Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the new film about facebook called The Social Network, appeared on CNN last night to promote his new movie. How did he do that, you ask? By throwing some bombs at Sarah Palin.
Via Politics Daily (where you can also watch the clip):
To promote his new movie, "The Social Network," screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin appeared on the first episode of CNN's "Parker Spitzer" Monday night. In the process, he made some pretty harsh political statements, including calling Sarah Palin an "idiot."
Sorkin went on to say that the former Alaska governor is a "remarkably, stunningly, jaw-droppingly incompetent and mean woman."
I like Sorkin's work--including the films A Few Good Men, The American President, and the television show The West Wing--but why is he trying to moonlight as a talking head? He's clearly not good at it. There's no problem with him appearing on CNN to talk about his new movie, but he should have stuck to the script. He shouldn't quit his day job.
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May '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Self-aggrandizing insulting of Sarah Palin is sooooo 2009.
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
John Nolte ripped into Sorkin over at Big Hollywood yesterday, leaving nothing behind but a pair of glasses and a smirk. You're right, Emily, Sorkin's a talented guy but he's a guy with an agenda. Don't forget The American President - which is entertaining, as you say - was made expressly for the purpose of supporting Clinton during the Lewinski scandal. The married President banging an underling in the people's office was transformed into a widowed man of principle falling in love with a woman his own age - only to be unfairly maligned by evil conservatives. Rewriting reality to fit liberalism - that's how Hollywood rolls!
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
I know, what a throwback huh? I just don't get why celebrities feel the need to comment on politics. Don't they realize that they come across as self-righteous? It's a bad look.
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Mr. Sorkin's left wing presuppositions are clear in his movies and television programs. No surprise that he made the statement about Mrs. Palin. The question I always have is why do people in flyover country keep going to his movies, buying Barbara Streisand's records, etc?
They only have an audience because people keep giving them one.
Edited on Oct 5, 2010 at 8:21amRe: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
I guess the thing to do is check politics at the door when you're about to watch a movie or show with a clear political agenda. The film Avatar comes to mind. It was really entertaining--a great film in that way--but the political agenda was overbearing.
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Red & Black Redneck: Mr. Sorkin's left wing presuppositions are clear in his movies and television programs. No surprise that he made the statement about Mrs. Palin. The question I always have is why do people in flyover country keep going to his movies, buying Barbara Streisand's records, etc?
They only have an audience because people keep giving them one. · Oct 5 at 8:14am
Edited on Oct 05 at 08:21 am
People watch his movies because they're good movies, and entertaining.
Jul '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
I love Sorkin as a writer but his political viewpoints have always been both admirable...and naive. Obama's campaign rhetoric might as well have been crafted by Sorkin, it embodied the ideals he lauds most in civil servants--and yet seeing it in the flesh left even Sorkin cold, judging by the op ed piece he wrote in the NY Times during the campaign. His world is full of charming quirks and sharp dialogue, but it is and always has been a fantasy. I've never understood how he managed to come up with Ainsley Hayes, who basically sums up every reason I'm a Republican, but every time he says something I find politically loathsome, I remind myself that some of the best writers in history have been amongst the most flawed individuals and are rarely the people anyone would want in charge. This is the man who dated Maureen Dowd, for goodness sake. Am I surprised that he thinks Sarah Palin is an idiot? Not in the least. Will he be the last person to underestimate her? Likely not. His indignation when that day comes will likely be a great deal of fun to read.
Jul '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
I suspect Sorkin writes for the Teleprompter.
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Emily, it seems to me that if one must check politics at the door, then the movie isn't that good. It has failed to suspend reality if the viewer must consciously suppress a gag reflex. Which, in the case of Avatar, I literally had to do, when I wasn't laughing at the preposterousness of it all. My wife and I have been enjoying Mad Men on AMC and I enjoyed The Sopranos on HBO. I have no idea of the politics of the writers and producers or actors of either of those shows from the show alone. In fact, the only thing that comes to mind is that Jon Hamm was recently interviewed on NPR and he began the liberal left stuff and I turned it off. In other words, those shows are closer to art than propaganda, which is what The West Wing was.
