Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 226 The Sick Little Turner
A few days after Tommy returned to Los Angeles, Herbert called him and said that he and Turner Jr. hoped to visit BT Entertainment Production Company, talk with Tommy and Rick Luther, the head of the program production team, and learn why BT's self-produced programs had amazing ratings, while the ratings of the self-produced programs of the three major TV networks CNN, TPS and TNT under Turner Jr. had been failing.
In the meeting room of BT Entertainment, the resolute little Turner was definitely a doer. After sitting down and greeting each other, the fifty-year-old white man with a beard stared straight at Tommy and asked him the question, eager to get the answer.
Tommy did not rush to speak, not because he was afraid of saying something wrong, or that Turner Jr. would beat him up like he had beaten up Murdoch over a disagreement. The old man's gray-blue eyes were full of sincerity. He really did not understand why the series of homemade movies, dramas and reality shows carefully produced by his three major TV networks were not liked by the audience. He came to Los Angeles to seek medical advice from BT TV, his younger generation.
This old white country man was born in Ohio. When he made money, he liked to buy land. In his spare time, he would go back to his hometown ranch to ride horses and herd cattle. He had a bad temper, a loud voice, and vulgar language. He often made some weird remarks. At first glance, he was not much different from Tommy's father who was rampant in Warwick.
But in fact, Turner Jr. is an out-and-out supporter of the Democratic Party. He likes to pay attention to and think about serious issues such as environmental protection, world peace, opposition to nuclear deterrence, and the American social system.
Many Democratic supporters and even Democratic politicians like to act under slogans such as environmental protection and equal rights. Even Tommy is used to talking about these words all the time. But the problem is that Tommy and those people are just shouting slogans, and those concepts are just tools to beautify themselves. But this little Turner is serious about it. He really believes that the United States needs to pay attention to environmental protection, the world needs peace, and Americans need universal health care, and he is willing to make efforts to promote these.
In addition, he likes to do things personally and often interferes with the production of specific programs. Therefore, the self-produced programs of the three major TV networks under his name are actually mixed with a lot of content that he wants the audience to know, which is a typical case of mixing in his own personal opinions. It is impossible for such programs to be good-looking.
For example, Fox Television Network recently officially named a cartoon series that was previously a talk show warm-up skit as "The Simpsons", expanded the length of each episode to 30 minutes, and put it on a prime-time trial. This is a cartoon series that tells the daily life of a typical blue-collar family in Ohio, USA.
Although this cartoon series often makes jokes about the government and capitalists, the politicians in it are all corrupt, the capitalists are all greedy, and the police can only shake their heads and spread their hands, but the ending of each story is good. The most important thing is that this cartoon series conveys a message, that is, although the United States also has flaws, the people living here are optimistic, kind, and prosperous. The United States is still a strong country, and all the big troubles that seemed to be in trouble at the time, when we look back, are all past events that can make us smile knowingly.
Although it is a cartoon series, the characters and plots in it evoked a strong sense of resonance among ordinary American people. The ten-episode pilot that Fox temporarily prepared to test the waters immediately made it into the top ten of its own program ratings. This pilot performance also allowed Fox to quickly form a luxurious professional content team of more than 20 people for this cartoon series to ensure that the first season that will actually be broadcast in the future will be more exciting than these ten pilot episodes.
When Turner Jr. saw the success of Fox's pilot program "The Simpsons", he also wrote a script and produced a cartoon series for prime time, focusing on environmental protection. The series was called "Earthlings", and he hoped that through cartoons, Americans would understand the dangers of environmental pollution and increase their awareness of environmental protection.
The result of these two cartoon series competing in the same time slot was that Fox's "The Simpsons" received rave reviews from newspapers, magazines and TV viewers, and many TV magazines gave it full marks.
However, Turner's "Earthbound", which he thought was a perfect combination of depth and entertainment , did not even finish the 15 episodes of the pilot because a large number of viewers called to report that the various monster designs in "Earthbound" scared their children and that the show was suspected of using the excuse of environmental pollution to create panic among children. The show was hastily suspended and redesigned.
