Aaron Sorkin 206442 225168677 2008-07-12T07:02:29Z Duggy 1138 1988240 /* Returning to the theatre */ Removing repeat information. {{Infobox actor | name = Aaron Sorkin | image = AaronSorkin.jpg | imagesize = 110px | caption = Aaron Sorkin in July 2005 | birthdate = {{birth date and age|1961|6|9}} | birthplace = [[New York City]], [[New York]], [[United States|USA]] | occupation = [[Screenwriter]], [[television producer|producer]]<br>[[playwright]] | spouse = Julia Bingham (1996–2005) | website = | emmyawards = '''[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series|Outstanding Writing - Drama Series]]'''<br>2000 ''[[The West Wing]]:'' "[[In Excelsis Deo]]"<br>'''[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series|Outstanding Drama Series]]'''<br>2000 ''The West Wing''<br>2001 ''The West Wing''<br>2002 ''The West Wing''<br>2003 ''The West Wing'' }} '''Aaron Benjamin Sorkin''' (born [[June 9]] [[1961]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[screenwriter]], [[television producer|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.<ref name =syracuse-interview>"[http://sumagazine.syr.edu/summer01/features/spotlight/index.html In the Spotlight: Script Sensation]", Brad Herzog, ''Syracuse University Magazine'', Summer 2001. Retrieved on [[May 9]] [[2007]].</ref> He found his passion in writing plays, and quickly established himself as a young promising playwright. His stageplay ''[[A Few Good Men]]'' caught the attention of Hollywood producer [[David Brown (producer)|David Brown]], who bought the film rights before the play even premiered.<ref name=MovieMoguls/> [[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 (film)|Malice]]'' and ''[[The American President (film)|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 [[American Broadcasting Company|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|Emmy]]-award-winning political drama ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|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]]''.<ref name=HR-Grove/> 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 opened on [[Broadway Theatre|Broadway]] in December 2007.<ref name=Back-to-Broadway/> 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 [[Screenplay#Television|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 [[Monologue#Soliloquy (monologue in drama)|soliloquies]], and in television, this penchant is complemented by frequent collaborator [[Thomas Schlamme]]'s characteristic visual technique called the "[[Walk and talk|Walk and Talk]]". ==Early years== Sorkin was born in the [[borough (New York City)|borough]] of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]] to [[Jew]]ish parents, and was raised in the wealthy suburb of [[Scarsdale, New York]].<ref name=USWeekly-Jones>{{cite news |title=A Troubled Genius |author=Oliver Jones |date=[[2001-05-28]] |publisher=US Weekly |url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/000083.html |accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref> 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.<ref name=DeJonge-interview/> 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]]''.<ref name=CharlieRose-2000>{{cite video | people = [[Charlie Rose]] (interviewer) | date = October 24, 2000 | title = [[Charlie Rose (talk show)|The Charlie Rose Show]]: A Conversation with Aaron Sorkin | url = http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2000/10/24/2/a-conversation-with-aaron-sorkin | format = Flash | medium = Television production | accessdate = 2007-05-09}}</ref> At that age, Sorkin did not always comprehend the plot of the plays; nevertheless he enjoyed the sound of the dialogue.<ref name=TheAge-Forrest>{{cite news |title=Words fly down the halls of power |author=Emma Forrest |date=[[2002-05-02]] |publisher=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/05/02/1019441403137.html |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> 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 (musical)|Li'l Abner]]''.<ref name=syracuse-interview/> In 1979 Sorkin attended [[Syracuse University]]. In his [[Student#Years|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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University |author=Frank Harold Trevor Rhodes |year=2001 |month=October |publisher=Cornell University Press |pages=p.75–76 |isbn=978-0801439377 }}</ref> ===Unemployed actor, promising playwright=== {{quote box|width=30%|quote="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."|source=Aaron Sorkin, on becoming a writer.<ref name=DeJonge-interview/>}} After graduation, Sorkin moved to New York City where he worked odd jobs ranging from delivering [[singing telegram]]s,<ref name=syracuse-interview/> driving a limousine, touring Alabama with the children’s theatre company Traveling Playhouse,<ref name=DeJonge-interview>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin Works His Way Through the Crisis |author=Peter De Jonge |date=[[2001-10-28]] |publisher=The New York Times Magazine |url=http://www.joshlyman.com/articles/aaron-aswhwtc.html |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> handing out fliers promoting a hunting-and-fishing show,<ref name=syracuse-interview/> to bartending on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at theatres such as the [[Palace Theatre, New York|Palace Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |title=PLAYBILL ON-LINE'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Peter Krause |author=Ernio Hernandez |url=http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/87365.html |publisher=Playbill News |accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> 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."<ref name=DeJonge-interview/> 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.