I had this fantasy about Aaron Sorkin.
It's probably only natural that I should want to know him, because, after all, he is the most intelligent and sharp-witted writer working in Hollywood today. His prestige began when A Few Good Men (1992) surged alongside The West Wing, which he created in 1999 and for which he wrote until 2003. He was recently cemented with The Social Network, which deftly showcases his extraordinary writing talent -- although he's also had a few flops -- and his uncanny gift for cultural relevance. I thought, "This brilliant, mysterious man, who has publicly struggled with dark personal demons (that is, drug addiction), is at the crest of his career and will likely win an Oscar for his darn good movie about the invention of our age (that is, Facebook) -- and I want to meet him." And not only that, he's also Jewish.
Here's how I imagined it: We'd meet, one afternoon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. We'd sit on the patio at the Polo Lounge but order milkshakes from The Fountain Coffee Room downstairs. We'd trade small talk for a time, then I'd dive right in, look into his eyes and ask those deep, penetrating questions I'd lost sleep coming up with -- for example, about the ethics of writing about a young, living person who has become known not for who he really is, but rather in accordance with Sorkin's version of him. And, because I'm writing for The Jewish Journal -- and am a Jewish woman -- I'd ask him what the heck was up with some of the movie's snide, subtle one-liners, in particular, the not-so-veiled references to the general unattractiveness of my cohort. We would talk, and laugh, and sip, and I wouldn't have to stargaze, because there'd be one right in front of me. And afterward, I'd hand my editors a bang-up interview with Hollywood's man-of-the-moment.
Because of the Jewish angle, I knew I'd ask him questions no one else was asking, and so, despite the fact that he has been giving a billion interviews, he'd probably enjoy mine. I mean, 4,000 years of shared history could at least give me that. And as an added benefit, said tribal bond might even make us friends.
I was so wrong.
Read about the "hate" column, the obstructionist publicist and Sorkin's response at Hollywood Jew