Aaron Sorkin interview on leaving "The West Wing" (2003) 

Mr. Sorkin was able to disprove a quote that I have used often, "No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public."P.T. Barnum.

@@willmpet ... The list of American corporates who live off of Barnum's quote remains long. Surely the media chiefs did so for years and, in doing so, guaranteed their decline as companies like Netflix and HBO filled the need. American car companies did so, even into the face of declining sales and higher import quality. Have they yet learned? In any case, much of modern television is both intelligent and entertaining. I would say the sooner we weed out Barnum's disciples from American business, the sooner it returns to greatness.

I forget if it was Richard Schiff or Bradley Whitford (probably Schiff) who said he thought West Wing wouldn’t get picked up because it was too good for television.

@@philipcallado5693 ... I imagine the vast majority of people in television would have said that. Despite all that, there was and is a great hunger for intelligent programming. When I get despondent over the general intellect of Americans, I think of that

Aaron Sorkin is fantastic. So is Dick Wolf. Imagine if they teamed up to write a TV show about an independent investigator appointed by Congress to investigate the President. Like a Ken Starr or Robert Mueller situation, except realistic fiction like West Wing and Law & Order. That has the potential to be the best thing on television.

I am so happy to see a conservative admit this! Although a liberal, Sorkin has repeatedly stated that he has no particular political agenda when writing drama; he just likes the sound of smart people arguing. It's not about winning the argument; it's about having the argument in the first place-something too many of us on opposite ends of the political spectrum are reluctant to do. As a Democrat, I learned so much from "The West Wing" about how to engage in civilized debate with Republicans (interestingly, my conservative friends have been more willing than my liberal friends to respectfully discuss issues, but that's another story) because Sorkin put a premium on characters actually *listening* to each other rather than gracelessly spouting ideological rhetoric at each other. Also, TWW's senior staff frequently lost the battle-whether it was Ainsley Hayes kicking Sam Seaborn's ass yet again, or a lame-duck congressman refusing to cast a crucial vote in favor of his own legislation because the constituents who ousted him disapproved, or a gay Republican convincing Josh Lyman to recommend that the President "pocket veto" a marriage-equality bill, or the bitter conclusion that investigating the hate group(s) responsible for shooting President Bartlet and Josh in the attempted assassination of Charlie would be unconstitutional (etc., etc.). Instead of writing about good vs. bad, Sorkin writes about good vs. great, and being great often means accepting being wrong. I think that as long as we have people like you who are open to hearing multiple sides, we're gonna be alright-so thanks for resurrecting my faith in humanity!

Arioch IV “...Sorkin clearly understands...” understood, in my humble opinion. I feel that with The Newsroom he abandoned that neutral ground which allowed him to show complexity instead of partisan demonization. Oh, and I would clearly consider myself a Democrat, since I’m European and the Democratic Party would sit very much on the right side of the political spectrum here.

Me too. I agree with you. Being a conservative person, I am a great fan of this show.

@@KryzMasta I think he realised the Republican party has lost touch with reality by the time of The Newsroom.

El Guapo - he may indeed be humble. Or he may indeed be smart enough to know to come across in interviews as humble. You can NEVER tell what someone is like from an interview...because you can never know whether they are pretending or being real.

@@McRocket i guess you’re right although I’ve never heard anything to the contrary. We was addicted to crack tho, so ............

@@MrMarkpark You are probably right. I have just learned a certain amount of cynicism with the arts/media. But, again...you sound like you know more than I do on this. So I stow my negativity and bow to your knowledge. 👍

I love the guy but when he said he liked the fact that mostly rich people or comfortable households watch the show was good (obviously I know for ratings and the money it made NBC) but he should’ve cleared it up with lower income households/people who watched it. Coming from a person from a low income household

@@michaelknabusch6011 im not rich. We were not rich. And i was turned onto it when it came out in ‘95 or ‘97 or whenever it was. I was early 20’s which im sure is not the target demographic. Or the group of people actually watching. What’s funny is every couple of years i binge watch the entire series. Ive been through it 3 times already. My wife makes fun of me because i can pretty much recite it. None of my friends like it and can’t understand why i do. I said you have to like intelligent, fast movie, wordy dialog. If not, you’ll hate it.

John Wells was interviewed and said Sorkin left because of an ongoing conflict with an actor Wells would not name. The studio and NBC took the actor's side. Later in the interview, we learn the actor also left (because the rest of the cast blamed the actor for Sorkin leaving). It's easy to deduce the actor was Rob Lowe.

It had to have been Rob Lowe. I remember seeing a magazine cover which said he accused Sorkin of spying on him, though admittedly this may have been a gossip rag. It's a shame either way, because on-screen they were so simpatico. Lowe was made to deliver Sorkin lines.

Rob Lowe left before Aaron Sorkin so I do not think your theory is correct.

On the West Wing Weekly Podcast he said he didn’t want Rob to leave and he even wrote Robs last episodes who he could change his mind and stayed

Very well, apparently.

It was genius and a lot of cocaine. Now it’s just genius.

I didn’t know about an arrest.