<ref name=Yahoo-Bio>{{cite web |title=Aaron Sorkin Biography |publisher=Yahoo! TV |url=http://tv.yahoo.com/aaron-sorkin/contributor/29519/bio |accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref> After that, he wrote ''[[Hidden in this Picture]]'' which debuted [[Off-Off-Broadway|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 [[Talent agent#Writer's Agents|theatrical agent]].<ref name=Weiss-seminar>{{cite web |title=Three days, 15 seminars, one great experience |author=Valerie Weiss, PhD |year=2003 |month=December |publisher=ImagineNews.com |url=http://www.imaginenews.com/Archive/2003/DEC_2003/01_FEATURES/12_THREE_DAYS.html |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> 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''.<ref name=Yahoo-Bio/><ref name=NYT-review3/> His reputation as a playwright was quickly gaining stature on the New York theatre scene. ===''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 School of Law|Boston University Law School]] and signed up for a 3-year stint with the [[Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy|Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps]]. She was going to [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] to defend a group of [[Marine corps|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Few Good Men London theatre tickets and information |publisher=ThisIsTheatre.com |url=http://www.thisistheatre.com/londonshows/afewgoodmen.html |accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref> In 1988 Sorkin sold the film rights for his play ''A Few Good Men'' to producer [[David Brown (producer)|David Brown]] before it even premiered, for a deal possibly worth a sum well into six-figures.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marine Life |date=[[1989-11-27]] |author=William A. Henry III |publisher=Time Magazine |url=http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959129,00.html |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Profile: Aaron Sorkin |publisher=E! Online |url=http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=a93f1974-f769-479d-844a-7ac03be32926 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> 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.<ref name=MovieMoguls/> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin Working on A Few Good Men for London and New Play for Dublin's Abbey |author=Ernio Hernandez |date=[[2004-06-18]] |publisher=Playbill News |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/86900.html |accessdate=2007-01-20}}</ref> 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.<ref name=NYT-review3/> 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.<ref name=MovieMoguls>{{cite book |title=Movie Moguls Speak: Interviews with Top Film Producers |last=Prigge |first=Steven |year=2004 |month=October |publisher=McFarland & Company |pages=p.12–13 |isbn=978-0786419296}}</ref> ==Screenwriting career== ===Working under contract for Castle Rock Entertainment=== Sorkin worked under contract for some years at [[Castle Rock Entertainment|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 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 [[Screenwriting#Example of proper formatting|screenplay format]] and was learning the craft.<ref name=Weiss-seminar/> William Goldman (who regularly worked under contract at Castle Rock) became his mentor and helped him adapt his stageplay into a [[screenplay]].<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sorkin |first=Aaron |interviewer=[[Katie Couric]] |program=[[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]] |callsign=[[NBC]] |city=New York |date=[[2002-05-22]]|url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/000124.html}}</ref> In the meantime, William Goldman approached Sorkin with a premise, which would later become the screenplay for ''[[Malice (film)|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''.<ref name=Malice-goldman/> 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. 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''.<ref name=Malice-goldman>{{cite web |title=Malice: A Film Review |author=James Berardinelli |year=1993 |publisher=Reelviews.net |url=http://www.reelviews.net/movies/m/malice.html |accessdate=2007-01-10}}</ref> Harold Becker directed ''Malice'', a medical thriller, with actors Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin playing lead roles. Sorkin's last produced screenplay for Castle Rock was ''[[The American President (film)|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.<ref name=TheAge-Forrest/> It took Sorkin a few years to write the screenplay, due to an increasing consumption of [[Cocaine#Freebase|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.<ref name=SeattlePI>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin is a man of many words |author=John Levesque |date=[[2000-03-07]] |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/sork07.shtml |accessdate=2007-01-10}}</ref> The film was made and shown in North American movie theaters in late 1995. Worldwide, the three films grossed about $400 million for Castle Rock.<ref name=SeattlePI/> 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;<ref name=USWeekly-Jones/> they divorced in 2005. ===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|Steven Spielberg's]] invitation.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Wing creator arrested |date=[[2001-04-17]] |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1281447.stm |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref><ref name=SeattlePI/> He wrote some quips for [[Sean Connery]] and [[Nicolas Cage]] in ''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]]''.