Original subtitles

This is Lex Fontaine, the dance troupe from Taiwan. We'll be performing in the

park today.

They're having a sock sale at Dillard's. You buy two pair, you get one pair

free. Are they kidding?

It was nothing like this. What are you reading, Andre?

The obituary.

What section is that?

The life section.

The Chicago Daily Guardian.

If it's truth, it's news.

You know, this thing is nothing but air.

When did they start putting news in these papers?

There's news on the front page, Tiff. Oh, that's yesterday's paper, baby. Do

know what they do with yesterday's news?

They wrap dead fish in it.

Tiff, it's refreshing to see truth held in such high regard.

Oh, is that what this is?

Death train, safety lack, trestle crack.

Bodies scattered all over the track. Now, how could they write something like

that in a newspaper?

That accident happened, Tess.

I was there. That's the truth.

But not the whole truth, Angel Boy. There's more to the truth than just the

fact.

That's Liz Bradley. She's the managing editor of this so -called newspaper.

Can you tell me what day it is?

Tuesday. And what does that say?

Monday. I was just about to change them.

Wonderful. Don't let it happen again.

That lady has a serious case of the most contagious disease in the world.

It's called cynicism.

Breaks my heart.

She wasn't always that way.

Then you know her?

Well, I knew her when becoming the boss was just a dream.

But now that her dream has come true, truth got lost somewhere along the way.

But she's got to get it back real soon because her life is just like the news

business. It can all change in 24 hours in the name of truth.

And it will.

It will.

When you walk down the road,

heavy burden, heavy load, I

will rise and I will walk with you.

I'll walk with you till the sun don't even shine.

Walk with you every time.

I tell you, I'll walk with you.

Walk with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you.

Hold the door.

That was close.

I found the copies went up to the newsroom without me.

Well, most of them anyway.

I'm Monica.

I'm headed to the newsroom too.

Oh, yeah. I'm Ray.

You must be the one Liz Bradley's interviewing for that new reporter job.

Yeah.

You know a lot about what could go on around here.

It's a reporter's job to know.

Are you a reporter?

Well, I'm just a gopher right now, but someday.

It's all I've ever wanted to do.

One of these days, I'll get my shot.

I'm sure you will.

Come on, I'll... Point the way.

Miss Bradley's office is right over there.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Give me a break, Liz.

Yes, for one lousy day off around here turns into a federal offense.

Gee, sorry, Lauren. It didn't occur to me as managing editor that the helps

should set their own hours.

You know what, boss? On behalf of the help, get a life.

Hello.

My name is Monica, and I'm here about the reporter.

In.

Oh, I also took the liberty of preparing some writing samples.

Yes, well.

Some lovely little handwritten prose here. You know, most people would have

the predictable thing. They would have given me some tight -fitting pages.

Thank you.

Sit.

Look, let's get something straight.

At The Guardian, we do hard news.

We do deaths, maimings, corruption, scandals, and once in a while we throw

couple of natural disasters just for fun.

My motto is... When it bleeds, it leads.

That's a lot of bleeding.

That's what our readers want.

That's why circulation is nearly doubled since I took over the paper.

We print things as they are, not as they should be. So, that means we

don't do flowers, we don't do puppies, we don't do politicians kissing babies,

and we definitely don't dot our I's with hearts.

But we do like...

We green, cuddly frogs.

Hmm?

Oh, that.

That's just some silly little thing someone gave to me a long time ago.

I think the word that you're looking for is ships.

What? The alliteration that you need for your headline.

Sheriff, ships, shoplifter to slammer.

Well, your references are pretty good, so I'm going to give you a shot.

Thank you.

I'll try not to disappoint you.

Oh, no, don't do that. Don't try. Do.

It's the only way women can succeed in this business.

Is that why you were so hard on that other woman?

I have very high expectations of everybody on my staff, but I

very high expectations with Lauren because she's my sister.

Your sister?

Mm -hmm. Good reporter.

I'm going to make her a great one. If it kills us both.

You must love her very much.

All right, everybody, this is Monica. She's joining our staff.

Steve, copy desk.

Hi. Nancy, photo.

Larry, metro.

Al, cops.

Kathleen, assistant editor. And you've already been privileged to hear the

rantings of Lauren.

I'm looking forward to working with all of you.

