The awarded writer, who was born in Manhatten, New York City, was raised by a Jewish family in the suburbs of New York City. Naturally, Aaron was drawn to his high school drama and theatre club. Sorkin, at first, had decided to pursue acting after he had graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater. It didn’t take him long to find out that his true passion laid in writing. The writer, who was born on June 6, 1961, has also produced and directed movies; he has even had made cameos in movies. We have prepared a list of his movies and tv shows, which are ranked in increasing order. Now, let’s dive in.
15. The West Wing
The West Wing was a masterpiece of a political drama. Sorkin created the show alongside producer John Well with leftover ideas from The American President. John and Aaron wanted to throw light on the people in public services. It shows the passion of those who are willing to serve but also shows how there are people in the public service who do not dedicate a single cell to helping others. Sorkin was the main writer for four Emmy-winning seasons of the show, which means he wrote a total of 87 screenplays for the West Wing. What’s crazy is that when Josh and Aaron first pitched the idea to NBC, the network was hesitant and told them to wait because of the public sentiment towards the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. When other channels started showing an interest in The West Wing, NBC decided to give the show a go despite the fear that people may not take a series about The White House in good favor. The West Wing being the masterpiece that it was, came on our TV shows and got everyone hooked, won nine Primetime Emmy Awards just for its debut season. This made The West Wing a record holder for most Emmys won in a single season during that time. The four seasons written by Sorkin received Emmys and popularity; it is fair to say that the time with Sorkin was the prime of the show. The first four seasons were produced by Warner Bros. Television, and after the fourth season, Sorkin and executive producer Thomas Schlamme left the show due to conflict with Warner Bros. Television. Partnered with Sorkin’s amazing writing, the show had a wonderful cast during its premiere, which consisted of Rob Lowe, Moira Kelly, Dule Hill, Alisson Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen. Sorkin won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic drama at the 53rd Writers Guild of America Awards for an episode of The West Wing named ” In Excelsis Deo” along with Cleveland.
14. Enemy Of The State
Aaron Sorkin had limited involvement while writing the script of Enemy Of The State. The original screenplay was written by David Marconi; Sorkin had rewritten the script and had added some changes and was not credited the part. Enemy Of The State is a 1998 action thriller film starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. The film revolves around the story of a group of NSA, National Security Agents, who are planning to kill a congressman, but things don’t turn out as expected because the tape of the murder comes into the hands of an unsuspicious lawyer. Due to Aaron’s and David’s writing skills, this movie has been one of the classic movies directed by Tony Scott. Although Sorkin was not credited for writing, the changes that he has made to the storyline are unmissable and stick with the viewers. Fans of Sorkin’s work were easily able to identify Sorkin’s trademarks which are men that hold onto their principles no matter the circumstance, the speed dialogues, and fair politics. The movie premiered in November 1998 in the U.S; the movie gained positive reviews from the viewers for being ahead of its time.
13. Bulworth
Bulworth showcases magnificently how Sorkin does his best when he is at ease. Bulworth is an American political satire black comedy that was co-produced by and starred Warren Beatty. In the second half of the 1990s, Sorkin experimented a lot with satire comedy. Aaron Sorkin worked on Excess Baggage, a comedy movie about a girl who, in order to gain her father’s attention, stages her own kidnapping. Sorkin collaborated with Warren Beatty on numerous scripts, and one of these amazing collaborations was Bulworth in 1998. The movie has a bizarre rap scene that has its own fanbase. The cast includes the very beautiful and talented Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isiah Wahington. The story revolves around Jay Bulworth, who has hired an assassin for himself so that his family can benefit from his insurance policy and lead a comfortable life. His plans of getting himself killed are put in a corner when he falls in love with Halle Berry. The plot goes around Jay Bulworth escaping his own assassin that he hired by himself.
