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hgar78 05-01-03 04:22 PM

sorkin and schlamme wont return to west wing
 
http://www.eonline.com/News/firstlook.html?eol.tkr


STEPPING DOWN: West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme announcing they won't return to NBC's drama after this season, the show's fourth season. No reason given.
this seems quite a surprise. there aren't any details yet but i haven't heard any rumors or anything about this! they are the heart and soul behind the show! what in the heck is going to happen?

hgar78 05-01-03 04:25 PM

here's some more from...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...655EDT0737.DTL


`West Wing' creator Aaron Sorkin leaving series

LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer Thursday, May 1, 2003


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



(05-01) 13:55 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --

Aaron Sorkin, creator of the Emmy-winning White House drama "The West Wing," is leaving the series after this season, he said Thursday.

Sorkin, who was involved in writing most of the scripts for the NBC series, also served as executive producer. Thomas Schlamme, another executive producer, also is leaving.

The show will continue with John Wells, another executive producer, in charge. Wells' other series include NBC's "ER" and "Third Watch."

There had been reports of tension between Sorkin and the studio that produces the show, Warner Bros. Television. He had reportedly been cautioned about budgets and production delays.

"This has been the experience of any writer's dreams," Sorkin said in a statement. "I had the best job in show business for four years and I'll never forget that."

Schlamme and Sorkin said they will pursue other film, television and theater projects. They will remain "the two biggest fans of `The West Wing,"' according to their statement.

Their work was lauded by the studio and NBC.

"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme have done an extraordinary job in their four years at the helm of `The West Wing,"' said NBC entertainment chief Jeff Zucker and Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth.

"The West Wing" won its third consecutive best drama trophy at last year's Emmy Awards. Sorkin has won an Emmy for writing for the series, while Schlamme has won two Emmys for directing.

Sorkin, 41, had gone through difficult personal times during his work on "The West Wing," which stars Martin Sheen as fictional President Josiah Bartlet. In 2001, Sorkin had been arrested for possession of cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms and ordered to enter a drug treatment program. The charges were dismissed after he completed the program.

Wells, whose production company John Wells Productions co-produces "The West Wing" with Warner Bros. Television, has been asked by Warner to take a "more active role" next season, the studio said.

"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme are irreplaceable," Wells said in a statement. "... They will be sorely missed."

A team of writers, directors and producers has been assembled to help in the transition, he said.

AgtFox 05-01-03 04:27 PM

Re: sorkin and schlamme wont return to west wing
 

Originally posted by hgar78
i haven't heard any rumors or anything about this! they are the heart and soul behind the show! what in the heck is going to happen?
Don't know about you, but I've heard plenty of rumors.

- Warner Bros. was very disappointed with the lackluster amount of time given to shooting each episode because:

- Sorkin is a perfectionist and would submit scripts on or after deadlines

- Sorkin felt slighted because of this and originally talked about not coming back for the next year, because his "vision" was not being appreciated

- Because of the late shooting schedule, West Wing's production costs went higher than they should, which of course did not make Warner Bros. very happy.

Just an example of creator and distributor bickering. They were playing chicken and Sorkin evidentally decided to dodge.

bboisvert 05-01-03 04:32 PM

Wow, as much as I love this show (and I *love* this show), I can't imagine it being much good without Sorkin at the helm. Just about everything that makes the show great is because of him.

Jeez, that's terrible news. :(

adamblast 05-01-03 04:51 PM


Originally posted by bboisvert
Jeez, that's terrible news. :(
You got that right. These are characters I care very much about, but *we'll see* for how long. At least 2/3 of their charm was in the dialog, and if someone else is mimicking Sorkin's dialog it's gonna suck. This may be *over* for me.

kevin75 05-01-03 05:16 PM


Originally posted by bboisvert
Wow, as much as I love this show (and I *love* this show), I can't imagine it being much good without Sorkin at the helm. Just about everything that makes the show great is because of him.