Sit. Okay.

Kathleen, what are we looking at for page one?

Massacre by death squad in El Salvador.

Anybody killed that our readers would care about?

Nope. Put it in international roundup. How about a skinhead rally that turned

into a riot?

Any art? Yep, got some spaghetti shots.

Yeah, we can do better.

What about you? Do you have any ideas for page one, Monica?

Well, Mayor Hundley is hosting a visiting dance trip from... Taiwan and

later this afternoon.

Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

The mayor is hosting this thing?

Some sister city cultural exchange.

It's just Conley glad -handing a bunch of Taiwanese trade officials.

We've been running it in the community calendar.

Ten o 'clock cappuccino fix?

Hang on a second.

Lauren, whatever happened to that rumor you were chasing down about the mayor

taking illegal money from foreign businesses?

There was nothing there. No paper trail, nobody talking, nothing.

Oh, come on.

This campaign's in trouble.

Now he's schmoozing with Taiwanese capitalists? Does the term influence

ring a bell?

Anyone? Hello?

Something's going down today.

A meeting, something secret. I can smell it.

Who do you want on it?

Lauren.

Take Monica with you.

I work alone.

Not this time. It was Monica's ankle.

Okay, folks.

I'm holding page one for this.

Let's bury the jerk.

Well, neighbors, this is indeed a very special day for us as we welcome our

sister city, Taipei, Taiwan.

And I'd like us to remember that today is not just about two cultures setting

aside their differences.

It's about reaching out to our fellow man.

It's about making new friends and sharing dreams.

So, my new friends, on behalf of all the people of Chicago, I say, Wan Ying,

welcome.

And now, all the way from Taiwan, the Imperial Lion Dancer.

This is definitely not a two -person job.

So why don't you stay here and keep an eye on the performers, and I'll follow

the Taiwanese officials and give you back the paper later.

Okay.

Monica?

I'm sorry if I was kind of rude earlier. It's just that my sister makes me crazy

sometimes.

Don't worry about it.

Thanks.

Are you ready for your first big scoop, Miss Wings?

I don't see anything scoopy here.

Oh, really?

You don't think that's creepy?

The dancers?

You know, I thought that they would have been more polished than that.

Oh, that's the truth, you see.

Well, what would you think if I told you that they were political prisoners in

China before they escaped to Taiwan?

I guess being beaten and tortured just takes a little bounce out of yourself.

I understand the whole truth.

Courageous performance.

Yes, they weren't perfect. First of all, nobody cares about the dance troupe.

Secondly, where is my story on the mayor?

I just wanted to... And where is Lauren?

We split up.

She thought we could cover more ground that way.

Of course.

I stay together, so she splits up.

Now listen to me. We still have three hours left until deadline.

And I still intend for my front page to have a picture of the mayor and a big

headline that says, Kick Back King. So find me that story.

Thank you, Robin. I think I'll just walk home from here.

This is Monica.

Good. Monica, you're there.

Listen, I think that secret meeting you're looking for is about to go down.

I just saw Mayor Hunley sneaking into a room at the Atkinson Hotel, room 729.

Ray, have you been following the mayor?

Yeah. You owe me one.

What do I do now?

You do your job.

andrew the mayor won't be doing interviews he died a few minutes ago

where

have you been working trying to find some more mud for you to sling so you

a story yeah here's your headline mayor hunley has nice dinner with taiwanese

guests I smell Pulitzer.

There you go again.

Why do you always do that?

Why must it always be an argument? Why can't we have an adult conversation?

Because you think only one of us is an adult.

Liz Bradley.

Monica? Where are you?

What?

You called the cops before you checked out the place yourself?

Okay, you're probably going to have a couple of minutes before they get there,

so listen.

Look around and see if you find anything interesting.

Really?

Great work, Monica.

We got them.

Okay, stay right there and keep your eyes open.

She found Hundley dead in a room at the Atkinson Hotel.

Oh, my God.

She also found a half -empty glass of water with lipidic on it.

What?

Forget the kickback angle.

This is the story.

I gotta get down there. This is more than Monica can handle on her own.

See, now, that's a reporter talking.

So what were you doing here?

I'm a reporter for the Guardian, and I wanted to talk to the mayor, and I had a

tip that he was here.

Well, Mayor Hundley was a very popular man in this city.

