America 1982-Chapter 338 - 27: Rick’s Growth
Tommy had sat quietly until Rick Russo finished saying everything he wanted to, and only after Tommy had seriously reviewed the documents Rick had handed to him did he slap his hands together forcefully. Then, somewhat excitedly, he stood up, pointed vigorously at himself, the former vice president for program scheduling and production at Vivid Miniature Films Company, and joyfully called out to the redheaded, curly-haired man:
"Rick, I knew you were a genius producer, you know what we need! This series is the proof!"
The volume of his voice was so loud that even Page and Sophia outside the conference room could hear Tommy’s joyful exclamations, both somewhat astonished, not understanding what Rick had said to make Tommy so overjoyed.
Sophia knew that Tommy hadn’t truly laughed out of genuine happiness in a long time; the man was becoming wealthier by the day, but simultaneously, more and more reticent.
Most of the time, if the work at the company and inevitable board meetings were finished, Tommy would quietly read newspapers and magazines in his office, and when needing to relax, he would gaze absentmindedly at the large map of America on his office wall, anyway, no one knew to which state his soul wandered off at that moment.
Even when he returned to his residence, Sophia knew what Tommy would do, his routine of swimming three miles never changing. He’d exercise with an aerobics instructor’s assistance, and then head to his study, bigger than many families’ living rooms, to watch television, read books, or just stare at the wall in a daze.
Apart from himself, only Ottelia and Dorothy, who was in charge of cleaning, were allowed into that study to see the impressive wall within.
The wall was covered with a colossal and detailed map of America, so precise that even small cities like Warwick City were clearly marked.
Of course, apart from the map, there were over a hundred magnetic stickers that Tommy had placed, spread out over the territory of America. These markers, meant to indicate specific locations, were all blank.
So even though Sophia often entered Tommy’s study, she still had no idea what those magnetic stickers on the map stood for, nor what charm that map possessed to captivate Tommy every night for at least half an hour before sleep, possibly more alluring to Tommy than Ottelia herself.
Having followed Tommy for so long, she was certain that at this moment, the happiness Tommy showed toward Rick was from the heart, pure joy.
This only made Sophia more curious as to what exactly Rick had said to Tommy, to make this always-mature guy, who made people easily overlook his real age, laugh like a delighted child.
"Mr. Page, go ask them what they’re doing; they’re being too loud. Please ask them to keep it down," Sophia said to Page, her eyebrows slightly drawn together in curiosity about the reason for her boss’s happiness, as she turned to him.
Page, with eyes that seemed a bit murky on the surface but were keen enough to see through everything, glanced at Sophia: "Miss O’Connor, if you’re curious, go find out the truth yourself. The boss can tolerate everything from you, but he never goes easy on docking my salary."
"If Martin were here, he’d surely help me..." Sophia, her cute little ploy seen through by Page, rolled her eyes cutely and then headed toward the conference room herself. She knocked softly on the door, then pushed it open, and smilingly asked the two people inside:
"Do the girls from the administrative office need to top up your coffee? I heard you chatting so happily outside."
"Rick isn’t just going to get a cup of coffee, I’ve said it, he’s a genius." Tommy happily picked up the document, and with a proud smile, he said to Sophia, "Look, the series he and his team designed for BT Television, I knew he understands how to figure out what the bosses really need."
"How to Marry a Millionaire?" Sophia picked up the document and skimmed through it, but couldn’t find anything to make Tommy so happy. She looked at them both puzzled, "Preparations for a sitcom by BT Television I understand, but I didn’t expect it to be ’How to Marry a Millionaire?’ If I’m not mistaken, Marilyn Monroe starred in a comedy film with the same title. So, do you need to buy the movie rights to adapt it? That would be a substantial expense."
"The movie was released in 1953, but in fact after careful research, I found that the original novel was published in 1930, and the author died shortly after the film was released. The rights have already entered the public domain, so we can use them freely." Rick explained to Sophia with excitement.
As a law school graduate, Sophia immediately pointed out the problem in Rick’s statement: "But according to the United State America Copyright Act, works only enter the public domain fifty years after the author’s death."
"That’s for American citizens, Miss O’Connor, the author was a Greek immigrant in America who never naturalized, so his copyrights should depend on the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Unfortunately, that international convention was established in 1886, but United State America has never ratified the Berne Convention. That’s the loophole I found." Rick looked at Sophia:
"I consulted a lawyer privately and got a positive response. Yes, we don’t have to pay the original author’s family, we can adapt the novel’s original story of three white girls’ love scams and adventures into a comedy about three poor black girls who borrow money from the bank to pose as socialites, help each other out, and ultimately succeed in marrying rich men to change their destinies."
"Are you happy because the television network finally understands what show to use to please you and those lower-class black viewers?" Sophia sighed, and after listening to Rick’s explanation, she immediately understood why Tommy was happy.
Whether it’s "NiggerBoss" or "Finding Daddy in America," or even other productions in progress, they were either marketing ploys by Tommy himself, or shows in which Tommy was completely uninterested and would never watch. At this moment, the reason Tommy was happy with the sitcom idea was because Rick found a way to save a significant amount on copyright fees. Moreover, it could ride the coattails of Marilyn Monroe’s fame, and, ultimately, the program sounded like it was perfectly suited for lower-class black viewers. The idea was to brainwash the audience with a romance comedy façade, telling them they could change their fortunes just like the three protagonists—borrow a large sum of money from the bank, dress themselves up, and maybe they’d meet a rich man tomorrow.
Whether or not they would meet a rich man, Sophia wasn’t sure, but if they wanted to borrow money, they would certainly encounter Tommy’s KeyBank.
Rick’s project was so well considered, that must be why Tommy was happy.
"No!" Tommy responded to Sophia’s assessment with a denial.
Sophia looked at Tommy with skepticism, "No?"
"I’m happy because we can promote a beautiful black woman, claiming she’s the Marilyn Monroe among black people." Tommy waxed lyrical, hypocritically saying:
"My black brothers need a goddess of their own skin color."
