Previously, On THE WEST WING: A Collection Of Articles and Interviews

I love 'The West Wing'. Perhaps, instead of this film blog, I should have just started a 'The West Wing' fan page. In fact, that's kind of what Kid In The Front Row is. Today I decided to look back at the things I have written about the show in the past couple of years, along with the interviews I have been very lucky to do with the cast and crew of the show. 

My hope was always to interview Aaron Sorkin, the creator, but thus far he has remained elusive, apart from a few kind notes/responses. But there's still the hope that, some time in the future when his schedule allows, we will finally get that interview.

 The Articles 

January 27th 2010 - The West Wing Is The Greatest Show Of All Time

"Many years ago - my Uncle said to me, "You must watch The West Wing," and I thought yeah right, whatever. No-one tells me what to watch. But he was persistent and he lent me the first season. And I began watching it. My life changed."  

Here is a note I received from the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin, after that post.

"Front Row,

Thanks so much for the amazing tribute to the show. You really made my day and I'll be sending it around to everyone on the cast and crew list.

Thanks again,

Aaron"

Read the full article here.

 

December 20th 2010 - Previously, On The West Wing

Some thoughts I had after watching the entire series of TWW for the gazillionth time.

"THE WEST WING represented an idea. It's about 5.30am wake-up calls. It's about dedicating who you are to something bigger than yourself. It's about loyalty and doing something that matters. It's about working weekends and having dinner at 11pm on a Thursday night in the office because you have to get things done, because if you don't the world isn't going to operate properly come the morning. "

Read the full article here.

December 23rd 2010 - Reflecting On John 'Leo McGarry' Spencer

I always loved John Spencer's work on the show. After seven seasons of being in the company of a character, you really feel like you know them. There was something extremely poignant about the work of John Spencer. He carried a weight, a gravitas, while also being sensitive and warm. His final episodes before his real life (and then on screen) death, feature some of his greatest work. 

I spoke to Eli Attie about John Spencer. 

"John's death left a gaping hole in the middle of the show, a cavernous vacuum, and the rest of Season Seven was largely a reaction to that--a memorial to him and to the creative world he helped to shape and lead."
-Eli Attie 

Read the full article and Eli's touching words about John here.

INTERVIEWS

Eli Attie - Supervising Producer/Writer

Eli was a writer on the show from 2001 until the show ended, in 2006. In the final years he also served as a Supervising Producer.

"Because of my political background, I did contribute to lots of scripts beyond my own, during all five seasons I was on the show. Some of my favorite storylines were ones I didn't actually write."

Read the full interview here.

Joshua "Will Bailey" Malina

 

Josh played the role of Will Bailey. What I wrote in my intro to the interview is something I still stand by: Josh is one of the most underrated actors in the industry today.

"Tommy is one of the great Producer/Directors out there, and for my money, no one writes like Aaron. But I give credit to John Wells and the writing staff for keeping TWW going as a really great, quality show for the remainder of its run."

Read the full interview here. 

Larry and Ed were two of the more memorable reoccuring character's from the show. But who are the actors who portrayed them? I decided to find out.

William "Larry" Duffy

"Would I have liked a few storylines? Absolutely. But I would never trade in a moment I was on that show. For me, it was one of – if not the – best experience of my acting career so far."

Read the full interview here.

Peter "Ed" James Smith

"I think, again, because of the fast turn around in television--one's best tool is oneself. Be as natural and reactive as you would be in that actual situation."

Read the full interview here.

Aaron Sorkin

Okay, so I didn't get to do a full interview with Aaron. But he did take the time to answer a question about writers block for the readers of KITFR.

"Every time I finish something I think I'm never going to be able to write anything else. And every time I start something I think that this is the one where I'm going to get found out as a fraud."

Read the full answer here.