<ref name=WW-scriptbook/> He worked on ''[[Excess Baggage]]'', a comedy about a girl who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention.<ref>{{cite web |title=Excess Baggage Cast & Crew |publisher=Hollywood.com |url=http://www.qa.hollywood.com/moviedetail/Excess_Baggage/174058 |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TheGross-Bart>{{cite book |title=The Gross: The Hits, the Flops: The Summer That Ate Hollywood |author=[[Peter Bart]] |date=[[2000-02-21]] |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |pages=p.95–96 |isbn=978-0312253912}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=News by the Numbers |author=David Poland |date=[[1999-02-13]] |publisher=The Hot Button |url=http://www.thehotbutton.com/today/hot.button/1999_thb/990213_weekend.html |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref> He rewrote some of [[Will Smith|Will Smith's]] scenes in ''[[Enemy of the State (film)|Enemy of the State]]''.<ref name=WW-scriptbook>{{cite book |title=The West Wing Script Book |author=Aaron Sorkin |year=2002 |month=July |publisher=Newmarket Press |isbn=978-1557045492}}</ref> ===''Sports Night''=== {{main|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]]''.<ref name=CC-interview/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Page 2: Keeping it real on 'Sports Night' |author=Jeff Merron |date=[[2002-11-12]] |publisher=ESPN.com |url=http://espn.go.com/page2/s/merron/021112.html |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Their Championship Season: In the Dugout with the MVPs of Sports Night |author=Richard Firstman |publisher=TV Guide |url=http://sportsnight.tktv.net/tvguide3.23.html |accessdate=2007-01-19}}</ref> ''[[Sports Night]]'' was produced by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] and debuted on the Disney-owned [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC network]] in the fall of 1998.<ref name=SportsNight-bark>{{cite news |title=Huffman is game for 'Sports Night', but is ABC? |date=[[1999-03-10]] |author=Ed Bark |publisher=Dallas Morning News |url=http://www.felicity-huffman.com/articles.php?subaction=showcomments&id=921119214&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1& |accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Laugh Riot |author=Joe Flint |date=[[1998-09-25]] |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284963_2,00.html |accessdate=2007-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why are "Dilbert" and "Sports Night" like a day at the office? Because watching them is a grind |author=Joyce Millman |date=[[1999-02-22]] |publisher=Salon Entertainment |url=http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/mill/1999/02/22mill2.html |accessdate=2007-01-25}}</ref> The use of the laugh track was gradually dialed down until it was eventually gone at the end of the first season.<ref>{{cite news |title=Redundant 'Sports Night' loses its momentum |author=Rob Owen |date=[[1999-03-18]] |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.postgazette.com/tv/19990318owen6a.asp |accessdate=2007-01-25}}</ref> Sorkin was triumphant in the second season when ABC agreed to his demands, unburdening the [[Television crew|crew]] of the difficulties of staging a scene for a live audience and leaving the cast with more time to rehearse.<ref name=SportsNight-bark/> {{cquote|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.|30px|30px|Aaron Sorkin}} Sorkin wrote 40 out of a total of 45 produced [[Screenplay#Television|teleplays]] for ''Sports Night'' over two seasons. The show never found an audience, so ABC canceled it. Sorkin entertained offers to bring the show to another network which he eventually declined, as he also had ''The West Wing'' to work on at that point, and the deals were contingent on his involvement.<ref name=CC-interview/> ===''The West Wing''=== {{main|The West Wing (TV series)}} 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 (TV series)|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 (TV producer)|John Wells]] for lunch at the Pinot Bistro, a French restaurant on [[Ventura Boulevard]].<ref name=SeattlePI/> 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 [[Civil service|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 show about the White House seriously.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pilot episode |publisher=The West Wing Episode Guide |url=http://www.westwingepguide.com/S1/Episodes/1_PILOT.html |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> A year later, a few other networks started showing an interest in ''The West Wing'' and so under mounting pressure NBC [[greenlight|greenlit]] the series. The [[Television pilot|pilot]] debuted in the fall of 1999 produced by [[Warner Bros. Television|Warner Bros. TV]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Real White House |author=Matthew Miller |date=[[2000-03-01]] |url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/2000_03.html |publisher=Brill's Content |accessdate=2007-01-18}}</ref> {{quote box|width=30%|quote="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?"|source=Aaron Sorkin, on creating characters.<ref name=WGA_East>{{cite web |title=Interview with Aaron Sorkin |publisher=The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. |accessdate=2007-01-10 |format=PDF |pages=p.6 |work=On Writing Magazine, Issue 18|year=2003 |month=February |url=http://www.wgaeast.org/newsletter_and_publications/pdf/onwriting18.pdf}}</ref>}} ''The West Wing'' was honored with 9 [[Emmy Award]]s 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. 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.<ref name=CreatorDiverted/> His drug addiction was highly publicized, most notably when ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' did a parody called "The West Wing" (see [[#Personal life|Personal life]]).