Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 194 Change Your Dream
After hearing what Tommy said, Wolfe's facial muscles twisted uncontrollably. He opened his hands and looked from Tommy to Sophia's face, hoping that Sophia could translate for him:
What does it mean to bypass BT TV and prepare a completely new TV network?
"I'm sorry I can't help you, Wolfe, Tommy... No one knows what Tommy's brain is made of or what he's thinking, not even me." Sophia shrugged apologetically and said to Wolfe.
"I misunderstood what that meant, didn't I?" Wolfe tried to digest Tommy's words again, then he showed an understanding expression and laughed at himself: "Actually, Tommy, you meant to say, start a second channel, the second channel of BT TV network, right?"
"No, it's a separate, other one that has nothing to do with BT TV, and it's a cable news network." Tommy looked at Wolfe again and explained.
Wolfe opened his mouth, and although no sound came out, Sophia and Tommy could tell from his lip movements that Wolfe was probably going to say "WTF".
"A TV network that needs to lease satellites and then make profits through subscriber payments? And it's a TV news network?" Wolfe looked at Tommy in disbelief and blurted out these doubts uncertainly.
"Yes." Tommy nodded. "That's it."
"Tommy, you can find your own life value by starting a TV station, but there is no need to burn the money. In other words, it is better to burn the money by investing in a satellite TV news network. At least then you can appreciate the visual beauty brought by the fireworks." Wolfe exhaled:
"Who gave you this idea? Earl Rush? I'm going to talk to him! I can't stand watching him take away my friends' hard-earned money with all kinds of bad investments!"
Wolfe was really angry. In his opinion, someone was definitely trying to trick Tommy into investing his money, and then trying to make him lose money in various ways. The most likely person was Earl Rush, the CEO of BT TV, that damn black lawyer.
Tommy immediately explained, "No, it has nothing to do with Earl. It was my own idea, Wolfe. It has nothing to do with anyone else. The experience of founding BT made me understand what the television industry really lacks, and it also made me realize that my previous ideas were one-sided and insufficient. Now I finally know what I should do to prove my value."
"What do you think you should do?" Wolfe asked Tommy, suppressing his anger.
"Witness." Tommy said to him with a bright smile.
Wolfe was slightly stunned: "Witness?"
"That's right. Send all the important moments of the world's future to Americans' living rooms via satellite. They may not be able to experience those important moments that change history in person, but I can let them witness them with their own eyes while sitting on their own sofas." Tommy expressed his thoughts in an almost pious tone.
This sentence made Wolfe certain that the current vulgar style of BT TV station had absolutely nothing to do with Tommy, but must be caused by Earl Rush, the mercenary lawyer.
This was the Tommy Hawke he knew. Just like the young man who had invited him with clear eyes to join BT and set up a TV station that the black community needed, so that black people could improve and change themselves through BT programs, thereby reversing the stereotyped image of black people.
"Well... to be honest, at some point after you said that, I had the idea of coming back." Wolfe was moved and said to Tommy with a smile:
"Your dream is great, but the investment is staggering. It is not a traditional TV network like BT, and it is not a traditional TV industry. In the entire United States, there is only one cable news network, CNN, which has been on the air for eight years. The founder Turner has been frantically selling assets and looking for investment in the past two years. You have to know that three years ago, he was ambitious and acquired MGM for 1.5 billion. In just three years, MGM was split up and sold for 1 billion. He only retained the film library and used the film library to establish the TNT movie channel. He tried to make money through the paid movie channel to maintain his cable TV network. In the past eight years, CNN has made it clear to all TV people that news does not make money. On the contrary, it is very expensive. If it were not for Turner's advertising business and several sports teams that were still profitable, and he had not completely defeated Murdoch, he would have shut down CNN long ago."
"What's the conflict between him and Murdoch?" Tommy asked curiously after hearing Wolfe's words.
He knew that the bosses of the three major TV networks all hated Murdoch. To what extent did they hate him? At the TV industry practitioners' meeting held by the FCC in Washington, Grant Ticker, the president of NBC, the oldest TV network in the United States, walked to the podium in public, patted the American flag and the program schedules of the three major TV networks on the wall of the podium, and spoke to the FOX people sitting in the audience without any mercy:
"I, and we, will not prevent the emergence of a fourth television network in this land. With the development of the times and the needs of the audience, its birth is a matter of time. However, we believe that it will never be founded by Australians who make a living by peddling lies and pornography."
