America 1919

Atlantic City Broadcast's morning news had all the actors, screenwriters, and directors—who had been thinking of defecting from the three major unions and had signed contracts with several major Hollywood studios—strung up over the coals.

Those who did not want to bear the stigma immediately contacted Charlie Chaplin to express their sincerity.

Participate, we must participate!

Strike marches, we must go on strike marches!

Whoever stands in their way, they will be furious with; no one should think they can stop them from becoming the vanguard fighting for the welfare of the vast number of American filmmakers!

One after another, phone calls came in, and one by one, they were put down.

The smiles on the faces of Charlie Chaplin and his colleagues grew even brighter.

"No problem now, these people will all join tomorrow's strike march. This time there are no traitors among us!"

After hanging up the phone with one director, Charlie Chaplin said excitedly.

Although Douglas wore the same expression of excitement, there was also a hint of doubt on his face.

"Haven't the major studios called you?"

Charlie Chaplin shook his head without concern, saying, "What's the point of worrying about them now? When the whole of Hollywood starts to strike and march tomorrow, they'll naturally come to us!"

Douglas shook his head and said, "That's not right. They must have heard the broadcast by now and guessed that those people stand with us. They should be making a move, so why isn't there any action from them now?"

At this point, Douglas asked, "Do you think they might have a plan that we don't know about?"

Douglas's question plunged the other three into silence. Continue reading at empire

"Why don't we give Donnie a call? I think Donnie would definitely know what those big studios are planning to do!"

At this moment, Pickford suggested to the three silent men.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

All three brightened up at the idea, the only exception being Douglas, whose eyes flashed with a sliver of displeasure, but his acting skillfully concealed it!

Griffith was the first to dial Donnie's villa, sharing their concerns with him.

"It's normal, don't worry. I guess those big studios are actually stalling!"

Donnie sat on the sofa, eating grapes peeled by Jessica Dole, and laughed as he spoke.

"Stalling?" Griffith's voice carried a note of confusion from the other end of the phone, "What are they stalling for?"

Donnie gave Jessica Dole's pert bottom a light pat, signaling her to stop peeling grapes before continuing, "Every piece of news has its moment of fervor, and the three unions' strike is no exception.

Now that Atlantic City Broadcast has reported it, we're at the peak of the matter. Unless they bow down to us, no matter what they do, they'll be condemned.

So the only thing they can do is nothing at all, letting things progress as they may. After all, they believe things have reached the most critical stage. How long our march can last and whether everyone in the team can continue due to their personal circumstances are questions up in the air.

They've decided to adopt the ostrich strategy, doing nothing at this time to avoid making more mistakes. As long as they can last until most of us can't hold out any longer, then they naturally win!

During this time, they will continue to buy off members of the three major unions, but this time they will be more careful, keeping those people within our ranks, and then start persuading those who can't persist due to financial issues.

Under such prolonged mutual wear and tear, there will definitely be someone who can't hold on first, and then our internal conflicts will begin!"

Donnie's explanation once again led to silence on the other end of the phone.

"If that's the case, don't we have no way out?"

Douglas's voice came through the phone, "If we'd known it would end up like this, we might as well have accepted their terms from the very beginning!"

"Doug, don't talk like that. Since Donnie has guessed their plan, I believe Donnie must have a solution!"

"Mary, I very much appreciate your trust!" Donnie replied gentlemanly, "They have their strategies, and naturally, we must have our own plan. Since they want to limit the impact of the whole situation to this, we need to further amplify it, make it so pervasive that all reporters across the United States will take notice. Then our plan can succeed!"

"So, Donnie, what's your plan?"

Douglas asked somewhat impatiently.

Donnie chuckled and said, "There's no hurry about this. You just need to ensure that tomorrow's march is well coordinated, and I will take care of the rest!"

After that, Donnie hung up the phone.

Seeing Donnie hang up, Jessica Dole, curiously asked him, "Boss, do you not trust Doug?"

Donnie waved his hand and laughed, "It doesn't matter whether I trust him or not, as long as Chaplin and the others don't trust him, that's good enough. If the four shareholders of United Artists are completely unified, it wouldn't be good for us!"

While Chaplin and the others were still figuring out how to solve the current problem, Donnie was actually already contemplating how to resolve the relationship between the several stakeholders of United Artists!