♪ up-tempo, dramatic music ♪
♪ quiet, atmospheric music ♪
[clock ticking]
[reporter] Roger Ailes, one of the most influential
and controversial figures in cable news...
[reporter 2] After collapsing at his home three days ago,
the former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has died.
[reporter 3] The founder and former chairman of Fox News...
[reporter 4] Sexual harassment allegations
that dogged Roger Ailes...
[overlapping voices continue]
[reporter 5] Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has died.
[Roger] I know what people are going to say about me.
I can pretty much pick the words for you.
Right-wing, paranoid, fat.
[Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" playing]
And I'm not gonna argue with them.
I am a conservative...
-[coughs] -I do like to eat,
and I believe in the power of television.
Giving the people what they want...
♪ Snowin' and blowin'... ♪
...even if they don't know they want it.
♪ Now the jingle hop has begun... ♪
Happy holidays.
Merry Christmas.
♪ Talking Heads' "Television Man" ♪
♪♪
♪ I'm looking and I'm dreaming ♪
♪ For the first time ♪
♪ And I'm inside and I'm outside... ♪
Both parties must do their part
to move this process forward.
♪ And everything is real ♪
♪ Do I like the way I feel? ♪
♪ When the world crashes in, into my living room ♪
♪ Television made me what I am ♪
♪ People like to put the television down ♪
♪ But we are just good friends ♪
♪ I'm a television man ♪
♪ Yes, I... ♪
[horn honks]
[knocking on door]
Hello, I'm Roger Ailes.
Jack Welch is expecting me.
♪ And I knew a girl ♪
♪ She was a macho man ♪
♪ And I... ♪
Hell of a house you got.
I love it out here.
♪ I wasn't fooled for long... ♪
[Roger] Thank you.
♪ This is the place for me ♪
So what's the plan, Jack?
Well, we're thinking
a quiet announcement after the New Year
that you're leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Uh, you can help to write the release.
You know... [clears throat]
whatever they're saying I did, it didn't happen, Jack.
Yeah, well, I am your biggest fan, Roger.
But with the HR investigation and the lawyers,
not up to me anymore.
We want to make this easy. The package is very generous.
The money's not the issue.
Then what is?
The noncompete.
Roger, we can't have you walking over to CNN
when we're about to launch MSNBC.
Microsoft will have a cow.
CNN? Ha.
No, Jack, I mean that I'm still a young man.
I'm only 55. I got to keep working.
Television has been my life this past 30 years.
You can stay in television, Roger.
You can do whatever the hell you want.
We just can't have you crossing the street.
-You know that. -Okay, but I just got
to keep the door open a little wider.
For the future.
[chuckles]
Come on, Roger, let's be honest.
You're a hell of a producer and you're one of the best
PR guys I've ever met.
But you're not a news guy.
Maybe.
It's not an insult, Roger.
No.
It's a reminder that you have limitless potential.
And I mean that.
[clears throat]
If there's anything I can do to help,
-don't hesitate to ask. -Well, you know, I am.
I am asking, Jack.
Uh, you know, I, uh...
I can have my guys
put together a specific noncompete list.
Uh, it can include every
existing news outlet on the planet. You know? Uh...
You can vet it, you can sign off on it.
You know, I just have to broaden the scope.
I need to remain employable,
and you have to give me a little more breathing room.
I'll do my best.
Ah, that's all I can ask.
[cheering]
Hey, it's Roger.
-[whistling] -Yeah, I just left Jack.
I think it's gonna work out.
Yeah, well, he said he's gonna leave the door open, you know.
Huh.
He has no idea...
Okay.
...how hard I'm about to fuck him.
Okay.
♪ up-tempo, dramatic music ♪
Thank you.
[exhales]
These last two years together,
we've accomplished great things.
Great things. You have to understand that, right?
The ratings are up 50%.
Profits have tripled.
We... we...
...we innovated.
We brought talk to prime time.
