I became a son-in-law in the United States

Chapter 57 Open-air Cinema

After the screening strategy was finalized, the entire box office film company began to get busy.

First, there's the issue of the venue, which is the most difficult and troublesome part.

If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn't have been able to get past this hurdle, because public screening permits in Boston are extremely difficult to obtain; ordinary people shouldn't even dream of it.

Of course, strictly speaking, Luther was not an ordinary citizen.

Although the Kennedys were an unpopular Irish family, Joseph Sr. was a well-known wealthy man, and his wife was the daughter of the former mayor of Boston. Such family power could guarantee that Luther would get the permit he wanted.

Secondly, the venue is also a major issue.

Boston is a major city that has been developing for two hundred years. In the United States, such major cities often have a common feature: a lot of private land.

As mentioned earlier, even the parks and squares in the Lighthouse Hill area are privately owned.

While it's not quite as extreme in South Boston, a significant amount of land is indeed privately owned, which further increases communication costs.

However, everything went relatively smoothly. The Irish and Italians, seeing that it was a box office hit, readily signed the contract and agreed to temporarily use the land for screening.

Of course, the New Youth Club also helped a lot in this matter.

Tom's dock and Sam's warehouse were also cleared out to be used as venues for the screening of "Walden".

In total, the film secured nearly 20 screening venues in Boston, which is quite a large scale.

At first glance, these venues can be categorized into three main types:

The first is the property owned by members of the New Youth Club. Tom's dockyard can hold 800 people, and Sam's south warehouse can hold 500 people.

Since business at the docks hasn't been great lately, Tom can still coordinate things, and adding another dock shouldn't be difficult.

The second type of land mainly consists of open spaces leased from Irish and Italian communities, each capable of accommodating 300 to 500 people, totaling eight sites.

Thirdly, there are the club members' private courtyards and basements, which serve as hidden hideouts, each capable of seating over a hundred people.

All things considered, these 20 venues can accommodate nearly 9,000 spectators per event.

This is a considerable number, although it cannot yet compare to the Boston Grand Theatres, it is already quite substantial.

After securing the venue and screening permits, the next step is to set the ticket prices.

Because this film features electronic music with sound, the production cost is more than twice that of a typical silent film, giving Luther the incentive to set a higher ticket price.

If this movie were to be shown in theaters, the final ticket price would not be less than 15 cents, which would be considered mid-range.

But this time, since it was an open-air screening, without having to share revenue with the cinema, Luther and Gia discussed it together and finally set the ticket price at 9 cents per person.

This price isn't expensive, and it can roughly guarantee the revenue of a box office film, so it's a win-win situation.

After settling these matters, the promotional phase for "Waden" officially began.

Reynolds first distributed GGs, then hired newsboys, and even distributed GGs in parking lots and residential areas—he did everything he could.

Meanwhile, the audience in Boston gave a timely but not enthusiastic response.

Because in this era, everyone was used to silent films, used to the male and female protagonists on screen not speaking but only making expressions. When someone suddenly introduced a sound film, the audience was almost instinctively unwilling.

They were even more dissatisfied after seeing the poster for "Waden Lake".

"How can a movie have sound? How can a movie have sound?"

"What's going on? Have box office numbers for movies gone crazy lately? What's going on?"

"I've heard that some companies in Hollywood are working on this, but I didn't expect that the first one to be a box office hit?"

"I can't even imagine what it would be like for the characters in the movie to speak, but I think it's superfluous."

"Nine cents a person, and outdoors no less, that's a bit of a rip-off!"

"No rush, let's wait and see..."

Regardless, this wave of publicity has had some effect.

Regardless of how audiences discuss "Waden," they are quite curious about this sound film.

Some people bought tickets in advance, while others chose to wait and see; the whole of Boston was immersed in a strange atmosphere.

................

Lighthouse Hill, 9 Louisburg Place.

The walls were made of reddish-brown bricks, with black iron railings and gas lamps hanging on both sides of the porch.

Upon entering, dark walnut wood wainscoting extends from the foyer to the second floor. Silver candlesticks sit on the fireplace mantel, and portraits of three generations of the Lowell family hang on the wall, their gazes all uniformly cold.

Lowell III, the guy who almost got beaten to death, was sitting on the sofa.

Opposite him were two brothers from the Pig Club—Pompeo and Vance. These two were also from the old WASP circle, and their influence was no less than Lowell's. They were also prominent figures.

Several newspapers were laid out in front of the three of them, including "New Youth" magazine and movie listings.

Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Lowell's face first darkened, then he gave a disdainful smile.

"Open-air cinema? These poor bastards, how did they even come up with that idea?"

In Lowell's eyes, anyone inferior to him was a pauper, and the Kennedys were no exception.

Of course, if it were Morgan or Rockefeller, it would be a different story. They would be attentive, polite, and impeccable.

To paraphrase a later prince, I never look at money when making friends, because none of them are as rich as me.

You can tell who's in charge of this city just by looking at their surname.

Vance put down his cigar, then came to his senses and made a small sarcastic remark.

"What do those Irish coolies in South Boston understand? Their ancestors couldn't even grow potatoes back home, and when they came to the New World, all they were fit for was carrying sacks. As for the Italians—ha, a bunch of pasta, what can they do besides sing and kill? Showing movies on the docks, only they would do that."

The guys from the Pig Club across the street started laughing, their laughter muffled and restrained.

"Let them put it away. Nine cents a ticket, just right for their status," Lowell said.

"Lowell, don't we need to do anything else?" Pompeo asked curiously.

"Not for now. The election is next month, and my family has put a lot of money into it. I don't want anything to happen now."

Upon hearing this, the other two nodded, understanding what it meant.

The Lowell family has members involved in various fields, and the Boston councilor position is a very important one that the Lowell family is determined to obtain.

"Just watch," Lowell paused slightly, "after the election, I will burn them alive with my own hands, just like I burned those black devils back then."

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