Aaron Sorkin: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Aaron Sorkin (born on June 9, 1961 in New York City) is an American screenwriter and producer now working in film and television. He graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater. After a brief stint at acting, he quickly established a reputation as a young, promising playwright on the New York theatre scene. His 1989 Broadway play A Few Good Men was made into a critically acclaimed feature film in 1992, kickstarting his Hollywood career.

Sorkin is arguably best known for his highbrow TV drama, The West Wing, a series originally conceived from leftover dialogue written for The American President, a 1995 feature starring Michael Douglas as the President of the United States. The West Wing was honored with 13 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 has been awarded to each of the four completed West Wing seasons to date. Sorkin left the show in 2003 at the end of the fourth season. Before The West Wing Sorkin also created and wrote many of the episodes of the critically acclaimed but short lived TV comedy-drama Sports Night, which ran from 1998-2000 on ABC.

As a writer, Aaron Sorkin has received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (West Wing). He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for A Few Good Men. In addition, he has received numerous nominations and awards at the Golden Globes, Television Critics Association Awards, Producers Guild Golden Laurel Awards and the Writers Guild of America Awards.

Sorkin is unique among television producers for writing nearly every episode of his shows. The upside is that this gives his shows a continuity and consistency of style and quality. The downside is that his scripts are often late, forcing the cast and crew to work overtime, and making the show far more expensive.

Sorkin was arrested on April 15, 2001 after guards at a security checkpoint at the Burbank Airport found magic mushrooms, marijuana and crack in his carry-on bag. He was later ordered to a drug-diversion program. While the public scrutiny of his drug addiction raised some bad publicity for The West Wing at the time, it also lent credibility to the on-screen portrayal of addiction and substance abuse by one of the show's lead characters.

As of June, 2004, Sorkin had recently completed a screenplay based on the story of Philo Farnsworth, to be directed by Thomas Schlamme, and was reported to be signed on to adapt George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War for Tom Hanks's production company.[1]

Filmography

• The West Wing (television series; creator, writer, executive producer)
• Sports Night (television series; creator, writer, executive producer)
• The American President (writer)
• Malice (screenplay, story)
• A Few Good Men (screenplay)