Aaron Sorkin

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q299194: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as writer. The films the hosts said they wrote, which the two lists below run through too: A Few Good Men (1992); Malice (1993); The American President (1995); The West Wing (1999); The Social Network (2010); Moneyball (2011); Steve Jobs (2015); Molly's Game (2017); The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020); Being the Ricardos (2021); F1 (2025); Charlie Wilson's War; Sports Night; Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (series); The Farnsworth Invention; The Newsroom. Count them as director (2 films) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Mark Zuckerberg: 2 lines

  1. lineage (verbatim source) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: Mark Zuckerberg ⇒ The Social Network (the maker said so). Sorkin says a larger share of the movie than people expect is lifted directly from depositions and emails; the speaker reports he has pointed this out.
    “But that's always a big thing he's pointed out is like a larger percentage of the movie that people, than people would expect is me just using direct transcripts verbatim.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:27:56 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (verbatim source) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: Mark Zuckerberg ⇒ The Social Network (the host's read). The Facebook-creation blog post is almost entirely verbatim in the movie.
    “It's almost entirely verbatim in the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:48:25 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Friday Night Lights (2004 film) (2004): 1 line

  1. industry (industry) · through Moneyball (2011), which they wrote: Friday Night Lights (2004 film) ⇒ Moneyball (the host's read). The film points toward the next wave of dramas that happen to be about sports.
    “And Friday Night Lights is moving us toward this kind of next iteration of whatever that was, and it's leading to stuff like money ball and win-win and like dramas that also happen to be about sports.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Friday Night Lights’ With Bill Simmons and Mallory Rubin · 0:16:15 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Kevin Spacey: 1 line

  1. unmapped (brought Fincher on) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: Kevin Spacey ⇒ The Social Network (the host's read). The hosts say Spacey optioned the book and got Fincher on board.
    “And was the one who got Fincher on board.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:06:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Martin Donnelly: 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through F1 (2025), which they wrote: Martin Donnelly ⇒ F1 (the host's read). The crash that ends Sonny's career was based on Donnelly's real crash, and he advised on the film.
    “The crash that ended, Sonny's career was based on the actual crash of Martin Donnelly in the 1990s Spanish Grand Prix.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:25:28 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Rocky IV (1985): 1 line

  1. theme (theme) · through F1 (2025), which they wrote: Rocky IV ⇒ F1 (the host's read). Sonny and Kate's beer scene cuts into an old-school versus new-school training montage like Rocky IV.
    “Right into the Rocky 4 training montage”
    The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:48:10 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Steven Spielberg: 1 line

  1. people (people) · through The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), which they wrote: Steven Spielberg ⇒ The Trial of the Chicago 7 (the host's read). Spielberg long wanted to make it and encouraged Sorkin to write the script.
    “Steven Spielberg had always wanted to make this movie.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:31:53 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

The Social Network (2010): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Steve Jobs (2015), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ Steve Jobs (the host's read). Steve Jobs is called a worthy sequel to The Social Network on big tech and innovation.
    “I think this is in many ways a worthy sequel to the social network”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:56:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

The Verdict (1982): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through A Few Good Men (1992), which they wrote: The Verdict ⇒ A Few Good Men (the host's read). You cannot have A Few Good Men without The Verdict; everything on the courtroom checklist comes from it.
    “you really, really cannot have a few good men without having the verdict”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:07:27 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): 2 lines

  1. theme (character template) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (the maker said so). Snyder's reported reasoning: the modern-day Lex Luthor would be Mark Zuckerberg.
    “yeah, the modern day Lex Luthor would be Mark Zuckerberg.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:44:07 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. people (casting led to) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (the host's read). Snyder offered Eisenberg Jimmy Olsen in BvS in the wake of The Social Network.
    “Zack Snyder offers, uh, Jimmy Olsen. to Jesse Eisenberg in the wake of this movie, for BVS.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:43:43 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

