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Few people in Hollywood actually like Aaron Sorkin, least of all his fellow Writer’s Guild scribes who recently learned about his attempts to undermine the guild’s solidarity behind the writers strike. But NBC political anchors really really like him. Last night, NBC’s Brian Williams and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann had an on-air bromance over, of all things, Aaron Sorkin’s writing. Both men, twice on the telecast, compared Barack Obama’s Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to a scene in Sorkin’s pic The American President where President Andrew Shepherd rails against his political opponent. (See YouTube below…) Here’s the thing: film reviewers found the weakest part of that Sorkin movie was its naive view of politics. As the Los Angeles Times‘ movie critic Kenny Turan wrote, the pic is filled with ”fantasies [and] pipe dreams about the American political system and where it could theoretically be headed”. I don’t know which is more humiliating for Williams and Olbermann: that they couldn’t compare Obama’s speech to something real, like nomination acceptance speeches from the past … or they tried to praise Obama’s speech and wound up unwittingly dissing it… or that they think Aaron Sorkin is so quotable.
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I agree with Brad’s comment. Aaron Sorkin is one of the best writers in the business and that his writing was praised by two hardened news anchors in this context hardly justifies this particularly snarky post. I don’t know what this columnist has against him. What’s wrong with being idealistic about politicians anyway (especially this one)?
Or maybe it’s because Sorkin’s really fucking talented. That might be it, people. Could be…
So let me get this straight…
You use a movie review to criticize political commentary that uses a pop culture reference as a crutch?
Hmm… Just checking.
Despite the rhetoric of guild members, the WGA strike was a disaster, gained little for it’s members and hurt a lot of people in this town. At least someone had the guts to admit mistakes were made.
On the other hand, I’d rather watch Charlie Sheen as a TV president than Sorkin’s self-righteous, Martin Sheen saga. More cigars and dress stains…
I miss guys like David Brinkley reporting from conventions that produced actual news.
i like your blog and visit often. you seem to have good sources and have broken your share of stories. that being said, i disagree in the biggest way possible. aaron sorkin is a brilliant writer. his dialogue is utterly memorable. i don’t know how he is viewed by his fellow writers but i’d be willing to bet that many of them are awed by his skills. the anchors were simply trying to relate the feel of the speech and the atmosphere in the stadium to the viewers in a way that they may understand. they did their jobs. your article comes off kind of bitter too.
It would be kinda funny if Sorkin actually wrote Obama’s speech… Coincidence?
MSNBC’s ratings are not tanking. It’s actually the reverse. The network is doing well. And coincidentally it’s because it does lean more toward the left. Which isn’t bad when FOX leans to the right and CNN leans wherever they can in their pathetic attempts to get ratings. MSNBC found an underserved audience and ran with it.
And Sorkin is a talented man. Don’t hate on the dude. He may be an asshole in real life but he’s still a good writer.
WOW.
that really is retar- lame. wow. aaron, i can confirm as many can is a total D bag. great writer thought. LOL.
So Obama’s speech was ‘second rate’, and ‘couldn’t stand stronger criticism.’
How sad that what was probably the best political speech in America in over a decade gets that kind of reaction.
But let us put the Olbermann and Matthews comments in perspective. They were discussing the structure of the speech, its use of rhetoric, its political positioning, and its rhythms. Whether you like Sorkin’s actions during the WGA strike, or his idealized view of politics you have to recognize that he does use those things pretty well in his ‘speeches’.
Matthews also compared sections of it to Reagan’s speeches which pigeonholed Jimmy Carter in people’s minds and how hard hitting that was when he was writing for Carter. So they weren’t limited to fictional comparisons.
Meanwhile Fox is trying to spin Palin’s foreign policy experience because Alaska is next to Russia. I’m surprised they missed that it borders Canada.
Former drug addict?
Sadly, Aaron Sorkin’s career arc shows every sign of the active disease of addiction — which, in the DSM-IV is described as a mental illness involving obsession and compulsive behavior(s) in line with the addict’s proclivities.
Early genius, followed by multiple brushes with the law, and a later output that somehow gets worse over time, instead of better, as you’d expect of someone so masterful…
“on-air bromance” – omg. I’m suing you for damages caused by my fall from this chair
Sorkin is a great writer, period. YOU may like him or not, which is irrelevant, but he has a body of work to kill for and consistently turns out great stuff. The american president, and much of the west wing, were fairy tales, and Sorkin has admitted as much. That doen’t make them great pieces of writing. The animosity behind you comments seems based purely on a personal dislike of the man. For a journalist who supposedly tries to see behind the facade of things, that is quite a poor sign.
Sorkin is an undeniably brilliant writer. he raised the general IQ of the tv world.
don’t know if the guy is an asshole or not (i don’t know him personally) but i’d like to see anyone here, anyone anywhere, out-write this guy. seriously. that should be a goal.
If all writers were this good the strike would have had a fighting chance. we’re not.
