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Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre in 1983, Sorkin spent much of the 1980s in New York as a struggling, largely unemployed actor.[1] He found his passion in writing plays however, and quickly established himself as a young promising playwright. His stageplay A Few Good Men caught the attention of Hollywood producer David Brown, who bought the film rights before the play even premiered.[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...
Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
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Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...
For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ...
Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ...
A Television producer oversees the making of television penis programs. ...
A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...
In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ...
Hidden in This Picture is a one-act play by Emmy Award-winning playwright Aaron Sorkin. ...
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...
Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ...
A Television producer oversees the making of television penis programs. ...
A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...
Syracuse University (SU) is a private nonsectarian research university located in Syracuse, New York. ...
The Bachelor of Fine Arts, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. ...
The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ...
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
This is the movie producer David Brown David Browns, see David Brown. ...
Castle Rock Entertainment hired Sorkin to adapt A Few Good Men for the big screen. The movie, directed by Rob Reiner, became a box office success. Sorkin spent the early 1990s writing two other screenplays at Castle Rock for the films Malice and The American President. In the mid-1990s he worked as a script doctor on films such as Schindler's List and Bulworth. In 1998 his television career began when he created the TV comedy series Sports Night for the ABC network. Sports Night's second season was its last, and in 1999 overlapped with the debut of Sorkin's next TV series, the multiple-Emmy-award-winning political drama The West Wing, this time for the NBC network. He left The West Wing at the end of its fourth season in 2003, after which it continued three more seasons without him. He returned to television in 2006 with a dramedy called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, about the backstage drama at a late night sketch comedy show, once again for the NBC network. While Sorkin's return was met with high expectations and a lot of early online buzz before Studio 60's premiere, NBC did not renew it after its first season in which it suffered from low ratings and mixed reception in the press and on the Internet. His most recent feature film screenplay is Charlie Wilson's War, which is set to open in movie theaters on Christmas Day 2007.[3] The Castle Rock Entertainment logo. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, childrens advocate and political activist. ...
Malice is a 1993 film written by Aaron Sorkin, Jonas McCord and Scott Frank. ...
This article is about a movie. ...
A script doctor is a skilled screenwriter called in to assist a film project by rewriting parts of the screenplay to improve dialogue, pacing and other elements. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Bullworth redirects here. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...
An Emmy Award. ...
“The West Wing†redirects here. ...
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...
Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Dramedy, a portmanteau of drama and comedy, is a genre of movies and television in which the lines between these very different genres were blurred. ...
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominated American television Comedy-drama series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. ...
Charlie Wilsons War is a forthcoming drama film about Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, who conspired with a rogue CIA operation to launch an operative to help Afghans in their fight against Soviet invaders. ...
After more than a decade away from the theatre, Sorkin returned to adapt for the stage his screenplay The Farnsworth Invention, which started a workshop run at La Jolla Playhouse in February 2007 and which is slated to open on Broadway in November of 2007.[4] He has battled with a cocaine addiction for many years, but after a highly publicized arrest he received treatment in a drug diversion program and rid himself of the drug dependence. In television, Sorkin is known as a controlling writer, who rarely shares the job of penning the teleplays with other writers. His writing staff are more likely to do research and come up with stories for him to tell. His trademark is writing rapid-fire dialogue and extended soliloquies, and in television, this penchant is complemented by frequent collaborator Thomas Schlamme's characteristic visual technique called the "Walk and Talk". The Farnsworth Invention is a screenplay (re-written as a stage play) by Aaron Sorkin. ...
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. ...
For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ...
A monologue, pronounced monolog, is a speech made by one person speaking his or her thoughts aloud or directly addressing a reader, audience, or character. ...
Thomas Schlamme (born May 22, 1950) is one of the leading directors of television. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Early years Sorkin was born in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Jewish parents, and was raised in the wealthy suburb of Scarsdale, New York.[5] Sorkin's mother was a school teacher and his father a lawyer; he had an older sister and brother who both went on to become lawyers.[6] Sorkin took an early interest in acting. Before he reached his teenage years, his parents regularly took him to the theatre to see shows such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and That Championship Season.[7] At that age, Sorkin did not always comprehend the plot of the plays; nevertheless he enjoyed the sound of the dialogue.[8] The Five Boroughs redirects here. ...
For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ...
New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...
American Jews, or Jewish Americans, are American citizens who were born Jews or who have converted to Judaism. ...