[laughs] Everybody said it was crazy,
but, hey, we're crazy, we did it, right?
-[laughter] -We did it. We were the first
to put a news anchor on the floor of the stock exchange.
Money Honey.
The Money Honey, that's right!
But we got to be respectful.
Hold on, you got to be respectful,
'cause Maria is a very fine business journalist.
Very fine. Who just happens to be
hot as a pistol. What can I say?
[laughter]
Not bad for the ratings I'm... anyway.
[exhales]
Listen, I'm gonna miss all of you
a... a hell of a lot
'cause I consider all of you in this room
to be family.
We love you, Roger.
Now you tell me?
[laughter]
You should've played your cards a little earlier.
-Might've got a raise. -[laughter]
I am so proud of what we have achieved together.
And we have merely scratched the surface of greatness.
-Finish the job for me. -[applause]
♪ somber, dramatic music ♪
♪♪
[reporter] There is news to report to you tonight
involving the news business.
More specifically, this company.
NBC and Microsoft Corporation
today announced that they are joining forces to create
new ways to distribute news around the world.
The new venture will offer viewers greater choice
not just when they'll get their news,
but what kind of information will be available.
Jack Welch, chairman of NBC's parent company
General Electric, said
GE and Microsoft were logical partners...
This is the very beginning of the interactive world.
[reporter] As for a timetable, executives say
the new cable channel, an online service,
will be phased in over the next few months.
[Beth] Roger?
Oh, my gosh, Roger, what happened?
It's just a little cut.
It doesn't look like a little cut.
Ah, you know, hemophiliacs bleed.
We're pretty damn good at it.
Is there anything I can do?
Please remind me why you are dating a diseased old man.
Nice try.
Where are your pills?
So, NBC are going nuts because, you know, I agreed
to not work for a list of existing news agencies.
[chuckles]
Not a nonexistent news agency.
[laughs] And they signed off on the list, so there's nothing
-they can fucking do about it. -So smart.
-Mm-hmm. [laughs] -Jack must be pissed.
-Mm. So pissed. Right? -Serves him right.
-Mm-hmm. -He betrayed you.
He betrayed his shareholders.
And what's happening with Fox?
Well...
...the offer letter came from Murdoch today.
-So it's happening. -It's happening.
Roger, that is amazing.
Now let's just hope I don't screw it up.
You won't. You're gonna do great things.
What about you?
How are things down on the ranch?
Weird.
Mm...
I just don't know who to trust.
You know what?
[kisses] Trust yourself.
You work twice as hard as anybody in that building.
You're twice as smart.
And you're beautiful.
And you should just go with that.
Just be you.
I promise you it's gonna work out.
-Thank you. -It's the best strategy.
Can you imagine Jack
tomorrow morning at breakfast?
-To see his face. -Motherfucker's
gonna have ulcers. [laughs]
[Beth] How could he be so dumb?
What a dick.
[camera shutters clicking]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪
[Murdoch] I, uh, appreciate you all coming
on such short notice.
I'm delighted to announce that my company,
News Corporation, is launching a 24-hour
cable news network
to compete with CNN and MSNBC.
One year from now, Fox News Channel
will go on air, giving Americans
a powerful new voice in news and information.
And I am very lucky
to obtain the services of Mr. Roger Ailes.
Producer of the number one-rated
Mike Douglas Show at 26,
Nixon media adviser at 28,
Roger is the preeminent Republican strategist
of his generation, advisor to three presidents
and countless members of Congress.
And as a producer, in two short years,
he has built CNBC
into a world-class news organization.
[applause]
[reporter] Roger, given your résumé,
how can viewers expect Fox News to be nonpartisan?
-Don't be shy, Jim. -[laughter]
I left politics years ago.
I consider myself to be a news guy first and foremost.
At Fox our job is to be objective.
[reporter 2] How can you compete with MSNBC,
which has the combined resources of Microsoft and GE?
"MSNBC." I never liked that title.
It sounds like something we should be raising money for.
