Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin | |
---|---|
![]() Sorkin at the PaleyFest 2013 panel for The Newsroom | |
Born |
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin June 9, 1961 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Screenwriter, producer, playwright |
Alma mater | Syracuse University |
Years active | 1984–present |
Spouse | Julia Bingham (1996–2005; divorced; 1 child) |
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961)[1] is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. His works include the Broadway plays A Few Good Men and The Farnsworth Invention; the television series Sports Night, The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom; and the films A Few Good Men, The American President, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network, Moneyball and Steve Jobs.
Sorkin's trademark rapid-fire dialogue and extended monologues are complemented, in television, by frequent collaborator Thomas Schlamme's characteristic directing technique called the "walk and talk". These sequences consist of single tracking shots of long duration involving multiple characters engaging in conversation as they move through the set; characters enter and exit the conversation as the shot continues without any cuts.
Early years
Sorkin was born in Manhattan, New York City,[2] to a Jewish family,[3] and was raised in the NY suburb of Scarsdale.[4] His mother was a schoolteacher and his father a copyright lawyer who had fought in WWII and put himself through college on the G.I. Bill; both his older sister and brother went on to become lawyers.[5][6][7] His paternal grandfather was one of the founders of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU).[7][8][9] Sorkin took an early interest in acting. Before he reached his teenage years, his parents were taking him to the theatre to see shows such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and That Championship Season.[10]
Sorkin attended Scarsdale High School where he became involved in the drama and theatre club.[11] In eighth grade he played General Bullmoose in the musical Li'l Abner.[12] In Scarsdale High's senior class production of Once Upon a Mattress, Sorkin played Sir Harry. He served as vice president in his junior and senior year at Scarsdale High School and graduated in 1979.[13][14]
In 1979, Sorkin attended Syracuse University. In his freshman year he failed a class that was a core requirement. It was a devastating setback because he wanted to be an actor, and the drama department did not allow students to take the stage until they completed all the core freshman classes. Determined to do better, he returned in his sophomore year, and graduated in 1983.[15] Recalling the influence on him at college of drama teacher Arthur Storch, Sorkin recalled, after Storch's death in March 2013, that "Arthur's reputation as a director, and as a disciple of Lee Strasberg, was a big reason why a lot of us went to [Syracuse]. "You have the capacity to be so much better than you are", he started saying to me in September of my senior year. He was still saying it in May. On the last day of classes, he said it again, and I said, "How?", and he answered, "Dare to fail". I've been coming through on his admonition ever since".[16]
Early career as an actor and playwright
"I don't want to analyze myself or anything, but I think, in fact I know this to be true, that I enter the world through what I write. I grew up believing, and continue to believe, that I am a screw-up, that growing up with my family and friends, I had nothing to offer in any conversation. But when I started writing, suddenly there was something that I brought to the party that was at a high-enough level."
—Aaron Sorkin, on becoming a writer.[5]
After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre in 1983, Sorkin moved to New York City where he spent much of the 1980s as a struggling, sporadically employed actor[12] who also worked odd jobs, such as delivering singing telegrams,[12] driving a limousine, touring Alabama with the children's theatre company Traveling Playhouse,[5] handing out fliers promoting a hunting-and-fishing show,[12] and bartending at Broadway's Palace Theatre.[17] One weekend, while housesitting at a friend's place he found an IBM Selectric typewriter, started typing, and "felt a phenomenal confidence and a kind of joy that [he] had never experienced before in [his] life."[5]
He continued writing and eventually put together his first play, Removing All Doubt, which he sent to his old Syracuse theatre teacher, Arthur Storch, who was impressed. In 1984, Removing All Doubt was staged for drama students at his alma mater, Syracuse University. After that, he wrote Hidden in This Picture which debuted off-off-Broadway at Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in New York City in 1988. The contents of his first two plays got him a theatrical agent.[18] Producer John A. McQuiggan saw the production of Hidden in This Picture and commissioned Sorkin to turn the one-act into a full-length play called Making Movies.[19]
A Few Good Men
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Sorkin got the inspiration to write his next play, a courtroom drama called A Few Good Men, from a phone conversation with his sister Deborah (who had graduated from Boston University Law School and signed up for a three-year stint with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps). Deborah told Sorkin that she was going to Guantanamo Bay to defend a group of Marines who came close to killing a fellow Marine in a hazing ordered by a superior officer. Sorkin took that information and wrote much of his story on cocktail napkins while bartending at the Palace Theatre.[20] He and his roommates had purchased a Macintosh 512K so when he returned home he would empty his pockets of the cocktail napkins and type them into the computer, forming a basis from which he wrote many drafts for A Few Good Men.[21]
In 1988, Sorkin sold the film rights for A Few Good Men to producer David Brown before it premiered,[22] in a deal that was reportedly "well into six figures".[23] Brown had read an article in The New York Times about Sorkin's one-act play Hidden in This Picture and found out Sorkin also had a play called A Few Good Men that was having Off Broadway readings.[22] Brown produced A Few Good Men on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre. It starred Tom Hulce and was directed by Don Scardino. After opening in late 1989, it ran for 497 performances.[24]
Sorkin continued writing Making Movies and in 1990 it debuted Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre, produced by John A. McQuiggan, and again directed by Don Scardino.[19] Meanwhile, David Brown was producing a few projects at TriStar Pictures and tried to interest them in making A Few Good Men into a film but his proposal was declined due to the lack of star actor involvement. Brown later got a call from Alan Horn at Castle Rock Entertainment who was anxious to make the film. Rob Reiner, a Castle Rock producing partner, opted to direct it.[22]
