him with this project.

Interestingly, Aaron Sorkin wasn't active behind the scenes on The West Wing for its final three seasons. He left the show after Season 4 in a move that changed the tone of the show forever. In addition to his role as creator and showrunner, Sorkin had written or co-written most of the episodes over the first four years of the drama. After struggling with drug problems and studio disagreements, he handed the show over to another showrunner and never watched another episode of the show.

Steven Weber's reveal to A.V. Club indicates that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip perhapshad the potential to become a huge hit if it had the chance to establish itself without comparison to other excellent NBC shows. We can only wonder what might have been if the show hadn't been cancelled. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule for a look at what is currently on the air.

The West Wing was a series about politics and life behind closed doors in the White House. While it was always a fictional series, the show did nod at a lot of real-life sorts of problems and tensions the world was facing. During one memorable episode, creator and writer Aaron Sorkin said he got into trouble with the Arab American Anti-Defamation league for a plot involving US doctors wandering into Syria's airspace. The protests spooked the network, leading to one of the most unintentionally hilarious notes that Sorkin ever got while writing The West Wing. You can check out the full story from his AMA, below.

Aaron Sorkin is a creator who is known for his acerbic personality so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that the writer didn't take NBC's note lying down. When faced with the prospect of having to cut a fun line with Toby, Sorkin literally pulled out a bible, highlighted the relevant chapter and sent it to the network. It's not exactly a middle finger at the network, but it's definitely a checkmate type of move.

Still, being spooked about the Anti-Defamation League is one thing and sending a note about a throwaway line that clearly had historical relevancy is another. I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. The types of notes that the networks give out are legendary, and are often cited as reasons showrunners have taken their shows to cable, subscription cable and streaming TV, where the creative team has more freedom and notes are less abundant. In fact, between that and the fairly quick cancellation of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, we wonder if that's why The Newsroom ended up on HBO...

Currently, Aaron Sorkin has a few projects in the works, including a live adaptation of A Few Good Men for NBC. If you'd like to take a look at some more of his insights, be sure to check out the full Reddit AMA, here.

The West Wing was a rarity in several ways, not the least of which was how the characters managed to use snappy dialogue and walk-and-talks to make the particulars of politics interesting for primetime. There were ups and downs along the way, but it was a consistently solid show. The West Wing never would have become the popular and critical hit that it was were it not for writer/creator/showrunner Aaron Sorkin at the helm for the first four seasons. He left before the fifth, and Sorkin admits that it was advice from Larry David that kept him from being too miserable about departing.

Aaron Sorkin’s account to THR of his conversation with Larry David reveals a lot about how much both men put into their respective series. Seinfeld and The West Wing were very different shows, but they were huge hits, and the head honchos leaving before the run was finished put them in a sticky situation. For his part, Sorkin had written or co-written most of the episodes of the first four seasons; going cold turkey into Season 5 couldn’t have been easy.

He certainly left the show on a doozy of a cliffhanger. President Bartlet’s daughter had been kidnapped, conflict was brewing in a big way overseas, Bartlet chose to recuse himself from office due to his personal turmoil, and…exit Sorkin. Fans were certainly dying to know what would happen in the Season 5 premiere, and Sorkin was curious enough to want to have a look himself, despite Larry David’s warning.

Given all the changes that were in store for all the characters following Aaron Sorkin’s departure, it was probably good for Sorkin’s health that he not try to soldier through the Season 5 premiere. Larry David may have been professionally miserable, but Sorkin couldn’t have wished that on himself. He did miss out on some great plot twists and story arcs in the last few seasons of The West Wing, but it’s nice to know that he has no regrets about not watching. Besides, if he ever wants a fix of his old show, he can always watch some of the highlights of his own tenure. 

The Academy Awards are always good for a full of surprises. Sure, some filmmakers, actors and movies seem destined for Oscar gold, but there are always plenty of key snubs and shocking inclusions that leave everybody either completely enraged or delighted. And it’s 10 of those that we’re here to talk about today.

What were the most surprising turn of events during this morning’s nomination announcements for the 88th annual Academy Awards? Read on to find out!

Quentin Tarantino And Aaron Sorkin Miss Out On Best Screenplay

Between the two of them, Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin have three Academy Awards and two separate nominations in Oscar screenplay categories, but both of them wound up being completely shut out of the 2016 race for their work on The Hateful Eight and Steve Jobs, respectively. It’s obviously their track record that makes the snub this year so surprising, but the results of the Golden Globes certainly don’t help it make any more sense. After all, not only were both Tarantino and Sorkin nominated, but it was Sorkin who actually walked away with the trophy.

