Wow. That was great. Sorkin does his bit to save the environment.
Oh my goodness! I haven’t ever watched any of those shows or movies, but it was still amazing.
What’s more amazing is that whoever edited it went through ALL of that stuff to find all of those things.
And you know it.
You could do this with any writer. He’s not original because he’s copying himself? Hmmm….
Sorkin, like Mamet, is an acquired taste. Either you dig his dialogue or you don’t.
not a fan of Sorkin whatsoever but i see the appeal. i agree with santino, continually perfecting one thing by “copying” it is an extremely common technique used by ANY artist, especially writers.
i will say i don’t find any of his stuff to be overly original in the first place and he is pretty over-hyped but that’s one man’s opinion
I think Sorkin is at his best when he’s not trying to say anything. When his characters are talking about whatever, and the relationships themselves take center stage, I’m happy. But once someone has to talk about politics or America or anything like that, I’m taken completely out of the movie. Or maybe that only applies to The Newsroom.
One reason The West Wing works better than other Sorkin series, is that in that one particular case, its credible for people to talk like that. One could imagine that working in the heightened environment of the White House, snarky political speechifying would occur and it’s not much of stretch to think the the President might do so with even more gusto than others. Not sure this would be the case in cable news or a late night comedy show.
Here’s the thing, Santino. When characters are walking around in the White House, it makes sense for them to be talking a mile a minute and conjuring up any obscure statistic that’s ever been taken.
…When characters are on the set of a sketch comedy show, not so much.
Kind of like how singing Michael Jackson lyrics badly is completely appropriate on a karaoke stage or in your shower, but not appropriate at all on the subway. Sorkin’s style works really well when it applies but he can’t tell the difference between when it applies and when it doesn’t.
“One reason The West Wing works better than other Sorkin series, is that in that one particular case, its credible for people to talk like that.”
I’ve heard a lot of people say this and while I’ve never seen The West Wing, I understand what you mean but think it also would apply to a setting like what is depicted in The Newsroom. You think people in politics are more witty than journalists? I’ve never worked in a newsroom but it seems to make logical sense that they would talk fast and work quick given the nature of 24-hour news.
In both cases here, it’s not so much whether it’s realistic that people behave this way in the White House or a newsroom but rather that it seems like it could be realistic. And I think in both cases it does.
I don’t watch many TV shows outside of Curb Your Enthusiasm but I’m hooked on The Newsroom. Fun stuff.
And why does everybody in Sorkinland seem to possess oratorical skills that would make Demosthenes green with envy?
Cooler Brother, you’re right. How about that line in The Social Network where Rashida Jones says “creation myths need a devil”? PEOPLE DON’T TALK LIKE THAT!1
“PEOPLE DON’T TALK LIKE THAT!”
(whispers) uhhhh, it’s a movie.
Just so people know, the guy who made this video loves Sorkin. So it wasn’t made to show that Sorkin is a shitty writer or anything like that (though you can certainly take away that message if you’d like); it was made by a big fan of his work.
Indeed. People don’t go round from morning til night, going: “A great man once said…” The wittiest things I ever said I was half-pissed and can’t remember any of them.
how many here enjoy The Newsroom? i really don’t. the whole thing is extremely self-indulgent, and the news staff claims to be unbiased, yet they continually criticize the political right, never criticizing the left, but Daniels’ character claims to be a “Republican” so that’s how they get away with basically being MSNBC?
i am not a Sorkin fan at all but i was actually looking forward to this series, extremely underwhelming.
I love The Newsroom.
LOVE IT!
(and I normally hate television)
i think the characters are extremely well developed, and the acting is top-notch from all the players, but other than that it hasn’t hooked me, maybe i’ll give all the episodes a second viewing though.
This segment’s making the rounds through my friends’ feeds like wildfire:
—PolarisDiB
I never rated him that highly anyway, so carefactor=zero to me. hehe.
So, unless the following scene from that clip is Jeff Daniels getting fired, this show takes place on Mars.
That video seems pretty sappy to me. (Although I am not American and I do not care for Aaron Sorkin, so maybe I’m just biased…) Is all of The Newsroom like that?
Edit: the first episode is on HBO’s YouTube channel. Guess I’ll have a watch and answer that question myself :D
Yes, the show continues to be as heavy-handed and sappy as that clip, sometimes moreso. The fourth episode had a sappy montage set to Coldplay’s “Fix You”. It’s a terrible show, one of the worst HBO’s produced.
Over hyped to max.
That clip above is really bad. For the whole politician goes way off-script thing, Bulworth is much better (and more amusing). But I’m sure the Huffington Post readers-types will lap it up and pat themselves on the back for being so discerning and intelligent. And I can just picture Sorkin the risk-taker on The Charlie Rose Show discussing his brave, edgy new show. Mainstream media is useless when it comes to politics.
Billy The Poet
No offense to Aaron Sorkin. I really appreciate his movies and also enjoy reading dialogues from his scripts. But, apparently the guy might not be as original as we all thought. Interesting that the evidence was always right in front of our faces.
Here’s the hilarious montage by Kevin Porter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78RzZr3IwI