The reason why the three major TV networks have such great hatred towards FOX and Murdoch is not because Murdoch poached a large number of elite talents from the three major TV networks at high prices. For the three major TV networks, it is normal to poach people from each other. If the other party offers higher compensation, it is normal for the subordinates to resign.
The real reason is that this bastard from Australia did not follow the rules. While he was setting up the FOX TV network, he also acquired the 21st Century Fox Film Corporation. This made Murdoch not only a TV person, but also a film person. Before the TV network started broadcasting, Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Film Corporation joined forces with other major film companies to arrange for lobbying companies to pass a restrictive bill on TV movies in Congress. This is the main point that makes the three major TV networks hate it.
A TV movie is a movie that is produced by a TV network itself and will only be broadcast on its own TV network. It will not be released in theaters. The main reason for making this kind of TV movie is that the TV network does not want to buy movies from film companies at a high price in order to save costs, because this kind of movie purchasing business is often a packaged behavior.
For example, if a TV network wants to buy the rights to broadcast "Jaws" on TV, it is not because "Jaws" has high box office that the TV network can buy it at a high price and then broadcast it on its own TV station. Instead, while paying a high price to buy this popular movie, it must also use a large sum of money to buy dozens of bad movies at the same time. Only then will the film company sell it to you.
Murdoch made overtures to the Republican Party and joined forces with film companies to lobby Congress, eventually getting the U.S. Congress to successfully pass a relevant restrictive bill. The restrictive bill announced that in order to allow people to continue to go to the cinema to appreciate film art, the film industry will not decline and film practitioners will not face the risk of unemployment. From the time the bill comes into effect, major television networks and television stations will need to apply for a license to shoot television movies, and the number of licenses each year is limited, depending on the shooting plans of major Hollywood film companies.
In other words, Murdoch schemed against the three major television networks before FOX even started broadcasting, allowing the film industry to successfully take advantage of them again.
Murdoch's own FOX TV network has no worries about licenses because he bought 21st Century Fox Film Corporation in advance and has a film library of thousands of movies.
As we all know, the American television industry has been cheated many times by the film industry. The two sides have been fighting each other for many years over the issue of whether to let the American people spend their money on TV bills or movie tickets. The contradictions are deep. As a result, this Australian Jew colluded with the film industry to set up another set of obstacles for the television industry. The three major TV networks are eager to buy an atomic bomb directly to completely wipe out the FOX TV station headquarters building in the United States.
However, Ted Turner also had a grudge against Murdoch. This was the first time Tommy heard of this because, strictly speaking, Ted's CNN did not compete with the three major TV networks or FOX. Those TV networks were all free, while his CNN was a paid cable channel and there was no overlap at all.
"Murdoch is a stingy guy who can't stand losing. Turner likes sailing and so does Murdoch. The two sides faced off in a sailing competition in Australia. When the sailboats sponsored by the two men competed against each other, the boat sponsored by Turner was always in the lead. But that is Australia, Murdoch's territory. So the other sailboat sponsored by Murdoch, which had no chance of winning, suddenly crashed into Turner's boat, causing Turner's boat to be stranded and withdraw from the competition. At the subsequent post-match banquet, Turner directly poured a glass of red wine on Murdoch. If the bodyguards of both sides had not pulled the two apart, Turner might have directly used a back throw to break Murdoch's spine. He is an American wrestling fan." Wolf introduced the conflict between the two to Tommy.
"This game sounds really sportsmanlike and gentlemanly." Tommy responded with a smile.
Wolfe sighed, changed the subject again, and said to Tommy seriously, "The point is, even wealthy Turner can no longer afford the losses of cable pay news networks like CNN, Tommy."
"Losses are not your concern, Wolfe. I don't like to let money taint my dreams." Tommy stopped Wolfe's dissuasion lightly and continued to describe his dream:
"The three major TV networks have almost cut off all their overseas correspondent stations. Today, the way to obtain international news is to buy news image materials from major news agencies. The three major TV networks buy the same photos or videos, but the news anchors and commentators are different. What does this show? It shows that there is no TV station in the United States that can really report those important news in real time. Moreover, what news the three major TV networks buy determines what American audiences know about what is happening in the world. To put it bluntly, if the Soviet Union collapsed, the three major TV networks would not buy this news from the Associated Press, AFP, Reuters or TASS because the news price was too high. Or vice versa, if one day those news agencies refused to sell news to these American TV stations, then American audiences would not be able to learn about this news on TV at all."