Adam McKay Gets Nominated For Best Director

After a career of making ridiculous comedies like Anchorman and Step Brothers, director Adam McKay changed gears a bit to make The Big Short - certainly his most serious work to date – and it has paid off in a huge way. McKay’s nomination for the main prize from the Director’s Guild was certainly a clue that he was very much in the running for the Academy Awards’ Best Director prize – but that doesn’t really make seeing his name on the ballot any less surprising.

Tom Hardy Gets A Best Supporting Actor Nomination

Despite putting on one of the best supporting actor performances of last year – starring in The Revenant as the man who left Leonardo DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass to die after being attacked by a bear – Tom Hardy was completely looked over during the Golden Globes, and wasn’t even able to secure a nomination. The Academy most certainly did what they could to right that wrong. There’s no guarantee that Hardy will win, as the competition in the category is pretty crazy, but he most certainly deserves to be recognized for his impressive work, and it’s a nice surprise that that’s happening.

Ridley Scott Misses Out On Best Director

Of all the big surprises from this year’s crop of Oscar nods, this one is definitely the biggest. The Director’s Guild Of America nominations usually do an excellent job predicting who will be nominated for an Academy Award – and while Ridley Scott’s work on The Martian earned him attention from that organization, Lenny Abrahamson took his slot thanks to his work on the emotionally devastating Room. The Academy has previously been kind to Scott, delivering a Best Director nomination on three separate occasions, but he apparently couldn’t get the votes this time around.

Room Gets A Ton Of Attention

Lenny Abrahamson’s Room didn’t exactly light the box office on fire when it came out this past fall, pulling in just $5 million and never making it into more than 198 theaters at one time, but the Academy has made it pretty damn clear that they think it’s a film worth celebrating. While left out of all the technical categories, the emotional drama is in the mix for three of the Oscar’s biggest races: Best Actress (Brie Larson), Best Director and Best Picture.

Michael Keaton Gets Passed Over For Spotlight

Many were disappointed last year when Eddie Redmayne wound up taking home the Best Actor Oscar over Michael Keaton, but at least the actor's turn in Birdman was nominated. Sadly, the same thing can't be said about his fantastic turn in Tom McCarthy's Spotlight. Admittedly the Best Supporting Actor category is an extremely tough one this year - and many of the votes that would have gone Keaton's way went to Mark Ruffalo instead – but it’s still surprising that the veteran actor couldn’t find his way on to the list.

Charlotte Rampling Gets A Best Actress Nomination

Charlotte Rampling has been working as a professional actress since 1965, but has never exactly been known to get a lot of awards attention. That has changed in a big way thanks to her performance in writer/director Andrew Haigh’s drama 45 Years. She has been picking up nominations left and right over the last few weeks for her starring role opposite fellow veteran Tom Courtenay, and it’s all led to his first ever Oscar race.

The Peanuts Movie Misses Out On Best Animated Feature

Last year was a rather incredible year for animation, and the nominees for Best Animated Feature Film most certainly demonstrate that. Unfortunately, this fact wound up being bad news for Steve Martino’s The Peanuts Movie. The project certainly earned acclaim from professional critics last fall, and made a significant score at the box office, but apparently this wasn’t enough for it to crack the Top Five with Academy voters. Inside Out and Anomalisa are certainly the frontrunners in the category, but it’s still surprising to not see Peanuts get recognized.

Sylvester Stallone Gets Nominated For Creed

Sylvester Stallone earned a pair of Oscar nominations back in 1977 for his work writing and acting in the original Rocky, but his career since then hasn’t exactly been filled to the brim with award-worthy films or performances. With Creed, however, it’s all come full circle, as the franchise has been given new life, and Stallone is picking up attention from the Academy. After the Golden Globes, we all definitely knew that a Best Supporting Actor nod was possible, but it’s still surprisingly nonetheless.

Mad Max: Fury Road vs. The Revenant

We got to see so many incredible movies come out in 2015, and we would have been happy to see a whole lot of them get a lot of recognition from the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences… but nobody could have predicted that George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road and Alejandro Inarritu’s The Revenant would be leading the pack in nominations this year. The former is competing in a grand total of 10 races, while the other is in 12. They’re both huge epics, feature amazing performances, and film productions went through hell to get the work done – but they really couldn’t be more different at the same time. Which film will ultimately collect more wins? We’ll leave it to all of you to predict that in the comments below.

Kate Winslet and Aaron Sorkin’s Golden Globes wins in the Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenwriter categories have rejuvenated Steve Jobs’ Oscar campaign. Which, despite the prestigious talent involved in the film, was actually assumed dead.