A Time to Kill (1996): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through A Few Good Men (1992), which they wrote: A Few Good Men ⇒ A Time to Kill (the host's read). A Time to Kill blends every earlier trope: country lawyer, big-shot prosecutor, cranky judge.
    “puts them in a blender and it gives you every single thing”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:28:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Friends with Benefits: 1 line

  1. people (casting led to) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ Friends with Benefits (the host's read). Pascal watched The Social Network early and committed to more Timberlake pictures.
    “It's like Pascal watches this movie early and it's like, you know what? 'm wrong. Justin Timberlake, we're all in.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:58:52 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

In Time: 1 line

  1. people (casting led to) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ In Time (the host's read). Pascal watched The Social Network early and committed to more Timberlake pictures.
    “It's like Pascal watches this movie early and it's like, you know what? 'm wrong. Justin Timberlake, we're all in.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:58:52 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Punishment Park: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), which they wrote: The Trial of the Chicago 7 ⇒ Punishment Park (the host's read). Punishment Park is recommended as a very loose take on this trial.
    “There's this great movie called Punishment Park that I would recommend to anybody that is very loosely based on this trial.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:31:32 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Steve Jobs (2015): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ Steve Jobs (the host's read). Steve Jobs is called a worthy sequel to The Social Network on big tech and innovation.
    “I think this is in many ways a worthy sequel to the social network”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:56:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

The Big Short (2015): 1 line

  1. lineage (ripped off) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ The Big Short (the host's read). David says The Big Short is the most obvious movie ripping off The Social Network, and that people do not make the connection enough.
    “I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network, even though people maybe don't make that connection enough.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:11:44 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): 1 line

  1. people (casting led to) · through The Social Network (2010), which they wrote: The Social Network ⇒ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the host's read). Pascal saw the dailies from The Social Network and picked Rooney Mara for Lisbeth Salander.
    “Pascal basically sees the dailies from this movie and is like, Rooney Morris, Elizabeth Salander.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:59:02 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

The West Wing (TV series): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The American President (1995), which they wrote: The American President ⇒ The West Wing (TV series) (the host's read). The film is a test case for the West Wing, sharing actors like Martin Sheen and ideals.
    “it is a lot of ways a test case for the West Wing”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:02:11 · Amanda Dobbins (0.80 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Writing (37) everyone in writing

Directing (4) everyone in directing

Other (1) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (3)

  1. career (career): Aaron Sorkin → Rob Reiner. Reiner directed Sorkin's debut A Few Good Men.
    “Rob Reiner's great.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:19:45 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): The Trial of the Chicago 7 → Aaron Sorkin. Chicago 7 is called the peak Sorkin movie, a marriage of his interests, setting and style.
    “this is the peak Aaron's working movie, and it is like a real marriage of interests and setting and style and career.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:38:00 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): The Trial of the Chicago 7 → Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin's Chicago 7 should be in this wheelhouse.
    “Trial of Chicago 7, which theoretically will be in this exact wheelhouse”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:29:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

contrast (2)

  1. contrast (contrast): Aaron Sorkin → Oliver Stone. Stone's dark skepticism contrasts with Sorkin's idealism, both committed to their missions.
    “He's an interesting counterweight, I think, to Oliver Stone”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:30:43 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast): David Fincher → Aaron Sorkin. Fincher's technical precision is set against Sorkin's play-it-fast-and-loose habits.
    “Fincher's technical precision, very difficult, uh, very different from Sorkin's hole, play fast and loose.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:46:37 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

craft (5)

  1. craft (craft): Aaron Sorkin → Charlie Wilson's War. Self-quotation: the 'I'm never sick at sea' line recurs across Malice and Charlie Wilson's War.
    “I'm never, ever sick at sea, shows up in malice, and then it shows up in Charlie Wilson's war”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:16:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft): Aaron Sorkin → Molly's Game. The father and daughter motif in Molly's Game with Kevin Costner is the best part though unneeded.
    “But it's kind of the best part of the movie.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:17:56 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft): Aaron Sorkin → David Fincher. Sorkin excels when meeting a dark-hearted collaborator such as Fincher.
    “I think that when he meets very darkhearted figures, either in the characters he's creating or in his counterparts creatively, like David Fincher, that's when he excels.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:22:22 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Aaron Sorkin → The Social Network. Since the West Wing he mostly adapts real events like Moneyball, Social Network and Steve Jobs.
    “Almost everything that he's done is based on real events.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:25:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  5. craft (craft): Moneyball → Aaron Sorkin. Pitt and Hill do Sorkin dialogue at a slow pace, not rat-a-tat.
    “they are not doing the Ratatat dialogue.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:49:40 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)

people (3)