Screenwriting career (1991–98)
Working under contract for Castle Rock Entertainment
In the early 1990s, Sorkin worked under contract for Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc.[25] He wrote the scripts for A Few Good Men, Malice and The American President: The three films grossed about US$400 million worldwide.[2] While writing for Castle Rock he became friends with colleagues such as William Goldman and Rob Reiner and met his future wife Julia Bingham, who was one of Castle Rock's business affairs lawyers.[26]
Sorkin wrote several drafts of the script for A Few Good Men in his Manhattan apartment,[25] learning the craft from a book about screenplay format.[18] He then spent several months at the Los Angeles offices of Castle Rock, working on the script with director Rob Reiner.[25] William Goldman (who regularly worked under contract at Castle Rock) became his mentor and helped him to adapt his stageplay into a screenplay.[27] The movie was directed by Reiner, starred Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon, and was produced by Brown. A Few Good Men was released in 1992 and was a box office success.[28]
Goldman also approached Sorkin with a story premise, which Sorkin developed into the script for Malice. Goldman oversaw the project as creative consultant while Sorkin wrote the first two drafts. However, he had to leave the project to finish up the script for A Few Good Men, so screenwriter Scott Frank stepped in and wrote two drafts of the Malice screenplay. When production on A Few Good Men wrapped up, Sorkin took over and resumed working on the Malice right through the final shooting script. Harold Becker directed the film, a medical thriller released in 1993, which starred Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin. Malice had mixed reviews. Vincent Canby in The New York Times described the film as "deviously entertaining from its start through its finish".[29] Roger Ebert gave it 2 out of 4 stars,[30] and Peter Travers in a 2000 Rolling Stone review summarized it as having "suspense but no staying power".[31]
Sorkin's last produced screenplay for Castle Rock was The American President and once again he worked with William Goldman, who served as a creative consultant.[32] It took Sorkin a few years to write the screenplay for The American President, which started off as a massive 385-page screenplay; it was eventually whittled down to a standard shooting script of around 120 pages.[2] Rob Reiner directed. The film was critically acclaimed. Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times described the film as "genial and entertaining if not notably inspired", and believed its most interesting aspects were the "pipe dreams about the American political system and where it could theoretically be headed".[33]
Script doctor for hire
Sorkin did uncredited script doctor work on several films in the 1990s. He wrote some quips for Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage in The Rock.[34] He worked on Excess Baggage, a comedy about a girl who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, and rewrote some of Will Smith's scenes in Enemy of the State.[34]
Sorkin collaborated with Warren Beatty on a couple of scripts, one of which was Bulworth.[35] Beatty, known for occasionally personally financing his film projects through pre-production, also hired Sorkin to rewrite a script titled Ocean of Storms which never went into production. At one point Sorkin sued Beatty for proper compensation for his work on the Ocean of Storms script; once the matter was settled, he resumed working on the script.[35][36][37][38]
Writing for television (1998–2007)
Sports Night (1998–2000)
Sorkin came up with the idea to write about the behind-the-scenes happenings on a sports show while he was living in a room in the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles writing the screenplay for The American President.[5][39] He would work late, with the TV tuned into ESPN, watching continuous replays of SportsCenter.[39][40] The show inspired him to try to write a feature film about a sports show but he was unable to structure the story for film, so instead he turned his idea into a TV comedy series.[41][42] Sports Night was produced by Disney and debuted on the Disney-owned ABC network in the fall of 1998.[43]
Sorkin fought with the ABC network during the first season over the use of a laugh track and a live studio audience. The laugh track was widely decried by critics as jarring, with Joyce Millman of Salon.com describing it as "the most unconvincing laugh track you've ever heard".[44][45] Sorkin commented that: "Once you do shoot in front of a live audience, you have no choice but to use the laugh track. Oftentimes [enhancing the laughs] is the right thing to do. Sometimes you do need a cymbal crash. Other times, it alienates me."[44] The laugh track was gradually dialed down and was gone by the end of the first season.[46] Sorkin was triumphant in the second season when ABC agreed to his demands, unburdening the crew of the difficulties of staging a scene for a live audience and leaving the cast with more time to rehearse.[43]
Although Sports Night was critically acclaimed, ABC canceled the show after two seasons due to its low ratings.[47][48] Sorkin entertained offers to continue the show on other television channels but declined all the offers as they were mainly contingent on his involvement which would have been a difficult prospect given that he was simultaneously writing The West Wing at that point.[39]
The West Wing (1999–2006)
Sorkin conceived the political drama The West Wing in 1997 when he went unprepared to a lunch with producer John Wells and in a panic pitched to Wells a series centered on the senior staff of the White House,[2] using leftover ideas from his script for The American President.[49] He told Wells about his visits to the White House while doing research for The American President, and they found themselves discussing public service and the passion of the people who serve. Wells took the concept and pitched it to the NBC network, but was told to wait because the facts behind the Lewinsky scandal were breaking and there was concern that an audience would not be able to take a series about the White House seriously.[50] When a year later some other networks started showing interest in The West Wing, NBC decided to greenlight the series despite their previous reluctance.[49] The pilot debuted in the fall of 1999 and was produced by Warner Bros. Television.[49]
"Stockard had done an episode of the show as the First Lady ... She took me out to lunch and said she really liked doing the show and wanted to do more and started asking me questions like, 'Who do you think this character is?' And those aren't questions I can answer. [As a writer] I can only answer, what do they want?"