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
By the way, would any of you Ricocheteers in the NYC area like to get together for cocktails the weekend of 10/14-17? I must be in Manhattan for business and my wife is coming along as well. The original P.J. Clarkes? Other suggestions?
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Magic mushrooms and MoDo ? Bummer..........
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
I changed my profile picture and dropped the pen name, R&B Redneck. I must have a picture that is not while I am on the tea cup ride at Disneyworld, though.
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
"The Teleprompter" - That would be a good name for a satirical newspaper!
Jun '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Sorkin, like a lot of his peers, thinks the American government is something that you cast, like a movie, and then just rewrite or improvise scenes (or improvise the Constitution) until you get the ending you want.
Sep '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Everyone seems to feel a need to signal where they stand on Mrs. Palin, even over here at Ricochet.
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
The best theater acting teacher I ever had - a veteran of the Golden Age of Broadway - is a very close friend of Sorkin's, and the tales of his cocaine benders are the stuff of legend. His gift for dialogue is so solid that he apparently can burn out brain cells with abandon, but it will catch up to him. He writes political fantasies, and like all Tinsel Town swells he lives in a fantasy world.
Sarah is kicking butt and taking names. Statists always tip their hand by reacting badly to our most effective people, so we should support her to the hilt. She has more star power than most of the Hollywood set, and they are squirming with envy.
Edited on Oct 5, 2010 at 11:53amAug '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
What a trip to the Magic Kingdom of liberal fantasyland this clip turned out to me. It starts off with an ad for eco-dupes promising that if they drive a Nissan Leaf, a 1500 lb. polar bear will give them a warm, fuzzy hug rather than bite their heads off. Then, Client No. 9 and Agent 86 banter about "young idealists who always do the right thing"... just like the Obama White House!!! Besides his unsubstantiated swipe at Palin, Aaron offered the additional bon mots: "Republicans tend not to eat their own" and "Democrats have moved to the center, while Republicans have moved to the mental institution." Maybe he hasn't sworn off the magic mushrooms.
Edited on Oct 5, 2010 at 7:58pmJul '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Emily Esfahani Smith, Ed.
Red & Black Redneck: Mr. Sorkin's left wing presuppositions are clear in his movies and television programs. No surprise that he made the statement about Mrs. Palin. The question I always have is why do people in flyover country keep going to his movies, buying Barbara Streisand's records, etc?
They only have an audience because people keep giving them one. · Oct 5 at 8:14am
Edited on Oct 05 at 08:21 am
People watch his movies because they're good movies, and entertaining. · Oct 5 at 8:23am
I saw Social Network last night and I really enjoyed it. I may go again, in fact. And I am a member of Team Sarah even tho I am a Canadian (I support her in family gatherings when everyone is against her.) Social Network is a good movie, and interesting too.
Edited on Oct 5, 2010 at 12:16pmMay '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Matthew L/R&B R: My husband and I will be in the NYC area on the 13th/14th. We might be interested in a get-together.
Hey, Richochet powers, how 'bout making a means of two members making contact off board? Apart from this, there are plenty of times I'd like to write to someone to share appreciation for an insight or to ask a question that might otherwise derail the line of conversation. Can this be done? Maybe embedded email addresses available only to members?
May '10
Re: Aaron Sorkin: Sarah Palin is "jaw-droppingly incompetent" and "mean"
Hey, let's do a MoDo and re-quote Sorkin to say that Palin is a "remarkabl[e], stunning... woman." That's the ticket, eh?
Apparently they still don't see that calling a person a moron when he or she has reached a level of success mostly unlikely to be reached without decent intelligence (I say "mostly" because of examples like Biden, Boxer, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee, Patty Murray, Cynthia McKinney....but, then, they are all Democrats so...) says more about the lack of penetrating wit or wisdom of the speaker than anything about the target of their scorn.