Aaron Sorkin is brilliant , in everything he does , makes a statement ( the Newsroom , The West Wing , whether right or wrong he makes you think , rare in television, everything he writes turns to gold , so intelligent , just love his writing A Few Good Men brilliant movie, story line was absolutely enthralling -anything he does I’m watching.

He got arrested for possessing Hallucinogenic Mushrooms. Not exactly a dangerous drug. The worst thing that can happen is you're really really happy for like 6 hours and you love everyone.

Trust me, Charlie Rose is like this with everyone he interviews. Constantly interrupts. Restates the guest's answers. Etc etc. Basically in love with the sound of his own voice. Too bad b/c back in the 80s he had been a competent interviewer.

The interuptions and weird ass fake smile within 2 min of starting put me off right away. This guy is a pro? Fuck that. Give me a job. I will do better for a fraction fo the pay.

Nah. Rose questioned Sorkin’s discipline level - rather rudely.

He also interrupts people when he shouldn't. Tavis Smiley is a lot better at this job.

Yeah, he could have done this one a lot better.

I was just thinking the same thing and I'm not even American 🤭😁

I think CBS fired him for wanting gals to bloviate him ...

Same. I absolutely hate his interview style.

Disagree. He’s asking (now proven) timeless questions.

Agreed. I couldn’t sit through it and I was kind of excited to check it out, at first.

Disagree. He’s asking (now proven) timeless questions.

There’s a judge mental tone to the questions. For example, Rose could’ve found a way to ask about the writing schedule without questioning Sorkin’s discipline so pointedly.

3 min in and i already in my head telling him to shut the fuck up and let sorkin talk. Also there is a cringeworthy fake ass smile/laugh within 2 mins that is obvious as his normal face returns in 2 miliseconds. This guy did a horrible job at asking questions. How fucking hard is it to ask questions? Not gonna watch the rest. Does not interest me anymore even though i like sorking and want to hear what he says. But i cant stand the person posing the questions.

The HBO thing actually fell apart on both ends. I guess HBO wanted to go in a different direction with the show so it was creative differences that ended that show; which really sucks because that show was excellent. Season Three only has six episodes. So once Sorkin realized he couldn't write the show how he wanted, he just decided to end it as quickly as possible. It's too bad.

3-4 year stints seem pretty long to me.

Always the black guy huh

No, because he (the character) fought tooth & nail for those he felt deserved his loyalty. He took on a kid that was grieving and helped poor people register to vote. His education gives him the perfect background to run for office, and I'm pretty sure he would push for statehood of the District of Columbia. Many people don't realize how important local office is to the outcome of our Democracy. I think it would be very fun to see the team help him get into that chair. :0)

@@dawntreader2420 out of all of the characters, you pick Charlie???? Charlie is like the person who is least ready to be president. You just picked him cause hes black smh

No I didn't, what I pointed out was that he was young, had little to no experience in the political world, but showed the most promise out of the tight knit group that ended the long running series. The previous Body Man isn't mentioned, the 3rd & final body man seemed to fill a role needed to show Bartlett's vulnerability. The story doesn't delve into his "credentials. We can gather through the hints and background presented by the series, that he COULD be the up & coming public figure (all be it on a smaller scale to start, but that's the point). He worked under the President, he worked as right hand to the Chief of Staff after receiving his degree. He, unlike any other assistant or deputy, that worked in the White House in this (fake) administration, showed the kind of drive & promise that people look for in a public servant. In my first fantastical speculation, I stated that a series starting on the ground floor of public office, would be both fun and educational. This was a direct speculation derived from a statement made by Bradley Whitford. He said that if there was ever to be a reboot, he'd love to show the journey from the floor up. If they were to talk about a reboot series that was to take place closer to the end of the original series, OR in the same vein as the original, I believe the better "candidate", as it were, would be CJ Craig or even Bartlett's' eldest daughter, as they would have been involved prior to when young Charlie could be taken seriously in a position of authority. You can keep claiming I'm racist, but you don't have any clue whom I love or who I claim loyalty to. You will continue to assert that my soul purpose in this thought experiment was because he is black. If I were to base my hopes on a black character taking on a fictional presidency, I would be better off picking someone like the Mayor of DC as he is a seasoned politician with the gumption to go toe to toe with the president to fight for what his constituents need. When Charlie is asked to weigh in on the subject of school vouchers, he presents an out of the box view point that sways the PRESIDENT into piloting a program to give said vouchers a chance. This means that his candidacy would have plenty of drama and unexpected plot twists to make such a series compelling. You are, good Sir, mistaken as to my motivations. Peace be with you this Holiday Season.

@@dawntreader2420 yeah im not reading that

I agree, Hollywood can't be objective anymore and The West Wing in 2023 would just be about hating Trump.

But Sorkin eliminated much of what was asked!

He said he was warned it was like watching another man screw his wife. Even if the new writers were better than him. Especially if they were.

He may have intended to watch, tried, and couldn’t do it.

What an odd conclusion to draw. Lowe doesn’t say this was the case. Sorkin doesn’t say this was the case. They both left. They worked together shortly after this and again within the past couple of years.

Mind reader?