20 Aaron Sorkin Quotes for Screenwriting INSPIRATION

Where do you start with Aaron Sorkin? His screenplays are the best way to get to know why he is so revered as a screenwriter. However, we’ve compiled some Aaron Sorkin quotes that provide insight into why he’s not just a popular screenwriter but a voice of wisdom for aspiring writers.

The man behind The West Wing, The Social Network and The Trial of the Chicago 7 is held up as one of the greatest screenwriters of all time. His quotes give an insight into his process but also into why he’s such a widely admired figure in the screenwriting world.

From Stage to Big Screen to Small Screen

Aaron Sorkin originally started in the industry as an actor before becoming a screenwriter. In the 1980’s he worked many different jobs (from chauffeuring to delivering singing telegrams) whilst trying to make it as an actor.

However, soon enough he realised that acting wasn’t his strong suit and found a new love in the typewriter. He began writing plays, one of which, Hidden in This Picture was performed off-off-Broadway. But it was his play, A Few Good Men, that started garnering him some serious attention.

The play had been having readings in New York when Jaws producer, David Brown, came across it and purchased the film rights for over six figures before it had even premiered on stage. The film was a huge success and launched Sorkin to screenwriting fame, grossing over $243 million at the box office worldwide.

It was A Few Good Men that led to Sorkin striking a deal with Castle Rock Entertainment. However, proving that the screenwriting journey isn’t always an easy upward trajectory, it would be a number of years before Sorkin completed his next screenplay, The American President.

Some script doctor work on films such as The Rock and Enemy of the State would follow but it would be The American President that provided the most obvious precedent to Sorkin’s biggest hit, The West Wing.

Sorkin originally pitched the idea for The West Wing from leftover ideas from The American President, garnered from his visits to the White House during research. After a year of pitching the idea, NBC eventually greenlit it and catapulted the series straight into the annals of television history, with its debut season winning nine Emmys.

Overall, Sorkin wrote 87 episodes of The West Wing in its first four seasons, before departing over conflicts with Warner Bros.