[laughter]
[elevator bell dings]
♪ optimistic music ♪
♪♪
Roger. G'day.
Ian Rae.
-Welcome to Fox. -Thank you.
[Roger] This is my assistant Judy.
[Ian] Judy, of course. Welcome.
The latest, uh, business plan,
in case you want to read through it
-before the presentation. -Appreciate it.
[Ian] Yeah.
I'll let you get to it, then.
If there's anything you need, anything at all,
I'm just down the hall.
I've worked with Rupert for a, a long time, so...
feel free to reach out if something doesn't make sense
and you need a, uh, a translator of sorts.
[laughs] Thank you.
-[clears throat] -Cool.
What do you think?
My thoughts exactly.
[Australian executive] We ran focus groups
in all the major markets: Los Angeles,
New York, Dallas, Chicago.
CNN represent old. They're stuck in the 1980s.
MSNBC, lost in a synergistic dream land.
-That's one way of putting it. -[laughter]
Fox News will be programmed for the '90s.
Fast, loud, edgy.
Tabloid TV.
It's based on a
very similar concept to A Current Affair, Rupert.
And it draws on the strengths of the Post and the Sun.
Sounds good to me, gents.
Roger?
Hmm. One question:
who is your audience?
Everyone.
We want to reach the widest audience possible.
Well, I think that's wrong.
[executive] Excuse me?
[Roger] We don't need everyone.
Your problem is that you're talking broadcast.
Cable is different.
Cable is about one thing: niche.
The loyalty of a passionate few.
We need to program
directly to the viewer who is predisposed
to buying what we're trying to sell.
In politics it's called "turning out the base."
If we can do that, then they will never change the channel.
And what is that niche?
Well, I think it is conservatives.
It's roughly half the damn country.
Every other news service...
you think about it, broadcast, cable,
doesn't matter who it is... they have a left wing bent.
Ultimately, they are playing to a liberal elite,
and that's fine, fine.
We will let them all battle out for that half,
and we're just gonna own the other half.
Right now in America,
60% of people
think that the media is negative,
that it's full of lies, full of bias,
full of crap.
We're just gonna give the people what they want,
a positive message, an American message,
wrapped up in a conservative viewpoint.
That's hearts and minds right there.
Sounds like a plan.
Yeah, agreed. Um, I can make up a new blueprint
and get it to you by next Monday.
No, I'd like it before the weekend.
Uh, it's good work, Roger.
Thanks, mate.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you. Thank you, Roger.
Thank you, Ian.
That was illuminating.
[Beth] Is Rupert really as brilliant as they say?
Well...
...he hired me, didn't he?
[chuckles] Yes, he did.
You know, I'm gonna bring Brian in.
Brian Lewis?
You know what's gonna be different about Fox, Brian?
PR is gonna be the engine.
The news people are going to work for us.
Now, you can take your velvet coffin from NBC if you want,
but I know you're not going to
because you're Brian fucking Lewis.
You're a trained killer, you're an assassin,
and I know that for a fact
'cause I'm the guy who trained you.
We're gonna have fun, and we're gonna get rich doing it.
And Chet Collier, too.
Roger.
I'm just gonna be surrounded by people I trust.
Too many
fucking kangaroos running around Fox.
So... what am I looking at?
The main studio.
We're gonna run our entire slate
of dayside right out of here.
Eight hours of live TV? This place is tiny.
We can move things around.
[train passing]
What's that?
That's a subway, it runs under Sixth.
You gonna move that, too?
Why am I here, Roger?
How does Senior Vice President,
Programming sound?
The last thing I actually produced
was the Westminster Dog Show.
It's all the same.
News, talk shows,
English fucking bulldogs, it's all the same.
Rupert is giving us a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Millions of dollars
and our own street-level studio,
just like Good Morning America, just like the Today Show,
except, Chet, it's not one show,
it's an entire fucking network,
and it's our network.
So, how much time is Murdoch giving you?
A year.
Ooh, that's tight.
