AARON SORKIN - SORKIN SAYS WRITER-PRODUCERS FORCED END OF WRITERS' STRIKE

SORKIN SAYS WRITER-PRODUCERS FORCED END OF WRITERS' STRIKE

TV writer-producer Aaron Sorkin ( The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ) has disclosed that as the writers' strike dragged on into January, he and "seven or eight" other top screenwriters were invited to a dinner at the home of writer-producer Paul Attanasio ( House ) -- each of whom was concerned that the strike was creating unwarranted hardship to hundreds of members of the industry. In an interview with GQ magazine, Sorkin said, "We all agreed that we had been irresponsible and that, in an effort not to seem elitist, we had remained quiet during this strike. We hadn't voiced our objections. We hadn't put pressure on Patric Verrone and the other heads of the union to end this thing." Sorkin said that the meeting took place the day after the Directors Guild had reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. He said that at some point that evening, a call was placed to the WGA leadership. "We named who we were in the room and said that if we didn't see fast action over the next forty-eight hours, that we would have to make our feelings public." Asked whether the threat was effective, Sorkin replied that he had no idea if it did. "I know that the strike ended. I could have been for entirely different reasons."

13/08/2008