<ref name=SNL_sketch/> Sorkin recovered and continued writing ''The West Wing'''s scripts with the same devotion. Sorkin wrote 87 [[Screenplay#Television|teleplays]] in all, which amounts to nearly every episode during the show's first four Emmy-winning seasons.<ref name=HR-westwingfinale>{{cite news |title=Finale: 'West Wing' |author=Ray Richmond |date=[[2006-05-12]] |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003254897 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> Sorkin describes his role in the creative process as "not so much [that of] a [[Show runner|showrunner]] or a producer. I'm really a writer."<ref name=CC-interview>{{cite web |title=Interview with Aaron Sorkin: Creator and Executive Producer of "Sports Night" and "The West Wing" |publisher=Comedy Central.com |date=[[2001-01-01]] |url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/000043.html |accessdate=2007-01-10}}</ref> 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."<ref name=CharlieRose-2003>{{cite interview |last=Sorkin |first=Aaron |interviewer=[[Charlie Rose]] |program=[[Charlie Rose (talk show)|The Charlie Rose Show]] |city=New York |date=[[2003-08-13]] |url=http://westwing.bewarne.com/credits/sorkin.html}}</ref> 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 (TV producer)|John Wells]] into an expanded role as showrunner.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sorkin sulking away from 'Wing': Regime change for NBC White House series |author=Josef Adalian |date=[[2003-05-01]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117885506.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sorkin back at NBC with 'Studio' deal NBC gets Sorkin show |author=Andrew Wallenstein |date=[[2005-10-15]] |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001306595 |accessdate=2007-01-27}}</ref> ===''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''=== {{main|Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip}} In 2003 Sorkin divulged to the American television interviewer [[Charlie Rose]] on ''[[Charlie Rose (talk show)|The Charlie Rose Show]]'' that he was developing a TV series based on a late night sketch comedy show like ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside Move: Sorkin scripting play, pic: Return to TV on hold |author=Scott Hettrick |date=[[2003-09-11]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117892324.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-14}}</ref><ref name=CharlieRose-2003/> In early October 2005 a [[Television pilot|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. Television|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peacock on 'Studio' beat: Sorkin, Schlamme sell behind-the-scenes drama skein |author=Josef Adalian |date=[[2005-10-14]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117931024.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-21 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sorkin turns his attention to TV |author=Kevin Young |date=[[2006-08-27]] |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5290474.stm |accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref> The [[Set construction|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]]. In September 2006, the pilot for ''Studio 60'' aired on NBC, directed by Thomas Schlamme. The pilot was critically acclaimed and had high [[Nielsen Ratings|ratings]], but ''Studio 60'' experienced a significant drop in audience by midseason. 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. 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 14]]{{Fact|date=February 2008}}. The final air date in North America was [[June 28]], [[2007]]. ===Screenplays written in the 21st century=== In 2003, Sorkin was writing the screenplay ''The Farnsworth Invention'' [[Screenplay#Writing on spec or assignment|on spec]], with the hopes of a later sale to a producer or studio.<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside 'The Alamo' |author=Army Archerd |date=[[2003-10-29]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117894813.html?categoryid=2&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> 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.<ref name=NewLine-press/> The film production of ''The Farnsworth Invention'' was eventually canceled without explanation. In 2004, after having just completed the screenplay for ''The Farnsworth Invention'' [[Universal Studios|Universal Pictures]] made a seven-figure deal with Sorkin to adapt "60 Minutes" producer [[George Crile III|George Crile]]'s nonfiction book ''[[Charlie Wilson's War]]'' for [[Tom Hanks]]' production company [[Playtone]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sorkin goes from White House to front line: Playtone partners Hanks, Goetzman to produce 'War' |author=Michael Fleming |date=[[2004-06-17]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117906666.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> ''Charlie Wilson's War'' is about the colorful Texas congressman [[Charles Wilson (politician)|Charlie Wilson]] who funded the CIA's secret war against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Playtone goes to 'War' with U: Hanks to play former Texas congressman Wilson |author=Michael Fleming |date=[[2003-07-20]] |publisher=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117889616.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> Sorkin completed the screenplay and the film was released in 2007 starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols.<ref name=HR-Grove>{{cite news |title=Holiday weekends will drive 2007 boxoffice |author=Martin A. Grove |date=[[2007-01-12]] |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003531904 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> On [[July 12]], [[2007]], Variety reported Sorkin had signed a deal with Dreamworks to write three films. The first is to be called ''The Trial of the Chicago 7'' and will be directed by Steven Spielberg. ==Returning to the theatre== [[Image:A Few Good Men at Haymarket Theatre London.jpg|right|thumb|220px|''A Few Good Men'' at London's [[Haymarket Theatre|Theatre Royal Haymarket]] in 2005.]] In 2005, Sorkin revised his play ''[[A Few Good Men]]'' for a revival at London's [[Haymarket Theatre|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=West End boys club: Lowe, Sorkin team for 'Good Men' revival |author=Michael Fleming |date=[[2005-04-24]] |publisher=Variety |accessdate=2007-01-10 |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117921624.html?categoryid=15&cs=1 }}</ref> In 2005 Sorkin rewrote his screenplay ''The Farnsworth Invention'' as a play.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Farnsworth Invention to become a stage play |publisher=gizmag |url=http://www.gizmag.com/go/6170/ |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news| author=Karen Fricker | title= 'Farnsworth' fumble: Abbey drops ball on Sorkin commission |date=[[2006-02-05]] |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117937383?categoryid=15&cs=1&s=h&p=0 |publisher=Variety |accessdate=2007-01-02}}</ref> The La Jolla Playhouse pushed on with [[Steven Spielberg]] lending his talents as producer and the production opened under La Jolla's signature [[La Jolla Playhouse#Page To Stage New Play Development Program|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.<ref name=SpielbergFilms>{{cite web |title=Spielberg produces 'Farnsworth Invention' on stage |date=[[2006-09-17]] |publisher=SpielbergFilms.com |url=http://www.spielbergfilms.com/general/1076 |accessdate=2007-01-23}}</ref> The play started its run at La Jolla Playhouse on [[February 20]], [[2007]].<ref name=LaJolla>{{cite news|title=Sorkin and McAnuff Collaborate on LaJolla's 'Invention' |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=14438 |publisher=BroadwayWorld.com|accessdate=2007-01-02}}</ref> [[Playbill]] reported in June 2007 that ''The Farnsworth Invention'' would open on in the fall of 2007.<ref name=Back-to-Broadway>{{cite web |title="Aaron Sorkin's Farnsworth Invention to Open on Broadway in November"|date=[[2007-06-21]]|publisher=''[[Playbill]]''|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109037.html|accessdate=2007-06-22}}</ref> The play showed in [[preview]]s at the [[Music Box Theatre]] and was scheduled to open on November 14.<ref>{{cite news |title='Invention' sparks reinvention: Sorkin's former movie pitch hits Broadway |author=Gordon Cox |date=2007-11-10 |work=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR660001116.html |accessdate=2007-11-10}}</ref> The opening was delayed by the [[2007 Broadway Stagehand Strike]], but opened at the [[Music Box Theatre]] on [[December 3]], 2007 following the end of the strike. He is 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title="Sorkin Will Script Flaming Lips Musical"|date=[[2007-03-20]]|publisher=''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20015535,00.html|accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref> ==Personal politics== Between the years 1999 and 2007 Sorkin made substantial political campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aaron Sorkin Biography and Political Campaign Contributions |publisher=CampaignMoney.com |url=http://www.campaignmoney.com/biography/aaron_sorkin.asp |accessdate=2007-01-29}}</ref> His TV series ''The West Wing'' has been called ''[[The West Wing (TV series)#The Left Wing|The Left Wing]]'' because of its alleged liberal bias.<ref>{{cite book |title=The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama |last=Lehman |first=Chris |chapter=The Feel-Good Presidency: The Pseudo-Politics of ''The West Wing'' |editor=Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor |year=2003 |month=May |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0815630319}}</ref> In 2002, Sorkin assailed NBC news anchor [[Tom Brokaw|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Wing Watch: Snookered by Bush |date=[[2002-02-25]] |publisher=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/020304ta_talk_friend?020304ta_talk_friend |accessdate=2007-01-14}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin defends news coverage criticism |author=Guylaine Cadorette |date=[[2002-03-05]] |publisher=Hollywood.com |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/1105863 |accessdate=2007-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Hollywood's New Radicalism: War, Globalisation and the Movies from Reagan to George W. Bush |first=Ben |last=Dickenson |date=[[2006-03-03]] |publisher=I. B. Tauris |pages=pp. 111–112 |isbn=978-1845111038 }}</ref> The liberal advocacy group [[MoveOn]]'s [[political action committee]] enlisted Sorkin and Rob Reiner to create one of their anti-Bush [[campaign advertising|campaign advertisement]]s for the [[United States presidential election, 2004|2004 US presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=I'm Rob Reiner, and I Approve this Message |author=Matthew Cooper |date=[[2004-07-03]] |publisher=Time Magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040712-660923,00.html |accessdate=2007-01-29}}</ref> ==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.