Not if I have you.
Hey.
Why don't you come and work for Fox?
Get off that sinking ship.
I...
You know, since you left, I've been really running things.
I'm, like...
running the transition to MSNBC,
I'm in charge.
Well, you know, that's...
that's probably only for a few months.
But, you know, it could lead to something else,
it's a great opportunity, you know that.
And I don't want to be too
dependent on you.
Why? You think I'm gonna let you down?
No. [chuckles]
No, I just don't want to put too much...
pressure on us.
I'm not asking you to make a choice, Beth. No.
I appreciate that.
I got to say, though, you know,
you working for those assholes who fired me,
it makes me feel like I'm losing,
and I don't, I don't like that feeling.
I don't like to lose.
You're not losing, Roger,
and you're definitely not losing me.
You should try this pasta.
♪ slow, atmospheric music ♪
♪♪
[Roger] Laurie Luhn.
[Laurie chuckles]
[Roger] So tell me about him.
[Laurie] Well, h-he's nice.
Nice?
Yes, Roger, he's nice.
Hmm. Is it serious?
Well, he...
he took me home to Buffalo for Christmas.
Buffalo in December?
Mm-hmm.
My God, that's serious. [chuckles]
I do like you in a pearl necklace.
Um...
How's the new job? [chuckles]
Well,
my doctor says I'm killing myself, so what's new?
[laughs]
Well, if anyone can do it, you can.
Laurie.
What do you think about you coming to work for Fox News?
I need to surround myself
with people I can trust, and that is one thing
we definitely have: trust.
I-I don't know what to say, I...
[Roger] How about you say yes?
I remember you told me you wanted
to work in television, you wanted to learn from me.
Here's the opportunity...
knock, knock, knock... on your door.
Step through,
say thank you, please me, yes.
[stammering] My life is in D.C....
-Scott is there. -Yeah, so stay.
You can be my eyes and ears in D.C.
We're gonna open a bureau there anyway.
Just take on special events.
Do the dog and pony shows for the affiliates,
the launches, the announcements.
Come and go out of New York
or anywhere else we need a little bit of sparkle,
a little bit of star power.
[chuckles]
Roger, I can't.
Not anymore.
Laurie, we're building something very special at Fox.
And I want you to be part of it.
You always had that star power in my eyes, you know that.
[door opens]
Yeah.
Okay, all right.
All right, I'll think about it. [chuckles]
I'll think about it, Roger.
♪ This is how we do it ♪
♪ It's Friday night ♪
♪ And I feel all right ♪
♪ The party's here on the Westside... ♪
Thought I was gonna find Malcolm X in here.
♪ Designated driver, take the keys to my... ♪
[music stops]
That's good stuff. You should give it a chance.
Yeah. It's no Marvin Gaye.
[laughs]
Look, uh, I need you to get the lay of the land
as quick as you can and come back and give me a report.
Anyone in particular?
Yeah, Ian Rae. He's Australian,
he's worked for Murdoch for a long time.
Famously unflappable.
Anyone else?
All of them. It's an old ship, lots of rats.
-[laughs] -It's good you're here.
♪ Oh, I'm buzzing because ♪
♪ This is how we do it ♪
♪ South Central does it like nobody does ♪
♪ This is how we do it ♪
♪ To all my neighbors, you got much flavor ♪
[distorted] ♪ This is how we do it ♪
♪ I'll never ♪
♪ intense, dramatic music ♪
♪♪
[siren whoops]
[Murdoch] Roger, this is in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal.
"Disney to Launch ABC News Cable Network:
A Fourth Competitor Enters Crowded Market."
[elevator bell dings]
[Ian] They launch in December.
[Murdoch] Yeah, that's eight months from now.
We launch in a year, we're dead in the water.
You know, there's barely enough room in the market
for two news networks,
let alone four.
So let's launch in six.
[laughs]
What, you want to launch an entire network in six months?
I don't think we have a choice.
