Archived Q&A with Aaron Sorkin

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  HBO

  Welcome to 5 questions with Aaron Sorkin.  So many great questions were submitted, so this week he'll be answering 2 extra questions.

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thanks to everyone who submitted questions.

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  HBO

  That wraps it up for today’s installment of “5 Questions with Aaron Sorkin.”  Join Aaron next Monday for another round of Q&A.

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thank you.

• Q

  

  _John_Myers_

  What are the parallels of yourself and Will McAvoy? How much of you is put into your character(s)?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thanks for the question. I'd say on paper Will and I don't have much in common at all. I grew up an east coast kid with a very stable family life, Will grew up in, "...a town outside a town outside Lincoln, Nebraska" and much of what goes on inside of him is informed by an alcoholic and violently abusive father. It fell to Will to protect his mother and his siblings from his father. That's far from my experience. I'm also happy to say that I've never experienced infidelity (on either side of it) and infidelity ia taken seriously on this show. But when you're writing a character, whether it's Colonel Jessep or Mark Zuckerberg or Will McAvoy, you can't stand outside the character and judge them. You have to find the parts of the character that, at least metaphorically, are like you. So I can relate to Will, and hopefully I can get other people to relate to him too.

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  Afliktor

  Do you feel a little like Will McAvoy having to defend yourself to the press at the TCA? And can I give you a hug? You deserve a hug.

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Who couldn't use a hug? The truth is that the TCA has been very supportive of my shows over the last 12 years or so. There were times when I thought they were the only ones watching Sports Night. I didn't think it was right to deny the press access to the show just because some of the critics had reviewed it negatively. And along with the other producers, the cast, the crew and HBO, I'm incredibly proud of The Newsroom and I don't mind talking about it at all. Thanks for the sweet offer.

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  rebekkahrubin

  When will we see a Gilbert and Sullivan reference on the Newsroom?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  It's got to be only a matter of time, right?

• Q

  

  mjcpacker

  You keep referencing real events and building stories around them. What are you going to do when you've caught up?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  No need to fear, we'll never catch up. Thanks for the question.

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  Ariana Patterson

  Why do you continue to invest so much in the Jim & Maggie story line? It's inappropriate, histrionic, and for me ruins the show!

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Oh man, I'm sorry, Ariana. I love romantic comedy and I'm invested in the Jim/Maggie/Don/Lisa and Will/Mac stories. Maybe they'll grow on you. Thanks for watching.

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  alohafox13

  Why did you decide to start the series at the timeline you did?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thanks for the question. When I first started thinking about the show, the thing I kept tripping on was that I didn't want to make up fake news. (The shows are written and shot about nine months ahead of their air dates.) I'd been spending some time in newsrooms, hoping to get an idea for something, and in May, 2010, I was at MSNBC, standing by a wall off to the side of their newsroom when I decided there was no way to do the show. I couldn't beat the problem of fake news. I was going to call my agent that night and tell him that the idea I thought I had for a new series wasn't going to work. And while I was thinking all this I was staring at the "spill cam" (remember that?--It was an underwater camera that showed the oil spilling out of Deepwater Horizon 24 hours a day.) And that's when I realized that the show didn't have to take place in the present. That we'd be going along in the first episode (I still didn't know what it was going to be about) thinking this is a normal show that's taking place today when all of a sudden we'd hear the "Beep Beep" of a news alert and we'd learn that an oil rig exploded in the Gulf and a legend would come on the screen saying, "April 20, 2010" and we'd realize that everything we'd been watching happened two years ago. It didn't just solve the fake news problem but now there was the fun of the audience knowing more than the characters do. Thanks again.

• Q

  

  HBO

  Welcome to the second installment of 5 questions with Aaron Sorkin. Welcome Aaron!

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thanks for submitting your questions.

• Q

  

  HBO

  That wraps it up for today’s installment of “5 Questions with Aaron Sorkin.”  Join Aaron next Monday for another round of Q&A.

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  I really appreciate everyone writing in and I wish I could get to all your questions--which are terrific. Speaking for the cast, crew, staff and producers of The Newsroom, we're incredibly grateful for your continued support.

• Q

  

  jakedtyler

  Who's idea was it to use the great Jonathon Edwards song "Sunshine" on last night's episode?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Ordinarily, for source music (as opposed to original score) I'd get the help of people with better taste in music than I have--the writing staff, our music supervisor, my 11-year old daughter, pretty much everyone--but in this particular case I called for the Edwards song in the script. The problem was that both Jeff and John are really good guitar players and singers (John won the Tony for "Spring Awakening" and was nominated for another for "American Idiot", the Green Day musical). We wanted them to sound good but not THAT good. So after each take I'd say, "Good--Can you make it a little less good?" It didn't work--they were good. Maybe we'll put the whole song as an extra on the DVD 'cause they rocked it. Thanks for the question.