Jeez, that's terrible news. :(

well said. this show is my second favorite show on tv (behind ed) and i have been with it since the beginning. i hope that this year is not a sign of things to come. first they lose rob lowe and now sorkin and schlamme. these are the guys who made the series. the writer, director and original main star are now gone. i really hope that they can weather the storm and keep everything up to typical west wing standards.

Static Cling 05-01-03 06:04 PM

Finally, Sorkin can get back to where he belongs... writing Sports Night! ;)

Fielding Mellish 05-01-03 06:23 PM


Finally, Sorkin can get back to where he belongs... writing Sports Night!
Amen to that, brother.

clemente 05-01-03 06:37 PM

This can't be good news.....Schlamme and Sorkin are the heart and soul of the show, the men that defined its look and sound.

I'm the biggest WW fan, but honestly, this sounds like really bad news. Creator turnover is never a good thing and usually spells doom.

Damn.

shanester 05-02-03 06:27 AM

Does this mean NBC now has a reason to cancel the show??..

There idiots if they think they can replace Sorkin..He`s arguably the best writer on tv!!..The whole show is HIS vision

I would be like doing The Terminator without Cameron (oh wait`s thats being done...and guess what it`s gonna suck too!!)

PS I hope the dvd`s still get released though!

Bandoman 05-02-03 07:37 AM


Originally posted by Static Cling
Finally, Sorkin can get back to where he belongs... writing Sports Night! ;)
Maybe they'll go work on Enterprise! Please?

das Monkey 05-02-03 09:11 AM

Agreed ... terrible news. As with all things, though, something will emerge from this. Sorkin has proven to me that he is at the top of the writing game. Perhaps, in some way, this will help him to avoid the DEK Syndrome. I can't see how <I>The West Wing</I> can continue to be strong without him (and Schlamme) as the show is so much more than "plot," but I will anxiously await his next project and be first in line to see it.

das

dek 05-02-03 09:39 AM

What the hell is the DEK syndrome????????

Copenhagen 05-02-03 09:41 AM

Perhaps he meean David E Kelley.

dek 05-02-03 09:42 AM

Yeah :)

das Monkey 05-02-03 09:46 AM

All caps, buddy ... all caps :)

das

Copenhagen 05-02-03 09:47 AM

But he could be reffering to you ;)

retihsuhnt 05-02-03 10:09 AM

Well there goes "The West Wing", it had a great run, but not having Sorkin will be the demise of it.

Red Dog 05-02-03 10:21 AM

WW was beginning to show signs of age. This has been the weakest season to date IMO - this last episode was the best one I have seen in months - probably because they did not once talk about the fictional military action in Kumar which has been a lousy storyline.

GeoffK 05-02-03 11:02 AM

I think this has a lot to do with the fact that West Wing has really slipped in the ratings. I'm sure there's been a lot of pressure on Sorkin to make big changes to the show, so I'd imagine he decided to part ways rather than turn WW into a night time soap opera.

scrubneck 05-02-03 01:13 PM

Absolutely devastating news :(. I don't think it's a stretch to say that no other show relies on its creator more so than The West Wing relies on Sorkin.

It's difficult to tell just how much the show will be impacted, because we're rarely able to see what happens when Sorkin doesn't write the scripts. By my count, there are only 3 episodes which Sorkin did not have a hand in writing: "Enemies" (1-08), "Swiss Diplomacy" (4-9), and "The Long Goodbye" (4-13). I don't recall much of "Enemies" and "The Long Goodbye" isn't a typical West Wing episode, but I do remember that "Swiss Diplomacy" is really bland. Hopefully it's not indicative of what's to come.

btlives 05-02-03 04:29 PM

Wow...Rob Lowe maybe actually made a good career
move after all....

naah.

Kube 05-05-03 11:17 PM

Aaron Sorkin will leave West Wing
 
Damn. It's official. This is his last year!

huzefa 05-05-03 11:28 PM

Say buhbye to the ratings too; I don't see anybody else being able to come up with his trademark quick snappy dialogue. Don't really care though; the show has too many 'we got a problem but we can fix it in this episode itself' type plots.

Kal-El 05-06-03 12:08 AM

Now let's do a Sports Night reunion or something. :D


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