Aaron Sorkin Fears His Directing Weaknesses Can’t Be Taught

WHO:

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said, “I was my second-choice to direct it,” referring to *The Social Reckoning*.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin, 65, said he wants to revive *The West Wing* because he loves the show and misses its cast, but added, “you’ve got to have a story” and “They won’t let me just write dialogue.”

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said the Lincoln Center production of *A Few Good Men* is “very different than the original Broadway production.”

The Hollywood Reporter - Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed *The Social Reckoning*; the film stars Mikey Madison as a whistleblower, Jeremy Allen White as a journalist and Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.

Yahoo News Canada - Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed *The Social Reckoning*; the film stars Mikey Madison as a whistleblower, Jeremy Allen White as a journalist and Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin’s earlier films were directed by Rob Reiner, David Fincher, Bennett Miller, Mike Nichols and Danny Boyle. He said he still wants to work with great directors and described Fincher as his preferred director for *The Social Reckoning*.

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin said he still wants to work with great directors and would have preferred David Fincher to direct *The Social Reckoning*.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin wrote every episode of the first four seasons of NBC’s *The West Wing*.

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin wrote every episode of the first four seasons of NBC’s *The West Wing*.

WHAT:

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said he made his Broadway debut and became addicted to cocaine at roughly the same time.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said he first smoked marijuana while struggling to write his first play, then used cocaine; he described losing a decade of his life to drugs.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said, “I’m very worried that the parts of directing that I’m not good at are those parts that you can’t learn.” He said directing’s learning curve was greater than expected, particularly in using a camera, and added, “I have no visual sensibility, it turns out.”

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin said, “I’m very worried that the parts of directing that I’m not good at are those parts that you can’t learn.” He said he had absorbed less of filmmaking’s “science” than he expected and added, “I have no visual sensibility, it turns out.”

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin compared his directing experience to a football coach after a loss: “There are things that I’ve been doing right along the way. Just give me one more chance, and one of these days I’ll be able to put it all together.”

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin said he believes some screenwriting skills can be taught, while others—what people usually mean by “talent”—cannot.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin’s screenwriting credits include *A Few Good Men*, *The American President*, *Charlie Wilson’s War*, *The Social Network*, *Moneyball*, *Steve Jobs*, *Molly’s Game*, *The Trial of the Chicago 7* and *Being the Ricardos*. He won screenplay Oscars for *The Social Network* and Golden Globes for *The Social Network* and *Steve Jobs*; he received Oscar nominations for *Moneyball*, *Molly’s Game* and *The Trial of the Chicago 7*.

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin said he wants to revive *The West Wing*, but said it needs a story and that the cast has aged. He also said most of his 11 movies, except *A Few Good Men*, might have to be streaming releases today.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said he lost “a decade” to drugs after using cocaine while trying to write his first play at age 25. He said he is now working on the Lincoln Center revival of *A Few Good Men* “clean and sober” and has rewritten the play.

WHERE:

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin discussed the film at Newport Beach Film Festival, where he received its Maverick Director Award. Sony released *The Social Reckoning* nationwide.

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin discussed the film at Newport Beach Film Festival while receiving its Maverick Director Award; Sony released it nationwide.

WHEN:

The Hollywood Reporter - The articles describe *The Social Reckoning* as following *The Social Network* by 16 years. Sorkin said he had written movies for 35 years and had directed four films over the past decade.

Yahoo News Canada - The articles describe *The Social Reckoning* as following *The Social Network* by 16 years; Sorkin said he had written movies for 35 years.

WHY:

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin directed *The Social Reckoning* because Fincher had an exclusive Netflix deal and the film was owned by Sony.

Yahoo News Canada - Sorkin said Fincher could not direct because he had an exclusive deal at Netflix, while Sony owned the film.

HOW:

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said he has been rewriting *A Few Good Men* for its Lincoln Center revival, describing it as “in some ways, a new play.”

The Hollywood Reporter - The $40 million *The Social Reckoning* concerns a social media company’s alleged knowledge and cover-up of harmful effects on society, and a whistleblower who brings them to a journalist.

Yahoo News Canada - *The Social Reckoning* had a 54 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and had grossed $15 million worldwide, according to the article.

The Hollywood Reporter - Sorkin said he was surprised by how little filmmaking technique he had learned from working with directors, though he did not identify working with actors as a difficulty.

(UPDATED October 27, 2026 18:01 UTC)

Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed *The Social Reckoning*, a follow-up to *The Social Network* about a whistleblower exposing a social media company’s alleged knowledge of harm to society. He said David Fincher was his preferred director, but Fincher could not take the job because of an exclusive Netflix deal, and Sorkin acknowledged he has struggled with directing’s technical and visual demands. Sorkin also said he wants to revive *The West Wing* but needs a compelling story, and he has rewritten *A Few Good Men* for its Lincoln Center revival while working clean and sober after losing a decade to drugs.

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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 17:10 UTC)

Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed *The Social Reckoning*, a $40 million film about a social media company accused of concealing harm to society, with Mikey Madison playing a whistleblower, Jeremy Allen White a journalist and Jeremy Strong Mark Zuckerberg. Sorkin said he would have preferred David Fincher to direct, but Fincher’s exclusive Netflix deal and Sony’s ownership of the film led him to take the director’s chair; at the Newport Beach Film Festival, he described the learning curve as steeper than expected and said he had no visual sensibility. He also reflected on his screenwriting career, his desire to revive *The West Wing* if he finds the right story, and his recovery from drug addiction, saying he is now clean and sober while rewriting *A Few Good Men* for a Lincoln Center revival.