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

Chapter 60 The streets were deserted

"Of course, there's no reason why it shouldn't succeed," Luther said confidently.

As a time traveler, Luther was well aware of the power of sound films.

It was probably a similar situation when the first sound film in history, "The Jazz Singer," was released.

Actually, that movie was really mediocre. The acting was stiff, the plot was rough, and even the actors' makeup was wrong. They were clearly white, but they were given black makeup, which was heavily criticized by film critics.

But does this affect the fact that the fire is huge or even becomes a sensation?

No, not at all.

So much so that even a century later, whenever films that are significant enough to be recorded in film history and have a major impact on the development of cinema are mentioned, "The Jazz Singer" is always among them.

Why? Because it was the first film ever made with sound.

This is enough.

Strive to be number one in everything, and even if you mess things up, people will remember your name.

This is also the effect Luther was pursuing: the film can be low-budget, the acting can be stiff, and other aspects can be a little rough, but it must be the best!

Hearing Luther say that, Gia was in a good mood. She turned slightly to the side and moved a little closer to Luther.

The car occasionally shook, the warm air flowed, and you could even smell her hair and skin.

It was an intoxicating fragrance; she used rose-scented soap.

"Luther, what should we do next?" she asked almost instinctively.

In the past, Jia was someone who rarely shared, because in this family, even if she did share, no one would listen.

Old Joseph was busy making money, Mrs. Rose's job was socializing, Daniel was irresponsible, and his younger siblings were too young.

But now, without realizing it, Jia has become more talkative, especially when she is alone with Luther. This change is something she herself has not even noticed.

"I've done the math. If we can maintain this pace, we can earn about $2500 a day. If this continues for about 20 days, we can recoup our investment. If it continues for about 25 days, we can make a profit. Of course, if we can successfully hold this position for a month, then, Mr. Luther, we'll probably make a fortune."

When it comes to making money, Jia becomes a completely different person.

Luther then discovered that his wife, the eldest daughter of the Kennedys, was a complete money-grubber.

When it comes to making money, Jia is at least twice as motivated as him.

But the next moment, Luther shook his head and said to Jia, "That's not the right way to think. Things won't stay like this forever, and our open-air screening plan won't continue indefinitely either. I estimate that at the most optimistic time, it will only last about half a month."

"Why?" Jia suddenly became nervous.

She had finally managed to make some money, and she didn't want it to all fall through.

Luther smiled and nodded, saying, "Think about it, what would those big theater chains in Boston, like the Metropolitan Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and Orphen Theatre, do if they saw how popular and profitable our movies are?"

Upon hearing this, Jia immediately put herself in the shoes of these theaters and began to imagine the possibilities.

"First, they will suddenly realize that sound movies are so profitable. At first, they will be shocked and amazed, and then they will quickly realize what is going on."

"good."

"Then, because of the tight schedule, even if they wanted to invest in sound films immediately, there simply wasn't enough time. These kinds of films are complicated to shoot and even more difficult to produce. Even if a big company came, it would take at least three weeks. There simply wasn't enough time, so they had to import them from elsewhere."

"That's right." Luther nodded.

Jia looked at her husband, smiled knowingly, and then happily continued to dream.

"And if they want to import sound films, we're the only ones in the US right now... so they have no choice..."

"That's pretty much the whole truth."

"Luther, you've considered all of this?" Jia asked in surprise.

In her mind, apart from his status as an old European nobleman, her husband's greatest advantage was probably that he was quite good-looking.

But as they spent more time together, Jia was surprised to discover that Luther also had a brilliant mind.

From the initial decision to produce sound films, to the later open-air screening plan, and now to the predictions of other theaters' actions, everything has been so well-organized and logical that it's impossible to find anything to refute.

Indeed, just as Gia had imagined, the old theaters in Boston came knocking on their door not even in the second week. On the third day after the premiere, the theaters were already there.

It wasn't that Luther couldn't wait, but rather that these old foxes had caught the scent of money.

Reynolds rushed over early in the morning.

"Mr. Luther, Miss, the manager of the Metropolitan Theatre wants to see you."

"Tell him to wait a moment," Luther replied without hesitation.

Soon, Jia also came to her senses and stood firmly on her husband's side.

"Here's the thing, they rejected us before, risking our bankruptcy, but now that our movie is so popular, they're coming back to us. To be honest, I don't like it..."

"Okay, I'll come back later."

After waiting for about an hour, Reynolds finally came in with a group of people.

Yes, not just one, but a group.

This time, not only did the manager of the Metropolitan Theatre come, but people from Paramount and Orphen Theatre also came, as well as many managers who had previously rejected films that had failed to attract box office revenue.

Although Lowell had given prior notice, at this moment, tempted by the potential profits, no one cared about anything else.

"Mr. Luther, we were wrong before. We shouldn't have refused you."

"We're sorry, we'll cover all your losses, as long as we..."

"Please give us a chance to screen 'Lake Vaban'."

"We come here with sincerity this time, and we hope to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with box office films."

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

The theater managers were all incredibly sincere, their attitudes completely reversed, but Luther had no intention of softening. He simply held up one finger and waved it in front of everyone, saying:

"A collaboration or a long-term collaboration is fine, but this time, 'Waden' is priced at $10,000."

As soon as he finished speaking, the people in front of him looked angry and started speaking rudely.

"This is too expensive!"

"No film has ever sold for this price before!"

"I admit the audience is excited, but Mr. Luther, your price is way too high!"

"This is retaliation against us, absolutely retaliation."

Luther didn't listen at all and replied indifferently, "It is indeed revenge."

"..."

"As you all know, this is a very special occasion; it's the first sound film in human history. I have no shortage of audience. So it's not me begging you; it's you begging me. Understand your position, okay?"

The room fell silent again, and the ringleaders remained quiet, because they knew they no longer held the initiative.

"Even without you, my open-air theater can still survive and can be sold to other states and counties. Why should I give you the opportunity?"

When Luther said that, everyone realized they really had no more bargaining chips.

Even if they don't buy, the open-air theater can still survive, and by selling copies later, the box office revenue of the movies will still be profitable.

This means that these cinemas have missed out on a chance to make money.

Upon hearing this, the fat man in the lead gritted his teeth: "Mr. Luther! You'll regret this!"