Birth of an actor

The day before The Oprah Winfrey Show on Chicago's WLS announced that its next guest will be William Bradley.

"Are you really kidding, Amon?" William said in disbelief. "Me? On Oprah's show?"

"Isn't it a surprise?" Amon Goffman didn't want to show off this time, but his elated tone betrayed his mood: "This Friday afternoon, there will be 3000 million viewers Saw you on tv! That beats any interview or anything like that! 3000 million is a conservative number, you know, Will, right now is Oprah Winfrey at her peak, daytime Talk show, no, she is the king of all talk shows in the United States. In the past two or three years, the ratings of "The Oprah Show" have rarely been lower than 3000 million, although most of the audience are middle-class Class housewives, but middle-class women can easily influence their husbands and children. This is a great opportunity. If you behave well, you can not only wash away all the recent negative news, but you may even turn around Fight to the next level!"

"I knew it was a great opportunity," William said, puzzled. "I just couldn't figure out why Oprah Winfrey would be interested in me."

The talk show is "Talk Show", which first referred to "stand-up comedy", that is, a host kept telling jokes to amuse the audience, and later evolved into a general term for talk shows. The origin can be traced back to the British coffee in the 18th century. Let's party, the modern talk show originated in the United States in the 20s. It was a radio talk show at the beginning, and the representative program was "Chicago Round Table University" in the 30s. It has evolved into multiple categories, including serious talk shows based on news commentary, and entertaining talk shows based on humor and lightheartedness.

In 1954, NBC TV station "The Tonight Show" started broadcasting. This is also the first TV talk show in the United States and even in the world. The era also has a popular talk show of the era, such as "Donahue Festival" in the 70s with the same sharp and restless theme as that era, and "Interview with Geraldo" and "Interview with Geraldo" in the 80s who were keen to discuss various social issues. The Jesse Raphael Show", and various entertainment, lifestyle, and political talk shows that emerged with the rapid development of Hollywood in the 90s, such as Charlie Rose, which started broadcasting in 1991. The Charlie Rose Show, which premiered in 1993 David Letterman's Late Show with David Letterman Conan O'Brien's Late Show with Conan O'Brien, which began in 1996 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Now talk shows have been officially divided into two types: daytime shows and late-night shows. Daytime shows are mostly broadcast in the morning and afternoon. The audience is mainly housewives/husbands, college students, unemployed people and retired elderly. These people are more concerned about health, Emotional and life content, the themes of daytime shows are mostly these, while late-night shows are mostly broadcast after 11 pm, and the main audience is office workers, so apart from the bitter satire of current political news, the topics are very wide , Gender relations, politicians, and entertainment stars dare to ridicule everyone, from the relaxed and humorous type to the unscrupulous and unlimited type.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" is a daytime show, no, or it is currently the most watched program among American talk shows. This daytime show, which was founded in 1986, is broadcast every Monday to Friday afternoon , the duration is about 10 minutes, and the average weekly audience reaches more than 3000 million person-times, and the host Oprah Winfrey's tragic past, self-improvement in her youth, her current success and her friendly and sincere hosting style also make her Become an unusually positive public figure in the United States today, with great social influence.

Of course, every era has its ace show of every era. Maybe after the millennium, the number one daytime talk show in the United States will be replaced again, but now, throughout the 90s Well, aside from a few late-night shows that are still going strong, there really isn't a daytime talk show more popular than The Oprah Winfrey Show.

"Why did Oprah Winfrey want to invite you?" Armon Goffman shrugged his shoulders after thinking about it seriously and said, "I don't know too well, maybe she thinks that the recent show has invited more ordinary viewers, Want to change your taste with a celebrity guest. And you can be said to be one of the most talked-about celebrities in the United States. If there is an organization to count the figures, maybe the public cares more about your current state than the President of the United States. Oprah It's no wonder La Winfrey wants you."

Because most of the fans are middle-class housewives, the Oprah Winfrey Show focuses on the life and emotional fields, but occasionally also invites recent popular movie stars or singers. Generally speaking, after the show is broadcast, the social image of the star There will be huge gains and promotions—for example, in the early 90s, Michael Jackson was deeply involved in scandals, and tabloid reporters made rumors from time to time that he was seriously ill, that he didn’t like his black identity so he bleached his skin to become white, etc., forcing Michael Jackson had to appear on Oprah Winfrey's talk show on February 1993, 2. He publicly responded for the first time that his skin turned white because of vitiligo. The number of viewers of this talk show broke records. Since then, although the American tabloids are still tirelessly discrediting Michael Jackson, they can no longer make any waves on these few incidents that Michael Jackson has clarified.

Amon Goffman is still chattering: "Oprah Winfrey is very picky, especially in the past few years, the selection of her shows has focused more on social issues and life, and she has rarely invited stars to the show, even if she must. Stars, most of them are A-list, such as Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, this time the program team will invite us, to be honest I'm surprised too - but maybe Barbara Wilson played a big part too, Oprah Winfrey has been a Rodgers & Cowen PR client for a while, has a little friendship with Barbara's dad, wait and see Well, if this woman Barbara really helped, she would definitely call me to show off."

