Aaron Sorkin

“I'll get cast occasionally as sort of the jerk version of myself, and I have fun doing that. But it's really better for everyone if I stay behind the camera.”

“I'm neither a millennial nor a hipster.”

“You know, one of the things I like about this world, or at least I like about the way we're presenting this world, is these issues are terribly complicated - not nearly as black and white as we're led to believe.”

“Presidents don't make new friends. That's why they've got to keep their old ones." Adm. Fitzwallace”

“When I write something, I want the best director to direct it. And that's not going to be me. So when David Fincher comes along and wants to direct 'The Social Network,' when Bennett Miller comes along and wants to direct 'Moneyball,' or when Danny Boyle wants to direct 'Jobs'? Hallelujah. I want them directing it.”

“Don't ever forget that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world, it's the only thing that ever has.”

“I feel like the better version of myself is on paper... I'd rather have people know me on paper.”

“'Molly's Game' was a true story about a remarkable young woman named Molly Bloom. She was this close to going to the Olympics; she was ranked third in North America in women's moguls.”

“With 'The Social Network,' I got into it at first because frankly I thought there was a cool courtroom drama to be had with the intellectual properties. And then what further drew me in was that the most extraordinary social networking device ever created was created by the world's most antisocial person. I liked that story.”

“Decisions are made by those who show up.”

“Whether it's 'The West Wing' or anything else, my first thought is always, 'What's a good story?'”

“I think I would have done very well as a writer in the Forties. I think the last time America was a great country was then or not long after. It was before Vietnam, before Watergate.”

“Certainly, last year we did an episode about the census and sampling versus a direct statistic. You just said the word 'census,' and people fall asleep.”

“I'm not on Facebook, and I don't tweet, but I know plenty of people who love both.”

“If you feel that strongly about something, you have an obligation to try and change my mind.”

“I spend most of my days pacing around, muttering that I have no ideas, feeling like I'm walking a plank.”

“When I was starting out, William Goldman took me under his wing, and he's still the person I show pages to.”

“I consider plot a necessary intrusion on what I really want to do, which is write snappy dialogue.”

“Josh: So, Toby, it’s election night. What do you say about a country that goes out of its way to protect even those citizens that try to destroy it?Toby: God bless America.”

“Writing never comes easy. The difference between Page 2 and Page Nothing is the difference between life and death.”