I hope you handle this sensitively. I understand.

Good.

Just don't touch anything.

Okay. Hey, Hicks.

Take a look at this.

Henry's next month in Mississippi was as long as it was sweltering.

The hot delta sun beating down on him like... What's that?

It looks like a chapter from a manuscript.

Perhaps the mayor was working on a book.

I'm sorry, ma 'am. You can't come in here.

Joe, let me in.

No.

Sorry, Lauren.

No press.

Monica's in there.

She's a witness.

She's my partner.

Would you want a rookie handling your investigation?

All right.

Come in.

Just stay out of the way.

Thank you.

Hi.

Have you determined the cause of death yet?

I can't know until the autopsy, but I'm betting on a massive coronary.

He was probably fine one minute, and boom, on the next.

I hope I go that way.

Oh, God.

Lawrence. What the hell are you doing?

I'm sorry. I can't believe I did that.

No, we still got to dust that for print.

Somehow. He didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident.

Get the hell out of here.

And you watch what you write about this guy.

I voted for him.

We can't hold up page one any longer, Liz.

Go with the basic Conley obituary for the sunrise edition.

I'm on it.

And then we'll put out a special mid -morning street edition a few hours

Mayor dies in arms of mystery lover.

You can't print that. Why not?

We don't know if that's what happened.

Yeah, even the cop... Cops aren't pursuing that angle.

As long as there was no foul play, they're going to do whatever they can to

preserve the mayor's dignity.

Since when are we letting the cops write our stories? Look, people, we got this

story exclusive. The TV people don't have a clue. We have the mayor in a

room, his wife across town sleeping in her own bed, and we have the smoking

A glass with lipstick on it.

That's the truth.

And I'm going to make it the news.

Detective Hicks here.

Hello, Detective Hicks?

Speaking. This is Ray Rifkin at the Guardian.

Oh, no, not you. Yeah, they pulled me in to work on this mayor murder story.

Murder? Any news on the chick the mayor was with when he died? There's no murder

here. What the hell are you reporters trying to pull? I know that I'm new to

this job, but does the public really need to know everything about the

final hours? The public has a right to know.

Always?

And if he had died during the dance performance this afternoon, would you

want to run with the special edition?

Liz, I know how much you want this story, but I have to agree with Monica.

The mayor died instantly.

Even if there was a mystery woman, there's nothing she could have done, so

difference does it make?

She was in that room.

That's a fact.

And reporters report the facts. And newspapers print the facts. And what the

public does with those facts...

It's none of my business.

Excuse me for trying to be human.

Okay, it's almost 12 o 'clock. I want everybody on this. I don't care if you

work all night.

I want the name of that woman.

Ray?

Was someone at my desk?

Yeah.

Me. I took a peek at your notebook. I thought, you know, maybe I could help

out again. And, um... Well, I called that detective.

You shouldn't have done that.

Yeah. Yeah, it was a big waste of time anyway.

So far, they've just found one set of prints in a Lawrence film.

On the water glass?

Right. And on some manuscript or something.

On a manuscript?

Are you sure?

Yeah.

Why? We already know Lauren was there.

Yes, but she didn't touch the manuscript.

These humans, when will they learn?

You can throw away the evidence, but you cannot throw away the truth.

So it was Lauren.

Yes.

Lauren, I need to speak with you.

Maybe later. I've got to call Hicks, see if there's any new development.

There is a new development.

Oh, yeah?

Scoot me again, huh?

I know that breaking the water glass in that hotel room wasn't an accident.

And I know why you threw this away.

How did you get that? You can throw away the evidence, but you can't throw away

the truth.

Oh, congratulations. I guess this makes you the Guardian's new star reporter.

I don't want to be a reporter right now.

I just want to be your friend.

I met Brian eight months ago.

I was covering a city council meeting.

He told me he was thinking of writing a book about politics.

He told him I'd always wanted to write a book, too.

A novel.

He said I had the eyes of a novelist.

Always somewhere else.

And that he wanted to read my book when I was finished.

It didn't matter that he was the mayor. He could have been a plumber.

It's just that he was the first person who ever took me seriously.

I never knew my parents. They died when I was young and...

Liz was always so busy making decisions for me, she never bothered to ask what I

wanted for myself.

And Brian was the first person to see in me what I thought I saw in myself.