Scarsdale is both a town and village in Westchester County, New York, USA postal code 10583. ...
For the 1966 film adaptation, see Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film) Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. ...
That Championship Season was only the second full-length play written by playwright Jason Miller and was by far his most successful. ...
Sorkin attended Scarsdale High School where he became involved in his high school drama and theatre club. In eighth grade he played General Bullmoose in the musical Li'l Abner.[1] Scarsdale High School (SHS) is a public high school in Scarsdale, New York, founded in 1917. ...
Lil Abner is a musical theatre production based on the comic strip Lil Abner by Al Capp. ...
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. He returned in his sophomore year determined to do better, and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre.[9] Syracuse University (SU) is a private nonsectarian research university located in Syracuse, New York. ...
For other uses, see Student (disambiguation). ...
| "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.[6] |
Unemployed actor, promising playwright After graduation, Sorkin moved to New York City where he worked odd jobs ranging from delivering singing telegrams,[1] driving a limousine, touring Alabama with the children’s theatre company Traveling Playhouse,[6] handing out fliers promoting a hunting-and-fishing show,[1] to bartending on Broadway at theatres such as the Palace Theatre.[10] One weekend, while house sitting 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."[6] A singing telegram is a message, transmitted by telegram or otherwise, that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. ...
For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ...
The Palace Theatre, circa 1920. ...
IBM Selectric The IBM Selectric typewriter (occasionally known as the IBM Golfball typewriter) is an influential electric typewriter design. ...
He continued writing and eventually put together his first play Removing All Doubt which he sent to his old theatre teacher, Arthur Storch, who was impressed. In 1984, Removing All Doubt was staged for drama students at his alma mater, Syracuse University.[11] 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.[12] 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.[11][13] His reputation as a playwright was quickly gaining stature on the New York theatre scene. Hidden in This Picture is a one-act play by Emmy Award-winning playwright Aaron Sorkin. ...
Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including plays, musicals or performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway productions or off-Broadway productions. ...
New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...
A talent agent is a person who finds jobs for actors, musicians, models, and other people in various entertainment businesses. ...
A Few Good Men 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 3-year stint with the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. 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 on Broadway.[14] A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school affiliated with Boston University. ...
US Navy Judge Advocate General Corps Seal The Judge Advocates Generals Corps also known as the JAG Corps or JAG is the legal arm of the US Navy. ...
, For other titular locales, see Guantánamo (disambiguation). ...
The UKs Royal Marines in a Rigid Raider assault watercraft A marine corps (from French corps de marine) is a branch of a nations armed forces incorporating Marines, intended to be capable of mounting amphibious assaults using infantry, armour, aircraft, and watercraft. ...
Hazing is an often ritualistic test, which may constitute harassment, abuse or humiliation with requirements to perform random, often meaningless tasks, sometimes as a way of initiation into a social group. ...
In 1988 Sorkin sold the film rights for his play A Few Good Men to producer David Brown before it even premiered, for a deal possibly worth a sum well into six-figures.[15][16] 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.[2] 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.[17] This is the movie producer David Brown David Browns, see David Brown. ...
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ...
Thomas Hulce (born December 6, 1953) is an Academy Award-nominated, Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning American actor and producer. ...
Don Scardino (born February 17, 1949 in New York City, New York) is an American television director and actor. ...
Sorkin continued writing Making Movies and in 1990 it debuted off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre, produced by John A. McQuiggan and directed by Don Scardino.[13] 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 producing partner at Castle Rock, opted to direct it.[2] Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ...
The TriStar Pictures logo from 1993 to the present TriStar redirects here. ...
The Castle Rock Entertainment logo. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, childrens advocate and political activist. ...
Screenwriting career
Working under contract for Castle Rock Entertainment Sorkin worked under contract for some years at Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. and had an office at their headquarters near Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. These were formative years in which he wrote the scripts for A Few Good Men, Malice, and The American President. While writing for Castle Rock, between 1991 and 1995, he made friends with colleagues such as William Goldman and Rob Reiner and met his future wife, Julia Bingham, who was an in-house entertainment lawyer. The Castle Rock Entertainment logo. ...
California State Route 2; the Santa Monica Boulevard segment is highlighted in red, Alvarado Street is highlighted in green, the Glendale Freeway is highlighted in blue, and the Angeles Crest Highway is highlighted in purple. ...
“Beverly Hills†redirects here. ...
