LMU Magazine - The Magazine of Loyola Marymount University

Imagine Facebook's Death

John Gasienica '10, left, and Bennet Silverman '09 dream of life without Facebook in their short film "The Social Network 2."

Published: December 13, 2011
By Fred Puza

Imagine what the world would be like if Mark Zuckerberg, co-creator of Facebook, deleted Facebook and then committed suicide.

That’s the premise of the latest Facebook video parody “The Social Network 2,” produced by Bennet Silverman ’09 and John Gasienica ’10, who also acts in the duo's short film. Although Facebook's popularity is legendary, with perhaps 800 million users, Gasienica and Silverman's film isn't doing badly either. “The Social Network 2" has tallied almost a half million views since its release in November.

“Facebook is incredibly relatable to everyone,” says Silverman, who studied a television production in the LMU School of Film and Television and also earned a minor in business. “Facebook is a big part of all of our lives. It was fun to bring that to life and poke fun at the hilariousness of it all.”

The video was shot on Loyola Marymount University’s campus and featured more than 15 alumni in on-screen roles and behind the camera. Silverman and Gasienica say that deciding to film on campus and include fellow alumni was a no-brainer.

“LMU is so beautifully and visually diverse, it is the perfect place to shoot,” Bennet explains. “And so many of our friends are LMU alumni, so we always use them in our productions.”

Silverman and Gasienica met at LMU as members of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. After graduation, they formed Nice Piece Productions, which has churned out four videos to date. Now they are reading scripts and planning the next video.

“We hope to keep the momentum going and to build a solid fan base,” says Gasienica, whose major was business and who spent time on Wall Street as a hedge fund trader. “We want to prove to the entertainment industry, and to ourselves, that we can be successful.”

Both Silverman and Gasienica credit Bill Fulco, S.J., adviser of Sigma Phi Epsilon and professor of classics and archeology, with inspiring them to follow their dreams and giving them a sense of direction.

“Father Fulco always encouraged us to put something out there that will make someone happy,” Gasienica says. “The end product of this video is that people are laughing. That’s great to us.”