The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 35 Midnight Entertainment
Fox Tower, Fox Television Center.

On the floor belonging to Channel 11, assistant producer Claire hurriedly walked through the office area, opened the door of a director's room, and said, "Meghan, there is a hot news that is worthy of being the headline of Midnight Entertainment at 11 o'clock. The other party is offering a high price. Do you want to take a look?"

"Take me there." As the producer and anchor of "Midnight Entertainment", Megan took off the leather ring on her wrist and tied her cascading blonde hair behind her head, transforming from a sweet-looking female host to a shrewd and capable producer.

Claire walked across the hall, opened the door to the reception room, and followed Megan into the room.

There was only one person in the room. Megan took a quick look at him. The man with short black hair had an ordinary appearance and a calm expression. She didn't find anything special about him.

Claire introduced: "This is Megan, the producer of Channel 11's Midnight Entertainment."

"Nice to meet you." Hawke stood up and shook hands, and found that Megan, who was wearing high heels, was about the same height as him.

He handed over his business card and introduced himself: "Hawk Osment, founder of West Coast Media Entertainment Studios."

Megan nodded slightly, took the business card, handed it to Claire, and went straight to the point: "Let's watch the news first."

Hawke didn't say anything more. He pressed the play button and turned the laptop screen around and placed it in front of Megan.

Megan stared at the screen, watching the video carefully.

The video is very clear, the only drawback is that the voices are not clear. This is normal for outdoor shooting without professional microphones.

She watched it once, then replayed it, pausing it at several key points.

The pursuer was Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, and the person being pursued was a black man with a camera hanging around his neck, obviously a paparazzi.

The five people who appeared later included the instantly recognizable Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin and John Davis whom she knew, and two men who looked familiar but whose names she couldn't remember.

Megan told Claire: "Find out who these two people are."

Claire said, "I know them, Dominic Monaghan and Greg Parker, both actors from The Lord of the Rings."

Megan turned the laptop around, pushed it back towards Hawke, and asked, "How much are you going to sell it for?"

Hawke smiled and said, "Let me know your price. This is news that can be the headlines of entertainment."

Megan could see its value and made a tentative offer: "4000 dollars."

Hawke said nothing as he closed his laptop and put it in his bag.

Megan didn't say anything either, just looked at Hawke quietly.

Hawke put the notebook into his bag, put it on his back and walked out without looking back.

When people reached the door, Megan said, “Wait!”

Hawke stopped and turned to look at her.

Megan said: "Six thousand dollars, the most."

Hawke couldn't help but shake his head: "On Oscar night, the crew of The Lord of the Rings collectively chased and beat up reporters, obstructing press freedom. Isn't that worth $2?"

Obstructing press freedom? This accusation is pretty much what Megan thought.

This news is indeed valuable. After Fox's acquisition, Channel 11 has become wealthy, but Megan cannot spend almost a week's budget on one piece of news.

The show will start soon. Megan has no time to wait and said directly: "1 US dollars. If you don't agree, you can leave. I can tell you responsibly that no TV station in Los Angeles will offer a higher price than Channel 11."

Hawke remembered what Frank had mentioned and said, "Okay."

He put forward another condition: "But I have a request."

Megan glanced at her watch: "Don't go too far."

Hawke said, "I want two special correspondent passes for Channel 11."

Megan didn’t have that much power: “I can only give it to you from the Midnight Entertainment program team.” Hawke responded: “Okay.”

Megan told Claire: "Hurry up and handle the formalities." She looked at Hawke again: "The crew of The Lord of the Rings collectively attacked reporters and hindered press freedom. I like it very much. Next time there is big news, remember to come over."

Hawke said no problem.

The process here went very quickly. Both parties signed an exclusive licensing agreement, one side got the check, and the other side got the video.

An assistant from the program team had been waiting and took the video away as soon as possible.

Claire walked out with Hawke and asked someone to apply for a special correspondent card. She asked, "I haven't seen you before. Are you new in the industry?"

Hawke was noncommittal and said, "I've made headlines a few times."

"We have the ability." Claire said in a seductive tone: "Make more big news, especially about superstars. If it's explosive enough, we can pay six figures, or even seven figures."

The value of entertainment news is often several times that of social news. Hawke knows this very well and said, "I will contact you if there is any more news."

Claire took out her business card and gave it to Hawke: "Just call me directly."

The certificate was delivered to him, Hawke collected it, and quickly left the TV station.

Claire returned to the program director's studio and found that the videos she bought had been processed in the simplest way, all focusing on the pictures.

Megan adjusted the program program: "Put this news on the front page and push the Oscar results to the back."

"That's an Oscar!" the director objected.

Megan glanced at her watch. "It's been nearly two hours since the awards ceremony ended. The Oscar results are well known to everyone and lack sufficient appeal. In comparison, the gossip surrounding the Oscars is more attractive."

She asked, "How much did The Fellowship of the Ring make worldwide?"

Claire immediately responded: "More than $8.25 million."

Megan spread her hands and said, "Look at how popular this movie is. Orlando Bloom, who plays the extremely popular Gandalf and Legolas, openly chases and beats reporters on the road, obstructing press freedom. It's really interesting!"

"No, no..." She raised a finger and instructed the audio-visual engineer: "Pick out the footage of the person being chased."

On the player, Edward's figure was paused and fixed.

He is not a public figure, and because of portrait rights, his face has been blurred, but it is still clear that he is a black man.

Megan, as a host and producer, is a hard indicator for audience ratings. She said: "The sound in the video is not clear. Look at the close-up of Ian McKellen's mouth shape. Does it sound like he is cursing niggers?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the studio fell silent.

The director swallowed and said, "This will cause trouble. You will receive a lawyer's letter."

Megan has already thought of a solution: "The video is very clear, and it also captured a close-up of Ian McKellen. Find an oral expert and connect with him live. I will ask the oral expert questions on the grounds that someone suspects Ian McKellen of racial discrimination! Where is the legal advisor? Assess the risks."

A man wearing glasses said: "This is still guiding and there are risks."

"But the risk will be much lower, right?" Megan saw the legal advisor nod and said, "Very good, the plan is confirmed! Editor, write the manuscript immediately!"

She yelled again, "Claire, find a spoken language expert in five minutes."

The leader said one word and the subordinates ran around for Claire to look for the contact information of the oral expert.

Megan untied her hair and went to the dressing room to change her dress and touch up her makeup.

According to the regulations of Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, all female anchors must wear short skirts and stockings, regardless of whether it is serious news or program, and a special camera position is set up in the studio to shoot the female anchors from bottom to top.

Nearing 11 o'clock, Megan entered the studio, sat in front of the main camera, glanced at the teleprompter, and started today's "Midnight Entertainment".

(End of this chapter)