William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, childrens advocate and political activist. ...
The screenplay for A Few Good Men was still in an unsatisfactory early draft when he started working under contract at Castle Rock. Sorkin had purchased a book about screenplay format and was learning the craft.[12] William Goldman (who regularly worked under contract at Castle Rock) became his mentor and helped him adapt his stageplay into a screenplay.[18] A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
Screenwriting refers to the art and craft of writing screenplays for film or television. ...
Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ...
In the meantime, William Goldman approached Sorkin with a premise, which would later become the screenplay for Malice. Goldman oversaw the project as creative consultant while Sorkin wrote the first two drafts of Malice. Subsequently, Sorkin left the project to finish up the screenplay for A Few Good Men.[19] Rob Reiner directed A Few Good Men, which starred Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, and Kevin Bacon, and was produced by David Brown. The film was a box office success. Malice is a 1993 film written by Aaron Sorkin, Jonas McCord and Scott Frank. ...
Creative consultant is a credit that has - particuarly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored†a movie screenplay. ...
In Sorkin's absence, screenwriter Scott Frank was hired to write two drafts of the Malice screenplay. Sorkin returned after delivering on his commitments to A Few Good Men and wrote the final shooting script for Malice.[19] Harold Becker directed Malice, a medical thriller, with actors Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin playing lead roles. Scott Frank (born 1960) is an American screenwriter. ...
A shooting script is a version of a script from which a movie is actually shot; it includes scene numbers, camera angles and certain directors notes -- and it is generally fiercely marked up by the script supervisor and other production workers, while the writers draft is simply the skeleton...
Sorkin's last produced screenplay for Castle Rock was The American President and once again he worked with William Goldman, who contributed as a consultant, and Rob Reiner, who served as director and one of the producers.[8] It took Sorkin a few years to write the screenplay, due to an increasing consumption of freebase cocaine, which he started using in New York. He eventually turned in a massive 385-page screenplay for The American President, which ultimately was whittled down to a standard shooting script of around 120 pages.[20] The film was made and shown in North American movie theaters in late 1995. This article is about a movie. ...
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...
Worldwide, the three films grossed about $400 million for Castle Rock.[20] By this time, Sorkin had developed a full-fledged addiction to freebase cocaine and was advised by his then-girlfriend Julia Bingham to enter rehab. Rob Reiner had spoken to Bingham about his own concerns for Sorkin. In late 1995 Sorkin entered rehab at the Hazelden Institute in Minnesota. Five months later, on April 13, 1996, Sorkin married Bingham;[5] they divorced in 2005. is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...
Script doctor for hire Sorkin did uncredited script work on several films in the 1990s. He did a polish of the script for Schindler's List at Steven Spielberg's invitation.[21][20] He wrote some quips for Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage in The Rock.[22] He worked on Excess Baggage, a comedy about a girl who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention.[23] He was hired by Warren Beatty to work on the script for Bulworth, as well as another of Beatty's projects called Oceans of Storms which was never made.[24][25] He rewrote some of Will Smith's scenes in Enemy of the State.[22] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ...
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ...
Nicolas Cage (born Nicholas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ...
The Rock (1996) is an action movie that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island, and the San Francisco Bay area. ...
A bag is a container that is usually used for storing or holding something. ...
Henry Warren Beatty (born March 30, 1937), better known as Warren Beatty, is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ...
Bullworth redirects here. ...
“W. S.†redirects here. ...
Enemy of the State is a 1998 film written by David Marconi, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Tony Scott, and starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and Regina King. ...
Sports Night -
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. He would work late, with the TV tuned into ESPN, watching continuous replays of SportsCenter.[26] 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.[27][28] Sports Night was produced by Disney and debuted on the Disney-owned ABC network in the fall of 1998.[29] This article is about the American television series. ...
ESPN/ESPN-DT, formerly an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an [[United States|Amer<nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here--68. ...
This article is about the American ESPN show. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ...
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...
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 as jarring and the "most unconvincing laugh track you've ever heard."[30][31] The use of the laugh track was gradually dialed down until it was eventually gone at the end of the first season.[32] 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.[29] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences. ...
| “ | 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. | ” | | —Aaron Sorkin | Sorkin wrote 40 out of a total of 45 produced teleplays for Sports Night over two seasons. The show never found an audience so ABC canceled it. Sorkin entertained but did not accept offers to bring the show to another network, as he also had The West Wing to work on at that point and the deals were contingent on his involvement.[26] Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ...