"Do you want the American people to live in a world where they cannot witness history? Maybe they don't care what is happening on the other side of the world, but if they want to know one day, because of the existence of our news network, they only need to turn on the TV and turn on our channel to see it easily."
“This is testimony.”
“This is their God-given freedom and right.”
Tommy said in a moving tone.
Wolfe remained silent. As an idealistic television practitioner, it was impossible for him to refuse the temptation of allowing the audience to witness history.
"I'll give you two months to hand over to SBG, say goodbye, and then prepare to start a life journey of suffocating for your dreams, Wolf." Tommy jumped off the desk and patted Wolf on the shoulder:
"I can't accomplish such a great cause alone, so I'm not asking you to consider it, I'm calling you back on behalf of the American people to do the right thing."
He walked to the door, opened it, and said to Wolfe, who was still pursing his lips and not responding, "As for the funding issue you are worried about, I will go and help you solve it now."
After saying that, Tommy walked out of the room, leaving only Sophia, who was leisurely admiring Wolfe's expression, and Wolfe Tucker, who had not yet recovered from Tommy's suffocating and passionate dream.
…
Tommy ate a burger at the KFC across from the company, and then did not ask Paige to drive him. Instead, he drove his car, which was mostly parked in the company garage and covered with dust.
That was the birthday gift that Ottilia gave to Tommy last year, a 1982 black Pontiac Firebird GTA.
Of course, Ottilia's gift is not ordinary. This 1982 Pontiac Firebird is not an ordinary model seen on the street. It is a perfect replica of KITT, the smart car of the protagonist of NBC's popular sci-fi series "Knight Rider" a few years ago. The reason why it is perfect is that if Tommy drives this car directly to Universal Studios and replaces the prototype exhibition car in the exhibition hall, no one will notice it.
After Ottilia bought a new car, she found George Barris, who modified KITT for "Knight Rider". This legendary old man is known as the first person to modify cars in the United States. He started designing and modifying the Batmobile for the "Batman" movie in the 1960s. Many celebrities would ask him to help modify their cars. His quotes were also very interesting. The price you had to pay for a modification was the same as the price you spent on a new car.
For Tommy's birthday, Ottilia asked him to help her perfectly replicate a KITT.
So Tommy's car is extremely cool, with functions such as one-touch convertible and one-touch hatchback. Even the sci-fi interior and steering wheel in the TV series are presented as they are.
Tommy even asked Martin to try to play the role of a car thief. The result was that when Martin got into the car, he didn't know how to drive it away. He couldn't find the key hole, and he didn't know where to disassemble it to hardwire the starter.
And once it starts, the large and small screens on the dashboard and various buttons in the car light up immediately, giving people the feeling of driving a small alien spaceship.
It's cool, of course, but Tommy seldom drives it out because the light pollution is too serious. He usually only drives it out when he needs to stimulate the rich guy. This is also one of the few things that Tommy can use to stimulate others.
Yes, he was going to see Rich Stephen .
When I drove to Stephen's residence in Los Angeles, the guy was basking in the afternoon sun, drinking a cold beer.
"Go ahead and show off, Tommy, but you'll soon lose the fun. I've asked George Barris to help me modify three cars." Stephen heard the roar of a car engine, opened his eyes, glanced at Tommy who was getting out of the car, and said lazily.
Tommy looked around and didn't see the other man's new girlfriend. He asked curiously, "Where's your new girlfriend?"
"I'm going to Paris to participate in the French Open, and I'm also going to Paris with my parents for a vacation." Stephen patted the empty seat next to him and said, "I called you more than a dozen times this morning. Are you finally willing to come and see me?"
Tommy came over and lay down, adjusting the angle to avoid direct sunlight into his eyes. "Well, to be honest, I forgot you called me. The TV station just started broadcasting and I was busy."
"I have completed two movie scripts, Tommy, and I want to make them." Stephen took out a beer from the ice bucket, handed it to Tommy, and said seriously.
Tommy took it and asked in a tentative tone, "I guess you are not stupid enough to try to trick me into investing in your movie, right? "
He knew that Stephen had always had a dream of making movies, but they could be friends, but asking him to pay for Stephen's dream was absolutely out of the question. This guy's dream was more suffocating than Tommy's. Tommy's dream could make money, but Stephen's dream of making movies seemed more like throwing money into the water.
