'We knew the movie was about basic human emotions and the need for acceptance,' producer Michael De Luca tells MTV News.
By Aly Semigran, with additional reporting by Kara Warner
Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Having gone from "that Facebook movie" to Oscar-nominated masterpiece, "The Social Network" has run the gamut since its release last October.
Continuing an awards-season streak, the film picked up eight Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning (January 25) — the third most-nominated of the Oscar contenders, behind "The King's Speech" with 12, "True Grit" with 10, and (in a tie) "Inception" with eight — including Best Picture, Best Director (David Fincher), Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Best Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).
Fincher, earning his second career nomination, released a statement that read, "I'm very grateful and humbled by the nominations for 'The Social Network.' I'm incredibly proud of the work of my wildly talented collaborators in front of and behind the camera — all of whom gave the best of themselves and their talents in service to a film about a groundbreaking American innovation. This directing nomination represents the sum of the work of all of us, and I want to acknowledge the vast contributions to this film of all of my good friends and creative partners. The success of our movie belongs to many people, and this nomination is theirs to share."
Sorkin, who penned the dialogue-heavy movie, spoke to "Good Morning America" about the good news, calling the Oscar nods "a triumph," and adding, "I think it was the people I got to sit in the room with. I love the way audiences responded to this movie. They came out and saw it and they loved it. It's a special cherry on top."
In a statement to MTV News, Sorkin reiterated how much he felt teamwork led to his nomination. "My recommendation to anyone who wants to be nominated for an Academy Award is work with David Fincher," he said. "I'm thrilled to be nominated by the Academy, and I'm especially pleased for everyone who worked so hard on the film — it is a triumph of teamwork. I'm honored to have our film nominated in such an incredible year for movies."
Meanwhile, MTV News caught up with Michael De Luca, one of the film's producers, shortly after the nominations were announced. Unlike many likely nominees, De Luca didn't play coy about his expectations. "I set my little iPhone alarm to wake me up at 5:15 a.m.," he told us about Tuesday morning's announcements. "For me, personally, I've always done this as a fan of movies, as a bystander over the years in my career as a producer. But this is the first time I've had a horse in the race, so I was very excited to wake up and it was a real blast."
De Luca, who echoed Fincher and Sorkin's sentiments about the entire cast and crew being "incredibly happy and grateful," went on to say, "We knew what the movie was about. We knew the movie was about basic human emotions and the need for acceptance, the longing for love and friendship and how trying to find those things at 19 is hard enough, but when you're a genius and you're revolutionizing communication and you're creating things that will go on to maintain billion-dollar evaluations, how do you maintain your relationships? How do you change relationships?"
The Oscar nominee also talked about how the modern-day tale featured classic themes.
"Whether you're Copernicus, Galileo or Mark Zuckerberg, no matter what you're doing in your career or professional life, there are basic basic human needs the heart must have to have a happy life," De Luca said. "We knew that that was what the movie was about and we knew that Aaron Sorkin's script seized on that and wrote a story of friendship and what you lose when you win, and we knew that nobody was going to know that until they saw the movie. It was like having the best secret in the world."
Still, while there was mostly celebration for "The Social Network" team this morning, one name was notably left off of the list: Andrew Garfield. Widely regarded as a shoo-in for a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as Facebook CFO Eduardo Saverin, Garfield has earned nods at the Critics' Choice, Golden Globes, and the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards; he was ultimately snubbed by the Academy.
"He's an incredible actor," De Luca said of Garfield. "And the ensemble we had in the film was incredible and they're all going off to star in [films] on their own and we're going to hear from Andrew for years to come. I can't tell you enough about his performance. He's a consummate actor.
Check out everything we've got on "The Social Network."
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