—Aaron Sorkin, on creating characters.[51]
The West Wing was honored with nine Primetime Emmy Awards for its debut season, making the series a record holder for most Emmys won by a series in a single season at the time.[52] Following the ceremony, a fiasco ensued, centered on the category for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. The The West Wing episode "In Excelsis Deo" won, which was awarded to Sorkin and Rick Cleveland, while it was reported in a The New York Times article that Cleveland had been ushered off the stage by Sorkin without being given a chance to say a few words.[53] The story behind The West Wing episode is based on Cleveland's father, a Korean war veteran who spent the last years of his life on the street, as Cleveland explains in his FreshYarn.com essay titled "I Was the Dumb Looking Guy with the Wire-Rimmed Glasses".[54] A back and forth took place between Sorkin and Cleveland in a public web forum at Mighty Big TV where Sorkin explained that he gives his writers "Story By" credit on a rotating basis "by way of a gratuity" and that he had thrown out Cleveland's script and started from scratch.[55] In the end, Sorkin apologized to Cleveland.[56] Cleveland and Sorkin also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama at the 53rd Writer Guild of America Awards for "In Excelsis Deo".[57]
In 2001, after wrapping up the second season of The West Wing, Sorkin had a drug relapse, only two months after receiving a Phoenix Rising Award for drug recovery; this became public knowledge when he was arrested at Hollywood Burbank Airport for possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana, and crack cocaine. He was ordered by a judge to attend a drug diversion program.[58] His drug addiction was highly publicized, most notably when Saturday Night Live did a parody called "The West Wing",[59] though he did recover.[10]
In 2002, Sorkin criticized NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw's TV special about a day in the life of a president, "The Bush White House: Inside the Real West Wing", comparing it to the act of sending a valentine to President George W. Bush instead of real news reporting.[60] Sorkin's TV series The West Wing aired on the same network, and so at the request of NBC's Entertainment President Jeff Zucker he apologized, but would later say "there should be a difference between what NBC News does and what The West Wing TV series does."[61][62]
Sorkin wrote 87 screenplays in all, which amounts to nearly every episode during the show's first four Emmy-winning seasons.[63] Sorkin describes his role in the creative process as "not so much [that of] a showrunner or a producer. I'm really a writer."[39] He admits that this approach can have its drawbacks, saying "Out of 88 [West Wing] episodes that I did we were on time and on budget never, not once."[21] In 2003, at the end of the fourth season, Sorkin and fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme left the show due to internal conflicts at Warner Bros. Television not involving the NBC network, thrusting producer John Wells into an expanded role as showrunner.[64][65] Sorkin never watched any episodes beyond his writing tenure apart from 60 seconds of the fifth season's first episode, describing the experience as "like watching somebody make out with my girlfriend."[66] Sorkin would later return in the series finale for a cameo appearance as a member of President Bartlet's staff.
Sorkin appeared as himself on the 30 Rock episode "Plan B", where he did a "walk and talk" with Liz Lemon played by Tina Fey.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007)
In 2003, Sorkin divulged to the American television interviewer Charlie Rose on The Charlie Rose Show that he was developing a TV series based on a late-night sketch comedy show like Saturday Night Live.[21][67] In early October 2005, a pilot script dubbed Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip for a new television series, written by him and with Tommy Schlamme attached as producer, started circulating around Hollywood and generating interest on the web. A week later, NBC bought from Warner Bros. Television the right to show the television series on their network for a near-record license fee in a bidding war with CBS.[68] The show's name was later changed to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Sorkin described the show as having "autobiographical elements" to it and "characters that are based on actual people" but said that it departs from those beginnings to look at the backstage maneuverings at a late night sketch comedy show.[69]
On September 18, 2006, the pilot for Studio 60 aired on NBC, directed by Schlamme. The pilot was critically acclaimed and viewed by over 12 million people, but Studio 60 experienced a significant drop in audience by mid-season. The seething anticipation that preceded the début was followed up by a large amount of thoughtful and scrupulous criticism in the press, as well as largely negative analysis in the blogosphere.[70] In January 2007, Sorkin spoke out against the press for focusing too heavily on the ratings slide and for using blogs and unemployed comedy writers as sources.[71] After two months on hiatus, Studio 60 resumed to air the last episodes of season one, which would be its only season.
2004–present
Return to the theatre
![](../I/m/Aaron_Sorkin_at_the_Music_Box_Theatre_in_2007.jpg)
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In 2003, Sorkin was writing a screenplay on spec about the story of inventor and television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, a topic he had first become familiar with back in the early 1990s when producer Fred Zollo approached him with the idea of adapting a memoir by Elma Farnsworth into a biopic.[10][72] The next year he completed the screenplay under the title "The Farnsworth Invention", and it was picked up by New Line Cinema with Thomas Schlamme signed on to direct. The story is about the patent battle between inventor Philo Farnsworth and RCA tycoon David Sarnoff for the technology that allowed the first television transmissions in the United States.[73]
At the same time, Sorkin was contacted by Jocelyn Clarke, the commissions manager of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, requesting he write a play for them, a commission which he accepted.[74] In time Sorkin decided to tackle his commission by rewriting "The Farnsworth Invention" as a play.[10][74] He delivered a first draft of the play to the Abbey Theatre in early 2005, and a production was purportedly planned for 2007 with La Jolla Playhouse in California deciding to stage a workshop production of the play in collaboration with the Abbey Theatre. But in 2006, the Abbey Theatre's new management pulled out of all involvement with The Farnsworth Invention.[74] Despite the setback, La Jolla Playhouse pushed on, with Steven Spielberg lending his talents as producer.[75] The production opened under La Jolla's signature Page To Stage program which allowed Sorkin and director Des McAnuff to develop the play from show to show according to audience reactions and feedback; the play ran at La Jolla Playhouse from February 20, 2007 through March 25, 2007.[76][77] A production followed on Broadway, beginning in previews at the Music Box Theatre and scheduled to open on November 14, 2007; however, the play was delayed by the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike.[78][79] The Farnsworth Invention eventually opened at the Music Box Theatre on December 3, 2007 following the end of the strike; it closed on March 2, 2008.[80][81]
In 2005, Sorkin revised his play A Few Good Men for a revival at the London West End theatre, the Haymarket. The play opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the fall of the same year and was directed by David Esbjornson, with Rob Lowe of The West Wing in the lead role.[82]
Return to film
Sorkin's return to film occurred when he was commissioned by Universal Pictures to adapt 60 Minutes producer George Crile's nonfiction book Charlie Wilson's War for Tom Hanks' production company Playtone.[83] Charlie Wilson's War is about the colorful Texas congressman Charlie Wilson who funded the CIA's secret war against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan.[84] Sorkin completed the screenplay and the film was released in 2007 starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols.[85]
In August 2008, Sorkin announced that he had agreed to write a script for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about how Facebook was founded.[86] The film, The Social Network, based on Ben Mezrich's novel The Accidental Billionaires, was released on October 1, 2010. Sorkin won the Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for The Social Network. One year later, Sorkin received nominations for the same awards for co-writing the screenplay to the film Moneyball.
