# Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born 9 June 1961) is a playwright and screenwriter, originally from Scarsdale, New York. He is known for his rhythmic dialogue and inventive television style.

## Quotes

* Socializing on the internet is to socializing, what reality TV is to reality.
** The Colbert Report at 7m35s. Aired September 30, 2010, retrieved October 16, 2010.
** said whilst promoting The Social Network in an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report in defense of not having a Facebook account.
* Writing anything, it sorta starts the way you'd build a castle at the beach. You're just taking your hands and you're mounting up sand.
** The West Wing, Season Two Commentary Track: Noel.
* Is it (Sports Night) a comedy or a drama? That's generally not a question I try and answer for myself before I'm going to write something. The example I would use is, if you're driving in your car and you're listening to a rock 'n' roll station on the radio and a song comes on, and in the song you hear elements of jazz and folk and you hear strings in there … it's not necessary to answer the question, "Is this jazz, is this folk, or is this rock?" before you decide to listen to it and like it or not.
** Interview for Comedy Central.
* People who don't know anything tend to make up fake rules, the real rules being considerably more difficult to learn.
** The West Wing Script Book: Volume 1, Introduction.
* I love writing but I hate starting. The page is awfully white and it says. " You may have fooled some of the people some of the time but those days are over, giftless. I'm not your agent and I'm not your mommy, I'm a white piece of paper, you wanna dance with me?" and I really, really don't. I don't want any trouble. I'll go peaceable-like.
** The West Wing Script Book: Volume 1, Introduction.
* The worst crime you can commit is telling the audience something they already know, in any fashion, even for a moment.
** David Marchese (March 1, 2020). "Aaron Sorkin on how he would write the Democratic primary for ‘The West Wing.’". The New York Times. Retrieved on March 2, 2020.
* The problem I had when I wrote The Social Network was that this thing that’s supposed to bring us closer together is pushing us further apart. It gives everyone the impression that everyone else in the world is having a better time, and that if you are not cataloging your life, then you’re not really living it. People are going to show you only pictures of themselves having a great time at the best party with the coolest people eating, for some reason, avocado toast. They’re also not going to experience empathy. When we’re a little kid on a playground and say something mean to another little kid, we see in their face what we did, and we feel bad because of it. On social media, it’s more like yelling at another driver from your car. People are developing a chemical addiction to their phones. A gambling addict feels that rush of dopamine and serotonin not when they win but when the roulette wheel is spinning. When kids stick their hand in their pocket to get their phone and see if someone has commented on the photo they posted, they get that rush of serotonin and dopamine. It’s a big deal. And now, when we talk about our concerns with Facebook, we’re talking about the power that it has to disseminate misinformation and disinformation. We’re never going to put this genie back in the bottle, but surely we can decide that lies are bad.
** David Marchese (March 1, 2020). "Aaron Sorkin on how he would write the Democratic primary for ‘The West Wing.’". The New York Times. Retrieved on March 2, 2020.

## See also

* A Few Good Men (play and film)
* Malice (film)
* The American President (film)
* Sports Night (television series)
* The West Wing (television series, first four seasons)
* Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (television series)
* Charlie Wilson's War (film)
* The Social Network (film)
* Moneyball (film)
* The Newsroom (television series)
* Steve Jobs (film)

## External links

* Aaron Sorkin quotes at the Internet Movie Database