The West Wing -
Sorkin is best known for his political TV drama, The West Wing, starring Martin Sheen as the President of the United States. Sorkin initially got The West Wing going with leftover dialogue from his bloated 385-page screenplay for The American President. The opportunity to do the TV series presented itself in 1997 when Sorkin, at the urging of his agent, got together with producer John Wells for lunch at the Pinot Bistro, a French restaurant on Ventura Boulevard.[20] Sorkin came unprepared and, in a panic, pitched the idea of doing a show about the senior staff of the White House. He recounted to Wells his experiences visiting the White House while doing research for The American President and they talked about 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 wouldn't be able to take a show about the White House seriously.[33] A year later, a few other networks started showing an interest in The West Wing and so under mounting pressure NBC greenlit the series. The pilot debuted in the fall of 1999 produced by Warner Bros. TV.[34] “The West Wing†redirects here. ...
Politics is the process by which decisions are made within groups. ...
Martin Sheen (born August 3, 1940 as Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. ...
For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ...
“The West Wing†redirects here. ...
John Wells is a theater and television producer and writer. ...
Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. ...
For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ...
The Byzantine civil service in action. ...
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...
The Monica Lewinsky scandal was a political-sex scandal emerging from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a then 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. ...
To greenlight a project, in the context of the movie business, is to formally approve production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to pre-production and, barring disasters, principal photography. ...
A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. ...
Warner Bros. ...
| "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.[35] | The West Wing was honored with 9 Emmy Awards for its debut season, making the show a record holder for most Emmys won by a series in a single season. The Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series was awarded to each of the first four West Wing seasons. As a writer, Sorkin received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (The West Wing). In addition, he received numerous nominations and awards at the Television Critics Association Awards, the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards, the Humanitas Prize Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards. An Emmy Award. ...
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 U.S. and Canadian jornalists and columnists who cover televions programming. ...
Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a trade organization representing the television and film producers in the United States. ...
Humanitas Prize is an award for film and TV writing deemed to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. ...
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and television industries in the United States. ...
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 the Burbank Airport for possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana, and crack cocaine. He was ordered by a judge to a drug diversion program.[36] His drug addiction was highly publicized, most notably when Saturday Night Live did a parody called "The West Wing" (see Personal life).[37] Sorkin recovered and continued writing The West Wing's scripts with the same devotion. Bob Hope Airport, formerly known as the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, is located in Burbank, California, United States (including Hawaii). ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
Sorkin wrote 87 teleplays in all, which amounts to nearly every episode during the show's first four Emmy-winning seasons.[38] Sorkin describes his role in the creative process as "not so much [that of] a showrunner or a producer. I'm really a writer."[26] 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."[39] 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. TV not involving the NBC network, thrusting producer John Wells into an expanded role as showrunner.[40][41] Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ...
Thomas Schlamme (born May 22, 1950) is one of the leading directors of television. ...
John Wells is a theater and television producer and writer. ...
Show runner (alternatively showrunner,[1] or show-runner)[2] is a term used in the United States television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television series, in other words, the person who runs the show. ...
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip -
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.[42][39] In early October 2005 a pilot script dubbed Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip written by Aaron Sorkin for a new TV series from him and producer Thomas Schlamme started circulating around Hollywood and generating interest on the web. A week later, NBC bought from Warner Bros. TV the right to show the TV series on their network for a near record license fee in a bidding war with CBS.[43] 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.[44] The sets for the show and the show-within-the-show "Studio 60: Live on the Sunset Strip" are located on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominated American television Comedy-drama series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. ...
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. ...
Charlie Rose is an American television interview show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. ...
Warner Bros. ...
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominated American television Comedy-drama series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. ...
This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Set construction is a process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of the production to create the set for a theatrical production. ...
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ...
In September 2006 the pilot for Studio 60 aired on NBC, directed by Thomas Schlamme. The pilot was critically acclaimed and had high ratings, but Studio 60 experienced a significant drop in audience by mid season. The seething anticipation that preceded the debut was followed up by a large amount of thoughtful and scrupulous criticism in the press, as well as largely negative and feverish analysis in the blogosphere. In January 2007 Sorkin spoke out against the press for focusing too heavily on the ratings slide and for criticism that sources blogs and unemployed comedy writers.[45][46] After many months on hiatus, Studio 60 resumed but only to air the last episodes of season one. The show was officially cancelled on May 14th. The final air date in North America was June 28th, 2007. When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention ratings they are often referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. ...
Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. ...
Screenplays written in the 21st century In 2003 Sorkin was writing the screenplay The Farnsworth Invention on spec, with the hopes of a later sale to a producer or studio.[47] In 2004 it was announced that Thomas Schlamme would direct the completed screenplay about the story of Philo Farnsworth and that New Line Cinema was buying. The story follows Farnsworth's battles with David Sarnoff for the patent for the invention of the television.[48] The film production of The Farnsworth Invention was eventually canceled without explanation. Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ...
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor. ...
New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ...
David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891–December 12, 1971) was the Pioneer of American Television and founder of the [National Broadcasting Corporation][1], NBC. Throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities shortly after its founding in 1919 to his retirement in 1970. ...
In 2004 after having just completed the screenplay for The Farnsworth Invention Universal Pictures made a seven-figure deal with Sorkin to adapt "60 Minutes" producer George Crile's nonfiction book Charlie Wilson's War for Tom Hanks' production company Playtone.[49] 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.[50] Sorkin completed the screenplay and the film is due for release on Christmas day in 2007 starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols.[3] This article is about the American media conglomerate. ...
George Crile with Charlie Wilson in Afghanistan George Crile III (March 5, 1945 - May 15, 2006) was a United States journalist. ...
Charlie Wilsons War is a forthcoming drama film about Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, who conspired with a rogue CIA operation to launch an operative to help Afghans in their fight against Soviet invaders. ...
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American two-time Academy Award-winning film actor, Emmy-winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer. ...
The Playtone Company is an American film and television production company and record label established by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman. ...
Charles Wilson (born June 1, 1933) was a United States naval officer and Democratic United States Congressman from the 2nd congressional district in Texas. ...
On July 12, 2007, Variety reported Sorkin had signed a deal with Dreamworks to write three films. The first of the trifecta is to be called The Trial of the Chicago 7 and is possibly to be directed by Steven Spielberg.
Returning to the theatre In 2005 Sorkin revised his play A Few Good Men for a revival at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket. It had been over 15 years since he had originally written it. The West End revival opened in the fall of the same year and was directed by David Esbjornson, with Rob Lowe of The West Wing in the lead role.[51] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Haymarket Theatre, ca. ...
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
Haymarket Theatre, ca. ...
This article belongs in one or more categories. ...
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor. ...
In June 2004 Sorkin completed a screenplay entitled The Farnsworth Invention based on the story of the boy genius Philo Farnsworth and his legal battle with the head of RCA for the patent for the invention of the television. It was set to be directed by Thomas Schlamme, but for unstated reasons the film production was canceled. In 2005 Sorkin rewrote The Farnsworth Invention as a play.[52] The Abbey Theatre in Dublin signed on to stage a production of the play, and the La Jolla Playhouse in California quickly followed up with plans to stage a production of its own in conjunction with The Abbey. In 2006 The Abbey's new management pulled out of the joint effort.[53] The La Jolla Playhouse pushed on with Steven Spielberg lending his talents as producer and the production opened under La Jolla's signature Page To Stage New Play Development Program which allows Sorkin and director Des McAnuff to develop the play from show to show according to audience reactions and feedback.[54] The play started its run at La Jolla Playhouse on February 20, 2007.[55] Playbill reported in June of 2007 that The Farnsworth Invention would open on in the fall of 2007.[4] He is also currently in talks with psychedelic rock outfit The Flaming Lips to create a musical adaptation of their hit 2002 record Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.[56] The Farnsworth Invention is a screenplay (re-written as a stage play) by Aaron Sorkin. ...
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor. ...
The exterior of the Abbey Theatre in 2006. ...
Dublin city centre at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ...
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ...
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. ...
is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
The cover of the Playbill issue about The Producers. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
The Flaming Lips (formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983) are an American alternative rock band. ...
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is the tenth album by The Flaming Lips, released on July 16, 2002 and characterized by synthesizer-driven, psychedelic-tinged alternative rock compositions. ...
Personal politics Between the years 1999 and 2007 Sorkin made substantial political campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.[57] His TV series The West Wing has been called The Left Wing because of its alleged liberal bias.[58] In 2002 Sorkin assailed 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.[59] 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."[60][61] In 2004 MoveOn's political action committee enlisted Sorkin's writing talents and Rob Reiner's directing abilities to create one of their anti-Bush TV campaign ads.[62] “The West Wing†redirects here. ...
