Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 227 Born Noble
It was the first time that Tommy heard someone question Rick Luther's lack of sincerity. You know, although this guy with red hair and bright floral shirts looked like the most common slick white drug dealer on California beaches, in fact, Rick was very sincere to people. This was not Tommy's boasting, but was recognized by many people in the industry.
With the success of BT's self-produced programs, many program producers from other TV stations or production companies, like Turner Jr., would come to BT Entertainment as guests, or invite Rick to visit their companies, so as to exchange ideas on each other's working methods and expand their social circles.
The way Rick treated those people can be summed up in two words: sincerity.
They will never hypocritically flatter each other, but will speak frankly and honestly about their thoughts on the production of the program.
He does not hide his previous work experience in San Fernando, nor does he avoid the fact that every time he designs a new program, he tends to approach it from two vulgar angles that have nothing to do with the art of television: appealing to the audience's voyeurism and providing them with visual enjoyment.
It's just that few of his peers can learn any useful knowledge from Rick's sincere teaching, because each of them has their own pursuit of television art. And Rick Luther, from the day he started working for Tommy, felt that the reality show he produced was no different from the small movies he had shot in San Fernando before. Artistry, watchability, depth, and levels are all shit. His only pursuit is to let the audience get satisfaction after watching the show.
But even if his peers cannot learn Rick's exclusive secret, they understand that Rick's attitude towards people is very sincere. The reason why they cannot learn it may be a problem of talent and personal artistic pursuit.
Now, Rick said to Tommy, Little Turner actually questioned the sincerity of Rick Luther, the teacher he respected the most and who could help advertisers squeeze money out of a large number of low-level niggers?
Tommy immediately stood up and walked towards the meeting room. When a boss treats excellent employees, he must understand one thing, that is, if you need subordinates to help you make money, then you need to support your subordinates.
Moreover, it was the old guy who found a friend of his father-in-law and took the initiative to come to discuss cooperation. It's not like Tommy's BT Entertainment has no work to do. Even if he is a film and television tycoon, he can't be so justified in going to someone's door to ask for cooperation, right?
The Democratic Party's hereditary rednecks are so powerful? Tommy was so angry that he called his father's hardcore Republican white trash in Warwick to fly over to talk to him about different views on environmental protection, racial equality, and nuclear deterrence.
Seeing Tommy come back in, Turner still had anger on his face. He asked Tommy before he sat down, "Tommy, your subordinate is the exact opposite of you. He is a bit hypocritical."
"My men said the exact opposite of what you said, Mr. Turner. They said you deserve a beating." Tommy pulled out his chair and sat next to little Turner. He turned sideways to face the old guy, put half of his arm on the table, stared at him and said.
Turner glanced at Rick Luther in the distance, then looked at Tommy. "Do I look like someone who flew all the way from New York to Los Angeles just to find someone to beat me up?"
"You want to talk to my best producer, Rick Luther, who is BT's top producer. He turned down other work arrangements and made two hours to chat with you. Do you think this is hypocritical? Everyone knows that you have a bad temper, Mr. Turner, of course I have heard about it, but if you think that because you have a bad temper, everyone should respect and fear you, you are in the wrong place."
"You think I'm slandering him?" Turner was surprised to find that Tommy seemed really angry. "Do you think I, who came all the way to visit you, would be so rude as to slander someone I really want to learn from? Even the stupidest person should know to respect wise people who can help them. This little rascal is just a hypocritical guy."
"The Dean of Brown University who caught you fucking a female classmate in the dormitory should also be a wise man, but I heard that he didn't end up well that day because he interrupted your interest. The humiliation that the wise Dean received from you was even more fucking filthy than the jokes that German women heard when they welcomed the American soldiers. You even tried to smear some water stains into his mouth, letting a 56-year-old man taste the taste of youth." Tommy started with a long story about Turner's tough experience when he was young:
"From this, it can be seen that the respect you show to wise men is not very understandable to normal people."
Herbert Siegel had told him about Turner Jr.'s character a long time ago. If he was unhappy with him, he could confront him in person. If the old guy realized that the mistake was his, he would apologize. If the problem was with the other party, he would also criticize him directly. He was a very lovable and honest old man.
When a reporter interviewed Turner Jr. and asked him why he only retained the copyright of MGM's film library instead of continuing to own the entire MGM Studios, Turner stared at the reporter for more than ten seconds and said: "It's the same reason why you can only marry one wife, poverty."
What Tommy just said was the legendary experience of Turner Jr. when he was studying at Brown University and skipped classes to have sex with a girl in the dormitory, and was trapped in bed by the school. If he was trapped by the dormitory administrator, it might not be a big problem. The problem was that he happened to meet the provost that day, and facing the provost's dissuasion, Turner Jr. was not afraid and threatened to let the provost, an old guy who had probably been impotent for many years, have a taste of youth.