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  scottkier

  You like to bring back lines, themes & names from your past work. Newsroom has been rife with them. Do you see this as part of your "brand"?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Scott, Thanks for the question. I'm not sure I think of myself as having a brand (other than Kellogg's, which continues to make the best breakfast cereal money can buy) but I recognize that I have a limited imagination and vocabulary. You can generally recognize two songs by the same songwriter, two paintings by the same painter, etc. Thanks again and keep watching.

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  Elissa Oransky

  Is it your hope that the popularity of the show may influence the actual media to report news?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Elissa, Our hope for the show doesn't extend any further than entertaining you for the hour we've asked for your attention. The Newsroom is largely about ideas so it's easy to see how someone could get the impression that I'm asking you to embrace them, but it's more about being entertained by them. Thanks for the great question.

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  MP Nunan

  Aaron - taking on News of the World. Just curious: have you ever been hacked by a tabloid electronically? (That you know of, anyway?)

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  MP, Good to hear from you again. As a matter of fact I have been hacked, though, to my knowledge, not by an institution. I don't think they'd find anything of particular interest. I hope you've been well.

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  Bryce Girardi

  Mr. Sorkin, as the show proceeds, how do you intend to navigate the close relation in the timeline on the show to real time?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Bryce, Thanks for the question. The show will never be in danger of catching up to real time. The episodes are written and shot 6-9 months before they air so even if I wrote an episode today that took place today, by the time it aired it would be set in the past. Thanks again!

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  ilene_angel

  Will the final episode of the first season be called "What kind of day has it been?" If so, what made you choose that for all your shows?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  "What kind of day has it been?" is a sort of literary shorthand for "What can be said about events up until now?" I've used it as a kind of good luck charm at the end of the first seasons of Sports Night and The West Wing and at the end of the only season of Studio 60. I'll be tempting fate a week from Sunday, though, as the season finale for The Newsroom is titled, "The Greater Fool". Thanks for your question.

• Q

  

  HBO

  Welcome to the third installment of 5 questions with Aaron Sorkin. Welcome Aaron!

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thanks for submitting your questions.

• Q

  

  danafriedman64

  Do you see any similarities between the Maggie/Jim dynamic and the one between Josh and Donna (West Wing)?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Dana, That's an interesting question. I can only speak to the first four seasons of The West Wing (after which I left the show in the more-than-capable hands of John Wells). For me, the Josh/Donna relationship on TWW had more of a big brother/little sister dynamic to it than the romantically charged relationship that Jim and Maggie have but that's something you get to decide for yourself. Thanks again for the question.

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  Susan Alexander

  Music seems to play a very important role in your work. Do you choose the music yourself and do you have it in mind when you're writing?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Susan, Thanks for the question. Music does play an important role, both while I'm writing and in the finished product. Sometimes I'll indicate a specific recording of a specific piece of music in the script and sometimes I go to our music supervisor, Eveyn Klean, and ask him to put together some suggestions. Thanks again for the question.

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  cooby1951

  I don't have a question to ask you I have a statement..............BEST SHOW EVER and bravo to you. This is beyond brilliant!

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Cooby1951, Speaking for the cast, crew, staff, producers and HBO...Thank You!

• Q

  

  Roberta Hamelin

  Am troubled by Mackensie's character. Didn't she spend a lot of time covering a war zone? Why then,does she lose it so often and so shrilly?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Roberta, Thanks for the question. Mac never loses it when it's about work, just when it's about Will. In the pilot she steps in at the last minute to cover the breaking DH explosion; Ep. 2, the show goes bad but Mac keeps her cool and reads Will the riot act--"Are you in or are you out?"; Ep. 3 she handles Election Night coverage and has to tell others to keep their cool; Ep. 4, she covers the Gabby Giffords shooting and doesn't cave to Reese's pressure to announce Giffords is dead; Ep. 5 she handles Arab Spring coverage with expertise, telling Don, "I'm not putting an American journalist on the street--trust me, I'm an American journalist".; Ep. 6 it's Will who loses his cool with the Santorum aide; Episode 7 she covers the Bin Laden death without breaking a sweat, even though her anchor is high as a kite; Episodes 8 and 9, she navigates the very difficult professional and personal obstacles put in front of her. I'm not seeing her lose it as often as you are but that's what makes the world go 'round. Thanks again for the question.

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  Kelly Bowes

  On your other series, particularly S60 and TWW, you often used the cut from the intro teaser/opening credits as a device to deliver a particularly dramatic (or comedic) point. Is it difficult to be writing a show that has no cold open? Or rather, is the process very different for you?

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  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Kelly, Thanks for the question. Actually, on The Newsroom, I've left us the option of using a cold open before going to the Main Titles. We did it in the pilot and never did it again but that was just an episode-to-episode creative choice. We might see more cold opens in the second season. Thanks again.

• Q

  

  HBO

  That wraps it up for today’s installment of “5 Questions with Aaron Sorkin.”  Join Aaron next Monday for another round of Q&A.

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  A

  

  Aaron Sorkin says:

  Thank you.