The Social Network
This was an extremely tough category to judge considering each of these screenplays won or were nominated for an Academy Award. But The Social Network is so clever that I keep returning to it over and over again. Although it takes liberties with the actual events, David Fincher’s account tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook into a global empire and the lives he trampled over to get there. The film editing and dialogue rate in The Social Network are quite fast, so missing even one word can mean missing out on the scene’s importance. Reading the screenplay, however, makes it apparent that every piece of dialogue is a building block to the icon known as Zuckerberg. The screenplay balances the audience’s disdain and pity for Zuckerberg, and shines a bright light on the price for innovation.