Iconic Movies You Never Realized Aaron Sorkin Worked On
While the average person might not recognize the name Aaron Sorkin, chances are most movie lovers are familiar with his work — they just might not realize it. Sorkin is arguably one of the greatest screenwriters of all time and his signature dialogue is behind hit movies and shows like A Few Good Men, Moneyball, The Social Network, and The West Wing. While actors are often the ones who receive all the attention and praise, the script can make or break a movie, and there is no question that Sorkin's writing has been instrumental in making the films he has worked on so successful. He has received four Emmys, two Golden Globes, and one Oscar for his work, in addition to countless nominations and other writing awards (per IMDb).
In 2017, Sorkin made his directorial debut with the film Molly's Game, which he also wrote, earning him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay. The multitalented writer, producer, and director proved his versatility once again with his 2020 Netflix film The Trial of the Chicago 7, which he started writing more than 12 years ago (per The Credits). Sorkin has clearly established a name for himself within the entertainment industry, but some of his earliest work actually went uncredited — and fans might be surprised to learn which films Sorkin worked on during this time. Keep reading to find out which iconic movies Aaron Sorkin was involved with during his rookie days in Hollywood.
Aaron Sorkin served as the script doctor for some major Hollywood classics
In a November 2020 Vanity Fair interview, Aaron Sorkin described getting his start as "getting hit by lightning." He then discussed how he moved to New York City in the 1980s and worked odd jobs to pay the bills. It was at his job as a bartender that he wrote his play A Few Good Men on cocktail napkins. The play got him discovered and was eventually adapted into an iconic film. A Few Good Men was just the first of many iconic films that he would write.
What most people do not know about Sorkin, though, is that he was also involved with some incredibly famous movies during the early phases of his career as an uncredited "Script Doctor." A script doctor is a writer or playwright who is hired to rewrite an existing script or polish specific aspects of it. Thus, it might surprise people to know that, in 1993, legendary director Steven Spielberg asked Sorkin to polish up Steven Zaillian's script for the award-winning movie Schindler's List (per IndieWire). Sorkin served as a script doctor and dialogue consultant, but Zallian got all the credit.
Sorkin also lent his talents to famous filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and Warren Beatty as a script doctor for The Rock, Enemy of the State, and Bulworth (per IMDb). It's pretty humbling to learn that someone as talented as Sorkin helped make some iconic movies without feeling the need to even put his name in the credits. And those films surely would not have been as successful without his expertise!