The Social Network

Last weekend, I along with hundreds of young adults packed a movie theater in Westwood to see the much talked about "The Social Network". As a drama with a $50 million budget price tag (IMDB) and a young actor, this film is performing in its mid/high box office scenario. Jesse Eisenberg's films continue to make more and more money at the box office ("The Squid and The Whale" $7m, "Adventureland" $16m, "Zombieland" 75m). He's a great actor and is quietly becoming a star.

As I watched the movie, I realized that the majority of the film budget was spent on production design because most of the film is two people talking in a room. Occasionally, there's a scene with more three or four people talking in a room. However, possibly the greatest writer and director of our time make each of those scenes look intriguing as if it's a glimpse into a different kind of life that we usually only hear about (ex: Harvard campus, Palo Alto offices).

As a blog about film budgeting, I thought it was important to note that filmmakers need to understand what their film is and isn't in order to most wisely spend their budget. Fincher knew that his film was not an action popcorn flick but rather a drama set within possibly the most interesting location and smartest/quickest people.

I recommend that filmmakers learn from Fincher and follow suit to stay true to their film and bring out its best.

Check QuickFilmBudget.com for a sample film budget!