The Loudest Voice (TV Mini Series)

2001 (2019)

Mackenzie Astin: John Moody

Quotes 

• Roger Ailes : [learning of people trapped in the north Twin Tower jumping from windows]  Does anybody else have this footage?

  John Moody : If they do, they haven't aired it.

  Chet Collier : We can't put that on the air. At least not yet. It's too soon.

  Roger Ailes : Run it. We need everyone in the goddamn world to see what these animals have done to us. Run it.

• John Moody : We need to talk about the Iraq WMD coverage.

  Roger Ailes : What about it?

  John Moody : Well, we are way out in front on this and it's totally unsubstantiated.

  Roger Ailes : So?

  John Moody : So, we need to pull back.

  Roger Ailes : Pull back? What are you, a fucking cheerleader on a first date?

  John Moody : Come on, Roger...

  Roger Ailes : We got half the goddamn country tuning in to see if Saddam blows up the world tomorrow. It's a great fucking story. "Pull back." Fuck you.

  John Moody : Roger...

  Roger Ailes : Fuck you. What, are you getting cold feet 'cause the competition is starting to realize "fair and balanced"?

  John Moody : Yes, they're shifting to attract our audience, but that doesn't mean...

  Roger Ailes : CNN would shit three babies to run that first.

  John Moody : Roger, the details aren't even sketchy. They are nonexistent. All right? There isn't any "there" there.

  Roger Ailes : I see what I'm dealing with. John Moody, fucking philosophy major. John, we're giving the people what they want. Okay? This country needs to heal. We need to see who we're fighting. No more of this "faceless enemy" bullshit. Current face of evil...

  [tapping at Saddam Hussein on a TV monitor] 

  Roger Ailes : Is that motherfucker. And his name is Saddam Hussein. And when we rub his fucking face in the dirt, America wins. And when America wins, Fox News wins.

• Roger Ailes : We need to drive the news. Not just cover it. I need you to focus on al-Qaeda, and I need you to focus on Iraq.

  John Moody : Oh, but there's... there's no connection there. Not... not between Saddam and al-Qaeda.

  Roger Ailes : You know, there's new information coming out of the White House every hour.

  Brian Lewis : Roger, we... we cannot be seen to be running Bush's propaganda machine. That's just not our job.

  Roger Ailes : If anybody's got a problem with anything I just said, you need to go for a stroll through Lower Manhattan. It's still burning. These discussions, they stay in this room. Leakers will be punished. Don't make me doubt you. Not now.

  [Judy opens the door, and the staffers all file out] 

  Roger Ailes : You hear anything... a negative thought, a negative whisper, a negative cough, you let me know.

  Judy Laterza : Of course.

• John Moody : There's another plane.

  Roger Ailes : Where?

  John Moody : United 93 is down in a field in Pennsylvania.

  Roger Ailes : [indicating a TV]  And we're watching that?

  John Moody : Well, thing... things are moving pretty fast.

  Roger Ailes : Look, just put up a shot of the tower. That's what everyone needs to see. Just run it on a loop all day.

  John Moody : We can't just show the same thing over and over.

  Roger Ailes : It's not a regular news day. This is Pearl fucking Harbor.

  Chet Collier : [on TV, the North Tower collapses]  Fuck.

  Roger Ailes : Do we even have anything else?

  Bill Shine : They, um, uh, shut down Pennsylvania Avenue, evacu...

  Roger Ailes : No, not words. Images, visuals. What do we got?

  John Moody : Uh, jumpers.

  Roger Ailes : What?

  John Moody : From the North Tower. Jumpers.

  Roger Ailes : Let's see that.

• Roger Ailes : This is Islamic terrorism. Al-Qaeda.

  John Moody : None of us know for sure yet. We're... we're trying to get confirmation...

  Roger Ailes : Somebody just flew two jumbo jets into the World Trade Center. Another one into the Pentagon. The biggest suicide bombs ever. Who do you think it was, the fucking Quakers?

  John Moody : Roger... let the other networks say al-Qaeda first, like we did with Lewinsky and Clinton.

  Roger Ailes : This is not about blowjobs getting us ratings, John.

  Brian Lewis : We're under attack.

  Roger Ailes : He's right. We don't know what else can happen today. There could be more planes, could be subway attacks, dirty bombs. We have to be prepared for anything. It's not over. We need a new graphics package. Splashy. I want it to say, "America at War." Chet, talk to me about on-screen updates.

  Chet Collier : Uh...

  Bill Shine : There's a lot of noise, uh, panic. Flights grounded, Air Force scrambled.

  Roger Ailes : Get it all up there.

  Bill Shine : There's only so much room on... on screen, Roger.

  Roger Ailes : Well, let's do it like we do sports scores, uh, but keep it moving, like it's a Wall Street ticker tape.

  Bill Shine : Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

  Roger Ailes : Yeah, update after update. Everybody needs to know what's happening. Who we got coming in, John?

  John Moody : Uh, some phones are down. We're having trouble getting in touch with anybody in D.C. or south of Houston.

  Roger Ailes : You know what? Just get every NatSec expert we've got. You just put 'em on hold for the whole goddamn day. You make it an exclusive hold if you have to. This is gonna be a day that defines us, as a country and as a people, and we just all need to be at our very best.

• Brian Lewis : [after learning Geraldo Rivera lied about being at the site of a friendly-fire incident]  This is a fucking disaster.

  Roger Ailes : It's not that bad.

  John Moody : It is that bad. Tora Bora's 300 miles away from where that happened. Baltimore Sun's got it. Everyone's gonna run with it.

  Brian Lewis : We have to issue an apology. We have...

  Roger Ailes : No, no, no. What, no apology.

  Brian Lewis : Roger, he lied.

  John Moody : Worse than that, he got caught. It's journalistic malpractice.

  Roger Ailes : We don't apologize. If you need to get out in front of it, Brian, get on the offensive. Just say it's the fog of war. An honest mistake.

  Brian Lewis : [scoffing]  "Honest."

  Roger Ailes : Hey, Geraldo came here from CNBC because he wanted to cover the war. Because he is a patriot. Because he's loyal. Anybody in this room ever been shot at? Hmm? Anybody in this room ever covered a war on the ground?

  Brian Lewis : Fine.

  Bill Shine : Honest mistake, then?

  Roger Ailes : Yeah. He's our guy. Go with that.