OK, my fanatical love for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and, to a lesser extent, The West Wing, were reason enough to love Aaron Sorkin. However, he's now waded into the Newsweek magazine homophobia firestorm and his opinions are absolutely spot-on.
In case you haven't been following it, Ramin Satoodeh, theatre critic for Newsweek (and openly gay man) wrote a review of Sean Hayes' performance in Promises, Promises that turned into a general treatise on why gay people can't, and shouldn't play straight people. Kristin Chenowith (gossip note: Aaron Sorkin's ex as well as Sean Hayes' costar) wrote a passionate rebuttal in defense of her gay colleagues. A number of other people, including Ryan Murphy, co-creator of Glee, and Dustin Lance Black, whose acceptance speech for his screenwriting Oscar for Milk included a shout-out to all the gay kids out there, also waded into the mix. And now, Sorkin's letter. His point is - they've all missed the point. The issue is not whether Satoodeh was being homophobic, or whether gay actors have a right to play straight characters, but rather, that we've gotten to a lamentable point in society where the sexual orientation of any actor is public fare, such that it influences the way we, as the audience, view that actor's performance. He's totally right. Even I, the shameless gossip hound, know this to be true, and know as a performer how frustrating it feels to be limited in the roles you can play, and would never wish that on anyone else. Now Mr. Sorkin, please go write me a new series to be obsessed with. Thanks.
In case you haven't been following it, Ramin Satoodeh, theatre critic for Newsweek (and openly gay man) wrote a review of Sean Hayes' performance in Promises, Promises that turned into a general treatise on why gay people can't, and shouldn't play straight people. Kristin Chenowith (gossip note: Aaron Sorkin's ex as well as Sean Hayes' costar) wrote a passionate rebuttal in defense of her gay colleagues. A number of other people, including Ryan Murphy, co-creator of Glee, and Dustin Lance Black, whose acceptance speech for his screenwriting Oscar for Milk included a shout-out to all the gay kids out there, also waded into the mix. And now, Sorkin's letter. His point is - they've all missed the point. The issue is not whether Satoodeh was being homophobic, or whether gay actors have a right to play straight characters, but rather, that we've gotten to a lamentable point in society where the sexual orientation of any actor is public fare, such that it influences the way we, as the audience, view that actor's performance. He's totally right. Even I, the shameless gossip hound, know this to be true, and know as a performer how frustrating it feels to be limited in the roles you can play, and would never wish that on anyone else. Now Mr. Sorkin, please go write me a new series to be obsessed with. Thanks.