The Good Wife Sticks It to Aaron Sorkin and The Social Network

Last night on The Good Wife, the relentlessly Zeitgeist-y lawyers of Lockhart Gardner took on a client who may sound familiar: a twentysomething computer programmer turned billionaire looking to sue the makers of a film based on his life — and more specific, the founding of his now wildly popular website — for defamation. Yes, it’s The Social Network, and while Good Wife made a few small attempts to acknowledge its movie inspiration (“He’s another Zuckerberg,” notes Christine Baranski early on), the episode still unapologetically borrowed the movie’s entire backstory, right down to the fictional ex-girlfriend who inspired the website’s creation.

Case in point: the screenwriter very obviously based on Aaron Sorkin, whose scene is available here, at the 16:20 mark. Vulture can’t speak to the real-life Sorkin’s sartorial preferences (beyond his love of being tan), but we’d guess that he actually does enjoy turtlenecks, because everything else here is spot-on. Obnoxious and arrogant fast-talk! Former drug problems! Feuds with blog commenters! And major points to Good Wife writers Robert and Michelle King for re-creating the Social Network deposition scene while denying Fake Sorkin any zingers on the level of “Have I adequately answered your condescending question?” If only they’d thrown in some pedeconferencing. Anyway, now we’re really looking forward to Sorkin’s 30 Rock appearance, because it’ll be a similar roast, but to his face. Game on.

https://www.vulture.com/2011/02/the_good_wife_aaron_sorkin.html

Last night’s “Good Wife,” on the other hand, presented the Mark Zuckerberg/Aaron Sorkin/”Social Network” story more or less as it happened in the headlines from which it was ripped. The only tweak was the lawsuit itself, but the firm’s client was clearly Zuckerberg, the douchebag screenwriter was clearly Sorkin, etc. The show tried to get around that by having a character compare their client to Zuckerberg, which was just silly; a universe in which this guy and Zuckerberg co-exist makes as much sense as a universe in which the fictional “Studio 60” and “Saturday Night Live” co-exist. It’s there as an attempt to place some distance between you and what you’re imitating, but it’s a distance nobody buys.

So because there was no real change, the whole thing played out like the show both trying to glom onto the success of “The Social Network” and just bashing Sorkin for an hour. I’ve bashed Sorkin a time or 20 in the past (go read my old “Studio 60” reviews), but it got to the point where I was wondering exactly who on the show hated Sorkin this much. (Other than Josh Charles, has anyone in the cast or crew worked on a Sorkin show or movie?) So unless you just enjoy Sorkin being called out for his less endearing qualities, I found the whole A-story an example of how not to do this particular trick...

https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/the-good-wife-net-work-ripped-from-the-sorkin/

A Trump presidency needn't be a nightmare for the left. On many issues, Clinton presidency might be

WALKER BRAGMAN

APRIL 29, 2016 2:00PM (UTC)

There are perhaps no three words more jarring to liberals than “President Donald Trump.” The GOP front-runner and presumptive nominee has undoubtedly made enemies with his nativist rhetoric and bellicose persona. That said, now that the race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is effectively over, with the former secretary of state essentially guaranteed the nomination, many liberals and progressives are preparing, once again, to vote for the lesser of two evils. The choice may not be as clear as some Democrats believe -- especially if Democrats can take back the Senate and assure themselves of a check on a GOP House.

Once you've let that sink in, try this: There is a liberal case to be made for Donald Trump. The prospect of Trump defeating Clinton this November is not necessarily the apocalypse that some would lead you to believe. Here are some of the reasons why.

1.) He’ll Change the Conversation

Perhaps the best thing I can say about Trump is that he speaks his mind. This sometimes leads to some pretty outlandish things, but not always. As Shane Ryan of Paste magazine, pointed out in a recent article, Trump has spent much of his time lately, railing against free trade and NAFTA, as well as the gross inequality in our system. Trump often talks about raising taxes on “hedge fund guys,” and he has acknowledged that the primary process is skewed in favor of the establishment...

4.) I’m Not Afraid of Donald Trump

Some of you might be reading this and thinking to yourselves: “That’s all well and good, but Trump is dangerous.” I understand those feelings. Donald Trump’s messages on social policy have been mixed at best, and fascistic at worst. His approach to climate science is frightening considering the dire situation our planet is in. Trump is also the kind of man who would use the office of the president to aggrandize himself, and punish his detractors — well, attempt to do so, like in his many libel and slander suits. Over the last twenty years the powers of the president have expanded considerably as commander-in-chief, and that’s concerning, too. Additionally, there is the matter of the Supreme Court of United States.

But let’s step back for a moment, and address some important points:

Trump will not transform America’s oligarchy into a fascist dictatorship, nor is he the second coming of Hitler. Our political culture precludes such a shift within any one presidency...

https://www.salon.com/2016/04/29/a_liberal_case_for_donald_trump_the_lesser_of_two_evils_is_not_at_all_clear_in_2016/

"The Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday that ESPN has cut ties with DreamHouse, an alleged film production company based in Albuquerque that had been announced as the title sponsor for the New Mexico Bowl on Oct. 1. Yesterday’s announcement followed a series of reports from Enchantment Sports and the Albuquerque Journal revealing that not only is DreamHouse not registered as an official business with the city, it doesn’t even seem to have a working office space."

"The Journal was following up on a few stories published by Enchantment Sports, in which people who know DreamHouse CEO Eric Martinez described him as a scam artist:

Numerous people contacted for this story said he is a relentless self promoter who lies about nearly everything he says he does.

“[Martinez has] gone from claiming he’s an Olympic boxer to a music manager, to the number one Latino actor in the country, to owning a magazine, to being a producer, to a director, to a filmmaker,” said [Steven Michael] Quezada, one of the state’s top actors who had a recurring role in “Breaking Bad” and won an award from the Screen Actors Guild.

ESPN’s partnership with DreamHouse was supposed to be for four years, and when it was announced outside of DreamHouse’s fake office, New Mexico Bowl Director Jeff Siembieda said, “I think you know what the film industry is doing for our state. It’s a hub for our economy, and DreamHouse is a big part of that. This partnership is right.” Very embarrassing for that guy!"

https://deadspin.com/espn-cancels-bowl-game-sponsorship-deal-with-company-th-1839356576

TMZ Emailed The Secret Service About Eminem’s Trump Lyrics. Agents Then Investigated The Rapper.

Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News show the Secret Service interviewed the rapper about his Trump lyrics after an email from a TMZ staffer

Kamikaze’s lead track, “The Ringer,” immediately attracted attention on social media due to lyrics in which Eminem, a fierce critic of President Donald Trump, claimed he was visited by the Secret Service: "‘Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service / To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin’ him / Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists / I said, ‘Only when it comes to ink and lyricists.'"

At the time, the Secret Service refused to say whether agents had indeed visited Eminem, citing their policy of not commenting on or confirming “the absence or existence of specific investigations.”

So last year BuzzFeed News filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Secret Service to find out if agents really were sent to speak with Eminem.

This week, the agency turned over 40 pages of documents that prove they did in fact interview the rapper. It turns out their interest in speaking with him was based on “threatening lyrics” from his rap “Framed” that appeared on Revival. The Secret Service characterized Eminem as “exhibiting inappropriate behavior” and noted that he, via the rap, “threatens protectee.” ...

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/eminem-secret-service-trump-ivanka-tmz