At one o''clock in the morning, it rained heavily. Lightning streaked across the clouds, creating dazzling flashes of light. The howling wind roared as if the sky had a big hole in it, and the torrential rain swallowed the world. I could only feel the earth shaking.
When Gans appeared at the door, he was completely drenched. Although it was already June, he was still shivering with cold. Gans and Fatty brought him into the room, let him take a hot bath, and then changed into a clean suit. Only then did this guy gradually recover.
"Boss, we... we''ve been tricked!" Gans shrank in the quilt, looking at me with tears in his eyes.
I took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and then asked, "What happened? Explain clearly."
"The 600 theaters in Los Angeles were full to capacity a few days ago. Although they have been affected these days, the attendance rate can still reach two - thirds. These are true. But such a situation only happened in Los Angeles. Except for Los Angeles, in California, Nevada and even the whole West, companies such as First National Pictures, Biograph, Fox, Warner Bros., etc., which have signed screening contracts with us, haven''t shown a single movie!"
"Not a single screening?! Not even in Old Ma''s theaters?!" I didn''t believe this fact and asked loudly.
"They haven''t shown a single screening! I haven''t seen him since he signed the contract!" Gans''s eyes were full of bloodshot, and he shouted hoarsely.
I was stunned! Sitting on the chair, I suddenly felt extremely cold.
"Is it that outside Los Angeles, outside this urban area, no movies have been screened anywhere?!" I was reluctant to believe it and grabbed them both and asked.
"Yes!" The two answered in unison.
"Among the companies that have signed screening contracts with us, only Universal has shown our movie in all its theaters. A few days ago, Essanay stopped showing it suddenly after one day. Fox Company also only showed it once in each of its 215 theaters in California and then mysteriously took it off the shelves. So did Callum Company. That is to say, now these contracted companies only show ''Lust, Caution'' in their Los Angeles theaters. The only one who has really put funds and theaters into it is Universal!" Fatty concluded.
That is to say, if the situation is true, my movie is currently only shown in 600 theaters in Los Angeles. In addition, only Lemer''s Universal is shown across the board.
I''ve been tricked by these big company tycoons!
Why is this so?
Normally speaking, judging from the benefits of these 600 theaters in Los Angeles, which are almost full every time, do the bosses of these companies have a grudge against money?!
"Boss, I don''t understand why Old Ma and them would trick us?! They can make money by showing our movie!" Fatty and Gans had similar thoughts to mine.
"You ask me, who should I ask?! But since the sudden appearance of Bishop Frankenstein, I''ve felt something unusual. Now it seems that my premonition is quite accurate." I gave a bitter smile.
"Well, we must think of a way! Newspapers and broadcasts have widely criticized us, and the voices of criticism in society are getting higher and higher. Now these companies have collectively stopped showing our movie. In this way, the future of DreamWorks will be ruined." Fatty became more and more anxious as he spoke.
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I looked at the two of them and picked up the phone beside me.
The first call was to Fox. After ringing for a long time, his secretary answered the phone and said that Fox had gone to Europe for business. I asked when he would come back, and the secretary hesitated and said that she didn''t know.
I dialed the phones of John Cohn, Sam Warner, Charles Reisner, Todd Browning and other people in succession. As a result, they were all transferred by their secretaries. Either their boss was not in or their boss was sick. Later, even the small - sized company bosses such as Callum Company, Fox Company and Essanay Company also lost contact.
The more I dialed, the colder my heart became. I could only pin my last hope on Old Ma.
After the phone rang a few times, I heard Lenny''s voice.
"Lenny, is Mr. Malskrov there?" I asked anxiously.
"No, Andrew, what''s wrong?" Lenny asked.
"No, do you know where he went?"
"I don''t know. He seems to be in the company or on a business trip. I''ll ask for you."
Lenny hung up my phone and called back a few minutes later, telling me that the people in the company told her that Old Ma was on a business trip and would not come back until two weeks later.
After putting down the phone, I suddenly didn''t know what to do. These people suddenly disappeared collectively, which made me have no way at all.
"No, we can''t just sit and wait. Gans, call Jack for me." I shouted at Gans.
Gans went out not long and brought Jack into the room.
"Jack, I''ll give you a task." My voice was low.
Jack straightened his back and said loudly, "Boss, just tell me what to do."
"Don''t you have quite a few people under you? Starting from tonight, divide them into several groups and send them to the vicinity of these companies that have signed contracts with us. Specialize in tailing their bosses and report to me as soon as you find out the situation!"
"Boss, don''t worry. I''ll go and do it right away!" Jack agreed, put on his raincoat and dived into the heavy rain.
To be honest, I simply didn''t believe that those bosses really went on business trips or were sick as their secretaries said. They were very likely to find an excuse to avoid me. If they were sent to tail them, they would definitely be able to expose their tricks.
"Boss, what about us?" Fatty pointed to him and Gans.
"Fatty, go and check the situation of Universal Company. I want first - hand information, including their funds and the operating conditions of the company. Although most of these are confidential, you must get them for me by all means. Gans, you specialize in keeping an eye on Lemer and see what he has done."
Among so many companies, only Universal has honestly fulfilled the terms of the contract. Maybe we can find a breakthrough from Lemer.
Almost all the people who could be of use in the company have been sent out by me. As for myself, I stayed in the office to command the whole process.
I couldn''t understand what kind of torment this was. The only thing I could do was to sit in the room, anxiously smoking and waiting. Even Gise and Julie vaguely felt that something big was going to happen later.
At the same time, I kept calling various companies. After dialing the number, I got the same news.
Just like this, I endured it for three days. Looking at the guy in the mirror with bloodshot eyes, a three - day - old beard and messy hair like a chicken coop, I really couldn''t believe that it was myself.
On the afternoon of July 4th, this silent situation was finally broken.
James and Howard, who were responsible for tailing Bishop Frankenstein, came back and reported to me that they had found that the bishop had moved.
"Boss, we found that the bishop had a conversation with a very influential guy in the back room of the church for more than an hour this morning." James started to build up suspense.
I gave him a side - eye: "What time is it now! Tell me who he is!"
"Boss, it''s Aikent of the Mutual Benefit Company." Howard said word by word.
"Aikent!? He has colluded with the bishop!? " My heart moved, and suddenly I felt that I had got a clue.
Almost all the big companies in Hollywood had signed screening contracts with me. Only the Mutual Benefit Company didn''t send anyone. Now Aikent is also closely related to the bishop who called on the public to boycott "Lust, Caution". I couldn''t help but think that there was something wrong with the Mutual Benefit Company.
But I have no grudges or enmity with Aitken. Why would he want to harm me?! This point puzzles me.