America 1919-Chapter 972 - 331, valued at 25 million! _3

Take United Artists as an example: whether Charlie Chaplin is involved or not is undeniably a critically important factor in its valuation.

"How many shares is Donnie planning to release this time?" Paul Warburg couldn’t help but ask.

Shaw Gordon explained, "Mr. Block intends to release 30 million shares this time, with each share priced at 25 cents, accounting for 30% of the company’s total shares!"

Paul Warburg quickly calculated in his mind. Based on Venus Bank and the German Quanter Family’s share ratio of 9:1 in Trident Shipyard, Donnie could secure $6.75 million from this release!

"So, what exactly does Donnie plan to do with this money? Is it really intended for developing Trident Shipyard?"

Paul Warburg began pondering this question.

Ultimately, Paul Warburg concluded that Donnie was surely going to use the funds to develop Trident Shipyard.

$6.75 million might be a significant sum for most people, but for Donnie, it hardly seemed like much, especially considering that Paul Warburg knew that from the bootlegging business alone, Donnie earned at least $13 million per month!

Thinking this over, Paul Warburg decided not to dwell on how Donnie planned to develop Trident Shipyard; it simply didn’t matter.

.

Next, Gordon-Blalock Securities began its campaign to hype up Trident Shipyard. In this scenario, the shipyard’s director, George Olympia, actively collaborated with Gordon-Blalock Securities to promote its launch.

The people on Wall Street naturally paid close attention to this matter as well.

Amidst all this, a movie—one that had never existed in an alternate timeline—was about to be released soon.

Charlie Chaplin could be considered Hollywood’s most bankable star at the moment, but even his films only garnered box office sales in the range of a few million dollars, which already represented Hollywood’s record-high earnings!

Under these circumstances, although Wall Street was beginning to notice Hollywood, it still wasn’t assigning it priority as an investment opportunity.

The movie set to be released now wasn’t even starring Charlie Chaplin, making it even less likely to attract Wall Street’s capital interest.

This was the financial sector’s attitude toward the film, but ordinary movie audiences were still highly intrigued.

The two main actors in the film, while not as famous as Charlie Chaplin, each had loyal fans.

They were Douglas, one of United Artists’ shareholders and a Hollywood-renowned male actor, and Jessica Dole, who was crowned Miss America. After Mary Pickford retired, Jessica Dole was hailed by Los Angeles media as Hollywood’s most captivating actress of the era!

Today, a Los Angeles newspaper predicted that the film could potentially achieve box office earnings of $3 million—a terrifyingly high projection for this film.

In an interview with ABC Radio, Griffith declared that the film would be a groundbreaking piece.

"Are you saying, Mr. Griffith, that you disagree with the media’s box office prediction for your film? Are you suggesting they underestimated its potential?"

Known for his humble and refined demeanor, Griffith appeared unusually assertive during today’s interview.

"While I realize this may come across as self-aggrandizing, everyone involved in this film believes it will be a landmark in the history of American cinema. Naturally, its box office numbers will reflect that!"

"Wow!" exclaimed the host. "Are you implying that this movie could set a new box office record?"

Griffith replied, "Indeed. We truly believe it’s capable of achieving such a feat!"

Griffith’s statements were quickly published by Los Angeles newspapers, and different outlets interpreted his words in varying ways.

Some newspapers considered Griffith’s remarks excessively boastful. They argued that while both Griffith and Jessica Dole were undoubtedly Hollywood’s top stars, their movie breaking existing box office records seemed highly implausible.

One newspaper even suggested Griffith should consult a psychiatrist.

On the other hand, others believed the film’s quality must have been extraordinary to inspire such confidence in Griffith, who usually kept a low profile.

Such coverage naturally attracted even more attention to the film.

Critics or advocates alike—it was evident that Griffith’s comments, amplified through media channels, piqued widespread public interest in the movie.

The media, ever keen, realized that if people were curious, their role was to report on it.

Especially under the momentum fueled by the Atlantic City Post and ABC, within just a week, conversations surrounding the film starring Griffith and Jessica Dole began to spread across the United States.

Even casual onlookers started paying attention to this movie.

"Boss, discussions about this movie have surged and even surpassed the hype surrounding Trident Shipyard’s stock release!"

Ozzy Barber reported the phenomenon to Donnie with a grin.

Donnie nodded and smiled. "Entertainment news always attracts more eyeballs than financial news. Besides, the demographics involved in each discussion are entirely different, so there’s nothing to worry about!"

Ozzy Barber nodded, his admiration for Donnie growing deeper. He hadn’t expected his boss’s subtle cue to turn a film into a topic of nationwide interest.

"Should we proceed with our plan, then?"

"Of course!" Donnie responded without hesitation. "The current level of buzz might ensure people head to cinemas when the film debuts, but post-release word-of-mouth will still influence subsequent box office performance."