And after years of feeling second best to be number one to somebody,

But you were not number one. He was married.

But when you've been lonely as long as I have, you take what you can get.

He read the last chapter of my book tonight in that hotel room.

And he told me that I was smart.

That's how I'm always going to remember him, with that look of pride on his

face.

How did he die?

I was thirsty. I went into the bathroom for some water, and when I came out, he

was gone.

Just like that.

There was nothing I could do. I panicked. I forgot everything. The

the glass, and... I couldn't have done anything.

Monica, but leaving him there like that was the hardest thing I've ever had to

do.

There's something you still need to do, which will be even more difficult.

Oh, no.

I'm not... I'm not coming forward.

It's the right thing to do.

No, not necessarily.

It would only humiliate Brian's wife.

It would ruin any chance of a future that I have. I would be remembered as a

bimbo, not a reporter. And I am not going to give Liz one more thing to hold

over my head.

But don't you see... No, forget it.

It's not going to happen.

Okay? Is it worth spending the rest of your life hiding behind a secret?

I don't have a choice.

Yes, you do.

You just don't like it.

Hello, Liz. Where have you been, Monica?

And before you answer, I warn you.

If it doesn't involve finding the mystery woman, you can start cleaning

desk out right now.

It is about the mystery woman.

You know who she is?

Yes.

Okay. Redeem yourself.

Write the lead. And this time, just give me the facts.

Who, what, where, when, how, and why.

Liz, before I... Just do it, Monica.

Well, finish it.

You are a liar.

I never lie.

Lauren? Get in here.

You sure you want to stick to that story, Monica?

I want you to read something.

Seems we have a budding fiction writer on our staff.

I am so sorry, Lauren.

No, you were right, Monica. I can't run from this.

It's not fiction, Liz.

His name was Brian.

Oh, my God.

What were you thinking?

How could you be so stupid?

Don't you dare judge me. You don't even know me.

Are you kidding? I know you better than you know yourself. I raised you and I

thought I did a better job than this. This isn't about you.

Someone I love died tonight, Liz, and I'm hurting.

I don't need a mother. I don't need a boss, but I could use a sister.

Instead, I've got some middle -aged cynical woman who thinks it's her God

right to judge everyone and everything.

I don't judge.

I tell the truth, which is more than you've done.

What are you really angry about, Liz? That I made a mistake and had an affair

with a married man or that I just killed your great story?

You didn't kill my great story.

Oh, no, you wouldn't.

Why don't we all sit down together and talk this thing through?

Stay out of this, Monica.

Get me composing. You can't really mean it.

Think about this.

You've got to decide, are you my sister or my editor?

You made that decision for me.

Let's play.

Don't do that.

Yeah, we've got our front page.

Mm -hmm.

We have our mystery woman.

I honestly don't believe Liz did the right thing.

Well, we know Lauren did the wrong thing.

Well, we're not here to decide right or wrong.

That's yesterday's news.

Well, actually, that's today's news, Ted. Don't get smart with me, angel boy.

Tomorrow it will be yesterday's news.

And tomorrow is what we're interested in here because that's what can be

changed. And that's the only thing that's going to make the headlines any

better.

Hello, Ray.

You're in early.

I wrote a story.

Byline Raymond Stephen Rifkin.

Oh, Ray.

I got a friend who's an intern at City Hall.

He says there's a rumor going around about some private tapes of the mayor's

phone calls to Lauren.

And they aren't exactly G -rated, if you know what I mean.

I think this is my home run, Monica. This is what puts me over the top with

I think you're right, Ray.

I think this is going to change everything.

Liz, I'm busy.

Yes, I know, but Ray has written a story and I think you should read it. Put it

in the pile.

Actually, I think you should read it right now.

The breathing is heavy and the language is hot.

That's the way one City Hall insider described tapes rumored to be the

recordings.

of the late mayor's private phone calls with Guardian reporter Lauren Bradley.

Not bad, huh?

You're fired.

Get out.

I mean, I thought you wanted another story on the scandal.

How dare you pose as a writer for this paper and use this story as an

opportunity for yourself.

Congratulations, Monica.

Anybody else in the office you'd like to take down?

No, I think you're doing fine all on your own, Liz.

That boy idolized you. And that misguided story of his was just his way

living up to the standard that you set.