"A romantic comedy, my own original script, called 'My Underage Husband', the kind of romantic comedy that has been popular in Hollywood in the past two years, it's a story about a beautiful woman and an underage boy, from being hostile to each other to understanding each other, and then to meeting, falling in love, encountering resistance and conflicts but finally living happily together." Stephen talked about the general plot of the script he had written. When he was happy, his eyebrows were beaming and his eyes were shining with excitement.
"Brother, forgive me for not believing in love, so I'm asking a practical question. If you don't pay for it yourself, have you found a company in Hollywood that is willing to invest and start filming?" Tommy opened the beer with a bottle opener, took a sip, and then considerately poured cold water on his good brother's head.
Stephen seemed to be used to Tommy's sharp tongue: "Many producers from film companies thought the script was great after reading it, but the financial pressure has been a bit high recently."
"When I don't want to spend money, I will also use this reason to refuse the other party, so what they said is what I want to say. In fact, I have been under a lot of financial pressure recently. Stephen, I will pay the bill and help you call a young actress from your wife with a maximum overnight fee of 20,000 to accompany you and have fun all night long in exchange for you giving up persuading me to invest in your movie. How about it?" Tommy laughed.
Stephen threw a cigar to Tommy and cursed, "Thank you for your honesty and generosity, idiot."
"You're welcome," Tommy said.
"I'm talking to you seriously about my dream, Tommy. You know, I've always had a dream of making movies. I've been trying to write sequel scripts for cartoon movies since I was eleven years old." Stephen pretended to kick Tommy and said dissatisfiedly.
This is true. Since he was very young, Stephen has liked to create follow-up stories for the cartoons he has watched. He also submitted cartoon stories to comic companies. However, over the years, he has not met a discerning mentor to discover this great screenwriter.
Tommy looked at Stephen and teased, "You wrote the script yourself and invested in the comedy film "Marrying the Ancestors". If I remember correctly, you invited the famous young director John Hughes to be the director, and you also brought in Rob Lowe and Linda Kozlowski to play the leading roles. The whole movie cost you 12 million. How much was the box office? Stephen, tell me loudly, how much did the movie you put so much effort into do at the box office?"
"Art cannot be measured by money alone, do you understand? Vulgar pauper." Stephen said dissatisfiedly.
Seeing that Stephen didn't say anything himself, Tommy spoke for him, "It was only 17 million. That was John Hughes, who could turn everything into gold. He made a movie called The Breakfast Club with a budget of 1 million and it grossed 50 million at the box office. He almost got depressed and jumped off a building because of your movie being criticized by critics."
"That's because the director didn't really understand the emotions conveyed in my script. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and now I know how to avoid this kind of problem," Stephen defended.
Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're aware of the problem of avoiding wasted money, Stephen. I..."
"The way to avoid it is for me to be the director and shoot my own script." Stephen interrupted Tommy and gave the answer excitedly.
Tommy seemed to be strangled by the neck. He stared at Stephen for a long time before speaking: "Is this your way of avoiding problems? Directing the battle yourself?"
"Yes, I promise to understand the emotional delivery of my scripts and present them perfectly on the screen." Stephen stared at Tommy with sparkling eyes. "Isn't that the best solution?"
"A genius director who made 50 million at the box office with just one million was almost sent to suicide by you. What you reflected on from this incident was that the director was rubbish, not the script?" Tommy said with a somewhat collapsed expression:
"Dude, where did you learn this way of reflection? So, the romantic comedy you just mentioned, are you going to be the screenwriter, director, and investor yourself? Man, which Hollywood actress would think that you believe in love and can make a good romantic movie?"
Stephen shook his head and explained very quickly, "No, no, no, it's not that romantic comedy. I just said I wrote two scripts. There's another one called Missing in Action, which tells the story of a summer camp. All the leaders of that country are missing, and a male protagonist named Tommy saves that country with his summer camp members. Did you hear that? It's our experience back then, and I finally worked hard and took some time out of my busy schedule to adapt it into a script."
"Otherwise, let's talk about romantic comedies, Stephen." Tommy looked at Stephen and said frantically:
"Why not just hide those memories in our own minds? Why turn it into a horrible horror story and get the audience to curse at it?"
Stephen ignored Tommy's words and excitedly introduced himself: "I think since I will be directing this time, the cost of the whole movie will be slightly higher, probably around 18 million to 20 million."
"I'll give you 20 million personally in exchange for you letting go of the beautiful memories shared by the CS gang. Just by hearing the name of this movie, I know I have no interest in buying a ticket to watch it." Tommy rubbed his face in despair and said weakly.
