Hollywood Drawing

As Roger Ebert's agent, Lloyd Connor knew his client very well. Behind the seemingly gentle round glasses, there was a dirty soul that was no different from a capitalist.

At this time, the great film critic in the hearts of movie fans had an extremely ugly face. You could tell from his exposed buck teeth how angry he was.

"Lloyd, what happened?"

Like a girl who had been fucked, Roger Ebert inadvertently arranged the newspapers he had just read with one hand while asking questions, hiding the "Los Angeles Times" article underneath.

"Just now, I received two phone calls."

The manager seemed not to notice the other party's actions and sat across the dining table, his tone full of helplessness. "The person in charge of CBS and the producer of the program just called me..."

As the person who knows the Pulitzer Prize winner best, while he slowly narrated, he was still observing the other person's face. He knew that the news he brought might cause the other person to explode again, but he couldn't help it. Did not say.

"They asked me to inform you that they don't want to see your criticism of "The Departed" in any public media again, and they also warned us... that if something similar happens again, they will consider axing you and Ji Siskel’s show Sisk and Ebert Film Reviews!”

After finishing speaking, he looked at his client nervously. What was unexpected was that the other party did not show any signs of explosion. Instead, he leaned behind the chair with a calm face, crossed his hands on the dining table, and looked straight at him. .

"What's the reason?" Roger Ebert's brain was spinning rapidly at this time, thinking about what CBS meant by doing this.

The agent shrugged and breathed a sigh of relief in his mind. "The person in charge and producer of CBS told me that in the past few days, they have received more than 2,000 letters of protest from major cities across North America. Those ordinary movie fans hope that you will stop those false remarks and issued a public apology to Wayne Greenberg in the newspaper!"

It can be said that this is the first time that such a strange thing has happened to the great Roger Ebert, the "leader" of the film critics group, who deeply felt a chilling malice.

In other words, Wayne may not even know about this matter, otherwise, he will definitely feel a bad taste, and maybe he will want to meet the Pulitzer Prize winner and ask him personally. In the mid-to-late 1990s, the first What does it feel like to be bullied by the majority of troll netizens?

Hearing this, Roger Ebert picked up the already cold milk, took two sips, and asked with slightly trembling lips: "Are you sure those letters really exist?"

"That's for sure."

Agent Lloyd nodded, hesitated, and then continued: "However, I suspect that the reason for CBS to warn us is not just those letters of protest. It's not just a day or two that the TV station has received letters of protest. If they would Because of these warnings, we will not wait until now. Roger, the ratings of your program have always been very good."

Chicago, this city is the most famous Windy City in Illinois. Compared with Springfield, the capital of Illinois, it is not the least bit better here in terms of economy and heavy industry.

Another very important point is that Chicago can be said to be the third media capital in North America after Burbank, Los Angeles, and New York.

A TV station owned by CBS is located here. This TV station has an old celebrity program called "Sisk and Ebert Movie Review". The ratings of this show are very stable. It is not a hit, but it has always had a huge fixed audience.

In Wayne's previous life, this program was more like an evergreen tree. After the death of Roger Ebert's partner Gene Siskel, it joined forces with the famous columnist Richard Rope. The show was also renamed "Albert \u0026 Rope and the Movies".

"I think I can probably guess some of the main reasons for CBS." The agent's upper body suddenly relaxed, as if all his energy was suddenly released. After leaning on the chair, he continued: "Just when I hung up on CBS The phone call was followed by a warning call from Kevin Tzuhara’s secretary in the office of the CEO of Time Warner!”

Maybe CBS TV station's warning can be ignored by relying on the relationship they have accumulated over the years and the ratings of TV programs, but Time Warner is definitely different. It is one of the top three media groups in the world. If nothing else goes wrong. , after the remaining two months of 1996 pass, it will temporarily become the number one in the world.

It stands to reason that such a trivial matter is not worthy of the CEO of a media group speaking in person. Although it is somewhat hurtful to say so, the fact is that the two parties are not on the same level at all.

"Ha, what did the CEO of Time Warner say?"

When he heard his agent talking about the second phone call, Roger Ebert's face turned red at first, and then quickly calmed down. With a self-deprecating tone in his voice, he asked: "Tell me, is it still possible?" Is it anything worse than this?"