Face the facts, Monica. You just don't have what it takes for this job.

You've got a conscience.

And there's no place for failure.

That's not what your journalism professor would have said.

What? Back in college, she was your favorite teacher.

She was strong and smart and powerful.

And she inspired you to not just be a good journalist, but to be a good person

with a good conscience.

She was your hero.

How did you know that?

Her name is Tess.

She's a friend of mine.

She's also an angel.

Excuse me. An angel from God, just as I am.

Who?

God.

What?

He loves you.

Where?

Everywhere. When?

Always. Forever. Without ceasing.

How?

Totally. Completely.

Why?

Because you're his child.

Why me?

Because you're one of the gatekeepers, Liz.

One of the few people on this earth who has the power to enlighten and encourage

the lives of millions of people just by the way you choose to tell the truth.

Tess taught you that all those years ago.

And I'm here to tell you again.

It's too late for that.

There's been too many years in a world where children suffer.

People kill each other over little pieces of land.

This is a bad world, Monica.

I just report it.

The world is much more than that, Liz.

And the news is more than that. There is good news.

There are generous people and honest politicians and good Samaritans.

But if suffering and evil are all we ever read about,

If that's all we're allowed to hear and see, then that is what we think the

world is or will ever be.

But it's not true.

The world can be a different place, Liz.

If only the hearts of the people can turn towards hope instead of despair.

Towards forgiveness instead of condemnation.

Towards love instead of judgment.

People can't just change like that.

Yes, they can.

And they do every day. They just don't do it alone.

Do they know that I know what's happened to me?

Yes.

I mean, you don't honestly think that I wanted to run that story on my sister?

Sister.

No. I had no choice.

What was I supposed to do?

Was I supposed to tell the truth?

God is truth.

But he is also love.

And unless you tell the truth in love, it's not the whole truth.

I don't know that I can do that anymore.

Someday, Liz.

Someday you will stand before him and he will ask you for the truth.

He will not say, did you do your job every day no matter what?

He will say, did you love every day no matter what?

You still have time to change the answer.

Lord, please don't go.

I have to, Liz.

I have to figure out my life. I need to start making my own decisions.

Will you let me make one more for you?

Please.

Come on.

Let's take a walk.

Say hi to Tess for me.

Can I have a moment?

Sure.

Got any room there for me?

What do you want?

I want to show you something.

A long time ago, I had a wonderful journalism professor who gave me this.

It was supposed to remind me of something very important about our

Ray.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've been ignoring it for quite a few years now.

She said that if you place the frog in a pot of hot water,

the frog will jump out.

But if you place the frog in a pot of cold water and

heat the water up slowly, the frog will gradually grow accustomed to the heat

and not even notice that he's boiling to death.

And that's what can happen in our profession, right?

First time I covered a murder, I couldn't sleep for days.

Now, I look at autopsy photos while I'm having my lunch, and then

they put that in the paper, and then people see it day after day pretty soon.

All of us have our hearts and souls slowly boiling.

And we don't even notice.

So?

Well, some of us have the power to turn down that heat.

Do you still want to be a reporter?

It's the only thing I've ever wanted.

Then go back into the newsroom and find another story.

joy that you won't hate yourself for.

Thank you.

Did you

hear

all that?

Yeah.

Can we talk now?

I don't know if it was wrong to print that, Victoria.

But I do know that the reasons that I chose to do it were wrong.

I have made some pretty terrible decisions.

You didn't have much of a choice.

Yeah, I did.

I could have been her.

I remember right after the folks died.

Here you were, this adorable little girl.

And I was so scared that you were going to wander off somewhere and hurt

yourself.

Then I put a leash on you and I put it through the loop of my jean and I

you around college with me. Remember that? Yeah.

I know that I have dragged you around your whole life.

But I only did it because I didn't want you to get hurt.

And you got hurt anyway.

You were in trouble.

And you needed someone to talk to. And I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Lou.

Will you forgive me?

Will you?

You're my sister. I love you.

I love you too.

You know, Tess, I've always thought of you as a sister in a motherly sort of a

way.

Angelically speaking.

I love you too, little angel girl. Come out of here.

You know, Tess, there's this rumor going around.

They say that you actually invented printing press.

I did not. That was Gutenberg.

I just told him what to print.