Launching in a year is-is a heavy lift,
six months is impossible.
No, it's not impossible.
Well, would you, uh,
care to elaborate?
[Roger] Well, if we wait an entire year,
then we're gonna lose something quite important
that Mr. Murdoch is paying me for,
and that's influence, so let's not pause
to create a business model equivalent
to the competition, let's undercut them.
Just get the eyeballs.
Now I don't know what it's like in England
or Australia. Newspapers might be enough.
Here in America, television news is king.
I know television, I know how to produce television.
All you got to do is get me on the air.
We can be ready in six months.
[Murdoch] And, uh,
if we're not?
Fire me.
No, you know what? Fuck it.
I'll quit, and you can donate my salary to the ACLU.
♪ intense, dramatic music ♪
[Bill Clinton] We are better off than we were four years ago.
We have a better plan for the future.
Our best days are still ahead.
You got to stop the liberal bias in this country.
Don't read that stuff, don't watch television.
You make up your mind, don't let them
make up your mind for you.
[crowd cheers]
Well, that's a fascinating life story.
Thank you for coming in.
Your English is great.
[door opens]
[door closes]
Who ordered the pussy masala?
-[laughs] -She's smart.
-She worked for the BBC. -Mm.
She won't play in the Midwest, Ian.
She just won't play.
Are these the ones you didn't choose?
Those are a waste of time.
Oh, well, they're ugly, I'll give you that much.
If we're ever gonna fight the First World War again,
we're gonna call that guy.
[laughs]
[clears throat]
You got any video on him?
Yep.
Hannity.
Says he does talk radio in Atlanta.
[Ian] Yeah. The guy is a bloody
shock jock.
Tax and spend, that-that-that's really all you got.
Not surprising for a limp-wristed lefty
like yourself, always looking to...
[Roger] Limp-wristed lefty's good.
He was painting houses there a year or two ago.
There is no way this guy
is ready for prime time.
Mute the sound.
-What? -Mute... the sound.
[sound muted]
♪ intriguing, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪
What do you think, Chet?
[Chet] Yeah.
Yeah, he's good.
[Roger] Okay, bring that guy in
and find me more guys like that guy.
Real guys.
[indistinct chatter]
♪ somber, dramatic music ♪
♪♪
You going to HR?
Yeah.
[elevator bell dings]
[Roger] So, Chloe,
where do you see yourself?
Honestly, on air.
I mean, it's been my dream since I was a little girl.
Uh-huh. In, uh, Virginia.
Yes, sir. Abingdon, Virginia.
"Honor for the past, faith for the future."
-[chuckles] -That's our town's motto.
I like that.
You know, if you want to be on air,
you're gonna have to fight for that.
That's a highly, highly competitive job.
You've got to be prepared to go all the way.
Stand up, let me look at you.
Come here into the light.
Give me a little twirl.
[chuckles]
Well, you move very well.
And you know what?
You have got some beautiful eyes.
How do you get on with your dad?
Um...
[Hannity] Even someone like you has to admit,
when you, when you look at the prosperity
of the country under President George Bush...
President Bush wanted to-to have no new taxes,
if you recall, in his campaign, but he wasn't able to
because, you know, liberals like yourself forced his hand,
uh, into-into doing something he didn't want to do.
Then what did George Bush call trickle-down economics?
[Hannity] Yeah, I don't, I don't really care
what President Bush called it.
[liberal] He called it "voodoo economics."
[Hannity] Uh, well, what's, what's your point?
[liberal] My point is, even your own party knows
that trickle-down economics is nothing but a bogus theory
to justify transferring wealth to the rich.
Just look at, look at the facts.
-What are the facts? -The facts are--
You don't have any facts, Sean, this is what I'm saying.
[Hannity] Yeah, well, you're forgetting about Ronald Reagan.
[Stephanie] Ronald Reagan?
That's a name, not an argument.
What do you think, Roger?
I'll talk to him.
Get me a different liberal.
That's your fix?
