HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – Penning the screenplay for “The Social Network,’
which tells the story of the creation of Facebook, helped change Aaron Sorkin’s
outlook about the Internet, the first-time Oscar winner said tonight.
Asked about the role of social networking sites in the political
uprisings in the Middle East, the screenwriter said, “I thought it was an
incredible thing.’
He admitted, “I’ve been cranky about the Internet … somewhere along
the way I turned into my grandfather …’
“But when you see what happened in Cairo … social networking tools
mobilizing people for great causes like that, you really want to thank the Mark
Zuckerbergs for that,’ he said, referring to Facebook’s driving force.
Sorkin, who has won four Emmy Awards for his small screen work, said
backstage tonight at the Kodak Theatre that he “grew up worshiping `The
Graduate,” the 1967 film starring a young Dustin Hoffman.
He said he always wondered how Buck Henry, the screenwriter of the
iconic film, felt the first time he saw Hoffman say his lines. Now, he said, he
doesn’t wonder any more. “I’ve seen it.’
As for “The Social Network,’ “this material isn’t for beginners,’ Sorkin
said, but the “incredibly talented, but very young cast’ ably handled the
rapid-fire, rat-a-tat dialogue “under the guidance’ of the film’s Academy
Award-winning director, David Fincher.
He said he thought Zuckerberg had “been an awfully good sport. I don’t
think anyone here would want to have a movie made about what they did when they
were 19 years old “and include the viewpoint of those who have sued you for
millions of dollars.’
Sorkin, best known for his work on “The West Wing,’ said he was
“hyperaware that whatever I write next will be the thing I wrote after `The
Social Network.”
After celebrating tonight, he said, he’ll start working on “something that
I like, something that my friends like … and … hope that enough other
people will like it that I’ll be able to make a living.’
He noted the first writing award he ever won earned him $200 and allowed him
to go to New York to pursue his craft.

By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – Winning the best-actress Oscar “feels very, very
dreamlike,’ Natalie Portman said backstage tonight at the Kodak Theatre.
Though she was happy to take home the award for her role as Nina in
“Black Swan,’ the pregnant actress said she would absolutely not name her
baby-to-be Oscar.
“That’s definitely out of the question,’ she said.
The role was a strenuous one for the actress, who said the shooting and
rehearsal schedule was so “hectic’ that she only slept about five hours a
night. But she said that helped her in dealing with such a damaged character.
“I didn’t necessarily have time to think about what was happening,’
she said, instead “just falling into bed and then waking up to go to set.’
But it still took her longer to shake off the character than some other
roles she’s played.
“The whole movie was so intense … it stayed with me a little longer
than usual,’ Portman said.
She credited director Darren Aronofsky for guiding her through the
emotionally and physically demanding role.
“It’s only possible to give yourself so freely when you absolutely 100
percent trust the person you’re working with as a director,’ the actress said.
Film is “absolutely a director’s medium’ and “Darren’s artistry is so
extreme, that I absolutely felt free to try everything.’
As for the dancing, she said she felt the role was choreographed “in a
manner that best flattered what I could do and avoided what I couldn’t do,’
which was “key to the credibility for the film.’
Her character Nina should be both admired and pitied, she said.
“Her passion is to be admired, but her obvious fragile mental state and
fragmentation of her identity is to be pitied,’ Portman told reporters.
“One of the most beautiful things about the film is that it can be
interpreted in so many ways,’ said the actress. “I really see it as a coming
of age.’
She said she believes the film shows Nina becoming a woman and “killing
the child’s version of herself … I don’t necessarily see (the end of the
film) as a death, as some people do.’
Many of the questions she had to field backstage were about her pregnancy.
“The baby was definitely kicking a lot during the song portion of the
show, little dancer,’ Portman recalled, but said she couldn’t remember much
else that had happened after her name was called.
Her pregnancy has insulated her against some of the silliness of awards
season, she said.
“It feels like a protection against all of the hoopla,’ Portman said.
“(It’s) the part that keeps you centered … in the midst of a lot of shiny
stuff that is more superficial.’
Next, she looks forward to “staying in bed and not having to do my
makeup and hair and keeping my sweats on.’

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – As the three producers for “The King’s Speech’
answered a flurry of questions backstage at the Kodak Theatre tonight, one of
the men took a moment to reflect on why they sought to bring the film to the
silver screen.
“The strange irony of it all is that we probably, amongst other things,
wanted to do this thing because we hate public speaking,’ said Iain Canning,
who picked up the best picture Oscar along with Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin.
The film about King George VI and his speech impediment was made with
the financial help of the British Film Institute, whose fiscal future is now in
jeopardy.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be here, so we really hope that because of
`The King’s Speech’ that everyone continues to support arts and culture,’
Canning said.
For Unwin, tonight’s victory was the end of a long campaign that saw
“The King’s Speech’ honored around the world.
“From the point of the script, we had faith in the story,’ Unwin said.
“These campaigns run and they peak and they troth, but we never lost any
faith with the film that we had.’
Unwin went on to say it has a high honor the Academy Award from director
Steven Spielberg, noting, “It was more interesting shaking his hand than
this fellow,’ gesturing to the gold Oscar statue.

SOUTH PASADENA (CNS) – A retired Pasadena school teacher was arrested
for allegedly furnishing alcohol to minors, including former students, police
said today.