STAYING IN
THE FIVE FACES OF AARON SORKIN
Aaron Sorkin is one of the most respected writers in film and TV. While The West Wing alone would be more than enough for most, Henry Northmore looks back over his career as The Newsroom returns
FILM (1992-) Sorkin started as a playwright, with Rob Reiner directing the 1992 i lm adaptation of his courtroom drama A Few Good Men, starring Tom Cruise. Malice and The American President followed but they didn’t have the same impact. He took a huge break to concentrate on TV, returning with Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), then picked up an Oscar for his adapted screenplay for Facebook biopic The Social Network and was nominated for another for Moneyball in 2012. Most memorable dialogue: Colonel Jessop (Jack Nicholson): ‘You can’t handle the truth’ from A Few Good Men, one of the most quoted lines in movie history.
Final tally: Six movies so far.
SPORTS NIGHT (1998-2000) Sorkin’s i rst foray into TV saw him create and write this comedy about the behind-the-scenes 34 THE LIST 11 Jul–22 Aug 2013
action at a sports news show. It started as a sitcom complete with laugh track which was phased out by season two, as Sorkin upped the dramatic content. Most memorable dialogue: Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina): ‘Not i tting in is how qualii ed people get i red.’ Isaac Jaffe (Robert Guillaume): ‘Yeah, but a lot of the time, it’s how they end up working here.’
Most memorable dialogue: Laurie (Lisa Edelstein): ‘Tell your friend POTUS he’s got a funny name, and he should learn how to ride a bicycle.’ Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe): ‘I would, but he’s not my friend; he’s my boss. It’s not his name, it’s his title.’ Laurie: ‘POTUS?’ Seaborn: ‘President of the United States. I’ll call ya.’
Final tally: Two seasons comprising 45 episodes. Final tally: A whopping 156 episodes across seven seasons.
THE WEST WING (1999–2006) This was the big one. Peeking behind the closed doors at the White House focussing on the men and women behind the President (played by Martin Sheen). It won a whopping nine Emmys for its i rst season alone - a new record. Loosely based on the Clinton administration, unsurprisingly it was Sorkin’s most political show yet and was dubbed ‘The Left Wing’ by certain journalists.
STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (2006-2007) The off-screen dramas at a comedy sketch show (think Saturday Night Live) as the actors, writers and directors squabbled over their lines and relationships. However it was cut down before its time after a barrage of online sniping.