sorkin

The 404 666: Where we mark the sign of the beast (podcast)

We've made it to episode #666, and there's even a Call From the Public from the Dark one himself congratulating us on making it this far. The truth is that every day we get to do The 404 is a miracle, so thanks to all the listeners who make this show possible!

On this especially evil episode, we're chatting about researchers working to develop prescription music playlists, Caroline McCarthy's first look review of Sorkin's Facebook movie "The Social Network", and a whole lot of backlash from the entire state of Tennessee.

With more and more music discovery sites like Pandora and Apple's Ping network popping up, it seems the next evolution of music classification is coming in the form of prescription music playlists.

The Emotion Classification in Contemporary Music is a three year project led by a team at the Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK, who are the trying to classify music for search and organization according to emotional content. Of course, one of the major hurdles in the research are all the genre-bending artists in addition to your own personal relationship to a piece.

The article uses The Cure as a good example or a emotionally polarizing artist, which leads us to a discussion about what songs invoke certain feelings or memories within our own canon. It's probably easy to guess which of us connects to each of these three songs.

"The Social Network" finally drops in theaters on October 1st, 2010 but CNET's own Caroline McCarthy got to check out an advanced screening and posted her thoughts on her CNET blog, The Social.

She tells us that the movie is more than just a bunch of glorified status updates and poking- it's a story about how a Web site changed the way that friends communicate with each other, or in her words: "the ambiguity of friendship, identity, and social status."

She also runs down quick performance reviews of all the actors in the movie, including a surprisingly positive take on Justin Timberlake's depiction of Napster co-founder Sean Parker.

Be sure to check out the full review for more in-depth analysis, but if you're just looking for a quick take, Caroline awards "The Social Network" four out of five stars...but seriously, read the review.

Episode 666 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

'Social Network' weaves a complex Web (review)

"When (Hermes) had driven away the cattle of Apollo and had been caught in the act, to win pardon more easily, at Apollo's request he gave him permission to claim the invention of the lyre."--The Astronomica of Pseudo-Hyginus (2.7) explains the birth of deception, and intellectual property

"For those of you addicted to FarmVille as much as I am there is a glitch in the game that gives you free cows." -- A much-read how-to on the Facebook Platform's biggest runaway success

In one scene in David Fincher's new film "… Read more

The 404 663: Where we learn to 'be like water' (podcast)

CNET's own laptop editor Scott Stein fills in for Jeff today in yet another completely random episode of The 404 Podcast! Today's topics tackle the ongoing Reddit vs. 4Chan vs. Digg hierarchy, the latest Google Instant music video trend, the next evolution of graphing calculators, and a very sultry (and minutely disturbing) reading from the sticky pages of Playboy Magazine courtesy of Houston's independent nonprofit organization Taping for the Blind.

We're excited to welcome Scott back into podcast studio, so much so that we force him to wear the infamous mullet wig for the entire episode. The wig is sort of appropriate for the first story of the day about a nonprofit radio station for the blind in Houston that records complete readings from Playboy Magazine and includes the articles, jokes, cartoons, letters, and--yes--accurate descriptions of the centerfolds.

To help us get a better idea of what that would sound like, Scott reads a few excerpts from the broadcast, and although it doesn't sound quite as sultry as when Suzi Hanks, the host of the show, does it, it certainly helps that he's wearing a wig...and sharing a mic with me...*disclaimer* CNET and The 404 are not responsible for any gag reflexes triggered from listening to this segment.

Google Instant, which arrived this week, can predict your search query and could possibly shave two or three seconds off your search time. Big deal, right? Well, if that doesn't impress you, maybe this music video will.

Google started the trend with a clever video advertisement for the service featuring Bob Dylan, and Whirled Creative jumped in next with an "Instant Elements" video remix, but our favorite is Urlesque's take on Billy Joel's hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire." Enjoy!

Stick around after the break as we spend way too much time gabbing about the latest calculator technologies, a few voicemails warn us about bashing the Zune, and we do a mini review of Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's latest film, "The Social Network."

Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 663 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

'Gossip Girl' actor cast as ConnectU founders in 'The Social Network'

Did director David Fincher end up finding a pair of 6-foot-5-inch identical twins to play ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network," his upcoming movie about the contested origins of Facebook? It appears the answer is no.

According to blog The Playlist, which picked up on filmmaker Richard Kelly's Twitter account, a single actor has been cast: 23-year-old Armie Hammer, best known for the role of moneyed sleazebag Gabriel on teen drama "Gossip Girl." A thread on screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's Facebook page reveals that additional young actors cast include Max Minghella, … Read more

'The Social Network' filming starts in Boston soon

The crew of "The Social Network," the David Fincher-directed retelling of Facebook's earliest days, is headed to film in the Boston area soon with a widely reported start date of October 19.

Rumors on Web forums indicate that the Harvard Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass.--the eponymous university's epicenter--will be the backdrop for some scenes involving actor Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg himself has been quoted as saying that the movie will actually be filming on Harvard's campus, something that the university would not confirm.

Facebook was founded in a dorm … Read more

'Social Network' script: A meaner take on Facebook

Warning: Mild spoilers ahead about the plot and structure of "The Social Network."

I have my hands on a copy of "The Social Network," the screenplay that "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin has adapted from "The Accidental Billionaires"--author Ben Mezrich's tawdry tale of Facebook's origins that was released last week. Though I'm not gushing over it the way script blogger Carson Reeves did when he read it, I think it's a decent screenplay. With a good cast and production team, this movie might be quite enjoyable.… Read more

Facebook movie screenplay reportedly doesn't suck

Whoa! Blogger Carson Reeves of Scriptshadow got his hands on the screenplay for "The Social Network," the adaptation of Ben Mezrich's semi-salacious Facebook tell-all "The Accidental Billionaires," and he gives it a thumbs-up.

More specifically, he said that the 162-page script, penned by "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin, "really resonated with me" and categorized it as "impressive." For those of us who have been following the development of the (unauthorized) Facebook tell-all, which hits bookstores on Tuesday, and its impending screen adaptation, this is a bit of a surprise.… Read more

Facebook movie pinning down director, cast

David Fincher is in "advanced talks" to direct the Columbia Pictures movie about the origins of Facebook, according to Variety.

The movie, based on Ben Mezrich's upcoming "The Accidental Billionaires," was written by "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. It's being produced, Variety reported Tuesday, by Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca along with Dana Brunetti and actor Kevin Spacey. Variety said the movie is called "The Social Network." We hear this is a very preliminary working title. (It, obviously, could also be called "Accidental Billionaires.")

Fincher's … Read more

Facebook flick moves ahead, but Facebook not thrilled

I won't believe it for sure until we see grainy paparazzi shots of actor Michael Cera walking around on a movie set in a North Face fleece and Adidas flip-flops, but it looks like things are moving forward on the film based on the early days of Facebook.

And, Business Insider hears, Facebook may be warning former employees not to talk to people involved with the making of the movie.

This is consistent with something I heard last fall from an early Facebook employee who is no longer with the company. This former Facebooker said the company had told … Read more