Facebook founder fodder for animated film

SAN FRANCISCO: A comic book based on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being turned into a short animated film tailored to television.

Hayden 5 Media and Bluewater Productions intend to turn the comic book “Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook” into a film in the style of the 2006 science fiction work “A Scanner Darkly.”

“When we found out that Bluewater was releasing this comic, we knew we had to get on board,” said Hayden president Todd Wiseman.

“We saw a great opportunity to re-tell the story of Mark Zuckerberg post ‘Social Network’ in a brighter, animated form that could be enjoyed and understood by a broader audience.”

The film will combine real characters and animated settings with a “comic book aesthetic,” the companies said on Friday.

The comic book, written by Jerome Maida and drawn by Fritz Saalfeld, will hit stores in late December at a price of 6.99 dollars a copy.

“As this comic reveals, the road for the success for both his creation and him personally was not preordained nor was it always a smooth ride,” independent production studio Bluewater said in a release.

“(Zuckerberg) would be tempted with unimaginable amounts of money and have to deal harshly with people along the way – many of whom would later feel betrayed.”

Bluewater publishes a wide range of comics, from superheroes to horror to children’s tales to biographies of famous folks including US President Barack Obama and young pop star Justin Bieber.

“This will not be the last retelling of the Mark Zuckerberg story,” said Hayden executive production Milos Silber.

“We’re just aware of the profound impact of Facebook, and with over 500 million users, we’re bound to have an audience.”

“The Social Network,” the recently-released movie about the origins of Facebook, paints Zuckerberg as a status-obsessed, socially dysfunctional schemer.

The live-action film was written by “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher of “Fight Club” fame.

“The Social Network” stars Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and pop star Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker, Zuckerberg’s mentor.

The movie is based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich and its take on the murky creation of Facebook.