<ref>{{cite news |title='West Wing' Producer, a Union Leader, Rules Out Writers' Raises |author=Bernard Weinraub |date=[[2001-06-26]] |publisher=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/26/arts/26WEST.html?ex=1169182800&en=7147e47f399948fb&ei=5070 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> At the awards ceremony Rick Cleveland was ushered off the stage by Sorkin and was not 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=I Was the Dumb Looking Guy with the Wire-Rimmed Glasses |author=Rick Cleveland |publisher=Fresh Yarn |url=http://www.freshyarn.com/10/essays/cleveland_iwas.htm |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> When ''The New York Times'' revealed the slight, Sorkin attacked Cleveland in a public web forum at [[Television Without Pity|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Wing Web War! |author=Mickey Kaus |date=[[2001-07-03]] |publisher=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/id/1007932/ |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |title=In Excelsis Deo |publisher=The West Wing Episode Guide |url=http://www.westwingepguide.com/S1/Episodes/10_IED.html |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> ===''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 screenwriting credit system#Arbitration|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Writers' claim against Aaron Sorkin dismissed |author=Chrys Wu, paralegal to Mark Litwak |date=[[2003-09-03]] |publisher=Entertainment Law Resources Blog |url=http://marklitwak.blogspot.com/2003_09_01_marklitwak_archive.html |accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref> ===Personal life=== In 1987, Sorkin started experimenting with marijuana and cocaine. He has said that in [[Cocaine#Freebase|freebase cocaine]] he found a drug that gave him relief from certain nervous tensions he deals with on a regular basis.<ref name=DeJonge-interview/> 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.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |title = West Wing creator brings his play to West End | author = Jay Rayner | date = [[2005-07-31]] | publisher = Guardian Unlimited | url = http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1525148,00.html | accessdate = 2007-01-14}}</ref> In 2001, Sorkin along with colleagues [[John Spencer (actor)|John Spencer]] and [[Martin Sheen]] received the Phoenix Rising Award for their personal victories over substance abuse.<ref>{{cite news | title = ‘West Wing’-ers honored by Phoenix for abuse recovery | author = Borys Kit | date = | publisher = The Hollywood Reporter | url = http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/000059.html | accessdate = 2007-01-27}}</ref> 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]], [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]], and [[crack cocaine]] in his carry-on bag when a metal [[Cocaine#Smoked|crack pipe]] set off the gate’s metal detector.<ref name="Yahoo-Bio"/> He was ordered to a [[drug diversion program]].<ref name="CreatorDiverted">{{cite news | title = Aaron Sorkin Says He Used Drugs | publisher = [[Associated Press]] | url = http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/2001_08.html|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> ''[[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]].<ref name="SNL_sketch">{{cite video | title = The West Wing | people = Pierce Brosnan, Darrell Hammond | year = May 5 2001 | medium = Comedy Sketch | url = http://snltranscripts.jt.org/00/00rwestwing.phtml | location = New York | publisher = Saturday Night Live | accessdate = 2007-01-27}}</ref> 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== {{quote box|width=30%|quote="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."|source=Aaron Sorkin, on his writing as characterized by mentor [[William Goldman]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin is a man of many words |author=John Levesque |date=[[2000-03-07]] |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/sork07.shtml |accessdate=2007-01-10}}</ref>}} Sorkin is known for writing memorable lines and fast-paced dialogue, as well as extended [[monologues]] for prominent characters, such as the "I am God" piece from ''[[Malice (film)|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]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Alexei’s guide to Aaron Sorkin |author=Alexei Kosut |date=[[2004-05-23]] |publisher=Alexei's Weblog |url=http://akosut.com/log/2004/05/23/alexeis-guide-to-aaron-sorkin/ |accessdate=2007-01-25}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Wing votes in new writers |date=[[2003-07-25]] |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3095619.stm |accessdate=2007-01-25 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sorkin ingrains himself in film, TV writing |author=Cassie Belek |date=[[2007-01-22]] |publisher=The Observer online |url=http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/01/22/Scene/Sorkin.Ingrains.Himself.In.Film.Tv.Writing-2656233.shtml |accessdate=2007-01-27}}</ref> Although his scripts are lauded for being literate,<ref name=Malice-goldman/><ref name=syracuse-interview/> Sorkin has been criticized for often turning in scripts that are overwrought.<ref>{{cite news |title=‘Studio 60’ doesn't take comedy seriously: Show's flailing by focusing on issues, not craziness of the writers' room |author=Linda Holmes |date=[[2006-11-26]] |publisher=MSNBC.com |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15640559/ |accessdate=2007-01-25}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TheAge-Forrest/> 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.<ref name=WGA_East/> He prefers to make it up as he goes along which can lead to bizarre twists and ill-advised plot developments.<ref name=SeattlePI/> 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.<ref name=CharlieRose-2003/> Sorkin first started writing stories on an [[IBM Selectric typewriter]] which belonged to a friend of his.<ref name=syracuse-interview/> 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''.