In May 2012, Sony announced that Sorkin would write a movie based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs.[87] Sorkin was a guest at the D10 conference in May 2012 and explained his thoughts at the time on the adaptation of Isaacson's biography:
To be honest, one of the hesitations I had in taking on the movie is that it was a little like writing about the Beatles—that there are so many people out there who know so much about him and who revere him that I just saw a minefield of disappointment. Frankly, that I was going to do something and that people who ... hopefully, when I'm done with my research, I'll be in the same ball park of knowledge about Steve Jobs that so many people in this room are.[88]
Steve Jobs, written by Sorkin, directed by Danny Boyle, and starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs, was released in October 2015. On January 10, 2016, Sorkin won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for his work on this film.[89]
In January 2016, it was announced that Sorkin would make his directorial debut with the film Molly's Game, based on Molly Bloom's memoir and which he would adapt by himself, starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.[90][91][92] STX Entertainment will distribute the film.[93] Production began in November 2016.[94]
Return to television
It was announced in 2011 Sorkin would be returning to television with two HBO projects. He has teamed with The Office star John Krasinski to develop a miniseries about the Chateau Marmont Hotel based on Life at the Marmont, a book by the hotel's co-owner Raymond R. Sarlot and Fred Basten.[95] He also developed The Newsroom, a series about a fictional cable news network. The series lasted three seasons, premiering on June 24, 2012, and concluding on December 14, 2014.[96][97][98][99]
Future projects
In March 2007, it was reported that Sorkin had signed on to write a musical adaptation of the hit 2002 record Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by psychedelic-rock band The Flaming Lips, collaborating with director Des McAnuff who had been developing the project.[100][101][102]
On July 12, 2007, Variety reported that Sorkin had signed a deal with DreamWorks to write three scripts. The first script is titled The Trial of the Chicago 7, which Sorkin was already developing with Steven Spielberg and producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald.[103] In March 2010, Sorkin's agent, Ari Emanuel, was reported as saying that the project was proving "tough to get together".[104] However, in late July 2013, it was announced that Academy Award nominated director Paul Greengrass was in final talks to direct Sorkin's script and that Steven Spielberg had previously been attached.[105]
In August 2008, Des McAnuff announced that Sorkin had been commissioned by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival[106] to write an adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.
In 2010, Sorkin reportedly obtained the film rights to Andrew Young's book The Politician (about Senator John Edwards), and announced that he would make his debut as a film director while also adapting the book for the screen.[107]
In November 2010, it was reported that Sorkin would be writing a musical based on the life of Houdini, with music by Danny Elfman.[108] In January 2012, Stephen Schwartz was reported to be writing the music and lyrics, with Sorkin making his debut as a librettist. The musical was expected to come out in 2013–14, with Sorkin saying "The chance to collaborate with Stephen Schwartz, (the director) Jack O'Brien, and Hugh Jackman on a new Broadway musical is a huge gift."[109] In January 2013, he dropped out of the project, citing film and TV commitments.[110]
In September 2015, it was reported that Sorkin is writing a biopic that will focus on the twenty year marriage of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and their work together on I Love Lucy and The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour. Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett is set to star as Ball, while the role of Arnaz is yet to be determined.[111]
In February 2016, it was revealed that Sorkin will be adapting To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, where he will be working alongside Bartlett Sher.[112]
In March 2016, it was announced that Sorkin would be adapting A Few Good Men for a live production on NBC, slated to air in 2017.[113]
In August 2016, Aaron Sorkin launched a series of online screenwriting lessons through MasterClass. His lessons include dialogue, character development, story pacing, plot and his process of working. Students watch 35 short videos, download a PDF workbook, and share their observations and progress through discussion boards and social media groups.[114][115]
Writing process and style
Sorkin has written for the theatre, film and television, and in each medium his level of collaboration with other creators has varied. He began in theatre which involved a largely solitary writing process, then moved into film where he collaborated with director Rob Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman, and eventually worked in television where he collaborated very closely with director Thomas Schlamme for nearly a decade on the shows Sports Night, The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; he now moves between all three media. He has a habit of chain smoking while he spends countless hours cooped up in his office plotting out his next scripts.[4] He describes his writing process as physical because he will often stand up and speak the dialogue he is developing.[71]
"For me, the writing experience is very much like a date. It's not unusual that I'm really funny here and really smart here and maybe showing some anger over here so she sees maybe I have this dark side. I want it to have been worth it for everyone to sit through it for however long I ask them to."
—Aaron Sorkin, on his writing as characterized by mentor William Goldman.[2]
A New York Times article by Peter De Jonge explained that "The West Wing is never plotted out for more than a few weeks ahead and has no major story lines", which De Jonge believed was because "with characters who have no flaws, it is impossible to give them significant arcs".[5] Sorkin has stated: "I seldom plan ahead, not because I don't think it's good to plan ahead, there just isn't time."[51] Sorkin has also said, "As a writer, I don't like to answer questions until the very moment that I have to." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's TV critic John Levesque has commented that Sorkin's writing process "can make for ill-advised plot developments".[2] Further complicating the matter, in television, Sorkin will have a hand in writing every episode, rarely letting other writers earn full credit on a script.[5] Peter De Jonge has reported that ex-writers of The West Wing have claimed that "even by the spotlight-hogging standards of Hollywood, Sorkin has been exceptionally ungenerous in his sharing of writing credit".[5] In a comment to GQ magazine in 2008, Sorkin said, "I'm helped by a staff of people who have great ideas, but the scripts aren't written by committee."[116]
"You almost never see how anyone travels from point A to point C [in most TV shows]. I wanted the audience to witness every journey these people took. It all had a purpose, even seeing them order lunch. It just seemed to be the proper visual rhythm with which to marry Aaron's words. I got lucky that it worked."
—Thomas Schlamme, on the "Walk and Talk" device.[63]
Sorkin's nearly decade-long collaboration in television with director Thomas Schlamme began in early 1998 when they found they shared common creative ground on the soon to be produced Sports Night.[39][117] Their successful partnership in television is one in which Sorkin focuses on writing the scripts while Schlamme executive produces and occasionally directs; they have worked together on Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Schlamme will create the look of the shows, work with the other directors, discuss the scripts with Sorkin as soon as they are turned in, make design and casting decisions, and attend the budget meetings; Sorkin tends to stick strictly to writing.[39] In response to what he perceived as unfair criticism of The Newsroom, Jacob Drum of Digital Americana wrote, "The essential truth that the critics miss is that The Newsroom is Sorkin being Sorkin as he always has been and always will be: one part pioneer; one part self-conscious romantic; two parts actual Lewis & Clark-style pioneer, trapping his way across an old, old idea of an America that can always stand to raise its game—but most importantly, spinning a good yarn while he does so."[118]
"[T]he trick is to follow the rules of classic storytelling. Drama is basically about one thing: Somebody wants something, and something or someone is standing in the way of him getting it. What he wants—the money, the girl, the ticket to Philadelphia—doesn't really matter. But whatever it is, the audience has to want it for him."
