America 1919

The proud Charlie Chaplin sincerely apologized to Donnie. In fact, this also indicated that Charlie Chaplin truly accepted Donnie's suggestion and indeed recognized Donnie's capabilities.

Donnie likewise raised his own glass, "There's nothing to apologize for. As I mentioned before, we are partners, but also individuals with independent thoughts. As long as we put all our efforts into the idea of expanding and strengthening the company, everything is understandable!"

"Donnie is right. To facilitate our better collaboration, how about we all drink to this proposal?"

Gerry Griffith said, raising his glass with a laugh.

Douglas and Pickford also raised their glasses at the same time: "To our collaboration!"

Afterward, they all sought Donnie for some detailed inquiries about how to handle the matter.

Donnie specifically mentioned one point, "Although establishing the three major labor unions is for the development of United Artists, I hope you four can use this opportunity to establish the true influence of the unions.

Every actor, director, and screenwriter in Hollywood must understand that if they join the union, they will be protected by it. Whatever issue they encounter, the union will certainly be there to help them resolve it.

And those who haven't joined the union should envy and admit their mistakes, and eventually join us.

Besides, the union needs funds to operate. My personal financial support alone isn't enough. The actors, directors, and screenwriters who join need to bear the membership fees. However, we can put this aside for now, but once everything is over, we must put this matter on the agenda."

With the establishment of the three major unions, as long as Donnie brought out this concept, it was impossible for the matter to fall through midway.

And since Donnie intended to minimize the unions' influence on himself later on, he needed to have his own people within these unions.

Even though Charlie Chaplin and the other three had already expressed their acceptance of him, Donnie believed that if there were a divergence of interests in the future, they would unhesitatingly take a stand against him.

As for Donnie himself, he actually had not considered recruiting any actors, screenwriters, or directors.

At least within the three major unions, such people were unreliable!

But for the unions to operate, it was impossible to rely solely on actors, screenwriters, and directors. That is to say, there had to be management personnel within these unions.

"If that's the case, running the union will be very troublesome!"

After hearing Donnie's words, Charlie Chaplin posed his own doubt.

Donnie chuckled, "Although a union can't be managed like a company, it still needs to have normal operations.

Moreover, to ensure fairness, all the accounts and operations of these three major unions must be made public. These matters cannot be entrusted to the actors, screenwriters, or directors themselves. It requires professional talents!"

Charlie Chaplin nodded, while Gerry Griffith spoke with some concern, "But we don't have such talent, do we?"

We don't, but I do!

Donnie said, "I believe that after the protest marches are over, we can issue recruitment advertisements for the three major unions. At that time, we can join hands with some influential people in the unions, form a council together, and take turns being the chairperson. All decisions will be made by the council, and then carried out by the management."

Pickford immediately showed a smile and said, "That could work!"

Donnie continued, "As for the recruitment, I think it could be entrusted to Starry Entertainment. In this way, we can ensure that our interests are not compromised, and at the same time, keep United Artists in a fair position!"

If they let Starry Entertainment take charge of the recruitment, they would definitely not have agreed to what Donnie had previously said.

But once Donnie had brought up the Council matter, even if they had some thoughts of their own, their convictions wouldn't be as strong!

Indeed!

Just as Donnie had said, Charlie Chaplin and the others only thought it over briefly before agreeing to the matter.

With that discussion, things were pretty much settled, leaving only the specifics of execution to be dealt with.

Charlie Chaplin and his company were in great spirits at this point, raising their glasses in celebration with Donnie.

Watching the four of them so happy, Donnie too was delighted. Everything appeared to be going smoothly, but Donnie knew all too well that setting up a union was not so simple.

There was one thing Donnie hadn't mentioned just now: for this to succeed, there was one essential prerequisite, and that was secrecy!

Before the big studios could react, the three major unions would have already been established.

Only in this way could they catch the big studios completely off guard!

But if the news leaked prematurely, then those big studios would certainly take action, and establishing the unions as Chaplin and the others intended wouldn't be so straightforward anymore.

The reason he hadn't informed them was that Donnie understood he needed to make an appearance in this matter, and not just any appearance, but one of significant prestige.

Only then could Donnie, who hitherto had no reputation in Hollywood, use this opportunity to build up his own prestige.

"Jessica's image is very good, and coincidentally I have a movie that's just started pre-production; it has a female role that fits Jessica's image well. If you have no objections, Donnie, I think Jessica could come to the company for an audition tomorrow!"

At this point, Douglas began to return the favor, smiling at Jessica seated next to Donnie as he spoke at the dinner table.

Upon hearing Douglas's words, Jessica Dole immediately revealed an irrepressible smile, while Keira Sandton and the other two couldn't help but show their envy.

They had followed Donnie to Los Angeles, had they not, all eager to become stars in Hollywood!

And now, on their very first day, Jessica Dole had caught Douglas's eye; no wonder they were envious!

"Haha, if that's the case, then that's fantastic. This toast is to show my thanks to you, Douglas!"

Donnie raised his glass!

Following Douglas's lead, Charlie Chaplin and Griffith also expressed that they had roles suitable for Miss America in their new films and invited them to audition for their companies the next day.

Donnie, along with the four ladies, expressed their thanks to them.

When Charlie Chaplin and his group left, they were already staggering slightly, but it was clear that except for Pickford, their spirits... were very high!

After their departure, Donnie was surrounded by the four girls, and then came the ensuing tussle...

Donnie's strong physique proved advantageous at this moment. After a good night's sleep, he had fully recovered and was ready for action again!

However, after the battle was over, Donnie didn't rest but went out alone with a cigarette to the courtyard. The outcome of this battle in Hollywood was crucial for whether he could gain a firm foothold, and his heart was also full of unease.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

At this moment, the butler of the villa came over to inform Donnie that Pickford had arrived!