<ref name=CharlieRose-2003/> In the 90s he used Apple's notebook computers. In a 2003 introduction video for the 12 and {{convert|17|in|mm|sing=on}} [[PowerBook]] computers, he praised the features of Apple's notebooks saying he "wrote ''[[The American President (film)|The American President]]'' on what was the first portable Apple computer, [he] wrote the series ''[[Sports Night]]'' on a [[PowerMac G3|G3]], and now [writes] ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]'' on a [[PowerMac G4|G4]]." Sorkin has a habit of [[chainsmoking]] while he spends countless hours cooped up in his office plotting out his next scripts.<ref name=USWeekly-Jones/> He describes his writing process as physical because he will often stand up and speak the dialogue he is developing.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin speaks about 'Studio 60,' the press and those pesky bloggers |author=Maureen Ryan |date=[[2007-01-19]] |publisher=Chicago Tribune |url=http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/2007/01/aaron_sorkin_sp.html |accessdate=2007-02-12 }}</ref> He has made rare non-speaking [[cameo appearance]]s 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.<ref name= imdb>{{cite web |title=Aaron Sorkin |publisher=Internet Movie Database |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815070/ |accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref> ===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''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with Thomas Schlamme, Director and Executive Producer, "Sports Night" |author=Elif Cercel |date=[[1999-11-11]] |publisher=Directors World |url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/archives/1999/11/interview_with.html |accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref><ref name=CC-interview/> Their successful partnership has endured for nearly a decade so far with Aaron Sorkin writing the scripts and Thomas Schlamme [[Executive producer#Television|exec producing]] and occasionally [[Television director|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.<ref name=NewLine-press/> 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 is not directing, discusses the scripts with Sorkin as soon as they are turned in, makes design and [[Casting (performing arts)|casting decisions]], and attends the [[Film budgeting|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.<ref name=CC-interview/> {{quote box|width=30%|quote="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."|source=[[Thomas Schlamme]], on the "[[Walk and talk|Walk and Talk]]" device.<ref name=HR-westwingfinale/>}} One of Schlamme's trademarks is ''The West Wing''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s style of continuously tracking in front of characters as they walk side by side while talking at the same time, usually while on their way to a meeting or conference directly related to the substance of the discussion, a visual technique called the "[[Walk and talk|Walk and Talk]]". Schlamme did not want to have scene cuts that relocated characters without any explanation of how they got there so he developed the "Walk and Talk" device to work with Sorkin's dialogue.<ref name=HR-westwingfinale/> In 2004, it was announced that Thomas Schlamme would direct Sorkin's script ''The Farnsworth Invention'' for [[New Line Cinema]].<ref name=NewLine-press>{{cite press release |title=New Line Cinema acquires Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, taps Thomas Schlamme to direct |date=April 28, 2004 |publisher=New Line Cinema |url=http://www.newline.com/press/2004/0428_farnsworth.shtml |accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref> Schlamme was set to produce the project through his company Shoe Money Productions located on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank but the film production was eventually canceled.<ref>{{cite web |title=TV show addresses |url=http://www.star-collector.net/tvshows.htm |publisher=star-collector.net|accessdate=2007-01-21}}</ref> The Sorkin-Schlamme collaboration continued on the NBC TV series ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'' which was produced by Shoe Money Productions. ==Awards and honors== In 1989 Sorkin won an [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Outstanding American Playwright for his stageplay ''A Few Good Men''. Three years later the feature film ''A Few Good Men'' earned Sorkin a nomination for a [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]. The feature film ''Malice'' earned him a nomination for an [[Edgar Award|Edgar award]] for [[Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay|Best Motion Picture Screenplay]] from the [[Mystery Writers of America]]. In 1996 Sorkin was nominated for another Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay for ''The American President''.<ref name=NewLine-press/> Sorkin won three [[Humanitas Prize]]s for episodes of ''Sports Night'' (1999) and ''The West Wing'' (2000, 2002). He was nominated for 6 [[Emmy Award]]s for writing on ''Sports Night'' and ''The West Wing'' and shared an Emmy with writer [[Rick Cleveland]] for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in 2000 for ''The West Wing'' episode "[[In Excelsis Deo]]". He has also been nominated for [[Writers Guild of America|WGA awards]], [[Television Critics Association|TCA awards]], and [[Producers Guild of America#PGA Awards|PGA Golden Laurel awards]] for his writing on ''Sports Night'' and ''The West Wing'' winning three PGA Golden Laurel awards and one WGA award. In 2001, Sorkin was named Writer of the Year by the Caucus for TV Producers, Writers and Directors. The same year, he received from his alma mater Syracuse University the George Arents Pioneer Medal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aaron Sorkin '83 funds immersion program for SU students to explore West Coast entertainment industry |author=Jaime Winne Alvarez |date=[[2006-03-08]] |publisher=Syracuse University News |url=http://sunews.syr.edu/story_details.cfm?id=3080 |accessdate=2007-01-30}}</ref> ==Family life== From 1996 - 2005, he was married to Julia Bingham. They have one daughter, Roxy, born in 2000.