Aaron Sorkin Tribute event with Aaron Sorkin in conversation with Rob Lowe. Presented by the American Cinematheque on Friday, March 5, 2021 at 6:00 PM PT.
West Wing is as good as American television gets. I can watch it over and over and am continually amazed and entertained. Thank you Mr. Sorkin and I would love to see a new series with Rob Lowe as president. One can always dream, right?
I really want a new West Wing where Sam Seaborn runs for President. It has been set up already by Bartlett in the original show. Plus, Sorkin just said he can't wait to work with Rob Lowe again :)
Ironic when Lowe himself left at the end of the same season Aaron stopping writing for it. Sounds like from what I've heard more recently is that Sorkin needed a break anyway. Shame he didn't come back for the last season to polish things off.
Not at all. I’m simplifying a little, but it was mainly about a fight between Warner Brothers (primarily, and NBC to an extent) and Aaron. The studio (the deficit financer-the amount the studio receives from the network in licensing is less it costs to make the episodes) had been kept at bay, because Tommy Schlamme and John Wells had basically said, “if you let us spend the money, the better the show will be, and the more money you’ll make down the line.” Then the time came for the studio to make a new deal with NBC, wherein the studio would recoup its money (NBC had to pay back the loss WB had been taking, which was about $1.5mil per episode) plus make a profit. So the studio knew exactly how much they would make, since they had a deal in place with the network. But by this point, the ratings had already reached their peak and were starting to decline, largely as a result of competition for younger viewers, mainly from reality shows. The deal was for two additional seasons beyond season four, and it was unlikely that the ratings would shoot up again and allow the studio to make an even better deal. The problem was that the way Aaron worked, writing all the episodes himself, handing in scripts late, causing production overruns, etc., meant that the studio’s profits would be eaten into. So after some back-and-forth, they eventually presented Aaron with an ultimatum: either do the show they way we tell you to, or we’re simply not going to work with you anymore. (One famous quote from the studio was: “you don’t have the guy who built the first car go and build all the other cars,” which is so tone-deaf when you’re talking about art). In hindsight, WB has expressed some remorse for how they handled things, but it was what it was. Rob’s beef was with the studio, too, because he wanted to get paid more (that’s a long story in and of itself). I _think_ maybe some of his unhappiness about his contractual situation bled into his relationships with some of the other cast members, or at least his relationship with Aaron (temporarily), but it clearly got fixed quickly. And Rob did have a tendency to sometimes get a little irked when he felt he was being sidelined in an episode (this happened in “Noel,” for example). Early in season 3, a ticked-off Aaron kinda relegated Sam to minor storylines, but starting with “100,000 Airplanes,” he’s back in a big way, and the final scene between Sam and Pres. Bartlet in “Hartsfield’s Landing” really feels like a reconciliation, in which Aaron’s really saying he’s proud of Rob. Sometimes we go through tough times even with people we love the most, maybe even more intensely so, but they got through it, and that’s the important thing.
@@IdliAmin_TheLastKingofSambar wow thank you so much I really appreciate that that's awesome that you responded in such a detailed way! I just read a quote that he was the problem but I could totally see them getting iin an argument you know they're they're probably both coked up and working long hours up all night and all day changing the script and you know got an argument but the spin was that I heard was that it was you know Rob who seems like a nice dude you was like yeah Aaron I could do the show without you or something like that that's what I saw on Reddit. Lol
@@Jchasser That’s really nice of you to say, thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d even _see_ my reply, since your original comment was from over a year ago, but I’m glad that you did. And it means a lot that you’d reply to a complete stranger so quickly with your kind words. Thank you again. 🙏🏽
Wonderful conversation! Thank you Mr. Sorkin and Mr. Lowe, and American Cinematheque.
West Wing is as good as American television gets. I can watch it over and over and am continually amazed and entertained. Thank you Mr. Sorkin and I would love to see a new series with Rob Lowe as president. One can always dream, right?
what a couple of talents . we are all better for having watched what these guys can do
Also this was a great interview! Thank you for uploading :)
I am one of. the people who has communication problems . Please make a movie about invisible disability
I really want a new West Wing where Sam Seaborn runs for President. It has been set up already by Bartlett in the original show. Plus, Sorkin just said he can't wait to work with Rob Lowe again :)
If y’all haven’t heard Aaron on Rob’s podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe, go check it out. Super fun episode.
thank you!! is there a conversation with david fincher coming up too?
💞
Well, well. I thought these two hated each other. Lol
Didn’t Aaron quit west wing because of rob lowe
Ironic when Lowe himself left at the end of the same season Aaron stopping writing for it. Sounds like from what I've heard more recently is that Sorkin needed a break anyway. Shame he didn't come back for the last season to polish things off.
Not at all. I’m simplifying a little, but it was mainly about a fight between Warner Brothers (primarily, and NBC to an extent) and Aaron. The studio (the deficit financer-the amount the studio receives from the network in licensing is less it costs to make the episodes) had been kept at bay, because Tommy Schlamme and John Wells had basically said, “if you let us spend the money, the better the show will be, and the more money you’ll make down the line.” Then the time came for the studio to make a new deal with NBC, wherein the studio would recoup its money (NBC had to pay back the loss WB had been taking, which was about $1.5mil per episode) plus make a profit. So the studio knew exactly how much they would make, since they had a deal in place with the network. But by this point, the ratings had already reached their peak and were starting to decline, largely as a result of competition for younger viewers, mainly from reality shows. The deal was for two additional seasons beyond season four, and it was unlikely that the ratings would shoot up again and allow the studio to make an even better deal. The problem was that the way Aaron worked, writing all the episodes himself, handing in scripts late, causing production overruns, etc., meant that the studio’s profits would be eaten into. So after some back-and-forth, they eventually presented Aaron with an ultimatum: either do the show they way we tell you to, or we’re simply not going to work with you anymore. (One famous quote from the studio was: “you don’t have the guy who built the first car go and build all the other cars,” which is so tone-deaf when you’re talking about art). In hindsight, WB has expressed some remorse for how they handled things, but it was what it was. Rob’s beef was with the studio, too, because he wanted to get paid more (that’s a long story in and of itself). I _think_ maybe some of his unhappiness about his contractual situation bled into his relationships with some of the other cast members, or at least his relationship with Aaron (temporarily), but it clearly got fixed quickly. And Rob did have a tendency to sometimes get a little irked when he felt he was being sidelined in an episode (this happened in “Noel,” for example). Early in season 3, a ticked-off Aaron kinda relegated Sam to minor storylines, but starting with “100,000 Airplanes,” he’s back in a big way, and the final scene between Sam and Pres. Bartlet in “Hartsfield’s Landing” really feels like a reconciliation, in which Aaron’s really saying he’s proud of Rob. Sometimes we go through tough times even with people we love the most, maybe even more intensely so, but they got through it, and that’s the important thing.
@@IdliAmin_TheLastKingofSambar wow thank you so much I really appreciate that that's awesome that you responded in such a detailed way! I just read a quote that he was the problem but I could totally see them getting iin an argument you know they're they're probably both coked up and working long hours up all night and all day changing the script and you know got an argument but the spin was that I heard was that it was you know Rob who seems like a nice dude you was like yeah Aaron I could do the show without you or something like that that's what I saw on Reddit. Lol
@@Jchasser That’s really nice of you to say, thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d even _see_ my reply, since your original comment was from over a year ago, but I’m glad that you did. And it means a lot that you’d reply to a complete stranger so quickly with your kind words. Thank you again. 🙏🏽
You have it so wrong about Donald Trump. He cares.