The Social Network

The Social Network is an upcoming 2010 drama film directed by David Fincher about the founding of Facebook and the phenomenon. The film features an ensemble cast which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Brenda Song, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer. The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. The film is distributed by Columbia Pictures and is set for an October 1, 2010 release.

None of the Facebook staff, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, will be involved with the project. One of the co-founders, Eduardo Saverin, was a consultant for Mezrich's book.

Cast

* Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg
* Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker
* Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin
* Brenda Song as Christy Lee
* Rashida Jones as Marylin Delpy[2][3]
* Joseph Mazzello as Dustin Moskovitz
* Max Minghella as Martin Turner
* Rooney Mara as Erica Albright
* Denise Grayson as Gretchen
* Armie Hammer as Cameron Winklevoss
* Douglas Urbanski as Larry Summers
* Patrick Mapel as Chris Hughes
* Josh Pence as Tyler Winklevoss
* Dakota Johnson as Leslie Brown
* Trevor Wright as Josh Thompson
* John Getz as Sy
* Malese Jow as Alice

THECO-FOUDER OF FACEBOOK

Founding

Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room on February 4, 2004. The idea for Facebook came from his days at Phillips Exeter Academy which, like most colleges and prep schools, had a long-standing tradition of publishing an annual student directory with headshot photos of all students, faculty and staff known as the "Facebook." Once at college, Zuckerberg's Facebook started off as just a "Harvard-thing," until Zuckerberg then decided to spread Facebook to other schools and enlisted the help of roommate Dustin Moskovitz. They first spread it to Stanford, Dartmouth, Columbia, New York University, Cornell, Brown and Yale, and then to other schools with social contacts with Harvard.[5][6][7]

Moving to California

Zuckerberg moved to Palo Alto, California, with Moskovitz and some friends. They leased a small house which served as their first office. Over the summer, Zuckerberg met Peter Thiel who invested in the company. They got their first office during the summer of 2004. According to Zuckerberg, the group planned to return to Harvard in the fall but eventually decided to remain in California. To date, he has not returned as a student to college.

Facebook Platform

On May 24, 2007, Zuckerberg announced a Facebook Platform, a development platform for programmers to create social applications within Facebook. This announcement sparked a great deal of interest in the developer community. Within weeks, many applications had been built and some already had millions of users. Today, there are more than 800,000 developers around the world building applications for Facebook Platform.

On July 23, 2008, Zuckerberg announced Facebook Connect, a version of Facebook Platform for users.

Facebook Beacon

On November 6, 2007, Zuckerberg announced a new social advertising system at an event in Los Angeles. A part of the new program, called Beacon, enabled people to share information with their Facebook friends based on their browsing activities on other sites. An eBay seller, for instance, could let friends know automatically what they have for sale via the Facebook news feed as they list items.

The program came under heavy privacy concerns from both privacy groups and individual users. Zuckerberg and Facebook failed to respond to the concerns quickly, and on December 5, 2007, Zuckerberg ultimately wrote a blog post on Facebook[8] taking responsibility for issues with Beacon and offering an easier way for users to opt out of the service.


ConnectU lawsuit

Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Nishita Narendra accused Zuckerberg of fraudulently letting them believe he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com (later called ConnectU). [9] They filed a lawsuit in 2004 but was dismissed without prejudice on March 28, 2007. It was refiled soon thereafter in U.S. District Court in Boston, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 25, 2007.[10] At the hearing the judge told ConnectU parts of their complaint were not sufficiently pled and gave them the ability to refile an amended complaint. On June 25, 2008, the case was settled and Facebook agreed to pay a $65 million settlement.

As part of the lawsuit, in November 2007, confidential court documents were posted on the website of Harvard alumni magazine 02138. They included Zuckerberg's social security number, his parents' home address and his girlfriend's address. Facebook filed to get the documents taken down, but the judge ruled in favor of 02138.


Movie

There is a movie based on Mark Zuckerberg and the surrounding creators of Facebook, called The Social Network. It is currently set to release in 2010, and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.
[edit] Arrest warrant from Pakistan

The Deputy Attorney General of the Islamic republic of Pakistan has asked the country's police to issue an arrest warrant through Interpol to have Zuckerberg arrested in 2010 for Blasphemy after a "Draw Muhammad" contest on Facebook was started, which led to Pakistan blocking facebook nationwide. The Muslim demands for arrest extended to Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, the co-founders of Facebook. The Deputy Attorney General said that he's waiting for the police to contact Interpol about making arrangements for the arrest of Facebook's owners. The Pakistan government has asked its representative to raise the issue with the United Nations General Assembly. No formal charges have been filed against Zuckerberg.

LeBron James makes his pick: He's going to Miami

LeBron James has made his decision. He's going to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.

James made his long-awaited announcement in a hastily arranged ESPN special Thursday night in Greenwich, Conn., and James wasted no time in making a prediction: "We're going to be a real good team."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Alert the royal trumpeters for an announcement from King James.

LeBron James, the NBA's reigning two-time MVP, is ending months of speculation and suspense by telling the world Thursday night where he'll play basketball next season.

Will he stay in Cleveland, which has braced itself for maybe the most heartbreaking moment in a lifetime of sports agony?

Will he go to Miami and join fellow U.S. Olympic teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a power trio to rival any in NBA history?

Will he succumb to New York's bright lights?

Or will he head to Chicago, where the Bulls have a young, talented roster and Michael Jordan's daunting legacy?

Much is at stake, and there are lots of opinions about what he should do. President Barack Obama openly rooted for his hometown Bulls, which may not help his poll numbers in Ohio.

