Video interview: Aaron Sorkin
Today’s video interview is with screenwriter-TV writer Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin’s movie credits include A Few Good Men (1992), Malice (1993), The American President (1995), and Charlie Wilson’s War (2007). His TV credits include “Sports Night” (45 episodes, 1998–2000), “The West Wing” (155 episodes, 1999–2006), and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (22 episodes, 2006–2007).
In this interview at the excellent website MakingOf, Sorkin discusses:
* How writing a TV show is more akin to the process of doing a play, whereas making a movie is more like doing an album.
* How he got into writing political shows and why he chose the White House as a venue for two projects (American President and “The West Wing”).
* What factors determine if he choose to write a project or not.
* Production polishes.
* His writing process (he prefers to write early in the morning).
* “I’m less interested in the difference between good and evil than I am between good and great.”
* The most difficult aspect of the writing process: Cracking the story. The backbone of the story: “What the intention is, what the obstacle is.”
* Writing dialogue: “Make it sound like music.”
Here’s the full video interview: