Scott Rudin
It would be impossible to quantify Scott Rudin's role in the creative and commercial success of The Social Network. Scott, 52, found the material, got me attached to write the screenplay, got David Fincher to direct and rode herd over every aspect of production.
But my favorite time was the two weeks we spent in his office. I'd e-mailed him the first draft, and he said, "Come on out." When Scott says, "Come on out," he doesn't mean in a few days. He means on the next flight. We spent two hours every morning in his office turning pages. He'd tell me where I was weak, where I was self-indulgent or ham-fisted, where I was missing an opportunity for emotion. In addition to his business acumen and savvy, his muscle and his good taste, Scott is the best script editor I've ever known.
At the same time, he was also producing Greenberg, True Grit and the Broadway revival of Fences (for which he'd pick up one of his 738 Tony Awards to go with his Best Picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men). I'm only one of dozens of people who've become better writers because Scott called and said, "Come on out."
Sorkin is a playwright and screenwriter