  1. people (people): Malice → Aaron Sorkin. Malice has a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
    “Uh, 1993's malice with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 1:00:10 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. people (people): Aaron Sorkin → Being the Ricardos. Being the Ricardos is the movie that broke the curse on the Sorkin thing for the speaker.
    “For the movie that to me that like broke the curse on the Sorkin thing for me, where I was like, oh, it's curtains for this dude.”
    The Big Picture · The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’ · 1:45:15 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)
  3. people (people): A Few Good Men → Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin's difficult lines; Cruise commands them.
    “total command of the Sorkin lines”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:26:36 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70 sure it was them)

programming (2)

  1. programming (programming): Aaron Sorkin → The Trial of the Chicago 7. Next episode: Aaron Sorkin and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
    “examining one of our stars, one of our beloveds, a great and complicated Aaron Sorkin”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 2:09:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. programming (programming): A Few Good Men → Aaron Sorkin. A Few Good Men and The American President get folded into a Sorkin series, not a Reiner one.
    “Few good men in American president.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:06:13 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (2)

  1. theme (theme): Aaron Sorkin → Nancy Meyers. Neurotic, driven characters reflect their writer, as with Nancy Meyers.
    “the same way when we talked about Nancy Myers.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:11:50 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme): The American President → Aaron Sorkin. The film is Sorkin's broadest political work, and a training ground for the West Wing.
    “it's his broadest political work, which in some ways to me means that it's the best”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:05:18 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)

unmapped (2)

  1. unmapped (authorial signature): Aaron Sorkin → Moneyball. The nobility-of-work and dad-daughter material is attributed to Sorkin's rewrite.
    “the nobility of the work, which is so common in all of Sorkin's TV shows and movies, the idea of like just doing the thing in an honest and decent way.”
    The Big Picture · The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 14 - ‘Moneyball’ · 0:23:26 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (shared subject compared): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo → Aaron Sorkin. Lisbeth is cast as everything Fincher likes about Zuckerberg minus the things he hates.
    “I feel like Elizabeth is everything that Fincher likes about Zuckerberg minus the things he hates about him.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner (Ad-Free) · 2:30:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

verdict (2)

  1. verdict (verdict): The Social Network → Aaron Sorkin. The Social Network may be Sorkin's best script, with the opening breakup scene as the model.
    “The social network might be his best script, like period.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:16:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): The Trial of the Chicago 7 → Aaron Sorkin. Good and entertaining, worth watching, but politically small and the filmmaking not sharp enough.
    “It's a really good movie.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:44:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Aaron Sorkin: Griffin or David imagines Sorkin writing a movie about three vacations of Lucas and Spielberg at three different ages.
    “I believe Aaron Storken will one day write a movie about 3 vacations of Lucas and Spielberg at 3 different ages.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:51:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Aaron Sorkin: Gilbert and Sullivan references recur in every major speech, usually HMS Pinafore.
    “My guy just loves Gilbert and Sullivan and at every single major speech at some point someone will give Gilbert and Sullivan reference.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:13:44 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Aaron Sorkin: The 'I'm never, ever sick at sea' line turns up in Malice and again in Charlie Wilson's War; the references are like a drinking game.
    “I'm never, ever sick at sea, shows up in malice, and then it shows up in Charlie Wilson's war”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:16:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Aaron Sorkin: Lord of the walk and talk; the intercut is his newer trick for real events.
    “He's the lord of the walk and talk.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:38:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)