Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson in "Zombieland" (2009)."Last year Jesse Eisenberg battled flesh-noshing ghoulies and teenage angst and came out on the winning side both times in the eyes of critics and moviegoers. Following on the success of "Adventureland" and "Zombieland", Eisenberg was recruited by David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") to play the starring role of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for a film about the passions, backbiting and legal wrangling surrounding the creation of the social networking behemoth at Harvard.
Jesse Eisenberg with Kristen Stewart in an interview for "Adventureland".MTV: Last year was a pretty big one for you, with "Adventureland" and "Zombieland." Does it feel like with "Social Network" you're reaping the rewards of your hard work in 2009?
Eisenberg: I don't know that the director had seen those movies. I don't know if he would have hired me from those movies for this role, which is different than those. The last concern of his is casting someone with momentum. I auditioned for this. I made a tape. I'm sure lots of people made tapes. I don't see a connection in terms of a climatic career trajectory or anything.
Jake Gyllenhaal with director David Fincher filming "Zodiac" (2007).MTV: Had you been an admirer of Fincher's work for a while?
Eisenberg: I really don't watch movies. I'd seen his movies a few years ago. Most of what I know about him was from people speaking about him so highly, most specifically Fred Durst, who 
directed me [in "The Education of Charlie Banks"] and looked at him almost as a mentor. Everybody speaks about him with such awe, and now having worked with him for the last four months, I would certainly agree he's working in a completely unique way and in way I found very satisfying.
Jesse Eisenberg on the set of "The Social Network", on 20th October 2009.MTV: So what was the audition process like?
Eisenberg: I just made a tape, probably 20 pages of dialogue and sent in the tape because I live in New York City and they were casting in California. Then they called me for a meeting. It was fairly painless.
MTV: Is this the first time you're playing a real person?
Eisenberg: I did two or three movies where I played a fictionalized version of the director. Last year I did ["Adventureland"], that was loosely based on the director's life. But in terms of a recognizable person, this is the first time. You take as much as you can from what you see, what you like, and also tailor what you feel you want to do to the story and the script, which takes precedence over whatever kind of quirks or characterizations you want to bring to it. And the script is so wonderful — written by Aaron Sorkin, 170 pages long. The character goes from 19 to 24.
MTV: Will the film have any of the technical wizardry Fincher has become known for?Eisenberg: I have such a lack of technical awareness, but it does seem to be very straightforwardly shot. There are some very unique technical aspects about the movie that I don't know if I'm allowed to share. But they all serve the story, not just for the sake of doing something technical.
Justin Timberlake on the set of "The Social Network", on 10th November 2009.MTV: How was working with Justin Timberlake?
Eisenberg: He plays Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, who comes in after Facebook is established and Zuckerberg becomes infatuated with him to the point where it's like a platonic love triangle between Saverin, who bankrolled the operation and Parker, who has this Silicon Valley aura and rock star status in the dot-com world.
MTV: When you're done with "Social Network," do you have any plans for 2010? Any goals that you want to accomplish?
Eisenberg: I've been trying to do these plays I've written in New York and this musical I've written. I wrote the music and lyrics and somebody else wrote the book. There's no character for me. We're doing a workshop in February. It's a satire about self-indulgence called "Me Time." It's about contemporary, obnoxious selfishness on the Upper East Side of New York City. I would love to get it on, but I wind up going to California to do movies. I've been trying to focus on those for two years, so I assume if I don't get work as an actor, that's where I'll be.
MTV: Is there any momentum for a "Zombieland" sequel?Eisenberg: I'm not sure what the latest is with that. If it was good, I think everybody who was involved in it would want to do another one because the first one turned out so well. The risk is that they'll want to make something that is bad but popular. When I read the first script, I thought it was really great and all my wariness about being in something popular I was able to push aside. Sequels have a greater threat of being stupid". Source: www.mtv.com
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