Back in October, Steve Jobs bombed at the box office. It was also met with a gently impressed -- rather than joyously euphoric -- critical response, all of which pointed towards the Apple biopic being overlooked when it came to winning gongs over the next few weeks.

But the Golden Globes has changed all that. First of all, the evening started off with Kate Winslet picking up the Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture Supporting Actress award. In order to get her hands on this accolade Winslet had to defeat star-studded competitors in the shape of Youth’s Jane Fonda, The Hateful Eight’s Jennifer Jason Leigh, Trumbo’s Helen Mirren, and Ex Machina’s Alicia Vikander.

Honestly, each performer would have deserved the Golden Globe award, as it was one of the most even Best Supporting Actor fields for years. There was no sign of a clear winner. Still, there were slight favorites for the prize. And Winslet wasn’t one of them.

In fact, alongside Alicia Vikander’s performance in Ex Machina, which I actually believe is inferior to hers in The Danish Girl, Winslet’s Steve Jobs portrayal was deemed as a genuine outsider for the gong. There was a feeling that nostalgia would give Jane Fonda’s sublime Youth performance an edge, while you can never rule out the sumptuous Helen Mirren.

But the true favorite was Jennifer Jason Leigh. Not only because her performance in the gorgeously gory Quentin Tarantino western was sensational, but a Tarantino script always seems to give actors from his films that are nominated an advantage.

The fact that Kate Winslet was able to beat out Jennifer Jason Leigh for the prize suggests that Steve Jobs is going to be a main contender in the supporting actor categories come Oscar season. This was then underlined even further by Aaron Sorkin’s victory for Best Screenplay.

Sorkin’s victory in this category is actually even more impressive, simply because it was deemed as a straight fight between The Hateful Eight’s Quentin Tarantino and Spotlight’s Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer. Spotlight is currently on a roll that has seen it become an Oscar front-runner, while Quentin Tarantino’s scripts are littered with such rich, ingenious dollops of cinematic delight that awards seasons line-up to reward him whenever they are released.

Somehow, Aaron Sorkin managed to beat these films, as well as Room’s Emma Donoghue and The Big Short’s Charles Randolph and Adam McKay. Sure, the guy is obscenely talented, but Steve Jobs’ poor box office and rather mediocre critical performances meant that it had mostly been forgotten. Instead, alongside Winslet’s triumph, Sorkin has confirmed that Steve Jobs will probably be in the mix at the Oscars after all.

What happened to Steve Jobs? Not the brilliant technician who helped launch Apple, but the movie that is based on his accomplishments. It was supposed to be a hit. The prestige picture was supposed to contend for numerous Oscars. (I was guilty of using the dreaded "F" word – Frontrunner – in my Awards Blend coverage.) Instead, Steve Jobs seems to be trending downward, in a curious fashion.

To date, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic – starring Michael Fassbender in the lead and working off of an exquisite Aaron Sorkin screenplay – has only grossed $16 million after opening on October 9. The film went wider on October 23, but Collider notes that weeks after, the film just dropped out of 2,072 movie theaters, likely due to the film’s meager performance. In the most recent box-office frame, Steve Jobs only banked $797,795, good for a 15th-place finish on the weekend charts. Not good. In fact, the only time that Steve Jobs managed to crack the Top 10 was the weekend of October 23, when it earned $7.1 million and finished in seventh.

Reviews should have helped Danny Boyle’s film. The unconventional biopic – which focuses on three major product launches from Jobs’ career – currently has an 85% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with 156 positive reviews compared to only 27 negative critiques. The cast is top notch, and Aaron Sorkin recently did for Facebook what he’s attempting to do for Apple when he penned The Social Network for David Fincher. That movie nearly broke the $100-million mark domestically, and did top $100 million overseas. Not so much for Steve Jobs.

What’s most puzzling about the poor performance of Steve Jobs is that it really didn’t face stiff competition at the box office. The past few weeks at the box office have been dominated by Sir Ridley Scott’s The Martian, which has been performing extremely well since opening on October 2. But other Oscar-baity titles that would steal focus away from Steve Jobs -- from Room and Brooklyn to Spotlight -- have been holding off their platform release until November, so Steve Jobs had an opportunity to build momentum. Instead, the opposite happened.

This doesn’t mean that the movie’s Oscar chances are done, however, they have decreased. Box office obviously isn’t the only factor that goes in to a successful awards campaign, and films that earned less than Steve Jobs have landed Best Picture nominations. But Universal has to reset its campaign if it hopes to convince people that Steve Jobs is one of the year’s best films, and one that the general public – as well as the Academy – needs to pay attention to.