12. Studio 60 On A Sunset Strip
Studio 60 On A Sunset Strip is a comedy show about a sketch-comedy where nearly everyone from the cast has issues.The control room of this show is a mess; the executive produces a meltdown on air, and the only hope the show has is the magical writers Danny Tripp and Matt Albie. The show went on to air 22 episodes after its first release on September 18, 2006. The show won Broadcasting and Cable Pool- Best Overall New Program.
11. Sports Night
Aaron Sorkin had been the writer, executive producer, and also the creator of the tv series Sports Night. Sports Night is the name of a fictional night show. The TV shows serve as a reminder to all the viewers how tense the work environment is behind a good show. It focuses on human relationships and how they fall apart while also throwing light on the creative challenges faced while putting your art forward for the world to see. The cast of this prime-time comedy-drama includes Robert Guillame, Felicity Huffman, Peter Krause, Josh Charles, and Sabrina Llyod. The show brought Aaron Sorkin, a PGA Most Promising Producer in Television.
10. The American President
The movie, which was written by Aaron Sorkin, covers the genre of romance and comedy. The film goes around President Andrew Shephard and environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade. The two fall in love while the re-election of the US President. But as the two started dating Andrew’s opposition Senator Bob Rumson to attack the President’s character, which he couldn’t do in the previous election as his wife had died. The star-studded cast consists of Michael Douglas as Andrew Shephard, Anette Benning as Sydney Ellen Wade, Martin Sheen as A.J. MacInerney, Michael J.Fox as Lewis Rothschild, and Richard Dreyfuss as Senator Bob Rumson. The film had gone well at that time as in that time theatres were buzzing with romance films.
9. Malice
Aaron Sorkin had written the Thriller Film Malice. Malice is about a happy couple. The couple would like to have a baby. Tracy teaches art, and Andy’s a college dean. But after she had been operated on by a ‘know it doctor.
8. Charlie Wilson’s War
Aaron Sorkin had written the movie Charlie Wilson’s War. Charlie Wilson’s War is a biographical and comedy-drama film about two men helping in Operation Cyclone. The two men are U.S. Congressmen Charlie Wilson and CIA Operative Gust Avrakotos. Operation Cyclone is a program that organizes and supports the muhajideens in the Soviet-Afghan war. The movie is starred Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson, Amy Adams as Bonny Bach, Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos. Aaron was awarded Washington D.C Area Film Critics Association Award For Best Adapted Screenplay.
7. Steve Jobs
The movie is very obviously about the renowned businessman who we know as the genius creator of Apple, Steve Jobs. This is a biographical film written exclusively by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle. It covers fourteen years in the life of Apple Inc’s Moghul Steve Jobs through interviews conducted by Aaron Sorkin. This movie takes a bit of a less dramatic approach than Aaron’s very own The Social Network, and the credit of this goes completely to David Fincher’s direction. Steve Jobs is played by Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet as Joana Hoffman, and the rest of the cast is played by talented actors like Seth Rogen, Katherine Waterson, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jeff Daniels. Aaron Sorkin deservedly won the Golden Globe Award For Best Screenplay at the 73rd Golden Globes.
6. A Few Good Men
Aaron Sorkin had written the play version of A Few Good Men before it had been set to be filmed. The movie was directed by Rob Reiner and David Brown, and Andrew Scheinman. The legal drama film shows the story of a murder that takes place, and two U.S. Marine officers are charged with murder, and the movies show they’re lawyers prepping to defend their clients. The cast has Tom Cruise as Lt. Danil Kaffee, Jack Nicholson as Co. Nathan R.Jessep, Demi Moore as Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway, Kevin Bacon as Capt. Jack Ross and more. Aaron Sirkon has been awarded Outer Critics Circle Award for John Gassner Playwriting Award.
5. The Newsroom
Aaron Sorkin was the writer, executive produce, and also creator of the America TV series. The TV series had started to premiere on HBO ON June 24, 2012, and had stopped airing on December 14, 2014. It had three episodes, each season had twenty-five episodes, and each episode ran for fifty-two to seventy-three minutes. It goes behind the scenes with the events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel. The anchor, together with McAvoy with the staff, sets out to air a splendid news channel. The cast includes Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy, Emily Mortimer as McKenzie McHale, John Gallahger Jr. as Jim Harper, Allison Pill as Maggie Jordon, Thomas Sadoski as Don Keefer, Dev Patel as Neal Sampat, Olivia Mun as Sloan Sabbith, Sam Waterson as Charlie Skinner.
