On July 7th, the "Post," "Hollywood Times," "Christian Truth Newspaper," "Los Angeles Tribune," and "Citizen''s Newspaper" all published extensive reports, pointing out that the accusations against "Lust, Caution" were largely not due to the film itself, but rather the intentions of certain companies to merge with rivals and maliciously attack the director.


    Once the truth was revealed, it caused an uproar.


    On July 8th, Bishop Frankenstein suddenly appeared on a Los Angeles radio station and announced to the public that his previous bias against "Lust, Caution" led him to publish such an article. He said, "After having a sincere conversation with Director Andrew Colliano, I understood his creative motivation and the deeply moving meaning contained in the film. This is a good movie. I retract my previous attacks on ''Lust, Caution.'' Everyone should go to the cinema to see it and question our souls."


    The situation took a 180-degree turn. With the support of academia, the film industry, and the religious community, "Lust, Caution" received unprecedented unanimous praise. Universal''s thousands of cinemas were packed every show, and long queues formed outside.


    On July 10th, Columbia Company announced that they would screen "Lust, Caution" in all their theaters, which made other companies start to waver in their thoughts, while Fox, Mutual, and Paramount looked embarrassed, not only losing face but also watching helplessly as other people''s cinemas took a lot of money from the public.


    On July 11th, I filed an appeal with the Los Angeles court, accusing Fox Company of not complying with the screening contract. The judge accepted the case, and the Los Angeles media paid special attention to it, sending their most capable reporters to follow up. Since I was the plaintiff, had the contract in hand, and the law favored the weaker party, Fox Company was at a disadvantage both in public opinion and in front of the law. The "experience" of DreamWorks and myself received great sympathy from the public, including the judge.


    On July 14th, Essanay, Kalem, and Lightning, these three small companies, secretly screened "Lust, Caution" in all their affiliated cinemas. They knew that if I sued them in court, waiting for them would not only be heavy economic penalties but also the fate of bankruptcy. These three small companies were already in poor operating conditions, and under such circumstances, they would rather offend the big companies than save their lives first.


    The bosses of the three companies, Sidney Olcott, Tom Bardwell, and Charlie Bara, visited me in person one after another, apologizing to me, insisting that they should not have been bewitched by others, and also hoping that I would not sue them in court.


    Of course, I didn''t want to make things too extreme all at once, so I "generously" agreed to their requests.


    Facing the counterattacks of these few companies, Paramount, Fox, and Mutual had no reaction and chose to remain silent.


    First National Pictures and Biograph contacted me by secretary, "enthusiastically" inviting me to visit their company headquarters. I declined their kindness and tactfully warned their secretaries that if I did not get a reply from their bosses within a week, I would also file a complaint with the court.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    On July 16th, the Los Angeles court made a judgment on the "Lust, Caution" case. Fox lost the case for maliciously violating the contract, and the court ordered Fox Company to compensate DreamWorks Company $100,000.


    Since the United States is a country ruled by law, once such a judgment is made, it means that the companies that signed the screening contract with Fox and DreamWorks will end up the same way as long as I sue them.


    For a while, Hollywood presented a situation completely opposite to what it was not long ago. The originally arrogant Fox, Sennett, and others hid in their companies like dogs with their tails between their legs, while those who were not sued by me were mentally tormented.


    On July 17th, Biograph began to screen "Lust, Caution" across the board, and Aitken and Chuck suffered another knife wound in the counterattack.


    Unexpectedly, on the day Biograph screened "Lust, Caution," I received a call from Sam Warner and Charles Reis, two guys who suddenly told me in a tough tone that they would not screen "Lust, Caution" and claimed that they were not afraid of my lawsuit.


    Their unusual move really surprised me.


    After some investigation, I learned that Paramount''s "The Civil War," directed by Leibes Piery, had finished shooting and editing. Mutual, Paramount, Warner, First National Pictures, and Fox, the five major film giants, would jointly screen "The Civil War" in their theaters. Their purpose was obvious, which was to use this film to suppress my "Lust, Caution" and take revenge.


    As for the fines for violating the screening contract by Warner and First National Pictures, they would be paid by Paramount and Fox.


    "The Civil War" was claimed to have an investment of five million, but in fact, the investment was less than 2 million. However, at this time, it should be regarded as a blockbuster. Director Leibes Piery was known as a box office evergreen tree. With such a film launched at the same time as "Lust, Caution," you can imagine my pressure.


    But for me, there was nothing to worry about anymore. Fox Company compensated me $100,000, and First National Pictures and Warner were also judged by the court to compensate me $140,000. That is to say, I now have $240,000 in income, which is enough to make a profit, not to mention that I haven''t collected dividends from the screenings of various major companies yet. No matter whether "Lust, Caution" can withstand "The Civil War" or not, I have made a big profit.


    Lehmer didn''t have anything to worry about at this moment either. After this period of screening, Universal had earned back the investment in screening funds and even made huge profits. The only thing to worry about was those companies that joined the screening team later, such as Essanay, Kalem, Lightning, Columbia, and Biograph. The bosses of these companies almost came to my office every day to ask me to come up with ways to counter "The Civil War."


    What could I do? I had done everything I could, and the rest depended on whether the public liked to watch "Lust, Caution" or "The Civil War."


    On the evening of July 20th, Lehmer came to my company without anyone knowing.


    "Andre, what are you busy with?" The old man looked radiant, wearing a crisp suit, and even sprayed cologne.


    I put down the work in my hand, walked over with a smile, and said, "Well, I just bought a batch of equipment and was unloading it."


    Lehmer grabbed me and pulled me upstairs.


    "What''s the rush?" I asked, wiping my dirty hands on my clothes.


    Lehmer smiled slightly: "I drank up the Longjing tea at home, and came to your place to find tea to drink."


    I led him into the office, made him a cup of Longjing, and then asked him with a smile, "You''re not here just for tea, are you?"


    Lehmer ignored me, first took a sip of tea, nodded and said it was good tea, and then whispered, "Do you really not care about those people''s lives and deaths?"


    "Which people?" I glanced at him.