If you’ve seen Steve Jobs then you already know that it’s a slick, pacey, and entertaining sort-of biopic of the titular Apple headhoncho/apparent absolute bastard. Aaron Sorkin’s script is littered with the sort of quips, comments, and elegant and engaging waffle that you would expect, while Danny Boyle’s direction brings an enchanting cinematic vibe to what is basically just three backstage scenes that drag up the same conflicts time and time and time again.

It’s Michael Fassbender who really grabs hold of Steve Jobs and makes it a must see. His towering, complex, and uncompromising display is one of the year’s best performances, and the supporting work of Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stulhberg, Jeff Daniels, and Katharine Waterston is just as spectacular.

Despite its sways of brilliance, Steve Jobs is still flawed. It becomes repetitive and is at times overly sentimental. And because of the fact that various iterations of Aaron Sorkin’s script nearly made it to the big screen we’re left wondering what could have been. In fact, here are three changes to Steve Jobs that mean we almost had a completely different film than the one that is now in cinemas across the country.

WARNING: There are SPOILERS ahead, so if you haven't watched Steve Jobs yet, you might want to proceed with caution.

David Fincher Was Just A Contract Disagreement Away From Directing Steve Jobs

Following on from their work on The Social Network, it’s no wonder that Aaron Sorkin sought out David Fincher to direct Steve Jobs once he finished adapting Walter Isaacson’s book on the Apple legend. Fincher was just as willing to get his hands on Sorkin’s script. Unfortunately, a contract dispute led the director to pull out of the production, but Scott Rudin’s second choice, Danny Boyle, was instantly enamoured with Sorkin’s work, and soon signed up.

What would have been different if Fincher had directed? Well, first things first, the soundtrack probably would have glistened with the efforts of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, while it almost certainly wouldn’t have included a song from Brit-rock lads The Libertines, which, even though I enjoyed it, did feel a tad out of place.

Other than that we can only speculate. Would David Fincher have made sure that the constant re-appearances of Steve Jobs’ former allies, who quickly become his enemies, didn’t feel like an episode of Cheers? Well, the sensational documentary on the production of The Social Network proved just how meticulous the filmmaker was with that script to try and rid it of material he thought was superfluous. That process could have made Steve Jobs a tiny bit less cheesy.

One thing that’s almost for certain is that David Fincher wouldn’t have made the conclusion so bombastically sentimental. Danny Boyle previously revealed during his talks with Amy Raphael in her astounding book, Danny Boyle: In His Own Words, his regret that he didn’t end Sunshine with the Coldplay song "Fix You" because he originally feared that it would be over the top. Since then, especially with Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, Boyle has gone for a grandiose emotional finale. They have suited both of these productions just fine, because of the release that they provided following the rollercoaster antics of the films. With Steve Jobs this approach just didn’t fit. In fact, it felt forced and over-done. And it was something that, for better or worse, I just couldn’t have seen David Fincher doing.

Christian Bale, Not Michael Fassbender, Was The First Choice For Steve Jobs

When Aaron Sorkin revealed that Christian Bale had been selected to star in Steve Jobs, the screenwriter insisted that they had hired the best actor in the world to play the part. So, of course, when Christian Bale left the project alongside David Fincher it was always going to be known that his replacement was second choice to the Batman Begins actor. Luckily though, the replacement was Christian Bale. But, after agreeing to star in Steve Jobs for a second time, he then quit for good in November 2014.

As a result of Bale’s exit, Michael Fassbender was approached for the role, and those of you who have seen the film will be in agreement that he is rather special as Jobs. In fact, he’s so damn good that imagining anyone else in the role is impossible.

But the news that Steve Jobs made a stuttering start at box office means that questions will now be asked about whether Christian Bale’s presence might have made it a bigger draw. American Hustle, The Fighter, and The Prestige each weren’t blockbusters and returned healthy grosses, while, despite his obvious talent, Michael Fassbender is yet to lead a proven, lower budgeted box office triumph.

That doesn’t really matter, though, because Fassbender is superb as Steve Jobs, and that is all that will be remembered. While I’d also like to think that in some distant, far-off parallel universe Christian Bale is probably being just as lauded for his own turn as Steve Jobs.

Sony Almost Produced Steve Jobs, Would Seth Rogen Have Starred?

Did the decision to cast The Interview’s Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak result in Sony pulling the plug on Steve Jobs? Almost certainly not, but it’s an interesting little side story as to how the movie eventually made it to the big screen.