Calling Keith Olbermann a “news anchor” is like calling Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity “news anchors”. These guys are hatchet men at best, attack dogs at worst. They’re not journalists. They’re paid to foam at the mouth, that’s it. Assigning any sort of credibility to them is both irresponsible and dangerous.
Aaron is a talented man who has been nothing but honest annd sweet to me personally. I believe the loss of his style of writing on the small screen is what’s wrong with TV today.
Sorkin is a liberal junkie douchebag whose West Wing and American President were nothing more than liberal political porn. Is it any wonder why OBAMA HQMSNBC has fans in Sorkin? Sorkin wrote a show in which Martin Sheen pretended to be a brave, intelligent, strong Democrat president, and Keith Olbermann hosts a show in which he pretends to be a serious journalist.
Only extreme right-wing Republicans, who espouse a political philosophy that is solely based on hatred of anyone who is not exactly like them, would have souls so dead that they could fail to be appreciate the brilliance of both Sorkin’s writing and Obama’s speech. Whether or not you agree with their politics, how can you be so unaware and unevolved as to not appreciate the poetry in their words? There used to be a time when that was referred to as rhetoric, before that word acquired the very negative connotations it has today. Back then, it used to mean the art of delivering an effective and powerful speech, using all the devices that are available to anyone who knows how to use them. Sorkin is a master of it, as is Obama. And, by the way, so was Reagan. But since he had an “R” after his name I guess it was only brilliant when he did it, and Sorkin and Obama are just hacks. Right! What hypocrisy. No wonder this country is in the sad state it’s in now.
The WGA made the biggest mistake in labor history. Not representing its members. Variety Quoted Verron when he said we are going to wreak havoc in the entertainment industry. That’s no a reason for going out on strike. That explanation was not good for the WGA or for any of the entertainment unions. Part of the problem the WGA didn’t discuss there actions with there sister Unions. No other entertainment Union backed the WGA in there action The IA went out of there way to say The WGA went out for all the wrong reasons. Thomas Short posted a letter he wrote condemning the actions of the writers.
Aaron Sorkin is a league ahead in pay and ability of most members of the WGA. Needless to say he isn’t dependant on Scale writing for the Peoples Court or Judge Judy. Sorkins ability to speak emotion into his characters threw words is what made the West Wing so popular. Between 4th and 5th the season all the emotion and feelings left the show like turning off a light it was so obvious. Work dialog for a scene up to a point and then 10 seconds of silence leaving the audience to determine emotions. Sorkin Characters showed their emotion threw his words. If there wasn’t dialog The viewer was sharing the emotion not wondering what emotion it was. Sorkin writes emotion and feeling in a way it is almost real.
This is the confusion between Obama and Sorkin. But after listening to President Bush and John Mc Same its just nice to hear some put 6 word together to make a coherent sentence.
Unions are strong when they have qualified people to represent them. Next time see if Aaron Sorkin will write WGA West coast press releases and get your message to the people.
Go to the table with the support of your brothers and sisters. Careful what you say least you have to sit at the kiddy table. Clean up when your done so the DGA doesn’t have to clean up after you.
Sadly marty, you can not put a coherant sentence together.
Last week at the DNC convention there awas a personality clash. It was between Keith Oberman,who was left ESPN becouse of a spat with Suzy Kober; Chris Matthews and Joe Scarbourgh. What a personality clash like this reveals about MSNBC that thre are severe divisions. The public spat was enough to cause to President of MSNBC to deny that there are personality clashes going on. Anyway Oberman and Matthews can’t emulate any of Sorkin’s West Wing charactors. Just can’t. Yesterday Chris Matthews was quite subdued at the RNC Convention. But what’s going at MSNBC is worthy of a news story upon itself.
Alan Sorkin is the one eyed king in a blind and dumb Hollywood, that guy is quotable! That guy is relevant!
Past Unrealistic things:
1. space flight
2. Moon landing
3. splitting the atom
4. Curing polio
5. almost all medical science of the 20th century
6. using a flying machine instead of taking 30 day by boat to Europe.
I never listen to the idiots who say it’s “unrealistic”, I now have a new reply “yes we can”.
Someone said MSNBC is getting creamed by Bill O’Reilly, actually, that’s not true.
Last sweeps report Bill O’Reilly’s numbers dropped 32% and Olbermann’s numbers rose, they are only a few thousand viewers apart and of recent times Olbermann has been creaming O’Reilly.
Just to get the facts right.
Seth you got your facts wrong. MSNBC is ranked 27 in the neilson ratings. Already rumors are flying that Matthews and oberman may be leaving MSNBC. CNN is beating MSNBC.
I challenge you present your facts on ratings. Neilsons don’t lie. And for bashing Gov Palin Andrea Mitchell said on Morning Joe she got dissed off over the fact over her treatment of Gov Palin. A backlash has started.
Back up your facts.