Prehistoric caveman or action hero? As our own Jenni Miller recently posted, David Fincher is in talks to direct The Social Network (AKA "The Facebook Movie"). Naturally enough, speculation has begun on who could play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. CNET News was told by "an entertainment industry source" that Michael Cera and Shia LaBeouf are among the top choices.

But they're on the top of the list for just about any movie featuring a 20-something lead, aren't they? Would either one be suited for the role? The red hot LaBeouf would seem the more logical choice ... except that he's already set for Money Never Sleeps (AKA Wall Street 2) and has The Associate (based on John Grisham's latest best seller) in development. One's about the financial industry, the other takes place in the legal system; a third movie set in the business world in the next couple of years might prematurely age his star.

Cera might be the better choice. Even though Year One flopped, he was the second banana and doesn't seem to have suffered from the box office fallout. The upcoming Youth in Revolt and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World could cement his appeal, setting him up for a dramatic turn with a very talented director. I'm curious to see if he can expand beyond his usual shtick; at the same time, his comic chops could come in handy, depending on Aaron Sorkin's script.

Would you rather see Michael Cera or Shia LaBeouf as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? If not them, then who?

[via The Playlist]

It's looking very likely that David Fincher will be joining a social network soon. Make that The Social Network, a movie based on a script written by The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin about Facebook.

Just like in those good old dot com days, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hatched the site in his dorm room in 2004, which now boasts over 200 million users. The Social Network will follow the site from its, uh, humble Harvard beginnings to marketing buzzword. By the way, Zuckerberg's net worth is $1.5 billion, according to Forbes' list of the world's billionaires in 2008.

IMDb lists the project as on track for 2011, and Variety says the team is hoping "to begin production later this year."

The real questions are whether or not the project will tackle some of the issues looming over Facebook, such as your right to privacy and who owns the information you upload to Facebook, and if the idea and/or code was Zuckerberg's to begin with.

Next up: Scorsese will direct a film based on the Tweets of Courtney Love.

I couldn't begin to describe how excited I was yesterday when I had to have my iPhone replaced at the Apple store due to it breaking a month after I bought it only to learn that Apple has just launched a new iPhone to screw with folks who recently bought the old one. Don't you love those guys? To coincide with the latest iPhone 3GS (which I heard features an app that will actually babysit your kids and one that will take your girlfriend to a boring chick flick -- but don't quote me on that), Apple has launched a new marketing campaign beginning with this commercial from director David Fincher, who's apparently a pretty big mac junkie.

To be quite honest, I was hoping for colorful dancing set to some sort of quirky hipster tune, but instead what we have here is some dude breaking in to iPhone headquarters (or some such place) in order to test out the phone's new video function. It's not exactly brilliant, but Fincher directed it alongside his Fight Club cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth. Will this be the first of a set of related ads? Guess we'll see.

Watch the commercial after the jump

Film School Rejects is reporting that Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has spilled some major beans on the remake of Heavy Metal, the totally over-the-top 1981 sci-fi flick full of boobies, violence, and, some might say, awesomeness.

Eastman wrote Heavy Metal 2000, which stars former Penthouse Pet Julie Strain, who is also, incidentally, Eastman's ex-wife. She also voiced Heavy Metal 2000 and starred in the Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 video game. Eastman told FSR,

"I've got breaking news that Fincher and James Cameron are going to be co-executive Producers on the film. Fincher will direct one. Cameron will direct one. Zack Snyder is going to direct one and Gore Verbinski is going to. Mark Osborne and Jack Black from Tenacious D are going to do a comedy segment for the film. Three other directors have agreed but we haven't signed them, but they're equally as jaw-dropping. So we're on cloud nine to be working with such an amazing amount of talent."

Will Heavy Metal benefit from a high-tech remake? Or was part of its appeal the cheesiness of the original? More importantly, will Dio have a part in the Tenacious D segment?

Many people think that a movie needs to avoid an R-rating in order to become a blockbuster. Most recent top earners have followed that dictum, with only four R-rated movies among last year's top 25 at the box office. Zack Snyder's 300 was a defiant exception in 2007, earning more than $456 million worldwide, and clearing the way for Snyder's R-rated dream project, Watchmen. Its content advisory warns / promises: "Strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language." Can such an R-rated superhero movie become a blockbuster today, especially in the wake of PG-13 smashes like The Dark Knight and Iron Man?