ESPN is televising James' decision live from a Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Conn., a group with which James has a relationship.

Wearing a lavender shirt and jeans, James arrived at the club about 8:50 p.m. and entered through a side door, missing most of the crowd. As folks realized it was James exiting a van, the crowd of about 400 people began chanting "New York Knicks, New York Knicks," then switched to "LeBron James."

Frank Sanchez, the vice president for corporate and partner relationships for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, said James approached the organization last weekend about using its location for his big show.

The TV special should raise at least $1 million to help refurbish gyms under a program that James' foundation will help direct, and kids from the Greenwich club were invited to attend the announcement, Sanchez said.

In the hours before his choice was revealed, the sports world spun out of control with speculation and rumors. Some reports said he had told his inner circle he is leaning toward the Miami Heat.

Fans will have to wait for it though. A person familiar with the program told the AP that James won't announce his decision until "late in the show." The person requested anonymity because program details were supposed to remain confidential.

James, Bosh and Wade entered the pros in the same year, the respective Nos. 1, 4 and 5 picks in the 2003 draft. They went their separate ways: James to Cleveland, Bosh to Toronto and Wade to Miami, where he won a championship partnered with center Shaquille O'Neal in 2006. That year, James, Bosh and Wade all signed matching contracts to make sure they were all unrestricted free agents at the same time.

They won gold medals together at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and could now be poised to unite in South Florida.

Season-ticket sales for the Heat's coming 41-game season were suspended Thursday afternoon after the entire supply of available seats were sold out. Not every seat has been released for sale yet and some will be held back for single-game purchases at the 19,600-capacity arena.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said while attending a tournament of high school stars at Cleveland State University, co-sponsored by James and Nike, one of the 25-year-old's corporate partners. "In the end, it's going to be tough for LeBron to turn down what he has here, but there could be some championships for him down there."

James, in a T-shirt and shorts, showed up at the tournament in midafternoon with former teammate Damon Jones. James nervously chewed his fingernails while watching some high-schoolers play. He stayed a little more than an hour before heading off in a white Bentley, presumably on his way to the airport.

He did not speak to a reporter, but said "thank you" to some coaches in the stands who wished him luck.

In Greenwich, fans and media set up their own camp across the street from the Boys and Girls club more than five hours before the announcement. More than 15 satellite trucks lined the streets, and about two dozen fans with beach chairs and coolers settled on a patch of grass, hoping for a glimpse of James.

By 6:30 p.m. more than 100 people had gathered.

Dustin Dobbs wore a James jersey and carried a small radio to listen to the announcement — one he said merited all the hype.

"He's the face of basketball today," the 18-year-old from Westport, Conn. said. "This is all worth it."

Westchester, N.Y. buddies Jason Mendell, in a Knicks jersey, and Eric Wenig, wearing Nets apparel, were determined not to miss the announcement.

"He's either going to be my favorite player tonight or the most hated player," Mendell said.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh, an executive with nearly 30 years in the NBA, understood all the fuss.

"It's something new, but we're in new age," he said. "I don't remember Michael Jordan ever becoming a free agent. I don't remember Larry Bird becoming a free agent. I don't remember Magic Johnson becoming a free agent. It would've been the same back then if they had, but that never happened."

The Cavaliers, a franchise that was in ruins before winning a lottery drawing and bringing James up Interstate 77 from his Akron home, have had the upper hand — until now. They were able to offer him more money — $30 million more — than any other team.

But because they have overspent while trying to please James and win the first title by any of Cleveland's three pro sports teams since 1964, the Cavs are strapped with a few big contracts that have eaten up salary-cap space and prevented them from making roster moves to improve the team.

They've come close to winning it all with James, who at 6-foot-8 and 260 pounds has the quickness of a point guard and brute force of an NFL defensive lineman.

With the possible exception of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, James is the NBA's premier player, but his legacy cannot be fulfilled until he wins a championship.

If he goes to Miami, he can build a dynasty with Wade and Bosh, who agreed to sign for less money so the Heat would have enough to pay James, too. Miami president Pat Riley reportedly showed James some of his NBA championship rings last week at the star's business offices in downtown Cleveland.

This King wants a ring, but in the NBA, nothing is guaranteed.

Even if he joins his buddies, James, who has always been the alpha male on any team he has ever played on, would have to share the ball and the spotlight. Same for Wade. The Heat are D-Wade's team. Can their egos coexist for a common goal?

"I think it would become both of their teams," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, an assistant coach for the U.S. team in China four years ago. "They are both such great players. At the Olympics, they were on the court at the same time and scored a point every second. I think they could play together. I don't think it's that big of a deal. They would have a good chance with those three, that's for sure."

As the clock ticked down to James' announcement, northeastern Ohio was on edge.

James has always preached family and loyalty and commitment as his core values; he even has "Loyalty" and Akron's area code of "330" tattooed on his chiseled body.

Would he stick a knife in the back of a place where No. 23 jerseys are so prevalent they could be school-issued uniforms?

Cleveland fans have nicknamed their lowest sports moments. "The Drive," "The Fumble," "The Shot" and "The Move" are forever burned in the city's psyche.

"The Decision" might top them all.

"If he leaves, and says so on national TV, it would be the cruelest act imaginable," said resident Bill Plagens of suburban Rocky River. "Pure evil."

Emotions are running high for a city mired in a sports championship drought stretching across generations. For many in Cleveland, the only memories of the Browns' 1964 championship are black-and-white images of Hall of Famer Jim Brown running loose on the Baltimore Colts.

James gave Cleveland hope. He can also take it away.

___

Associated Press writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Greenwich, Conn., and sports writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this story.