Columbia is on the verge of inking a deal to make a movie about Facebook. As in, the social networking site. But unlike some other movies which dealt with rather abstract concepts – like Pirates of the Caribbean, inspired by a theme park ride – the film will document the website’s conception and its early years. The script has already been written by Aaron Sorkin (of The West Wing and A Few Good Men), and the movie will be directed by David Fincher, who recently directed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Columbia Pictures is in advanced talks with David Fincher to direct “The Social Network,” the Aaron Sorkin-scripted film for Columbia Pictures about the formation of Facebook.

The film will focus on the evolution of Facebook from its 2004 creation on the Harvard campus by sophomore Mark Zuckerberg to a juggernaut with more than 200 million members.

Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca are producing with Trigger Street’s Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti.

The aim is to begin production later this year.

Fincher last directed “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

[from Variety]

This sounds like it could be really interesting project. Aaron Sorkin creates characters that are unique and smart, and though many criticized Benjamin Button for being too long, Fincher certainly has the ability to make a movie feel epic.

You wonder if they will address the questions about Facebook’s origins, though. In 2004, just after Facebook opened to the public, three Harvard students sued Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their code and business plan for a social networking site which was later to become ConnectU. They claim that they hired him to write some code for their site, and before you know it, a very similar website had taken off.

The lawsuit had been the source of much consternation to Facebook, because its core assertion contested Zuckerberg’s claim to have founded Facebook while at Harvard.

At the time, Winklevoss described Zuckerberg’s actions to Portfolio.com as “premeditated, well thought out, duplicitous, and conniving.”

“We were shocked and in utter disbelief,” Winklevoss said, describing his reaction when Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004. Zuckerberg, Winklevoss said, had done so after promising to help build Harvard Connection, now known as ConnectU. “This was our idea, and Mark stole it.”

[from Portfolio]

A publicist at Facebook said in reference to the lawsuit that “It is unfortunate but not surprising that others falsely claim credit for [Facebook] after its enormous success,” but other people tell a different story, mainly involving Mark Zuckerberg not being such a nice guy. Across the board, the jury seems to be out on whether he is an entitled, selfish snob, or a shy, unassuming but smart kid. Which character Aaron Sorkin has written we won’t be able to know until the movie comes out, but I can guess that the “Mark” on screen won’t be one-dimensional. Hayden Christensen (who played a likable but ultimately pathetic character in Shattered Glass), and James Franco both come to mind as good candidates for the role.

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