—Aaron Sorkin[119]
Sorkin is known for writing memorable lines and fast-paced dialogue, such as "You can't handle the truth!" from A Few Good Men and the partly Latin tirade against God in The West Wing episode "Two Cathedrals".[5] For television, one hallmark of Sorkin's writer's voice is the repartee that his characters engage in as they small talk and banter about whimsical events taking place within an episode, and interject obscure popular culture references into conversation.[120]
Although his scripts are lauded for being literate,[5][12][121] Sorkin has been criticized for often turning in scripts that are overwrought.[122] His mentor William Goldman has commented that normally in visual media speeches are avoided, but that Sorkin has a talent for dialogue and gets away with breaking this rule.[32]
Personal life
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Sorkin married Julia Bingham in 1996 and divorced in 2005, with his workaholic habits and drug abuse reported to be a partial cause.[123][124] Sorkin and Bingham have one daughter, Roxy.[125] Sorkin was a dependent cocaine user for many years and, after a highly publicized arrest in 2001, he received treatment in a drug diversion program.[10]
For several years, he dated Kristin Chenoweth, who played Annabeth Schott on The West Wing (though after Sorkin had left the show).[126] He has also reportedly dated columnist Maureen Dowd[127] and actress Kristin Davis.[128]
A consistent supporter of the Democratic Party, Sorkin has made substantial political campaign contributions to candidates between 1999 and 2011, according to CampaignMoney.com.[129] During the 2004 US presidential election campaign, the liberal advocacy group MoveOn's political action committee enlisted Sorkin and Rob Reiner to create one of their anti-Bush campaign advertisements.[130] In August 2008, Sorkin was involved in a Generation Obama event at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills, California, participating in a panel discussion subsequent to a screening of Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.[131] Despite this Sorkin does not consider himself a political activist noting "I've met political activists, and they're for real. I've never marched anyplace or done anything that takes more effort than writing a check in terms of activism".[66]
In 1987, Sorkin started using marijuana and cocaine. He has said that in cocaine he found a drug that gave him relief from certain nervous tensions he deals with on a regular basis.[5] In 1995, he checked into rehab at the Hazelden Institute in Minnesota, on the advice of his then girlfriend and soon to be wife Julia Bingham, to try to beat his addiction to cocaine.[132] In 2001, Sorkin along with colleagues John Spencer and Martin Sheen received the Phoenix Rising Award for their personal victories over substance abuse. However, two months later on April 15, 2001, Sorkin was arrested when guards at a security checkpoint at the Burbank Airport found hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana, and crack cocaine in his carry-on bag when a metal crack pipe set off the gate's metal detector.[5][133] He was ordered to a drug diversion program.[58]
Sorkin continued working on The West Wing amidst his drug abuse.[123][124] In his commencement speech for Syracuse University on May 13, 2012, Sorkin declared that he had not used cocaine for eleven years.[134]
In 2016, post election of Donald Trump, Sorkin wrote an open letter to his 15-year-old daughter Roxy and her mother Julia Sorkin.[135]
Credits
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | A Few Good Men | Screenwriter | |
1993 | Malice | Screenwriter | With Scott Frank |
1995 | The American President | Screenwriter | |
1996 | The Rock | Screenwriter | Uncredited |
1998 | Bulworth | Screenwriter | Uncredited |
1998–2000 | Sports Night | Creator, writer, executive producer | Television series |
1999–2006 | The West Wing | Creator, writer, executive producer | Television series |
2006–07 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Creator, writer, executive producer | Television series |
2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Screenwriter | Based on the book by George Crile |
2010 | The Social Network | Screenwriter | Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich |
2011 | Moneyball | Screenwriter | With Steven Zaillian from a story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis |
2012–14 | The Newsroom | Creator, writer, executive producer | Television series |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Screenwriter | Based on the book by Walter Isaacson |
2017 | Molly's Game | Screenwriter, director | Based upon the memoir by Molly Bloom |
Plays
Year | Title | Credit | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | Removing All Doubt | Writer | Syracuse University |
1988 | Hidden in This Picture[136] | Writer | West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar |
1989 | A Few Good Men[137] | Writer | Music Box Theatre |
1990 | Making Movies[19] | Writer | Promenade Theatre |
2007 | The Farnsworth Invention[76] | Writer | La Jolla Playhouse |
Cameo acting appearances
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | A Few Good Men | Man in bar | |
1995 | The American President | Aide in bar | |
1999 | Sports Night | Man at bar | Episode: "Small Town" |
2006 | The West Wing | Man in crowd | Episode: "Tomorrow" |
2009–10 | Entourage | Himself | Two episodes |
2010 | The Social Network | Ad Executive | |
2011 | 30 Rock | Himself | Episode: "Plan B" |
Accolades
Academy Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Social Network | Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) | Won |
2011 | Moneyball | Nominated | |
British Academy Film Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Social Network | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
2011 | Moneyball | Nominated | |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Nominated |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Best Writer | Nominated |
2010 | The Social Network | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
2011 | Moneyball | Won | |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Nominated |
Golden Globe Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | A Few Good Men | Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
1995 | The American President | Nominated | |
2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Nominated | |
2010 | The Social Network | Won | |
2011 | Moneyball | Nominated | |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Won |
Primetime Emmy Awards
As writer
Year | Nominated series | Category | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Sports Night | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | "The Apology" | Nominated |
2000 | The West Wing | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | "In Excelsis Deo" | Won |
"Pilot" | Nominated | |||
2001 | "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" | Nominated | ||
2002 | "Posse Comitatus" | Nominated | ||
2003 | "Twenty Five" | Nominated |
As executive producer
Year | Nominated series | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | The West Wing | Outstanding Drama Series | Won |
2001 | Won | ||
2002 | Won | ||
2003 | Won |
Satellite Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Social Network | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Won |
2011 | Moneyball | Nominated | |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Won |
Writers Guild of America Awards
Film
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | The American President | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated |
2010 | The Social Network | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
2011 | Moneyball | Nominated | |
2015 | Steve Jobs | Nominated |
Television
Year | Nominated series | Category | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | The West Wing | Episodic Drama | "In Excelsis Deo" | Won |
"Take This Sabbath Day" | Nominated | |||
2001 | "Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail" | Nominated | ||
"Two Cathedrals" | Nominated | |||
2002 | "Game On" | Nominated | ||
2005 | Dramatic Series | Nominated | ||
2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | New Series | Nominated | |
Episodic Drama | "Pilot" | Nominated | ||
2012 | The Newsroom | New Series | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin biography". NYTimes.com Movies & TV. The New York Times (All Movie Guide and Baseline). Retrieved June 2, 2012.