We can't control every guest who comes on this show.
Yeah?
Watch me.
[Stephanie] What about fair and balanced news?
I am balancing.
I will get around to fair when Hannity gets better.
And what if he doesn't?
[Roger] Then Bill will write him a script.
I can do that.
What? No, you can't do that. This is a news network,
-not a sitcom. -This is an opinion show.
I don't set my people up for failure.
I set 'em up to succeed.
You don't like the way I do things, missy,
you can go and get yourself a job
with the Clinton News Network.
Better than working for the American version of Pravda.
[Roger] Ho, ho, ho.
-[laughs] -[door opens]
Jesus Christ. What the fuck is that?
-[door shuts] -What a fucking bitch.
She is our lead political reporter.
No, she's fucking not.
We only have team players here.
[Ian] We are a news network, Roger.
We need seasoned reporters.
What we need is people that people want to watch,
because it's fucking television.
Yeah, and when they do, it's our job to inform them.
It's what we do.
People don't want to be informed, Ian.
They want to feel informed.
That was a completely inappropriate way
-to talk to staff. -[bangs desk]
I don't give a fucking hairy nun's vagina
what you think is appropriate.
All right? I'm just trying to make this network
the best and most watchable it can be.
And that's what everybody in this room, everybody,
should be focused on.
Now, I'm gonna go and talk to Sean.
I'm gonna build up his confidence,
I'm gonna ask him to engage his fucking brain before he talks,
and I'm gonna leave him with just the one asshole.
All right.
Sean.
I'm sorry, Mr. Ailes. That was bad.
Yeah, it was. [chuckles]
-I was just... I was nervous. -Yeah. Who wouldn't be?
[sighs] Kiddo,
I can spot talent.
You've got talent.
I'm just here to help you share it.
-Okay? -Yeah.
You've got to be you.
That's what I'm paying for.
Loud, opinionated,
a little bit obnoxious, tough guy.
Now, don't worry about what is right or wrong.
I will worry about that. Okay?
Take a few moments to relax,
-then we're gonna run it again. -[clears throat]
-Okay? -Yeah.
And this time, you kick his fucking ass.
All right?
Okay, everybody, we're going again.
All right, 15.
Okay, ten.
[man] Quiet, please, quiet.
Tie, Sean.
Here we go.
[elevator bell dings]
[Murdoch] Stephanie Rains is our best reporter.
She was way out of line.
Getting her over from ABC was not easy or cheap.
She was hysterical.
She's questioning me in front of my people.
I-I don't stand for that.
Well, uh, that's not what I heard.
What else did you hear?
I heard she merely presented an alternative
point of view, and you acted
-extremely abusively toward her. -[laughs]
That's what she told you? That's no surprise.
'Cause she's fucking nuts.
Well, she's not the only one, Roger.
Listen, I'm not gonna tell you how to run your affairs, mate.
Good. Stephanie Rains goes.
She's already quit.
If you create problems,
they're my problems, and I don't have time
to deal with problems, so either they stop...
...or I'll have to make a change.
Do you understand me?
Yeah...
-I do. -Good.
Well, thanks for coming out, mate.
Roger?
If I don't tell you about a problem,
then it's not your problem.
[siren wailing in distance]
[siren wailing]
♪ somber, atmospheric music ♪
♪♪
[Beth] With the transition, they said
there was no place for me anymore.
[Roger] And they fired you.
Hey, come here.
Come on.
It's okay.
You know, none of this should have happened.
-No. -You made such a dumb choice.
What?
I offered you a way off that sinking ship, remember?
-Yes. -Yeah?
Well, you should have taken it when I goddamn asked.
And I told you why I couldn't.
Wouldn't. Different.
-Roger, we agreed-- -No, we did not agree.
Okay.
-What are you gonna do now? -I don't know.
-You know what?
You know what this is about, right?
This is NBC saying, "Fuck you, Roger.
We're gonna fire all your people."
I will not forget this.
I'm gonna hire you. As a consultant.
