movies

Aaron Sorkin: Facebook “Dangerous, Completely Out of Control”

Published

43 minutes ago

August 12, 2026

Aaron Sorkin says Facebook has gotten “way out of hand” and evolved into a social media monster that doesn’t reflect what co-founder Mark Zuckerberg originally intended.

The writer and director of the upcoming film The Social Reckoning — the sequel to the 2010 hit The Social Network — tells Esquire in a new interview that the social media platform has become dangerous given how many of its billions of global users get their news from the platform.

“I don’t want to get the stat wrong, but it’s about a third of American adults get their news from Facebook,” Sorkin said (Pew’s latest research puts the number even higher, at 38 percent). “That is very dangerous. We’re no longer agreeing that the sky is blue and two plus two equals four.”

Continued Sorkin: “And by the way, let me be clear: I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg ever intended for it to have a corrosive effect. I think his intentions were good. He was somebody who, like a lot of people, had difficulty fitting into the social structure of college life and probably high school. He invented his own social structure, and he got to be the mayor of it and couldn’t be excluded from it. His brilliance is undeniable, and that was a cool thing and it got way out of hand. It’s gone completely out of control.”

Sorkin has previously declared “I blame Facebook for January 6,” and was asked about that connection in the new interview and whether it’s part of the film.

“What definitely is part of the movie is what Facebook did in 2018. They were in trouble. Engagement was going down, there was competition from TikTok, and they had to do something. So they retuned the algorithm … they knew that the things that get reshared the most are rage bait. So they began pumping into the air supply all this stuff intended to make you mad. Certainly, you can draw a line from that to January 6.”

Based on true events, the new film centers on a young Facebook engineer named Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) who teams up with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) on a risky mission to bring attention to the social network’s biggest secrets. Jeremy Strong takes over the role of Zuckerberg from Jesse Eisenberg, who played the role in the first film.

The 65-year-old screenwriter was also asked about his stroke, from which he thankfully says he’s managed “to recover 100 percent.”

“I had been not living a very healthy life,” he said. “I wasn’t exercising enough. I was still eating the way I ate in college. I was smoking a lot. So I decided not to do that anymore. And it wasn’t even because I felt bad. It was because I saw the look in my daughter’s face. I scared the hell out of her, and I didn’t want to do that anymore.”

Sony Pictures is set to release The Social Reckoning in theaters Oct. 9.

movies

‘Dallergut Dream Department Store’ Movie From Disney In Works

Published

5 minutes ago

August 12, 2026

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Disney Live Action is developing a feature adaptation of The Dallergut Dream Department Store, the fantasy bestseller from Korean author Miye Lee, with Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls) aboard to adapt the screenplay.

The first installment in a trilogy, The Dallergut Dream Department Store follows Penny, who has just landed her dream job — selling dreams to customers at the legendary Dallergut Dream Department Store. But when strange, dangerous things begin to happen to the sleeping clientele, Penny must uncover the mystery before the nightmare spreads beyond the store.

A #1 bestseller in Korea, Lee’s novel has sold more than 2 million copies in 20+ territories. EVP of Production Jessica Virtue is overseeing the feature take for Disney Live Action.

Himself an author of books for adults, young adults and children, Ness is no stranger to screen adaptations, having adapted two of his own works, A Monster Calls and Chaos Walking, for film. Focus Features released J. A. Bayona’s 2016 take on A Monster Calls, starring Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, and more, where Ness was exec producer in addition to screenwriter. Meanwhile, Lionsgate tapped Doug Liman to direct an adaptation of his Chaos Walking trilogy, starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland; Ness and Christopher Ford were the writers on the film.

Published in over 40 languages, Ness has won every major prize in children’s fiction, including the Carnegie Medal twice, as well as winning the Olivier Award for the stage adaptation of A Monster Calls. He’s otherwise best known for creating and writing spinoff Class, the eight-part Doctor Who spin-off for BBC. He is repped by CAA, UK agent Michelle Kass of Michelle Kass Associates, and attorney Howard Abramson of Behr Abramson Levy Johnson.