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="imdb"/> ==Credits== ===Television series=== *''[[Sports Night]]'' (television series, 1998–2000; creator, writer, executive producer) *''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]'' (television series, 1999–2006; creator, writer, executive producer (1999–2003)) *''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'' (television series, 2006–2007; creator, writer, executive producer) ===Films=== *''[[A Few Good Men]]'' (1992; screenplay) *''[[Malice (film)|Malice]]'' (1993; screenplay) *''[[Schindler's List (film)|Schindler's List]]'' (1993; uncredited script doctor) *''[[The American President (film)|The American President]]'' (1995; screenplay) *''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]]'' (1996; uncredited script doctor) *''[[Excess Baggage]]'' (1997; uncredited script doctor) *''[[Bulworth]]'' (1998; uncredited script doctor) *''[[Enemy of the State (film)|Enemy of the State]]'' (1998; uncredited script doctor) *''[[Charlie Wilson's War]]'' (2007; screenplay) ===Screenplays (unproduced)=== *''Oceans of Storms'' (~1996; script doctor)<ref name=TheGross-Bart/> *''[[The Farnsworth Invention]]'' (2004; screenplay)<ref name=NewLine-press/> *''[[The Trial of the Chicago 7]]'' (part of a three picture deal with Dreamworks; screenplay) ===Plays=== *''[[Hidden in This Picture]]'' (1988; playwright)<ref name=NYT-review1>{{cite news |title=Review/Theater; Three Plays on Desire |author=Mel Gussow |date=[[1988-08-24]] |publisher=The New York Times |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=940DE7D9173DF937A1575BC0A96E948260 |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> *''[[A Few Good Men]]'' (1989; playwright)<ref name=NYT-review2>{{cite news |title= Review/Theater; Honor, Bullying and Conformity in the Trial in 'A Few Good Men' |author=Frank Rich |date=[[1989-11-16]] |publisher=The New York Times |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=950DE4D61338F935A25752C1A96F948260 |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> *''[[Making Movies (play)|Making Movies]]'' (1990; playwright)<ref name=NYT-review3>{{cite news |title=Review/Theater; 'Making Movies,' a Satire Of the Celluloid World |author=Mel Gussow |date=[[1990-03-28]] |publisher=The New York Times |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9C0CEFDD1139F93BA15750C0A966958260 |accessdate=2007-01-12}}</ref> *''[[The Farnsworth Invention]]'' (2007, playwright)<ref name=LaJolla/> ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Further information== *{{cite book |title=Considering Aaron Sorkin: Essays on the Politics, Poetics and Sleight of Hand in the Films and Television Series |editor=Thomas Fahy |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |date=[[2005-01-11]]|isbn=978-0786421206}} *{{cite book |title=The West Wing Script Book |author=Aaron Sorkin |year=2002 |month=July |publisher=Newmarket Press |isbn=978-1557045492 }} *{{cite book |title=The West Wing Seasons 3 & 4: The Shooting Scripts: Eight Teleplays |author=Aaron Sorkin |year=2004 |month=February |publisher=Newmarket Press |isbn=978-1557046123}} *{{cite web |title=Interview with Aaron Sorkin and ''The West Wing'' pilot script|publisher=The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. |format=PDF |work=On Writing Magazine, Issue 18|year=2003 |month=February |url=http://www.wgaeast.org/newsletter_and_publications/pdf/onwriting18.pdf}} *{{cite web |title=Early draft of the ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' pilot script |author=Aaron Sorkin|url=http://www.geocities.com/seekergurl/studio60.html |accessdate=2007-02-01}} *{{cite video |people=Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner |title=From Stage to Screen with Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner, A Few Good Men (Special Edition DVD) |year=2001 |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B6JZ/ |medium=Documentary}} *Four interviews with Aaron Sorkin on [[Charlie Rose (talk show)|The Charlie Rose Show]] (available at [[Google Video]]) for the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. ===Podcasts=== *{{cite podcast |title=Aaron Sorkin, in his own words |date=[[2007-01-21]] |website=TV Barn |host=Aaron Barnhart |url=http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/files/TVBP8.mp3 }} ==External links== {{wikiquote}} *[http://www.thefarnsworthinvention.com The Farnsworth Invention: Fact -v- Fiction ] *{{imdb name|0815070}} {{featured article}} {{EmmyAward DramaWriting}} {{Persondata |NAME= Sorkin, Aaron Benjamin |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= American [[Screenwriter]], [[television producer|Producer]], [[Playwright]] |DATE OF BIRTH= [[June 9]], [[1961]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= &nbsp;[[New York]], [[New York|NY]], [[United States|U.S.]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{Lifetime|1961||Sorkin, Aaron}} [[Category:American film actors]] [[Category:American screenwriters]] [[Category:American television producers]] [[Category:American television writers]] [[Category:Jewish American writers]] [[Category:People from New York City]] [[Category:Syracuse University alumni]] [[de:Aaron Sorkin]] [[et:Aaron Sorkin]] [[es:Aaron Sorkin]] [[fr:Aaron Sorkin]] [[hu:Aaron Sorkin]] [[no:Aaron Sorkin]] [[ru:Соркин, Аарон Бенджамин]] [[simple:Aaron Sorkin]] [[sv:Aaron Sorkin]] [[zh:艾倫·索金]]