The Facebook Movie will launch a thousand new websites. The Facebook Movie will be beyond epic. It is written by Aaron Sorkin, an incredible screenwriter who also wrote the West Wing, Zuckerberg's favorite TV show. It is directed by David Fincher who directed Se7en, Zodiac, and Fight Club. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails writes the music. Early reviews love the acting brilliance. It is a story that everyone knows, down to the ending. Yet, early critics praise it for its brilliant cuts and editing. The dialogue is fantastic, as can be expected from someone who wrote the careful prose that defined the West Wing.
This movie will blow out the box office. It will blow out the box office not because Facebook has 500 million users, but because it is actually good. Only 1/3 of US adult population uses Facebook, so a big proportion of people who could watch it will not be Facebook users. It has to be good, and given the people involved, it clearly is. The trailers are dark and moody. If the website and trailers are any indication, the movie will bleed drama while simultaneously aspire to the grandest visions. The movie trailer inspires a dream of creating an empire from a dorm room. Ironically, the movie will be the Wall Street of our times, but for startups instead of finance.
And therein lies its power. Millions of young people will be inspired: college age, out of college, and kids. They will see what is possible from a kid in a small room. They will want to learn how to do the same thing, to learn to hack, to build a website. Thy will create companies emboldened by inspiration and luck. The movie presents a gleaming vision of success and power. The movie, in a brilliantly dramatic way, will inspire thousands to follow the same path to achieve just a fraction of the wealth. Being a computer genius will be cool again.
Measure the numbers of applications to incubator like YCombinator and TechStars. Measure over time the hits to startup-related forums like Hacker News. I guarantee a large influx over the coming months.