Born: June 9, 1961
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Levesque, John (March 7, 2000). "Aaron Sorkin is a man of many words". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ↑ Jewish Journal: "A small glimpse into Aaron Sorkin’s Jewish story" by Danielle Berrin July 17, 2012 | "I’m Jewish but have never had any religious training. I never went to Hebrew school."
- 1 2 Jones, Oliver (May 28, 2001). "A Troubled Genius". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Peter De Jonge (October 28, 2001). "Aaron Sorkin Works His Way Through the Crisis". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ↑ Josef Adalian; Michael Schneider (July 26, 2000). "Sorkin to nest at WBTV". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
Sorkin's association with Warner Bros. follows in the footsteps of his father Bernard, a New York–based copyright expert who started with the studio 40 years ago when it was Warner Bros.-7 Arts.
- 1 2 "Parker/Spitzer Interview Aaron Sorkin (video: 3:05 – father: WWII vet & college on G.I. Bill)". CNN. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ↑ Simpson, David (November 10, 2010). "Awards Watch Roundtable: The Writers part 3 video series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin's Four Big Problems With the WGA". New York. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Bruce Weber (November 4, 2007). "Prodigal Returns, Bearing Dialogue". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
I've been healthy for six and a half years," he said. "But like any addict I'm one phone call away from that not being true.
- ↑ Willcox, Kathleen (May 23, 2011). "Aaron Sorkin to Revisit Scarsdale's 'Social Network'". Patch.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Herzog, Brad (2001). "In the Spotlight: Script Sensation". Syracuse University Magazine. 18 (2): 17–18. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ↑ Banerjee, Debra (June 6, 2011). "Scarsdale turns out to hear Aaron Sorkin". The Scarsdale Inquirer. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin (SHS 1979)". Scarsdale Alumni Association. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ Frank Harold Trevor Rhodes (October 2001). The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University. Cornell University Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-8014-3937-7.
- ↑ Vitello, Paul (March 10, 2013). "Arthur Storch, Stage Director, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ↑ Ernio Hernandez. "Encounter with Peter Krause". Playbill. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- 1 2 Valerie Weiss (December 2003). "Three days, 15 seminars, one great experience". ImagineNews.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- 1 2 3 Mel Gussow (March 28, 1990). "Review/Theater; 'Making Movies,' a Satire Of the Celluloid World". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ↑ "A Few Good Men London theatre tickets and information". ThisIsTheatre.com. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- 1 2 3 Sorkin, Aaron (August 13, 2003). "About the Show, Aaron Sorkin". The Charlie Rose Show (Interview). Interview with Charlie Rose. New York City.
- 1 2 3 Prigge, Steven (October 2004). Movie Moguls Speak: Interviews with Top Film Producers. McFarland & Company. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-7864-1929-6.
- ↑ William A. Henry III (November 27, 1989). "Marine Life". Time. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ↑ Ernio Hernandez (June 18, 2004). "Aaron Sorkin Working on A Few Good Men for London and New Play for Dublin's Abbey". Playbill. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
- 1 2 3 Bernard Weinraub (December 6, 1992). "Rob Reiner's March To 'A Few Good Men'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
- ↑ Patrick Goldstein (October 10, 1999). "On a Wing and a Prayer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Sorkin, Aaron (May 22, 2002). "Aaron Sorkin". The Today Show (Interview). Interview with Katie Couric. New York: NBC. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006.
- ↑ Jason Buchanan. "Aaron Sorkin Biography". Allmovie. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ↑ Vincent Canby (October 1, 1993). "Reviews/ Film; An Idyll Shattered By Rape and Murder". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Roger Ebert (October 1, 1993). "Malice". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Peter Travers (December 8, 2000). "Malice". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
Malice is way out of that classy league. It's got suspense but no staying power.
- 1 2 Emma Forrest (May 2, 2002). "Words fly down the halls of power". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on January 18, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ↑ Kenneth Turan (November 17, 1995). "The American President: Boy Meets Girl, Brings Along Secret Service 'The American President' is a sentimental fantasy, mixing romance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- 1 2 Aaron Sorkin (July 2002). The West Wing Script Book. Newmarket Press. ISBN 978-1-55704-549-2.
- 1 2 Peter Bart (February 21, 2000). The Gross: The Hits, the Flops: The Summer That Ate Hollywood. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0-312-25391-2.
- ↑ Peter Biskind (March 2006). "Thunder on the Left: The Making of Reds". Vanity Fair.
- ↑ Chris Petrikin (September 1, 1997). "Beatty's bete noir? scribe makes waves over 'Ocean.'". Variety.
- ↑ Patrick Goldstein (May 3, 1998). "Hanging With Warren B". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Interview with Aaron Sorkin: Creator and Executive Producer of "Sports Night" and "The West Wing"". Comedy Central.com. January 1, 2001. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ↑ John Levesque (October 13, 1998). "Quality of 'Sports Night' no Laughing Matter". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- ↑ Jeff Merron (November 12, 2002). "Keeping it real on 'Sports Night'". ESPN. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ↑ Richard Firstman. "Their Championship Season: In the Dugout with the MVPs of Sports Night". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 21, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
- 1 2 Ed Bark (March 10, 1999). "Huffman is game for 'Sports Night', but is ABC?". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- 1 2 Joe Flint (September 25, 1998). "A Laugh Riot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ Joyce Millman (February 22, 1999). "Why are "Dilbert" and "Sports Night" like a day at the office? Because watching them is a grind". Salon. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ↑ Rob Owen (March 18, 1999). "Redundant 'Sports Night' loses its momentum". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ Rob Owen (October 1, 2000). "Networks are slower to cancel TV series, but viewers are still wary". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing.