Thomas John Brokaw (born February 6, 1940 in Webster, South Dakota) is a popular American television journalist, Previously working on regularly scheduled news documentaries for the NBC television network, and is the former NBC News anchorman and managing editor of the program NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. ...
Jeffrey Zucker (born April 9, 1965) is an American television executive who is president of the NBC Universal Television Group. ...
NBC News endcap, used from 2002 to present. ...
MoveOn is a progressive public policy organization that has raised millions of dollars for Democratic Party candidates in the United States. ...
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group organized to elect or defeat government officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the groups special interests. ...
Controversies
Rick Cleveland writing credit dispute In 2000 Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland both won an Emmy for writing The West Wing episode "In Excelsis Deo". Cleveland had informed Sorkin in an e-mail message that if they won he wanted to say a few words in honor of his father's memory.[63] At the awards ceremony Rick Cleveland was ushered off the stage by Sorkin and wasn't given a chance to make any remarks. The story was based on Cleveland's father, a Korean war veteran who spent the last years of his life on the street.[64] When The New York Times revealed the slight Sorkin attacked Cleveland in a public web forum at Mighty Big TV saying 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. Cleveland responded on the web site in the same thread and a war of words briefly carried on.[65] Sorkin later apologized saying he was "dead wrong" and had "reacted too quickly to what [he] felt was an egregiously unfair characterization of the way writers are treated on The West Wing."[66] Rick Cleveland is an American television writer best known for writing on the HBO original series, Six Feet Under and NBCs The West Wing. ...
In Excelsis Deo is the 10th episode of The West Wing. ...
Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) is a website that provides detailed recaps of certain television dramas and reality TV shows, often by mocking them. ...
Morris v. Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. Screenwriters Kyle Morris and William Richert wrote a film treatment as well as a screenplay called The President Elopes which Castle Rock Entertainment bought but never produced. The writers claimed that Sorkin's script The American President plagiarized their work. Their case was argued before a WGA arbitration panel and it was determined that Sorkin had sole writing credit on The American President. Morris and Reichert were not satisfied with the judgment. They went before a New York Court claiming Sorkin and others had conspired to defraud the WGA arbitration panel. The judge threw out all the charges.[67] A treatment or more properly film treatment is a short piece of prose intended to be turned into a screenplay for a motion picture. ...
Credits for A Christmas Story. ...
Personal life In 1987 Sorkin started experimenting with marijuana and cocaine. He has said that in freebase cocaine he found a drug that gave him relief from certain nervous tensions he deals with on a regular basis.[6] 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 and beat his addiction to cocaine.[68] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 761 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 709 pixel, file size: 329 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Aaron Sorkin Metadata...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 761 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 709 pixel, file size: 329 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Aaron Sorkin Metadata...
John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK, ICAO: KJFK, FAA LID: JFK), originally known as Idlewild Airport (IATA: IDL, ICAO: KIDL, FAA LID: IDL) and colloquially known as Kennedy or simply JFK, is an international airport located in Jamaica, Queens, in southeastern New York City about 12 miles (19 km...
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...
In 2001 Sorkin along with colleagues John Spencer and Martin Sheen received the Phoenix Rising Award for their personal victories over substance abuse.[69] Two months later Sorkin relapsed. 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.[11] He was ordered to a drug diversion program.[36] Saturday Night Live parodied the highly publicized event in a comedy sketch called "The West Wing" where the U.S. President played by Darrell Hammond does a "Walk and Talk" through the corridors of the White House while tripping on shrooms, accompanied by host Pierce Brosnan.[37] Bob Hope Airport, formerly known as the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, is located in Burbank, California, United States (including Hawaii). ...
Magic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. ...
A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ...
A pile of crack cocaine ‘rocks’. Crack cocaine is a highly addictive form of cocaine. ...
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
Darrell Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American comedian who has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) since 1995. ...
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE [1] (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor and producer best known for portraying James Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002: GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. ...
Sorkin recovered and continued working on The West Wing. Sorkin's wife filed for divorce soon after. There have been no reports of any further relapses.