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‘The Lowdown’ Gets Season 2 Release Date At FX

Published

12 minutes ago

August 12, 2026

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We now have a date for the return of FX‘s The Lowdown. Sterlin Harjo‘s noir series starring Ethan Hawke and new cast members Tommy Lee Jones and Betty Gilpin, will premiere its second season on Wednesday, October 14 on FX and Hulu and Disney+ internationally. New episodes of the eight-episode season will drop weekly each Wednesday. FX also released two new images for Season 2 featuring Jones and Gilpin, which you can see above and below.

Created, written, executive produced and directed by Harjo, The Lowdown follows the gritty exploits of citizen journalist Lee Raybon (Hawke), a self-proclaimed Tulsa “truthstorian” whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble. Lee lives and works in a rare books store tucked in the heart of Tulsa – a local refuge and unofficial community hub. While Lee’s no idealist, he’s fiercely committed to exposing corruption and unearthing the city’s hidden rot, even when it puts him at risk.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

As Season 2 begins, Lee’s recent story on the life and untimely death of Dale Washberg (as seen in season one) earns him a local citizen journalist award. Unable to process things going well for a change, Lee self-medicates and, unsurprisingly, makes a less than stellar showing at the ceremony. But his wildly unfiltered speech grabs the attention of beautiful and brash public defender Ginger (Gilpin), herself a crusader for truth.

Though uncommonly immune to his charms, Ginger does accept Lee’s help on a case. One of her clients has gone MIA from the state penitentiary – but how can a man go missing in prison? The situation turns out to have all of Lee’s favorite ingredients: power, corruption and malfeasance among the wealthy elite. It’s a perfect next story for The Heartland Press, where Marty (Keith David) is now Managing Editor, much to Lee’s chagrin.

Bumbling his way through the investigation with Ginger, Lee reluctantly enlists the assistance of Johnny (Rafael Casal), a jujitsu-trained dentist with a heart of gold, who is also new husband to Lee’s ex Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn), and co-parent to Lee’s teenage daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who longs for more time with her ever-busy father. Lee loves Francis more than anything in the world, but the urgency of this new case pulls him away from her more often than either of them would like. Things on the homefront get even more complicated when Lee’s estranged grifter father, Lee Raybon Senior (Jones), unexpectedly arrives in town – especially awkward since Lee has always told Francis that her grandfather was dead.

The show’s debut season was honored with an AFI Award as a TV Program of the Year and rated 98% Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes.

Harjo executive produces with Garrett Basch, Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Duffy Boudreau and Scott Teems. The series is produced by FX Productions.

(l-r) Betty Gilpin as Ginger, Ethan Hawke as Lee in ‘The Lowdown’

Tommy Lee Jones & Ethan Hawke in ‘The Lowdown’

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Neon Sets 36-Hour Screening Of Alex Ullom’s ‘It Ends’ In NYC

Published

20 minutes ago

August 12, 2026

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Alex Ullom’s debut feature It Ends will run on a 36-hour loop at NYC’s Metro Private Cinema in what Neon’s calling a theatrical endurance challenge timed to the release.

The film has an 87-minute run time, so that’s about 25 showings.The unique marketing move offers escalating cash payments to audience members based how long they stay put.

The Endless Screening: New York runs from 7 pm ET on Aug. 21 through 7 am ET Aug. 23 at Metro Private Cinema in Chelsea, the upscale new venue from Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League.

In Ullon’s film, a group of recent graduates heads out on a late-night drive for food, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two-lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Trapped together inside a Jeep Cherokee with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice: embrace their new existence or fight it.

The Endless Screening invites four-person teams to a Last Person Standing competition, challenging them to remain inside the theater for the full 36-hours, with designated breaks throughout. Each group member will receive 25 cents for every minute they remain in the competition, up to $540 a person. If every member of a group makes it through the entire 36-hour marathon, each wins an additional $500.

Participants will also receive a $250 theater credit toward concessions during the marathon (excluding alcohol).

The contest is open to NYC residents 21 years of age or older. To enter, groups of four people must submit one video of up to a minute on Instagram (#ItEndsMarathonContest) “explaining why they have what it takes to go the distance,” Neon said. The deadline is 11:59 ppm PT on Aug 17. Neon welcomes all interested independent theaters to partner.

The End, which world premiered at SXSW last year, stars Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole. It opens in New York and LA Aug. 21 with a national expansion to follow.