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Jesse Eisenberg has put himself back in the Oscars race withA Real Pain, a film he wrote, directed, and acted in. The film has received two nominations, including Best Screenplay for Eisenberg and Best Supporting Actor for Kieran Culkin. Eisenberg’s earlier stint at the Oscars was when he went up against and lost narrowly to Colin Firth at the Academy Awards in 2011.
At the time, Eisenberg was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’sThe Social Network. Aaron Sorkin wrote a screenplay for the film, that was adapted from Ben Mezrich’s bookThe Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal.
The book explored the multiple lawsuits that were ongoing at the time against Zuckerberg. Sorkin’s engaging screenplay, Fincher’s perfect direction, and Eisenberg’s simmering performance madeThe Social Networkone of the best films of the 2010s. It currently holds a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $224.9 million at the box office.
Jesse Eisenberg’s role in the film deserved the Oscar win
Jesse Eisenberg‘s role as Mark Zuckerberg was a major reason forThe Social Networkto earn its Best Picture Oscar nod. Out of its eight nominations, the film won three including Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and Best Original Score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Reznor and Ross were recently robbed of a chance to earn their third Oscar forChallengers.
Sorkin portrayed Eisenberg’s character as an awkward youngster who takes over the world with his new idea. Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg was far from perfect andleaned on the power dynamicsto get his way around the tech world. At the beginning of the film, his girlfriend dumps him. From there, most of his achievements were aimed at screwing over the people who allegedly wronged him.
Jesse Eisenberg’s Top 7 Performances – Facebook, Zombies, and Dopplegangers
Eisenberg was impeccable asMark Zuckerberg, who saw himself as the disruptor of the system. In the final scenes of the film, Eisenberg gave an amazing performance in the legal battle scenes, where fans got to see his character’s vulnerability as a human. He played the character so easily that fans could both hate him and love him at the same time.
Eisenberg’s role is not only one of the most important roles in the last decade, but it has also grown in relevance in the last 15 years. The film also shows some of the possible impact of Zuckerberg’s app on the world. Things have gone from bad to worse in real life after the growth of his company.
TheCafé Societyactor has since ventured into different roles including Superman villain Lex Luthor inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In 2022, he shifted his focus partially to filmmaking, releasing his directorial debutWhen You Finish Saving the World. He is currently nominated for Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his second directorial venture,A Real Pain.
Jesse Eisenberg couldn’t meet Mark Zuckerberg before the role
A new interesting info fromThe Social Networkset has been circulating on the media. Eisenberg shared with Scott Feinberg of theAwards Chatterpodcast that he was banned from seeing Mark Zuckerberg for the role. He shared that he wanted to meet the tech giant, as it only made sense for him to meet the real person behind his character.
A Real Pain Sundance Review: Jesse Eisenberg’s Second Film as Director Is an Incredibly Poignant and Deeply Funny
The producers had told him a firm“no”when he first asked, which was not enough to make Eisenberg listen. He shared that he wanted to be in a room with Zuckerberg to get a feeling and decided to go all by himself. He shared on theAwards Chatterpodcast:
I was told [by producers], ‘No, we’re not going to [set up a meeting for you].’ So I was literally in my car driving up. I was going to just go to the office and I figured they would let me in. [The film] was announced that I was in it. I just wanted to be in a room with him, just to see what the feeling is like.
However, Eisenberg’s little adventure was cut short when he received a call from the main man, Scott Rudin. Rudin strictly told him not to make contact with Zuckerberg, as it involved several legal issues. Eisenberg shared about Rudin’s call:
I got a call from Scott Rudin telling me: ‘Do not go there.’ He was telling me this on behalf of Sony’s lawyers. He was telling me, ‘You can’t do that for a variety of legal reasons.’
Neither Zuckerberg nor any of his Facebook staff were involved inDavid Fincher‘s film. He did not have anything to do with the original book as well, which took inputs from the likes of Eduardo Saverin. Saverin, played byAndrew Garfieldin the film, eventually turned against Zuckerberg, accusing him of betrayal.
What did Jesse Eisenberg say about a potential sequel toThe Social Network?
While Jesse Eisenberg portrayed the Meta CEO inThe Social Network, he is vocal against some of Mark Zuckerberg’s business ethics. However, it might not stop him from playing Zuckerberg for a second time. When he appeared at the Governors Awards in November, Eisenberg shared that he is ready to take on any acting role that comes to him, includingThe Social Network 2. He shared (via E!Online):
I’m an actor here. We’ll do any job that anybody offers us. If there’s a car commercial for a Pinto, I’ll show up on set. Will I be in that movie? Yeah, I’ll be in anything. If you’re making a home movie for a kid, I’ll be in the home movie.
He had a rather cold response when asked if he was concerned whether a sequel would ruin the great first film. He shared,“Yeah, I don’t have those feelings”, adding,“I don’t care. I’m just happy to be involved.”However, Eisenberg has no clue what a second movie would be about.
What Did Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Jesse Eisenberg Say About Zack Snyder’s “Failure” Justice League?
The one with the plan for a sequel is actually writer Aaron Sorkin, who wants to base the film on the current environment where social media impacts almost every aspect of human life. Appearing onThe Townpodcast, he shared thathe blamed Zuckerberg’s social media platformfor the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He shared:
Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to—what they call inside the hallways of Facebook—‘the infinite scroll.’
However, he refused to say anything further as it was potential content for a sequel film. With Sorkin’s new story, it doesn’t appear thatThe Social Network 2, if made, will be a direct continuation of the events of the original film.
The Social Networkis now available for streaming on Prime Video.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