Writing process and characteristics | "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.[70] | Sorkin is known for writing memorable lines and fast-paced dialogue, as well as extended soliloquies for prominent characters, such as the "I am God" piece from Malice, the "You can't handle the truth!" piece from A Few Good Men, and the partly Latin tirade against God in The West Wing episode "Two Cathedrals".[71] In television Sorkin's stylemark 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.[72] His storytelling strengths lie in exploring the behind-the-scenes situations of workplace settings, such as the JAG Corps., a sports show, the White House, and most recently, a sketch comedy show.[73] A monologue, pronounced monolog, is a speech made by one person speaking his or her thoughts aloud or directly addressing a reader, audience, or character. ...
Malice is a 1993 film written by Aaron Sorkin, Jonas McCord and Scott Frank. ...
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
Two Cathedrals is the 44th episode, and second season finale of The West Wing. ...
Although his scripts are lauded for being literate,[19][1] Sorkin has been criticized for often turning in scripts that are overwrought.[74] 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.[8] Others complain that his use of dialogue is excessive and is cover for weak story arcs in his scripts. Sorkin has admitted that in television he doesn't plan out a season because he thinks that method is ineffectual.[35] He prefers to make it up as he goes along which can lead to bizarre twists and ill-advised plot developments.[20] In television he will have a hand in the writing of every episode, rarely letting another writer earn full credit on a script. He has said that because he writes every episode deadlines for scripts are never met.[39] William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ...
Sorkin first started writing stories on an IBM Selectric typewriter which belonged to a friend of his.[1] He then developed a habit of writing scenes and dialogue on cocktail napkins while working as a bartender on Broadway and was trying his hand at writing plays. He and his roommates had purchased a Macintosh 512K and when he returned home he would empty his pockets of cocktail napkins and type them into the computer, forming a basis from which he wrote many drafts for A Few Good Men.[39] In the 90s he used Apple's notebook computers. In a 2003 introduction video for the 12 and 17 inch PowerBook computers, he praised the features of Apple's notebooks saying he "wrote The American President on what was the first portable Apple computer, [he] wrote the series Sports Night on a G3, and now [writes] The West Wing on a G4." Sorkin has a habit of chainsmoking while he spends countless hours cooped up in his office plotting out his next scripts.[5] He describes his writing process as physical because he will often stand up and speak the dialogue he's developing.[75] IBM Selectric The IBM Selectric typewriter (occasionally known as the IBM Golfball typewriter) is an influential electric typewriter design. ...
Mac 512K back panel The Macintosh 512K Personal Computer, the second of a long line of Apple Macintosh computers, was the first update to the original Macintosh 128K. It was virtually identical to the previous Mac, differing primarily in the amount of built-in memory, which quadrupled the originals. ...
The PowerBook was a line of Macintosh laptop computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. ...
This article is about a movie. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
The Power Macintosh G3 was a series of personal computers made by Apple. ...
“The West Wing†redirects here. ...
The Power Macintosh G4 (Power Mac G4) was series of personal computers made by Apple. ...
Chain smoking is the practice of lighting a new cigarette for personal consumption immediately after one that is finished, sometimes using the finished cigarette to light the next one. ...
He has made rare non-speaking cameo appearances in some of his works, appearing as a nondescript man at a bar in an episode of Sports Night and the exact same cameo part in the films A Few Good Men and The American President. He also made a cameo appearance as a witness of the swearing-in of the new president in the final episode of The West Wing, though by then he had nothing to do with the show.[76] Peter Jackson in The Fellowship of the Ring (top), The Two Towers (middle) and The Return of the King (bottom). ...
Decade-long collaboration with Thomas Schlamme In early 1998 Aaron Sorkin began a collaboration with Thomas Schlamme when they found they shared common creative ground on the soon to be produced Sports Night.[77][26] Their successful partnership has endured for nearly a decade so far with Aaron Sorkin writing the scripts and Thomas Schlamme exec producing and occasionally directing. They have developed a reputation for producing quality stories with mainstream appeal in a variety of media though they have only worked together in Television.[48] They each contribute an equal amount of effort to the projects they've collaborated on: Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Schlamme creates the look of the shows, works with the other directors who come in when he's not directing, discusses the scripts with Sorkin as soon as they are turned in, makes design and casting decisions, and attends the budget meetings. Sorkin tends to stick strictly to writing the scripts of which he writes almost all of them in their entirety with other writers frequently appearing in the "Story by" credit and occasionally the "Written by" credit.[26] Thomas Schla |