"Kevin Tsuhara's secretary only said one sentence..." The agent paused, and finally said: "He warned you to watch your hands."

Roger Ebert nodded, thinking that this was the right time. There was a high probability that Time Warner, an increasingly expanding and scary media giant, had said hello to CBS. Otherwise, with his many years of connections, the other party would not directly give a warning.

In fact, the agent did not say all the words completely because he only had the dignity of the other party. It's the 1990s now, and although I have always been reluctant to admit it, the fact is that the influence of my customers has begun to slowly decline as early as the past two years. When production companies discovered that film critics had little influence during the summer season, it was destined that this group would slowly lose their voice in the future.

Of course he knows why his client is desperately criticizing Wayne Greenberg, because Roger Ebert also realizes that if he loses the CBS television station that he relies on for survival one day, he can still keep the Disney-owned "And Ebert" "Watch a Movie Together" is a good program.

The current head of Disney is Michael Ovitz, who is willing to give him a favor. Although the status of this head of Disney is in jeopardy now, he has already torn apart with his childhood friend, Disney Emperor Michael Eisner. Face, but he is the nominal CEO of Disney after all, so accidents cannot happen easily.

If one day, the influence of film critics is reduced to the point of dispensability, and we lose two TV programs that we rely on for survival, Roger Ebert's film review column in the "Chicago Sun-Times", I'm afraid It would also be a joke.

In fact, both Roger Ebert and his agent imagined that professional film critics might really be marginalized in the near future. Just look at his lengthy criticism of "The Departed", which has not affected many viewers. This is the most obvious example. Such a situation would have been absolutely impossible five or six years ago.

"No, this kind of situation must not happen!"

Suddenly, agent Lloyd heard his client mumbling in an obviously hoarse and growling voice. Before he could think about how to save his face and comfort him, he saw Roger Ebert sitting across the dining table. , and suddenly fell under the dining table.

The accident came so suddenly that Lloyd was stunned on the spot, staring blankly at the flushed customer.

"Shit! Roger, what's wrong with you? Hello, is there anyone? Damn it, help me call 911..."

"..."

Perhaps he had received too much stimulation this morning, or perhaps Roger Ebert's body had a hidden illness. Under the successive mental blows, he fainted before even taking a breath.

An ambulance quickly arrived at the villa on the outskirts of Chicago, and then rushed to the hospital. Facing the busy medical staff, Lloyd felt that his spirit was tortured to the limit.

But this was far from the worst case scenario. He was sitting in the hospital rest area waiting for the results. While he was considering whether to call Warner Bros. and find ways to ease the relationship between the two parties, he was also worried about how to convince his clients to do so.

Everyone in this circle understands a rule, that is, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. This seemingly simple truth is very different when it comes to my hypocritical client who values ​​face more than life. Impossible.

Even a fool knows that you should not go against the capital group, otherwise the outcome will usually be unbearable. After years of struggle, Roger Ebert has diligently sucked blood from the film company. In the eyes of ordinary people, Roger Ebert may be a big deal. You are rich, but it depends on who you compare with. When the big capital feels that you have touched their interests and chooses to turn against you, you will instantly feel like a pauper.

However, all his worries disappeared after the doctor informed him of the test results. Thyroid cancer is a terrible term. Although it is far less rapid than cell cancer and blood cancer, it can harvest lives as quickly as cell cancer and blood cancer. However, as long as you are infected with cancer, even if you have it again, "Money ability", life has inevitably entered a countdown.

Broker Lloyd understands that his client may put down all worries now. No one can say what will happen in the future. Who knows what crazy ideas his client will have when his life enters the countdown?

Different from the gloom and gloom in the Chicago Medical Center, in Burbank, another media capital, various media outlets came out early in the morning, as if attracted by an invisible magnet, and began to rush into the Warner Bros. Building.

The crowd started to enter the building at 8 o'clock in the morning. To the disappointment of some reporters, because there were too many media reporters present, Warner Bros. staff strictly controlled the number of people who could enter the press conference venue. The company is really not big, and it may even be blocked entirely.

Batman Part II has touched the nerves of countless people, and no media is willing to miss this news that is destined to be hot. Fans across North America and even the world are eagerly awaiting it, hoping to get more news about the film. No media wants to miss this event.