For example, Fox Movie Channel previously launched a TV movie called "Pray for Me", which was low-budget but well-received by the audience. It tells the story of an American pilot who carried an atomic bomb to bomb Japan and eventually returned safely. The protagonist's recollection of his brother's death in Pearl Harbor was used to focus on portraying Japan's brutality and ferocity. This made it logical for the protagonist to volunteer to fly a plane to drop the atomic bomb. He did not need to blame himself, he was not the murderer who killed hundreds of thousands of people, he was eliminating fascism, and he was an American hero who ended the war.
Let’s take a look at the work of this old man Turner. The TNT TV network’s self-produced TV movie "The Long Shadow" also tells the story of nuclear weapons. The protagonist is an American doctor who participated in the development and testing of nuclear weapons radiation. He accidentally met a soldier who was dying of cancer due to exposure to nuclear radiation. This made him realize that the nuclear weapons that he previously thought should maintain world peace are the biggest obstacle to this world peace. The protagonist fell into deep reflection and self-blame.
You don't need to go to the movies, just read the story outline, normal Americans know which movie to choose to kill time. After all, people watch movies to get pleasure, not to get depressed.
After watching "The Long Shadow", the editor of the Los Angeles Times commented that Turner Jr. is mentally ill, and his condition is even more serious than that of the protagonist of the movie.
"I think the most important thing is, just like what I talked about with Mr. Siegel in New York before, trust the production team and try not to interfere with them too much." Tommy smiled and said to Turner:
"I communicate with them and come up with a general idea. If I approve, then the subsequent work will be completely handed over to them. They will hold a serious meeting to discuss whether the idea is feasible, and then conduct market research, detailed design and so on. I will not participate in those works. Generally, before the production of a self-made program is completed, I will only meet with the production team three times. The first time is to discuss the idea with them, the second time is to listen to the production team's report on the entire project plan based on the idea, and decide whether to put up money for the production, and the third time is to watch the rough cut sample with them."
Turner stared at Tommy steadily. “I think you’re suggesting that I learn to shut up, kid.”
"I know that you and your father, Mr. Turner Sr., are both masters of micromanagement with a degree in economics from Brown University. You can remember the locations and even the content of the advertisements of Turner Advertising's more than 3,000 billboards in the United States. You know the contract period for each of them and which ad space is suitable for what kind of advertisement. I admire this very much, but program production does not require micromanagement. You can't always be the director, producer, screenwriter, lighting designer, stylist... This is not the advertising industry where the boss can easily serve as an advertising salesman. This is the television industry that emphasizes teamwork." Tommy took a sip of Coke and said to Turner Jr.
"You're just telling me to shut up." Turner repeated, but he laughed. "I've actually realized that I'm not a genius, at least not when it comes to program production. That's why I want to invest in Warner instead of in my own name. I'm afraid that if I join your board of directors, I won't be able to help but make decisions, and Warner will send a good-tempered executive to attend the board meeting."
After chatting with Turner Jr. for a while, Rick Luther finished arranging the work and brought his team to the conference room to meet Turner Jr.
Tommy had no interest in this kind of business discussion involving specific production processes. After Turner shifted his focus and began to ask Rick curious questions, Tommy stood up and left. He went to a small conference room to have coffee with Herbert Siegel, who came with Turner, and asked him what kind of entertainment he would choose to pass the time if he had a few months of leisure vacation.
As a result, they sat down for no more than five minutes. When they were debating whether they should choose to learn mountaineering skills or practice skiing techniques to pass the time, they heard footsteps outside. The next second, Rick Luther appeared outside the door with a strange expression on his face.
"It's only five minutes." Tommy glanced at the time on his watch and said to Rick, "I don't think this time is even enough for you to introduce your team members to Mr. Turner."
Rick shrugged pitifully at Tommy and whispered, "The conversation didn't go well. Mr. Turner thought I was insincere, and I thought he was mentally ill."
