We just saw The Social Network and I have to say I enjoyed it. I assumed that the movie was more or less accurate (as accurate as movied based on true stories ever are) until I started looking at some controversy about it after seeing it.
I believe the "contract" that the movie establishes with its audience includes a clause that more or less says "These are real(-ish) people. These are real(-ish) events. This story is real(-ish)." And, for me personally, my enjoyment of the movie was propped up on assuming that the movie held up its end of this contract.
Sorkin, the screenwriter, seemed to be of two minds on whether the film was accurate. Early on he said the film was so accurate as to show Zuckerberg drinking the correct beer in certain scenes. The wardrobe was proudly proclaimed to be extremely accurate. But then later, Sorkin has publicly volunteered that he knows very little of Zuckerberg and that he wrote his movie to be entertaining, and didn't care too much for accuracy. Huh? He and Fincher have been very careful to refer to Zuckerberg in the movie as a "character which has little in common with the real life Zuckerberg". Sorkin refered to his script and the movie as a (and I'm paraphrasing since 10 minutes didn't turn up the actual quote) "parable hung on the story of Zuckerberg [without it actually being the story of Zuckerberg]"
Anyways...
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/10/truth-and-the-art-of-the-social-network/64701/
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/09/21/the-social-network-screenwriter-sorkin-and-actors-discuss-film/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oK1yiXfc36UJ:www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/wire/sns-ap-us-oscar-nominations-true-life-tales,0,5348881.story+social+network+screenwriter+accuracy&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