4. Molly’s Game
Aaron Sorkin had debuted as a director with this movie; he had written the screenplay of the movie too. The movies’ center is Molly Bloom, who is an Olympic Class Skier. She becomes the target of the FBI after her underground poker game, which was for Hollywood celebrities, athletes, business tycoons, and the Russian mob, all of this gets exposed. The cast consists of Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, Idris Elba as Charlie Jaffey, Kavin Costner as Lary Bloom, Michael Cera as Player X, Jeremy Strong as Dean Keith, Chris O’Dowd as Douglas Downey, J.C. McKenzie as Harrison Wellstone, Brian D’Arcy James as Brad, Bill Camp as Harlan Eustice.
3. Moneyball
Moneyball was written by Aaron Sorkin along with Steven Zaillian. It revolves around the book written by Michael Lewis’ 2003 nonfiction that goes by the same name ‘Moneyball.’ The book has an account of the Oakland’s Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and the general manager’s Billy Beane’s attempts to make a great attempt. Billy Beane and Peter Brand, the assistant general manager, face a limited budget for the players. The general manager acquired took to computer-generated analysis to form the team. The cast is full of awesome actors like Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, Jonah Hills as Peter Brands, Phillip Seymour Hayman as Art Howe, Robin Wright as Sharon Beane, Chriss Pratt as Scott Hatteberg, Stephan Bishop as David Justice, Reed Diamond as Mark Shapiro and Brent Jennings as Ron Washington. For this movie, Aaron Sorkin was awarded Golden Globe Awards For The Best Screenplay, Critics’ Choice Award For Best Adapted Screenplay, New York Critics Circle For The Best Screenplay.
2. The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin had written the screenplay of the Oscars-nominated movie. The movie was adapted from Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book ‘The Accidental Billionaires.’ The movies portray the founding of the buzzing social networking website Facebook. The story revolves around a Harvard student which we know as now the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg. But how did he create Facebook? In the movie, Mark is accused and sued by the twins for copying the idea and by the co-founder, who was later taken out of the business. The cast is full of amazing actors such as Jesse Eisenburg as Mark Zuckerburg, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer as Cameron, and Tyler Winklevoss, and Max Minghella as Divya Narendra. For the movie, Aaron Sorkin was awarded Academy Award For The Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), The Golden Globe Awards For The Best Screenplay, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Writers Guild Of America Award For Best Adapted Screenplay, BAFTA Awards For The Best Adapted Screenplay, National Society Of Film Critics Award For The Best Screenplay.
1. The Trail Of The Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin worked as the writer and the director of the film. At first, he wanted Steven Spielberg to direct the film to which Steven Spielberg had agreed to, but later on, he dropped the movie due to budget concerns that had led Steven Spielberg to drop out of the movie. The film revolves around the Chicago 7, seven men who are accused of various charges during protesting and were accused with the intention of inciting riots. This is set at the time of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers, who was not even involved in the incident, was arrested and was unfairly trailed. The protesters could be heard saying ‘The Whole World Is Watching,’ which makes the Chicago seven unite and protest together. The reason for its popularity could be the portrayal of the protest that we can relate to as the protests that go on in the present day. The talented cast has Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman, Joseph Gordon- Levitt as Richard Schultz, Michael Keaton as Ramsey Clark, Frank Langella as Judge Julius Hoffman, John Caroll Lynch as David Dellinger, Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, Mark Rylance as William Kunstler, Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin, and Ben Shenkman as Leonard Weinglass. For this movie, Aaron Sorkin has been awarded the prestigious Golden Globe Award For The Best Screenplay- Motion Picture and AACTA international Award For The Best Screenplay.
