12 NEWS People
THEWEEK 28 March 2020Sorkin’sliberaldreams
AaronSorkinissomething
ofanidealist,saysDavid
MarcheseinTheNewYork
Times–famousforwriting
filmsandTVshows(TheWest
Wing,AFewGoodMen)that
pandertoliberalfantasies.
Heacceptsthathiswork
oftenreflectshispolitics–but
hedoesn’tseewhythatshould
makeitanylessauthentic
thanotherTVdramas.
“Byandlarge,”hesays,“in
popularcultureourelected
leadersareportrayedaseither
Machiavellianorasdolts.”In
HouseofCards,forexample,
thepresidentisamurderer,
whileVeep’svice-president
ishilariouslyinept.Why,he
says,shouldn’tpoliticiansbe
depictedasessentiallydecent,
ifflawed,peoplewhogenuinely
wanttomaketheworlda
betterplace?“Ilikewriting
heroeswithout capes.Itmakes
us feel asthoughgreatnessis
achievable.” And though times
havechanged sinceTheWest
Wing(itended in2006),he
rejectstheidea that thepublic
isn’tin the moodforidealism.
“If anything,Ithink we’re
thirstyforit.”FromDavid toDiana
In1993, the journalist David
Thomas wroteapolemicin
defenceof the patriarchy,says
JaneGordoninThe Daily
Telegraph. Now,though,
thatargumentative,rugged,
slightly domineering manis
gone, replacedbyasoft-faced
womancalledDiana.Becoming
Dianawasalong-held dream
–andshefeelsluckythatat 61,
sheisbeingable tofulfilit. Ithasn’tbeeneasy,though.So
far,shehashadtwofacelifts,
extensivebody hairremoval
(“awholenewworldofpain”),
andalotofhormonetherapy.
Ithascosther£ 5 0,000,butthe
resultisthatshecannowgo
outandfeelher“trueself”.
Recently,shewenttosupper
withsomeoldfriendsasDiana.
“Anddoyouknow,thething
thatreallytouchedmethat
nightwasthereactionofthe
guysIhadknownsinceIwas
18.Because,blessthem,they
cameinandsaid,‘Hi,Diana,”
andkissedmeonbothcheeks
inexactlythewaytheydidto
theotherwomenaroundthe
table.”Shesayssheisnot
readyforapartneryet.But
isn’tallthisatleastpartly
aboutfindingherprince?“Yes,
yesistheanswer.Yes,Ido
wantmyprincetocome.And
actually,Ithinkthatultimately
Iwouldmakesomebodya
reallygood wife.Ilovecreating
abeautifulhome–nothing
makesmehappier. Ihave
workedhard alltheseyears,
Ihaveearnedmyway forlong
enough, soyes, putapinny
roundmy neckandletmebe a
homemaker,please!Thereisa
lot ofnurturingin methathas
goneto waste,and there is alot
of lovethatisnotbeingused
up.”Besides,sheadds,witha
flashofherold self, she isquite
acatch. “Imeanlookatme–
longlegs,brand-new breasts,
knowstheoffsideruleandthe
LBW rule, and cantell agoogly
fromaflipper,and ifyouwant
to watch endless documentaries
aboutWorld WarII,bemy
guest!Ithink Ihavealot to
offeranyman,don’tyou?”JulietteBinocheisreveredtheworldoverforacareerthathas
encompassedOscargloryandrolesinarthouseclassics.Andyet,
thereisoneFrenchactresstorivalLaBinoche:thefamouslygrand
CatherineDeneuve.Andnow,forthefirst time, the two stars are
appearing in the same film:The Truth(see page 32). For Binoche,
the thought of it was surreal. “She’s not just another actor,” she
told Kevin Maher in The Times. “She’s Deneuve, you know? She
has been my icon sinceIwas alittle girl.” In the film, Deneuve plays
afilmlegend, and Binoche her damaged daughter. The relationship
between them off-screen, says Binoche, is best understood in terms
of French grammar. “With Catherine, first of all you don’t go into
the ‘tu’,becauseshe has a‘vous’thatis verystrong, andthat comes
from her education. But it’s alsoaway of keeping her distance
emotionally. But she eventually allowed the ‘tu’withme, because
she knew we had to play daughter and mother. But after filming,
when we started texting each other, she went back to ‘vous’. And
Ithought, ‘Wow, it’s amazing. She just doesn’t want to get close.’
And thenIsaw heryesterday, for the first time since filming, and
she went straight into the ‘tu’, because it was something we were
able to knit together in the film, and also because she is loving
and she needs to work out the distance she wants to have with
someone, and the intimacy she wants to have too.”Viewpoint:
Working from home
“Of all the prematurepredictions
abouthow this pandemic is going
to change society,the biggestfalse
prophecyist hat itis going to result
in more homeworking. Trust me,
after several months of getting
annoyedbyone another’s endless
booming conferencecalls andhabit of
eating Nutellastraightfrom thejar by
way of lunch,wewillall be desperate
to retu rn to the workplace.Imissmy
colleagues.Atleast, Imiss colleagues
whoare no tusing my ironingboard
as adesk.Whenthis whol ecrazy
thingiso ver,I’m looking forward to
two things. First,hugging myelde rly
parents again.Second,working in
the office, if they’ll have me.”
SathnamSanghera in The TimesFarewell
Lord Grahamof
Edmonton,former
Labour chief whip,died
21 March, aged94.
TerrenceMcNally,
Tony Award-winning
playwright, died
24 March,aged81.
Sir David Prosser,
former chief executive
of Legal&General,
died9March,aged 75.
Albert Uderzo,Asterix
crea tor, died24March,
aged 92.
Betty Williams,Peace
campaignerand Nobel
Prizeco-winner, died
17 March,aged76.
Book:MuchObliged,Jeevesby P.G. Wodehouse
Luxury:grandpiano *Choice if allowed only one recordCastaway of the week
This week’s edition of Radio 4’sDesert Island Discsfeatured
Dame Helena Morrissey, financier and campaigner1*My Sweet Lord,written and performed by George Harrison
2 Polonaise in A-flatmajor, Op .53, “Heroic”by Frédéric Chopin,
performed by ArthurRubinstein
3 We’veOnly Just Begunby Paul WilliamsandRogerNichols,
performed by theCarpenters
4 Being Boring,written andperformed by Pet ShopBoys
5 Moon Riverby Johnny Mercerand Henry Mancini, performed
by Audrey Hepburn
6 Calm Down,writte nand performed by The Clementines
7 Condolence,writte nand performed byBenjamin Clementine
8 God Isby Kanye West, Angel Lopez, Federico Vindver, Robert
Fryson, Timothy Lee McKenzie,Victory ElyseBoyd andWarryn
Campbell, performed by KanyeWest