Never argue with a drunk or a fool.
Never argue with a drunk or a fool. Aaron Sorkin
It wouldn’t kill you to watch a film or pick up a newspaper once in a while.
It wouldn’t kill you to watch a film or pick up a newspaper once in a while. Aaron Sorkin
There’s a great tradition in storytelling that’s thousands of years old, telling stories about kings and their palaces, and that’s really what I wanted to do.
There’s a great tradition in storytelling that’s thousands of years old, telling stories about kings and their palaces, and that’s really what I wanted to … Read More
One of the biggest challenges in the past for me in working on the networks was that audiences have grown accustomed to television being something that keeps you company-background music, something that you have on while you’re flipping through a magazine, cooking dinner, talking on the phone, putting the kids to bed.
One of the biggest challenges in the past for me in working on the networks was that audiences have grown accustomed to television being something … Read More
I’m a playwright. All I care about is the play being good.
I’m a playwright. All I care about is the play being good. Aaron Sorkin
Honestly, I don’t try to guess at what most people want. I don’t think I’d guess right, and I just think that that’s not a good recipe for storytelling. I try to write what I like, what I think my friends would like.
Honestly, I don’t try to guess at what most people want. I don’t think I’d guess right, and I just think that that’s not a … Read More
The stuff that I write doesn’t work very well as background music. You have to watch it from beginning to end and pay attention as if you were watching a play.
The stuff that I write doesn’t work very well as background music. You have to watch it from beginning to end and pay attention as … Read More
I have a lot of respect for people who are great at ad-libbing, and for writers and directors who are able to create a scene in which that works.
I have a lot of respect for people who are great at ad-libbing, and for writers and directors who are able to create a scene … Read More
Decisions are made by those who show up. Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world.
Decisions are made by those who show up. Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world. Aaron Sorkin
The guy who wins the Oscar for Best Actor has a much higher bar to clear than the woman who wins best actress.
The guy who wins the Oscar for Best Actor has a much higher bar to clear than the woman who wins best actress. Aaron Sorkin
You know, one of the things I like about this world, or at least I like about the way we’re presenting this world, is these issues are terribly complicated – not nearly as black and white as we’re led to believe.
You know, one of the things I like about this world, or at least I like about the way we’re presenting this world, is these … Read More
I consider plot a necessary intrusion on what I really want to do, which is write snappy dialogue. But when I’m writing, the way the words sound is as important to me as what they mean.
I consider plot a necessary intrusion on what I really want to do, which is write snappy dialogue. But when I’m writing, the way the … Read More
A news organization has a much different responsibility. I might not be telling you the whole story. I might not be telling you a story in a manner that is properly sophisticated.
A news organization has a much different responsibility. I might not be telling you the whole story. I might not be telling you a story … Read More
President Bartlet: There’s a delegation of cardiologists having their pictures taken in the Blue Room. You wouldn’t think you could find a group of people more arrogant than the fifteen of us, but there they are, right upstairs in the Blue Room.
President Bartlet: There’s a delegation of cardiologists having their pictures taken in the Blue Room. You wouldn’t think you could find a group of people … Read More
Well, I must tell you I write the scripts very close to the bone. So I’m writing episode seven now and couldn’t tell you what happens in episode eight.
Well, I must tell you I write the scripts very close to the bone. So I’m writing episode seven now and couldn’t tell you what … Read More
Trying to guess what the (mass) audience wants and then trying to satisfy that is usually a bad recipe for getting something good.
Trying to guess what the (mass) audience wants and then trying to satisfy that is usually a bad recipe for getting something good. Aaron Sorkin
It’s certainly easy for me to make a fictional character mad about something. I can get them angry about something that I’m relatively indifferent about, just because I’m not educated on it, if I go to someone who is educated about it and is passionate about it. I find a point of fiction and then give it to them.
It’s certainly easy for me to make a fictional character mad about something. I can get them angry about something that I’m relatively indifferent about, … Read More
I had never thought of doing television. But my agent wanted me to meet John Wells, who had had a lot of success producing ER and China Beach. The night before the meeting, some friends were over for dinner and Akiva Goldsman and I slipped downstairs to the basement so we could sneak a cigarette. He said, “You know what would make a good television series? That.” And he was pointing at The American President poster. He said, “There doesn’t have to be a romance, just focus on a senior staffer.”
I had never thought of doing television. But my agent wanted me to meet John Wells, who had had a lot of success producing ER … Read More
I got into dialogue because my parents began taking me to see plays from when I was very young. Too young, often, to understand the play I was watching: Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf when I was nine years old; That Championship Season when I was ten years old. But I loved the sound of dialogue; it sounded like music to me and I wanted to imitate that sound.
I got into dialogue because my parents began taking me to see plays from when I was very young. Too young, often, to understand the … Read More
I do enjoy the fact that we don’t have a king or queen; we have a person with a very unusual temp job for a few years. My favorite moments on the show were always showing the intersection of the person and the job. Any time Bartlet from the West Wing could be something other than the president – a father, or a husband, or a son, or a friend.
I do enjoy the fact that we don’t have a king or queen; we have a person with a very unusual temp job for a … Read More