I got no top-line services.
Nobody in the goddamn building knows
what anybody else is doing.
-Like a shared portal? -Yes.
Breaking news and assignments?
-I will absolutely handle that for you. -Perfect.
I won't let you down.
[scoffs]
[woman] MSNBC.
[man] A 24-hour cable and Internet news service.
The future of news from the people you know.
MSNBC.
Good morning, and welcome to MSNBC.
I'm Jodi Applegate, and here are some of the top stories
we're covering for you today.
How we doing with Sean?
Got a new co-host, a guy named Colmes.
-Uh-huh. -He was a stand-up comic.
He's a real New York type. Ethnic.
-[knock on door] -[Roger] Is he smart?
Oh, yeah.
Rupert's on line one.
Okay.
[Applegate] But the Saudis say no way.
Along with those stories, we're making a little news
of our own today: the launch of MSNBC...
Hey, Rupert.
Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm just watching now.
Join us here on cable, or connect...
No, this is more the cappuccino crowd.
We're the deli, coffee-to-go,
extra sugar crowd.
Yeah. No, not at all.
We will blow them out of the water when we launch.
Okay, yeah, bye.
Yeah, all this interactivity shit.
[Roger] Oh, come on, it's all video games.
I don't know, it's pretty cool.
What is going on with you girls?
What the fuck?
Pull up your panties.
Fox News, what we create, is gonna change the game.
All right? Okay.
...more about that now, Today's Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.
Good morning, Katie and Matt.
Hi, Jodi. Good morning.
I want you to know that Matt and I are extremely jealous,
and we're gonna demand a cappuccino machine
in our next contract, Jodi.
[Lauer] But ours is going to work.
It's gonna be hooked up.
[Couric] Pretty exciting...
[Roger] All right, let's look at where we are.
What's she wearing?
What, is the bull dyke rodeo in town or something?
Why is she wearing pants? Why is she wearing pa...?
I like legs. Anybody else like legs?
I like legs.
What the fuck is that?
It's the feed. There's some sort of--
Halloween is orange.
It's orange!
This is not so difficult, people.
Look, let's run it again, and we're gonna try
and at least get one thing right this time. Yeah.
O'Reilly lost another producer this morning.
Why?
Something about sparkling water.
Fuck off.
Dumb fuck.
[reporter] I'm live here in Wayne County,
where pumpkin carvers are--
What happened?
-Check the uplink. -Uh, which one is Uplink Three?
-[Roger] Oh, my God. -[man] That one.
-No, that one. -Nobody in this room
knows how to do a live shot?
Are you seeing this?
[Chet] You said you didn't want fucking news people, Roger.
Yeah, but I didn't say I wanted fucking idiots. All right, look,
-we're gonna go-- -They're learning, they're learning.
We're gonna go back to the studio to the pet segment.
All right? To the pet segment.
Linda, we're coming back to you in three, two, one.
Camera two.
[Linda] We're here now with Zsa Zsa...
You do see that dog's taking a shit, right?
...award-winning dog... oh.
You don't think you should change the shot?!
That dog is shitting in America's bowl of Cheerios!
Change that fucking shot!
[elevator bell chimes]
[Murdoch] Ah, Rog, we're gonna delay the launch.
Disney's pulled out, pressure's off.
We're gonna put our foot on the brake, do it right.
No, no, no. You're making a mistake.
We have momentum.
Don't bullshit me, Roger.
It's a bloody fucking mess down there.
We have had a couple of bad rehearsals, Rupert.
-That's all. -I am not gonna be made
a laughingstock.
If you delay this launch, I guarantee you will be.
I'll take my chances.
It's for the best, Rog. It's all happening,
uh, too fast.
Okay.
Look, obviously, I'm not doing something right here.
So I'm gonna step aside, I'm gonna let you two reassess.
[Murdoch] Well, you can't just walk away.
-You got a job to do. -Then let me do it.
Stop calling me up here
for every bump in the fucking road
that won't count for shit when all is said and done!