"Well, no matter why Oprah Winfrey invited me, compared to this invitation, I can't refuse?" In fact, William was more surprised than surprised. It never occurred to me that there would be any connection between myself and Oprah Winfrey's talk show.

"Rejecting Oprah Winfrey?" Almon Goffman asked in disbelief. "Are you kidding? You must be kidding me!"

"Actually, Amon, I don't know if I really want to be on Oprah, you know, she's always so hot, I'm pretty sure I don't want to cry in front of tens of millions of viewers on TV – why not the Tonight Show or the Late Show with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien? Their talk shows are also very entertaining, the ratings are good, and as you said, all the hosts have a crush on me interest."

The identity of the daytime talk show has actually positioned Oprah Winfrey's talk show style, which must be very pleasing to women. Those shows in the 80s are okay, and Oprah Winfrey still abides by the traditional talk show The style includes spicy irony and light-hearted humor, the kind that wants to please all age groups, but after entering the 90s, Oprah Winfrey has more and more identified her own hosting position, that is, it is more biased towards female audiences. The topics I saw, especially the close-ups on the lives of some people who suffered tragic fate due to special events or suffered from conservative poverty, can win the audience's sighs in front of the TV to the greatest extent.

In addition, Oprah Winfrey often publicly discusses her life on the show, such as her tragic past (raped by her cousin, drugs), so although Oprah Winfrey is in full swing now, most of the praises for her sincerity are not In addition to the hypocritical praise, some American media who were unhappy with her commented: "Oprah Winfrey can only do one thing, and that is to sell misfortune and liberalism to American women."

Given William's troubled past, his life of "a well-to-do rich boy who suddenly became impoverished and made a comeback" sounds like a topic that housewives would be interested in and talk about, although William would love to The last episode of a talk show that will definitely attract widespread attention in the United States, but at the same time, I really don't want my past life to become my biggest selling point-even if there was a shadow, he has come out now, hasn't he?

"No to Oprah? You're not kidding, Will? It's The Oprah Winfrey Show!" Armon Goffman screamed in shock, "Unless it's NBC and ABC's morning news show "Today Show" or "Good Morning America", otherwise you will not have the same ratings as Oprah's show on any talk show! And although Oprah Winfrey likes to play sensationalism, her hosting style happens to be What we need most now, think of Michael Jackson's TV talk show record of 9000 million viewers, think of Michael Jackson's reputation that was reversed almost overnight! Will, seize this opportunity , don't let it go!"

William sighed: "So, does Oprah Winfrey have a script? Or are all her questions impromptu, as the newspapers say?"

"There is no script, but as long as it is man-made, there will be traces of being manipulated. I don't know the operation process of those ordinary guests, but if a Hollywood star wants to appear on the Oprah show, the program team will first communicate with the star. He wants to communicate with his agent and publicist, so that both parties know what they want from the show, like the time Michael Jackson was on the show, he wanted to clarify the scandals about himself, and he wanted Americans to know what the tabloids wrote That he wasn't really him, and Oprah Winfrey wanted to dig out a more real side of Michael Jackson's life, his family, his hobbies and even his emotional life, of course we all know later that they did achieve a win-win .”

"What does Oprah Winfrey want to know about me?"

"Uh." Amon Goffman pondered for a moment: "Actually, this is what I want to tell you next. The production team of The Oprah Show wants to invite Mrs. Bradley, you know, to talk Your childhood and growing up and stuff like that."

"Talk about my father's death by the way?" William asked sharply.

"Uh..." Amon Goffman said in a slow tone: "Oprah Winfrey will not pry into your privacy in order to pursue the effect of the show, she will just follow your conversation, all you need to do is Open up, like seeing a therapist, and just shed a few tears as Winfrey leads. It's easy, Will, and countless people have done it on the Oprah Winfrey show, and this woman just has Such magic."

William was not moved at all, and his tone was even a bit cold: "I dare not say to Ms. Oprah Winfrey what I can say to the psychiatrist, because I have signed a doctor-patient confidentiality agreement with the psychiatrist, and Ms. Winfrey No."

Amon Goffman choked for a moment, and said embarrassingly, "I'm just making a metaphor."

"In the show, I can talk about this. Anyway, I am an actor. Sooner or later, the media will expose all my past in front of everyone's eyes. But Madeleine can't, and Madeleine must not be involved. I love the media, not to mention being on a talk show and walking into TVs in countless homes."

"Will, why don't you ask Mrs. Bradley for her opinion first? Maybe she is a little fan of Oprah Winfrey like everyone else, and she would be happy to meet Oprah in real life?"

