The Social Network (2010)

MARA: So what were your first impressions of me when we met for The Social Network? Did you think I was the character I wound up playing, Erica Albright?



FINCHER: To be honest, I didn’t really have an absolute handle on Erica. I mean, I kept saying to Laray [Mayfield, casting director], “Find me Katharine Ross from The Graduate [1967]. Find me that girl.” I needed the audience to be immediately analyzing Jesse Eisenberg’s character. “What is his major malfunction? Why would he say these horrible things to this girl? She’s so obviously a catch.” One day Laray came to me and said, “I met her—I met that girl. Her name is Rooney, and I’d like you and Aaron [Sorkin, screenwriter of The Social Network] to meet her.” Of course, I then went to my next area of concern: This can’t just be about beauty. She has to be centered. She has to be able to keep up with Jesse—be in lockstep—and in eight pages illuminate a relationship I don’t have time to really see or define. So the first thing was, how do we have Erica be somebody who you can immediately see is not somebody he should be tossing away, and also have her be somebody who’s not just taking abuse? She couldn’t be a battered wife. I also remember, after we shot those scenes, saying goodbye to you. I think you can actually see it on the DVD—you said, “Oh, bye,” and I said, “Oh, hey, thanks,” and I remember thinking I should have said something nicer. I should have actually gone and said, “Hey, thank you so much. That was really great.” I remember regretting not having done that.



MARA: Yeah, I remember you not saying anything nice. [laughs]



FINCHER: Not for lack of wanting to. But I had 90 people I had to keep occupied . . .

www.interviewmagazine.com/film/rooney-mara-and-david-fincher/#page2