The result was that countless boys at Brown University slept with girls in the dormitory, but the only student who was directly expelled for sleeping was Turner.
It was not until he became a billionaire and donated a large sum of money to the school after outlasting the provost that the school awarded him the degree he had received many years late and cancelled the punishment against him.
The old man almost had a heart attack on the spot because of Tommy's words. His breath was stuck in his chest and it took him a long time to catch his breath. His face was full of anger and he was about to slam the table and leave in anger.
But thinking about the fact that his own paid variety channel has reduced its monthly subscription fee from 20 cents to 10 cents, but still can't stop the loss of subscribers, Turner still feels it is necessary to explain why he thinks the red-haired boy is hypocritical:
"I asked him about reality TV shows, but he recommended me to watch some adult movies, saying that I could find the answers there. I said that I have slept with more women in my life than the male stars in adult movies, and I have rich practical experience. I like to talk about topics involving beautiful women, but not now. I want to learn about reality shows now, an American reality show with depth and connotation that the audience is willing to pay to subscribe to. Do you know what he said to me? He said he was powerless and he didn't know how to make that kind of reality show. You can tell me directly, because it involves some fucking commercial secrets so I can't say anything, but you can't tell me so perfunctorily, I don't know, I can't do anything, sorry, the door is over there."
"Uh... I can guarantee that he didn't lie." Tommy said after listening to the complaints of the angry old man Turner.
Tommy waved at Rick, signaling him to go back to work. He explained to Turner, "There are some misunderstandings. Rick is not the TV people you dealt with before. He doesn't consider issues like connotation and depth. The first thing he worries about when making a program is how to narrow the scale to avoid being suspended by the FCC. This is a misunderstanding. I'm very sorry for bringing up your youth just now. I am willing to donate $100,000 worth of food to the American bison you want to protect to make up for the damage you have suffered."
Turner started the follow-up topic by himself: "I received news that Fox is preparing a reality show about the upper class for their paid variety channel, and it is inspired by the hit BT TV network "The Pretender" and CBS's hit drama "Dynasty". "
"The women in your life are just clouds. Only Murdoch is your true love, Mr. Turner." Tommy said weakly, holding his forehead with his hand.
Ever since Turner Jr. cheated in the yacht race in Australia because Murdoch deliberately capsized his boat, the old man seems to have gone crazy and always wanted to find an opportunity to teach Murdoch a lesson and get back at him. He first held a press conference and challenged Murdoch to a boxing match in Las Vegas to decide the winner. After being ignored by Murdoch, he started to show off in program production. No matter what outstanding program Murdoch's Fox produced, Turner Jr. always had to produce a similar program to compete.
After fighting for so long, everyone's evaluation is that Murdoch is unmoved and Turner Jr. is mentally ill.
It seems that he still doesn't give up and feels that the level of his own production team may be a little low, so this time he sought external assistance from BT Entertainment.
"'Born Nobles' satisfies people's curiosity about the upper class. It follows the young heirs of five upper-class families and peeks into the changes in the fate of five wealthy families. It is claimed to be a real-life version of 'Family Grudges'."
Users of pay cable channels are completely different from viewers of TV networks like BT. These seemingly more advanced voyeuristic reality shows can indeed make groups that are slightly higher in level than free viewers willing to pay for subscriptions. And according to Turner Jr., Fox has indeed invested a lot in this paid reality show. The five families are all real, and their social status includes senators, billionaires, socialites, etc. These are not something that can be invited to appear on the show simply by paying a salary.
If Tommy remembered correctly, he had indeed watched a similar reality show on a pay channel in his previous life, but he was not sure whether it was produced by Fox, and he forgot which season it was. However, he felt that the program was very well produced. There must be some interpretation, but not a lot. It was a real and fake daily intrigue among the rich and powerful.
"People do like to peek into the lives of rich people, which makes them feel hazy and mysterious because they haven't experienced it themselves. This is indeed very attractive, but I was just thinking that maybe people will have another question, how did I become a rich man." Tommy sat next to Little Turner in silence for a long time before he spoke to the old man, "I have an idea, but I don't think Rick and the others can do it all. They are not good at this. I can introduce you to someone who can do it and is definitely interested in doing so."
"The top elites in the film and television industry?" Turner asked with some doubt.
According to his understanding, the most well-known company in the reality show segment of film and television is BT Entertainment. If the headhunting company had not failed to poach Rick Luther, he would not have to sit here at an old age and reminisce about his unbearable college years with young people younger than his son.
"He is undoubtedly an industry elite. Let's put it this way. 60% of Hollywood actresses have worked with him." Tommy looked at Little Turner and said seriously:
"The owner and producer and director and writer of Paradise Productions, Stephen Bean."