“Maybe Madeleine watches The Oprah Show, but I’m pretty sure she’s not like other housewives, she’s not obsessed with Oprah Winfrey, she’s not too excited to sleep because she’s going to be on TV— In fact, when I was filming in Universal Studios, I met many actors she liked every day. I once invited her to visit the set, maybe I could meet some actors she liked, but Madeleine said no, she said What she likes is only the image created by the actors on the screen. As for the real person, she has already passed the age of crazy star chasing, so she doesn't want to and will not get in touch with it." Speaking of this, William added a slightly mischievous sentence: "Maybe I'm the only Hollywood actor that Madeleine loves both on screen and in life."

Amon Goffman laughed three times to save face.

Then William said in a serious tone: "If it is another public place, let Madeleine participate in a private conversation with Ms. Winfrey? No problem, Madeleine will also be very happy, but if Madeleine is on TV , to restore to all American audiences our lives and our emotional state after Edwin's death? My answer is, no."

"Will—"

"I insist on this." William said irritably: "Listen, Amon, don't ask Madeleine, if you ask her if she wants to be on a talk show for me, her answer will be yes, but I know she Not really wanting to."

According to Oprah Winfrey's interview style, if William appeared on her show, the probability of mentioning that period of low tide had passed was [-]%. Thinking of William's firm defense of the present, Amon Goffman immediately softened his heart. Mrs. Bradley, who is full of artistry, may not be suitable for the Oprah show. "However, Will, we need a guest. Besides Mrs. Bradley, who else has participated in your growth? It's best to be a very, very good friend who grew up with you and has a good understanding with each other. "

Amon Goffman pointed out that he was playing Lance Roderick's idea-if Lance Roderick, the only heir to the invisible billionaire in the United States, could play a guest role, he would win The effect is definitely better than Mrs. Bradley being a guest, because the latter can only attract the favor of women who have natural sympathy for the weak, while the former must get the attention of the whole United States.

"Whose idea are you thinking of, Lance? No!" William immediately became alert: "Is it necessary to have a guest? Maybe I myself-"

"can."

Through the invisible call signal, William and his manager frowned slightly: "What is it? X2" Then they suddenly realized that the voice just now was not made by one of them, but——

Amon Goffman quickly asked, "Who's next to you? Is it Lance Roderick? What does he mean by saying yes, agreeing to be a guest? Will, you put him on the phone, Will, Will ?”

William covered the microphone and stared at his friend who was sitting on the sofa watching National Geographic: "Don't deliberately tease my agent, Lance, Amon will take it seriously."

Lance turned his head to look at William, blinked slowly, his peacock blue eyes were full of seriousness: "But, I wasn't joking just now."

William: "..."

"Will? Will? Did you hang up on me? Damn it! I'm going to your apartment right now, and you stay where you are, let alone drag Roderick to escape! Beep-beep -"

……

Like all talk shows, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" also has a preview of the next episode, usually at the end of the show, with a short video plus Oprah Winfrey's own narration, loyal Oprah show viewers always They will wait from the first minute of the show to the last minute of the show. If they plan to go out the next day, they will watch the preview to decide whether to set up the video recorder to record the show when they go out the next day.

On this day, after Oprah Winfrey hugged and bid farewell to the guests of the show, the camera gave her a close-up of her face as always, so all the loyal viewers of the Oprah show sitting in front of the TV knew: the time for the next preview has arrived.

Sure enough, looking directly at the camera, Oprah Winfrey said: "Who still has an impression of the kidnapping of the billionaire heir that caused a sensation in the United States in 1985? Or, does anyone remember the famous hedge fund manager in 1991 because of The sensational news that the fund lost [-] million U.S. dollars and jumped from a high-rise on Wall Street? These two social news that once caused a sensation in the United States are all related to our next program guests—”

Accompanied by Oprah Winfrey's voice, a video clip appeared on a large screen behind her and was projected to viewers of the Oprah show around the world.

The teaser video begins with clips of various newspaper and news reports on the kidnapping in 1985 and the suicide in 1991, and then William Bradley's The figure appeared on the big screen.

"Ahhh-!!!"

In Baltimore City, a housewife who was sitting on the sofa in the living room and watching TV while knitting was frightened by the screams and almost poked her finger with a sweater needle. She turned around with a frown and found that It was the eldest daughter standing behind her who was screaming. She sighed helplessly: "Anna, what are you doing so loudly? Did you see a mouse or a cockroach? I can hardly hear the TV." Then pick up the remote control and prepare to turn up the volume of the TV.

The eldest daughter kept on screaming like a train whistle: "Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow! Oh God next guest will be Will!"

"This handsome young man is a movie star? Ah, yes, I just saw this face in the newspaper yesterday. The kidnapping case in 85? I have the impression that this movie star is also a participant? God." The housewife turned up the volume of the TV and watched the preview of the next episode of The Oprah Show, and her curiosity was aroused a little bit.

Different scenes with similar plots are happening in many families in the United States at the same time.