Stephen looked at Tommy seriously. "I will try my best, Tommy. I am not kidding. I have invited everyone in CS, including Otilia, to come to Los Angeles to audition for their roles. Everyone will decide which actor will play them, except Dennis who cannot come because he is serving overseas. Everyone is happy and eager to try. They encourage me, except you, you idiot. You keep throwing cold water on me."
"Okay, so in order to not be the biggest spoiler in your eyes, what do you need me to do?"
Stephen pulled out a thick stack of actor information from under his seat like magic: "This is the information of the actors listed as candidates. The top stack is the actor who plays Tommy."
"Who the hell cares about a poor guy's appearance? I'm more concerned about which actors are selected for the role of my wife Ottilia." Tommy smiled and flipped through the actors' information, skipping his own role and turning to the information of the female actors.
"That experience was very important to my life. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be as cheerful as I am now. So, I will take it very seriously and reproduce our story on the screen. Those experiences seem to have happened yesterday. I remember every little thing. I..."
Before he could continue to express his determination, Tommy suddenly interrupted him by pulling out one of the documents: "This document shows an actress who wants to audition for the role of Zoe, the shrew. Can you contact her?"
"Of course, there should be a contact number. What's wrong? Are you attracted to her?" Stephen took the information and took a look at the attached artistic and daily photos: "Wow, she has black hair. Have you changed your taste?"
"According to the information, this girl named Sandra Bullock's hometown is Arlington, Virginia. She settled in Germany with her parents. She is fluent in German. Her mother is a famous German opera artist..." Tommy said with his eyes flashing with excitement that was no less than Stephen's when he talked about his dream of making movies.
"Do you have to do this kind of complicated background check every time you sleep with an actress? What? To make sure you don't sleep with a black person?" Stephen couldn't understand why Tommy was so concerned about an actress's family situation at this moment.
Tommy came back to his senses and smiled at Stephen, "God is kind to me. Actually, I came here to ask you to invest some money in the TV business, but now, I think Stephen, your dream has touched me. I am willing to suffocate for your dream. You just said, how much did this movie cost?"
"Thirty million? Or more? It depends on how tempting this woman is to you." Stephen noticed Tommy's excitement and said with amusement.
Tommy nodded: "This woman is indeed very attractive to me."
"I don't think she's as pretty as Ottilia, Tommy." Stephen disagreed with Tommy's statement that the woman was very attractive.
Tommy did not deny it: "Of course, there are few women more beautiful than Ottilia. I don't want to marry her. I just want to find a chance to meet her father."
"Her father? So, are you going to sleep with her or her father?" Stephen asked Tommy with a strange look.
Tommy took a sip of beer. "If I remember correctly, there was a name recorded in a certain issue of SSD magazine. It was a famous alumnus of the SSD West Point Military Academy Chapter, Mr. Wilson Bullock. He was from Arlington, Virginia, graduated from West Point Military Academy, and served in the U.S. Army base in West Germany. During that time, he married a German opera singer and had two daughters. Judging from the girl's resume, I suspect that this girl named Sandra is one of Mr. Wilson Bullock's daughters."
"If she is his daughter, then what are the characteristics that attract you?" Stephen curled his lips and said unhappily, "Can't you just invest in my dream for once? Dreams, aren't dreams more attractive than money?"
Tommy looked at Stephen. "Wilson Bullock was previously the Assistant Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. After retiring, he became a logistics contractor for the U.S. Army Materiel Command, contracting the mail and express delivery business for all U.S. Army military bases overseas."
"You want to get to know him because you're planning to get involved in this military contractor business?" Stephen sighed in despair.
Tommy smiled at Stephen and said, "Maybe in the future, but for now, if we can get to know each other and reach some cooperation, I think the news network can save a lot of trouble when developing international news business. For example, if Germany does not agree to let us do exclusive reports, we can let the American soldiers who help defend Germany talk to them about what American-style mutual assistance is."
“Can we get back to our dreams? Don’t always put business first in every conversation.” Stephen gave him the middle finger and said with disgust.
Tommy nodded: "OK, OK, let's talk about your burning dream. As the producer, director, and screenwriter of the worst movie of the year, what is your dream?"
"Fuck You, Tommy." Stephen cursed after hearing Tommy's sarcasm.
Tommy tried to dissuade him seriously, "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about this dream, Stephen, because I'm not a gay like you. Change your dream."
