Sorkin on Social Reckoning reshoots and why Trump is not named in the film

Aaron Sorkin's "The Social Reckoning", a follow-up to "The Social Network", is due for release on Oct. 9. 1 2 The film follows Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, and the 2021 "Facebook Files" series. 1 2 Sorkin told Vanity Fair, as reported by Variety, that the reshoots came after the trailer and had nothing to do with its mixed reception; they were meant to "make it better". 1

He said Sony chairman and CEO Tom Rothman gave the production three days of shooting, and that test screenings were held for about 70 Sony employees each, which he called "not a great polling sample". 1 Trump is not named in the film even though it recreates the Jan. 6 riot. 1 2 Sorkin said nobody asked him to leave Trump out; he told Rothman unprompted there would be no Trump signage or red hats, and that the film is about Facebook's role in divisiveness, not a "red-blue thing". 1 2

In a Politico interview cited by Fox News, he said a Trump presence would become a "distraction" and that he wanted "clean hands", while acknowledging the film would be seen as political anyway. 2 Fox News adds that the film opens about a month before the midterms, which Sorkin said influenced its timing, and that a Meta spokesperson said in 2022 the platform was not responsible for Jan. 6. 2 An unnamed person close to the White House called the film "delusional fiction"; Fox News said it had contacted Meta and the White House for comment. 2