If the history of the movies has taught us anything, it's that people will flock to see films that they really, really want to see, no matter the rating. As evidence, here are seven R-rated films with strong, adult content that may have made some folks blanch -- but it didn't keep the flicks from becoming blockbusters.

Basic Instinct
Paul Verhoeven's thriller has it all: sex, violence, profanity, and very adult themes. The most notorious shot features Sharon Stone's, er, legs, but the flick also includes male and female nudity, intense sex scenes, stabbing, blood spattering, dozens of profanities, and relentless sexual innuendos. But it's not just a sensationalist button-pusher. Indeed, Basic Instinct lives up to its title in its dogged, sometimes earnest exploration of the basest desires known to man or woman. It may have tittilated, but it also made you think long after the credits rolled.

There was a time, long ago, when a single, solitary television channel was dedicated to the world of music. On said channel, before the citizenswent wild for "reality" and killed all that was right in the world, short films showcased every song that was played. Some were simply grainy concert footage or quick studio performances, while others stretched the boundaries of moviemaking, showcasing whole narrative stories for a simple, short collection of notes.

Unsurprisingly, these same directors then set their sights on the big screen, itching to stretch their talents from short, three-minute intervals to hours of material. They've given us everything, from men who like to destroy pretty things, to the warped creativity of the mind, to a woman who finds her late husband inside a little boy. They've offered mainstream hits, critical successes, and cult films we all love, and they symbolize that time when music meant videos, and the two went hand in hand.

Things have changed so much that we probably won't see a continuing influx of this sort of talent, but we can savor what the '80s and '90s brought us, and how some small screen vision led to big screen success.

David Fincher must be feeling on top of the world right now, what with 13 Oscar nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a successful box office haul. Yet that's not the kind of credibility that can get your next movie made in Hollywood. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has let the rights to Brian Michael Bendis' Torso lapse, leaving the project in limbo. "It's a weird and odd situation," Bendis said. "We heard it was greenlit one day, then the next we heard it wasn't. Hopefully, it'll have a happy ending."

Paramount has had the rights since 2006, and hired Ehren Kruger to adapt the book. But last month, part of the original rights deal expired and Paramount declined renewing them, and buying them outright. The studio still owns the Kruger screenplay, and is in negotiations to strike a new option agreement with Bendis and Marc Andreyko, to whom the rights reverted. Fincher is still attached as director, though one who is sans screenplay.

It is a very weird situation -- the project has A-List all over it. Not only does it have Fincher directing, but it attracted interest from Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. While based on a graphic novel, it's not superhero stuff, but the true story of Eliot Ness and the Torso Murderer. Considering everyone has been desperate for a sequel to The Untouchables for years, you'd think this was a slam dunk ... but apparently nothing is during these economic times. But as everyone in their right mind wants to see this done, I hope Paramount makes its mind up to stake a claim or let it pass on to another studio.

This past week, a whole lot of you probably took in a screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (I took the girl to see it last night), and you've probably shared your opinions with friends, family and significant others. Some feel it's just way too long, while others argue it needs to be long in order for you, the audience member, to "feel" and adequately "experience" the main character's life-long journey. One aspect of the film a lot of people have discussed was how -- and there might be mild spoilers here -- if Brad Pitt's character starts out as a tiny old man, he should turn into an adult-sized baby at the end of the film. That would make the most sense, right?

Well, director David Fincher sat down with MTV recently and admitted that the original plan was to have Pitt play the baby. He says, "We were prepared to do that ... We just ran out of money. We could have made him into a baby. Anything you want to do, you can do now." Now THAT would've been worth the price of admission all on its own ... even though the image of Pitt as a big, weird-looking baby may have been all folks talked about afterward. Fincher also addressed those comparisons to Forest Gump, noting: "Forrest Gump? What's that? Instead of the ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, I thought of [Benjamin] as an extraordinary man in very ordinary circumstances. I don't know how much an audience can relate to a guy who's aging backwards that ends up looking like Brad Pitt. My whole thing from the beginning has been that it's not high concept. The reason it's relatable is how it's dramatized. Everybody remembers their first kiss and hangover and person they fell in love with."

For those who've seen it, what do you think: Should Pitt have played an adult-sized baby?