Production
According to Sorkin, the episode benefited greatly from input by two former White House employees. The scene where Donna stays up all night sorting through documents in cartons was the idea of Eli Attie, Al Gore's chief speechwriter. Meanwhile Gene Sperling, Bill Clinton's chief economic adviser, came up with the sub-plot involving the estate tax. Sorkin, however, had certain misgivings about the estate tax story's appeal, considering the prevalent bipartisan spirit of the time, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
In one scene Sam Seaborn speaks to a Latino lobbyist, and as the discussion heats up he switches into Spanish. The lobbyist, Victor Campos, claims that he has been used for public relations purposes, something Sam denies. Rob Lowe, who plays Seaborn, had to learn to speak the language convincingly especially for this episode. Sorkin commented, "I tend to torture Rob a little."
Read more about this topic: Ways And Means (The West Wing)
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The society based on production is only productive, not creative.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“The problem of culture is seldom grasped correctly. The goal of a culture is not the greatest possible happiness of a people, nor is it the unhindered development of all their talents; instead, culture shows itself in the correct proportion of these developments. Its aim points beyond earthly happiness: the production of great works is the aim of culture.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“From the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
—Charles Darwin (1809–1882)