Not Stolen. Permanently Borrowed.

“Aaron Sorkin’s Recycled Dialogue and Tropes”

Amos Barshad, writing for Grantland, had this to say re: the above video:

But the implication here, considering both the target and the timing — right in the middle of all this Newsroom-based repugnance — is that Sorkin is a bit of a cheap hack. And I say, can we let the man live? He’s written the scripts (famously, almost entirely by himself) for 88 episodes of The West Wing, 45 episodes of Sports Night, 22 episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, plus A Few Good Men, Malice, The American President, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Social Network, and Moneyball, all while cultivating a divisive, instantly recognizable style — so would you mind terribly if Aaron Sorkin repeated himself for seven minutes?

Yes, actually I do mind. You’re either an artist, or a machine. Artists have a responsibility to creativity, machines to consistency. We shouldn’t fault either for doing their respective jobs well, but don’t ask us to respect you for being one when you’re really the other.