- ↑ Howard Rosenberg (December 6, 1999). "News at 9:30: Reprieve for Witty 'Sports Night'". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 3 Matthew Miller (March 1, 2000). "The Real White House". Brill's Content. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
- ↑ "Pilot episode". The West Wing Episode Guide. Archived from the original on January 22, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- 1 2 "Interview with Aaron Sorkin" (PDF). On Writing Magazine, Issue 18. The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. February 2003. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ↑ "West Wing ends seven-year TV run". BBC News Online. May 15, 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ↑ Bernard Weinraub (June 26, 2001). "'West Wing' Producer, a Union Leader, Rules Out Writers' Raises". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ↑ Rick Cleveland. "I Was the Dumb Looking Guy with the Wire-Rimmed Glasses". FreshYarn.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
- ↑ Mickey Kaus (July 3, 2001). "West Wing Web War!". Slate.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
- ↑ "In Excelsis Deo". The West Wing Episode Guide. Archived from the original on January 9, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
- ↑ "Writers Guild Awards Winners". WGA. 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- 1 2 "Aaron Sorkin Says He Used Drugs". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ Pierce Brosnan, Darrell Hammond (May 5, 2001). The West Wing. Saturday Night Live (Comedy Sketch). New York. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
- ↑ "West Wing Watch: Snookered by Bush". The New Yorker. February 25, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ↑ Lynn Elber (March 5, 2002). "'West Wing' Creator Defends Comments". Midland Daily News. Associated Press.
- ↑ Dickenson, Ben (March 3, 2006). Hollywood's New Radicalism: War, Globalisation and the Movies from Reagan to George W. Bush. I. B. Tauris. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1-84511-103-8.
- 1 2 Ray Richmond (May 12, 2006). "Finale: 'West Wing'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Josef Adalian (May 1, 2003). "Sorkin sulking away from 'Wing'". Variety. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ↑ Andrew Wallenstein (October 15, 2005). "Sorkin back at NBC with 'Studio' deal NBC gets Sorkin show". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
- 1 2 Harris, Mark (June 16, 2012). "TV's Best Talker: Aaron Sorkin on The Newsroom, Sorkinism, and Sounding Smart". Vulture. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ↑ Scott Hettrick (September 11, 2003). "Inside Move: Sorkin scripting play, pic". Variety. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ↑ Josef Adalian (October 14, 2005). "Peacock on 'Studio' beat". Variety. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
- ↑ Kevin Young (August 27, 2006). "Sorkin turns his attention to TV". BBC News Online. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
- ↑ Patrick Goldstein (July 17, 2007). "Sorkin takes the blame for '60'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- 1 2 Maureen Ryan (January 19, 2007). "Aaron Sorkin speaks about 'Studio 60,' the press and those pesky bloggers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ↑ Army Archerd (October 29, 2003). "Inside 'The Alamo'". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ↑ "New Line Cinema acquires Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, taps Thomas Schlamme to direct" (Press release). New Line Cinema. April 28, 2004. Archived from the original on January 17, 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
- 1 2 3 Karen Fricker (February 5, 2006). "'Farnsworth' fumble: Abbey drops ball on Sorkin commission". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Bill Carter (September 11, 2006). "'West Wing' to West Coast: TV's Auteur Portrays TV". The New York Times.
... Mr. Sorkin's new play, "The Farnsworth Invention," based on the struggle of Philo T. Farnsworth to win recognition for his invention—television again—will begin rehearsals at the La Jolla Playhouse. Steven Spielberg is making his theatrical producing debut.
- 1 2 BWW News Desk (December 15, 2006). "Sorkin and McAnuff Collaborate on LaJolla's 'Invention'". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
- ↑ BWW News Desk (July 25, 2007). "Azaria & Simpson Set for Farnsworth Invention; Opens 11/14". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin's Farnsworth Invention to Open on Broadway in November". Playbill. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
- ↑ Gordon Cox (November 10, 2007). "'Invention' sparks reinvention: Sorkin's former movie pitch hits Broadway". Variety. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
- ↑ Andrew Gans (November 28, 2007). "It's Over! Labor Dispute Resolved as Stagehands Strike Ends". Playbill. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
- ↑ Andrew Gans; Ernio Hernandez (March 2, 2008). "Farnsworth Invention Ends Broadway Run March 2". Playbill.
- ↑ Michael Fleming (April 24, 2005). "West End boys club". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ↑ Michael Fleming (June 17, 2004). "Sorkin goes from White House to front line: Playtone partners Hanks, Goetzman to produce 'War'". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ↑ Michael Fleming (July 20, 2003). "Playtone goes to 'War' with U: Hanks to play former Texas congressman Wilson". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ↑ Martin A. Grove (January 12, 2007). "Holiday weekends will drive 2007 boxoffice". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ↑ Jessica Guynn (August 28, 2008). "Coming soon: 'Facebook: The Movie'?". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (May 15, 2012). "Aaron Sorkin to Write 'Steve Jobs' Movie for Sony". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ↑ WSJDigitalNetwork (May 30, 2012). "Aaron Sorkin Talks Steve Jobs Movie, His Digital Life and His New Show "The Newsroom"" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Golden Globes 2016 winners list: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant, Brie Larson & more". www.ew.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (January 7, 2016). "Aaron Sorkin to Make Directorial Debut With Underground Poker Drama 'Molly's Game'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (May 6, 2016). "Idris Elba Just Upped Ante Of Aaron Sorkin's 'Molly's Game' Ahead Of Cannes". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (May 6, 2016). "Idris Elba in Talks to Join Jessica Chastain in Aaron Sorkin's 'Molly's Game' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
- ↑ Seetoodeh, Ramin (May 13, 2016). "Cannes: Aaron Sorkin's 'Molly's Game' Nears $9 Million Deal With STX". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- ↑ "PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BEGINS ON AARON SORKIN'S MOLLY'S GAME STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN AND IDRIS ELBA". Entertainment One. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (June 23, 2011). "Aaron Sorkin, 'The Office's' John Krasinski Team for Chateau Marmont Mini". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
- ↑ Hibberd, James (September 8, 2011). "Aaron Sorkin's HBO cable news drama ordered to series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ↑ Patten, Dominic (July 2, 2012). "HBO Renews Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' And 'True Blood'". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ↑ Lombardi, Ken (September 4, 2013). "Jeff Daniels: 'The Newsroom' renewed for season 3". CBS News. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- ↑ Hibberd, James (January 13, 2014). "HBO to end 'The Newsroom' with 3rd season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- ↑ Michael Endelman (March 20, 2007). "Sorkin Will Script Flaming Lips Musical". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
- ↑ Gordon Cox (August 13, 2006). "McAnuff tries northern exposure: After B'way boom, helmer sets sights on Shakespeare". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Gordon Cox (June 24, 2007). "Sorkin eyes Lips show: Writer mulls 'Yoshimi' musical". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Michael Fleming; Pamela McClintock (July 12, 2007). "Sorkin on 'Trial' at DreamWorks: Duo to team on possible Spielberg project". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (March 17, 2011). "Natalie Portman sparks Hollywood battle". The Guardian. London.
