To Kill a Mockingbird Reboot

By Caleb Stuart

On December 13, 2018 To Kill a Mockingbird opens on Broadway starring Jeff Daniels. The new script has been penned by Aaron Sorkin and I, for one, am very grateful that a reboot of the famous book and movie is finally occuring.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite novels but I didn’t really appreciate the movie. I felt that it did not do the book justice because it focuses more on the Tom Robinson trial and less on the actions of Scout, Jem, and Dill. That is not to say that the film is not good (Gregory Peck won his only Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch) but it missed, what I felt to be, the central components of what made the novel incredible.

It has taken nearly 60 years for there to be a reboot and I cannot be more excited that it has been written by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin is the writer of my favorite movie (A Few Good Men) and my favorite television show (The West Wing). He knows how to give even minor characters the characterization and credit that they deserve. Sorkin knows how to create a compelling courtroom drama while also showing what is going on when the lawyers are off the clock, which is something I find extremely fascinating.

It has been nearly 60 years and I assumed that we would never get another version of To Kill a Mockingbird. In today’s day and age, with the racial conflicts that we have, I think it something that we need and I excited that it Aaron Sorkin is taking the helm.

So, Aaron Sorkin, I say “thank you.”