After acquiring Walter Isaacson’s book back in October 2011, hiring Aaron Sorkin to adapt it, forcing David Fincher to confirm then quit as its director, and finally getting Boyle, Fassbender, and Rogen signed up, Sony ultimately dropped out. This wasn’t to do with Rogen though. In fact, it was more to do with the fact that Sony wanted to cut back following repeated poor performances at the box office. They didn't think Steve Jobs would be a hit, and as its current gross confirms, it isn't likely to return a hefty sum. So the studio decided against proceeding.

Universal Pictures quickly picked it up, though, and gave Boyle and his cohorts $30 million to work their magic on Sorkin’s script. Was $30 million enough to make Steve Jobs though? Well, depending on how much the cast was paid, you’d have thought so. But the obvious comparison is to The Social Network, and since The Social Network cost $10 million more to make and starred a shallower and less renowned cast than Steve Jobs, you could assume that more could have been splashed on to increase its je ne sais quoi.

That is a harsh assessment to reach though. There has certainly been enough marketing, positive attention, and curiosity over Steve Jobs that many expected it to succeed financially. Unfortunately, however, in today’s modern movie climate, it’s impossible to know prcisely how and why a film triumphs or fails at the box office.

All that we do know is that Steve Jobs is a flawed but entertaining, unconventional biopic that we should all revel in, while at the same time still speculating about what could have been.

It’s hard to imagine that there are people out there who don’t know about Michael Fassbender. Nevertheless, when screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was looking for his Steve Jobs with director Danny Boyle, he was probably the only one who didn’t know who he was. In Sorkin’s defense, this project was in development for such a long time, and Fassbender hadn’t yet become the in-demand talent he is today. Thankfully, the actor’s work spoke for itself.

It took a long time to get to Fassbender. First, David Fincher was in talks to helm the film, but when his name was taken off the table, so was prospective headlining actor Christian Bale. Then there was talk of Leonardo DiCaprio potentially coming aboard, and rumors were circulating at one point that Sorkin wanted Tom Cruise for the job. As it turns out, Boyle was the one who wanted Fassbender for the role.

Sorkin described the casting process in an interview with Cinema Blend during the film’s press junket. He said,

Before Fassbender became Jobs, before he became the villainous master of magnetism, he played a German film critic turned Lieutenant Hicox. His first big scene — and it’s likely this is what Sorkin was referring to — came when he had a Mexican standoff with a Nazi in a bar. It’s one of the most memorable scenes from Inglourious Basterds.

During a separate interview, Jeff Daniels, who plays former Apple CEO John Scully, told us that he heard about the casting for Steve Jobs while filming season 3 of The Newsroom. So we can probably infer that on Sorkin’s Fassbender watch list were titles like his trilogy of films with director Steve McQueen — Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave — in addition to Prometheus and even X-Men: First Class.

Watch the full clip of our interview with Aaron Sorkin below.

Steve Jobs first premiered at the Telluride Film Festival before hitting up the one in New York. In addition to Fassbender and Daniels, the film features Kate Winslet as Johanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, and Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan. The events that ensue occur behind the scenes of three product launches — the Mac computer, the NeXT cube after Jobs left Apple, and the iMac when Jobs returned

Steve Jobs is playing in limited release, and will expand to more theaters on October 23.

Steve Jobs is not your typical biopic. In fact, it’s not a biopic at all, according to screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. The spitfire wordsmith behind The Newsroom, The West Wing, and The Social Network sat down with Cinema Blend to chat about his take on the late Apple co-founder, and his explanations really turned our heads.

The film, directed by Danny Boyle, hit the film festival circuit early on and recently screened at the New York Film Festival. Those who’ve seen it already know it’s not like that Ashton Kutcher-led pic. Steve Jobs is split into three acts, taking us behind the scenes of three product launches: the first Mac computer, the NeXT cube Jobs launched when he left Apple, and the iMac for when Jobs returned.

In speaking of this unique format, Sorkin said,

After speaking with a number of people in Jobs’ life, including his initial partner-in-crime Steve Wozniak, Sorkin honed in on these "very interesting points of friction," as he called it. Then you factor in his love for "claustrophobic spaces, compressed periods of time with a ticking clock," and the backstage of theaters, and the form became a natural development.

Watch the clip from our interview with Sorkin below.

Steve Jobs stars a dynamite cast that includes Michael Fassbender in the lead role, Kate Winslet as his close confidante and marketing expert Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Wozniak, Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Herzfeld, Katherine Waterston as the mother of Jobs’ child Chrisann Brennan, and Perla Haney-Jarine as the eldest version of Jobs’ daughter Lisa. The film will hit theaters on October 9, then expend to more markets on Oct. 23.