- ↑ Ford, Rebecca (July 23, 2013). "Paul Greengrass in Talks for Aaron Sorkin-Penned 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Richard Ouzounian (August 19, 2008). "Top talent in place at Stratford for 2009". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
- ↑ "'West Wing' creator takes on John Edwards". CNN. July 16, 2010. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 2, 2010). "Aaron Sorkin writing Hugh Jackman's Houdini musical: Composer Danny Elfman has 'high hopes'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ↑ Potts, Kimberly. "Hugh Jackman, Aaron Sorkin Teaming for 'Houdini' Musical". The Wrap Media. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (January 30, 2013). "Aaron Sorkin Exits Broadway Musical About Houdini". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Robinson, Will. "Cate Blanchett to star in Lucille Ball biopic written by Aaron Sorkin". Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin and Bartlett Sher Adapt 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to the Stage". Classicalite. February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ↑ "NBC Sets Live Production of Aaron Sorkin’s ‘A Few Good Men’ for 2017" http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/nbc-live-production-of-aaron-sorkin-a-few-good-men-1201742121/ Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ↑ Todd Spangler (June 22, 2016). "Aaron Sorkin to Teach Online Course on Screenwriting". Variety. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting". Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ↑ Mickey Rapkin (August 12, 2008). "Why Does Aaron Sorkin Feel So Guilty?". GQ. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Elif Cercel (November 11, 1999). "Interview with Thomas Schlamme, Director and Executive Producer, "Sports Night"". Directors World. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
- ↑ "The Digital Americana Wall". thedigitalamericana.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- ↑ Christine Canabou; Pamela Kruger; Cathy Olofson (May 2001). "What's on Your Agenda?: Ten senior executives and thinkers explain the most crucial item on their leadership agenda". Fast Company. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
- ↑ "West Wing votes in new writers". BBC News Online. July 25, 2003. Archived from the original on December 11, 2006. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ James Berardinelli (1993). "Malice: A Film Review". Reelviews.net. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ↑ Linda Holmes (November 26, 2006). "'Studio 60' doesn't take comedy seriously: Show's flailing by focusing on issues, not craziness of the writers' room". mbnbc.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- 1 2 Jay Rayner (July 10, 2005). "Wing and a prayer". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- 1 2 Andrew Gumbel (October 22, 2005). "After the West Wing...". The Independent. London. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ↑ Bromley, Melanie; Malkin, Marc (May 23, 2012). "Sources: Kristin Davis Dating Oscar-Winning Writer Aaron Sorkin".
- ↑ Kristin Chenoweth (2009). A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-8055-3.
- ↑ Howard Kurtz (November 5, 2005). "Sex & the Single Stiletto". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
- ↑ Chen, Joyce (June 21, 2012). "Kristin Davis, Aaron Sorkin kiss on red carpet, glow with love as they confirm romance". Daily News. New York.
- ↑ "Aaron Sorkin Biography and Political Campaign Contributions". CampaignMoney.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ↑ Matthew Cooper (July 3, 2004). "I'm Rob Reiner, and I Approve this Message". Time. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ↑ Ted Johnson (August 28, 2008). "Obama's fresh Hollywood faces: Hollywood team: Vitality and donations". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
- ↑ Jay Rayner (July 31, 2005). "West Wing creator brings his play to West End". The Guardian. London. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ↑ Michael Cieply (September 2001). "The Crack-Up". Talk magazine.
- ↑ Syracuse (May 14, 2012). "Aaron Sorkin's Commencement Speech - 13 May 2012" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/aaron-sorkin-donald-trump-president-letter-daughter
- ↑ Mel Gussow (August 24, 1988). "Review/Theater; Three Plays on Desire". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ↑ Frank Rich (November 16, 1989). "Review/Theater; Honor, Bullying and Conformity in the Trial in 'A Few Good Men'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
Further information
- Aaron Sorkin (July 2002). The West Wing Script Book. Newmarket Press. ISBN 978-1-55704-549-2.
- Aaron Sorkin (February 2004). The West Wing Seasons 3 & 4: The Shooting Scripts: Eight Teleplays. Newmarket Press. ISBN 978-1-55704-612-3.
- "Interview with Aaron Sorkin" (PDF). On Writing Magazine, Issue 18. The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. February 2003. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- Aaron Sorkin. "Early draft of the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot script". Archived from the original on October 24, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
- Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner (2001). From Stage to Screen with Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner, A Few Good Men (Special Edition DVD) (Documentary).
- Aaron Barnhart (January 21, 2007). "Aaron Sorkin, in his own words". TV Barn (Podcast). Archived from the original on 21 February 2007.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aaron Sorkin. |
- Aaron Sorkin at the Internet Movie Database
- Aaron Sorkin at Moviefone
- Aaron Sorkin at Rotten Tomatoes
- Blog Entries by Aaron Sorkin at The Huffington Post
- Aaron Sorkin on Charlie Rose
- "Aaron Sorkin collected news and commentary". The Guardian.
- "Aaron Sorkin collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
- Works by or about Aaron Sorkin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)