We're that close, Rupert. That close.
We don't need to delay anything.
And I know exactly what we need to do to be ready.
And what is that?
Get people in line.
♪ tense, ambient music ♪
♪♪
[elevator bell dings]
[Beth] Roger.
Come here. Don't you worry,
I can take it to the drycleaner
-with the rest... -Stop it.
Sorry.
[Judy] Beth?
Roger doesn't want to be disturbed right now.
[Beth] Could you just let him know that I'm leaving?
I will.
♪♪
[Roger] Call everyone.
I want to see them all now.
Bring 'em in.
[Judy] Now?
[Roger] Yeah.
[indistinct chatter]
Get me the, uh, dark blue tie.
The one with flowers or diamonds?
[Roger] Diamonds.
♪♪
What kind of sick joke is this?
Really, 4 a.m.?
Sit down!
Anyone else want to complain about the hours?
You know, there's a Foot Locker right across the road.
I believe they work in eight-hour shifts.
They might be hiring.
Now, what I have seen
in rehearsals so far,
it's just unacceptable.
Chet.
You keep bringing me these so-called producers
who don't seem to know the difference
between their own asshole and a hole in the ground.
You got to train them up right, okay?
Yes, Roger.
Moody.
You're giving me scripts that read
like War and fucking Peace. It's television.
Shorten them up. Okay?
Yes, Roger.
[Roger] Bill. Bill Shine.
Now, Bill,
this is my interpretation of recent events.
You can correct me if you believe me to be wrong.
But I just rescued your sorry ass from local news.
And you're walking around like Mr. Magoo
looking for his fucking dick in that control room.
And I need you to be Bill fucking Shine
and take control, okay?
-Okay? -Yes, Roger.
You're fired.
Are you serious?
[chuckles] I am. Please,
get the fuck out of here.
[Ian] Roger.
That's enough.
What did you say?
-That's enough. -No. No, Ian,
it's not enough, all right?
I need you to help me with a couple of things.
One: stop fucking interrupting me,
and two: you got to stop acting like you have
any authority in this room because you do not!
The only reason you are here
is because you and Rupert used to bugger each other
-in grade school! -Fuck you, Roger!
-Fuck you! -Fuck you, too!
-Fucking get out of here! -Fuck you!
Fuck off! I got work to do!
I don't fucking need this.
Anybody else want to paint your rear end white
and run with the fucking antelope,
-now's your chance! -[fist thumps table]
Look...
...I hired you because I saw something special in you,
all right?
That I believe in.
[exhales]
Let's just reframe this.
For the last 50 years,
the left side of politics in this country
have attempted to control
the narrative of news.
They force-fed America
with a big-government, nanny-state agenda,
and you know what that creates?
That creates opportunity.
If we're gonna beat
CNN, MSNBC, CNBC...
...we have to have a bond of loyalty.
Loyalty to each other and loyalty to the mission.
The mission
is to sell to the forgotten American
that their voice
can and will be heard in our democracy.
We'll give them a vision of the world the way it really is
and the way they want it to be.
You know what happens?
We reclaim
the real America.
We challenge the existing agenda,
and we become the loudest voice
and we bring back to this fucking country
fairness and balance!
Come on!
Ain't that worth being yelled at
at four o'clock in the morning for?
Come on! Fuck me, right?
-[soft laughter] -Right?
[man] Right.
[Roger] The work day starts now.
Okay?
Everybody,
let's just be at our very best.
Where have you... did you get all my messages?
[Roger] I got to get my pills.
I heard there was some sort of a meeting, or...
I don't think this is gonna work.
I think you need to choose.
Me or the job.
-But you said... -I know what I said. I know.
[water running]
[water stops running]
♪ tense, ambient music ♪
♪♪
[indistinct chatter]
♪♪
-♪♪ -[dialogue inaudible]
♪♪
[producer] And we're live in five,
four, three,
two...
[cheering, applause]
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