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:
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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3 comments:
Thanks, Scott.
M.
Great stuff. It's inspiring to hear the pros still have some of the same challenges as us up-and-comers.
@Trellick Tower: That's one reason I post these interviews - to make people aware that the challenges of writing are similar for professionals and pre-pro writers. That in and of itself shrinks the psychological distance between the aspiring writer and ones who do it for a living.
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