The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

There is no doubt that Chaplin was a great man, but he was by no means perfect.

For example, Chaplin's private life was a mess. Although he didn't reach the level of a humanoid self-propelled cannon, he certainly had no shortage of beauties around him. Especially after he divorced his second wife, he quickly got involved with his female secretary, who then hooked up with Chaplin's biological brother, eventually turning the two brothers against each other.

By the way, Chaplin's two marriages were due to the woman's unexpected pregnancy. In one of them, the woman lied about her pregnancy. It can be seen that Zhou Hexuan has indeed benefited the American people. His condom business has prevented countless marriages that were destined to be tragic.

In addition to his poor private life, Chaplin also had a bad temper, was paranoid and irritable, and offended many of his colleagues.

After a long silence, Chaplin suddenly said: "Capital is the destroyer of art! I will never agree to let a person who doesn't understand movies invest in our company, even if he is an excellent writer."

According to Chaplin's usual temper, he said this very gently, and it was all for Zhou Hexuan's sake.

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "When I buy shares, I can indicate in the contract that I will never interfere in the company's professional affairs."

Chaplin was stunned and suddenly asked: "What if I want to shoot or support others to shoot a movie that will definitely lose money?"

"In that case, you must have your own reasons. I respect the choice of a film artist." Zhou Hexuan said sincerely.

Chaplin suddenly laughed: "Zhou, you are a little different from American capitalists."

Zhou Hexuan said very noblely: "They only care about money, but I value other things. I am not short of money. I invested in the largest contraceptive (Harmony) condom factory in the United States, and the fastest-making pharmaceutical company in the UK." I invested in it. I bought a stake in your United Artists Pictures because I think this company is very special. It has broken the industry monopoly of big Hollywood companies, it has provided opportunities to countless independent directors, and it can represent the future of American films."

"Do you think United Artists can represent the future of American movies?" Chaplin asked in surprise.

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "Yes, the large studio system is destined to decline. This model is like a backward feudal monarchy, and then forms a film hegemonic empire. One day in the future, these powerful empires will become bloated and low-end. Inefficiency, lack of vitality and creativity. United Artists' independent production model will set off an industry revolution at that time, just like the French Revolution changed the color of Europe."

"I like that statement," Chaplin laughed.

When Chaplin, Fairbanks, Pickford and others founded United Artists, their idea was very simple: to get rid of the shackles of capital. Because they are fed up with the pointing fingers of capitalists, they want to invest on their own and make the movies they want to make. When United Artists developed to a certain scale, Chaplin and others became richer. So they not only make their own films, but also support talented independent directors in making films, and even help those directors distribute independent films on their behalf.

Chaplin has obviously felt the shortcomings of the large studio system and strongly agrees with what Zhou Hexuan said. In fact, what Zhou Hexuan said was more profound than Chaplin's. After all, this was a vision that transcended the times.

At this moment, Chaplin suddenly felt like a confidant to Zhou Hexuan.

"How much capital can you put in?" Chaplin asked.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Not much, 2 million US dollars."

In an era when millionaires were synonymous with success, $2 million was already scary. But for Chaplin, Fairbanks and others, 2 million is really not much. As early as 18 years ago, First National Film Company paid Chaplin a salary (total salary for three years) as high as US$1 million.

So Zhou Hexuan chose a very good time to start. Two years ago, the American film industry hit rock bottom, so bad that even Hollywood giants could not afford to pay their employees. Although things have eased now, life is not easy for everyone. After Chaplin spent huge sums of money to shoot "Modern Times", United Artists Pictures' liquidity was less than US$100,000.

Chaplin glanced at Fairbanks and said, "My shares can be diluted by 8%."

Fairbanks and his wife Pickford looked at each other and smiled: "Then Mary and I will each give 6% in proportion."

Chaplin asked Zhou Hexuan: "Are you willing to invest US$2 million and own 20% of the shares of United Artists Pictures?"

"Of course, I'm happy to." Zhou Hexuan smiled.

When United Artists was first founded, four shareholders each held 25% of the shares. Later, Griffith withdrew midway and Chaplin became the largest shareholder. Without Zhou Hexuan's involvement, when Fairbanks and Pickford divorce next year, and Fairbanks transfers some shares to his ex-wife, Pickford's shares will exceed Chaplin's.

But now that there is an additional Zhou Hexuan, the share composition of United Artists becomes: Chaplin 32%, Fairbanks 24%, Pickford 24%, and Zhou Hexuan 20%.

To be honest, according to the current company value of United Artists Pictures, Zhou Hexuan's investment will suffer a big loss. But when "Modern Times" is released next year, which will directly make United Artists one of the top eight movies in Hollywood, Zhou Hexuan will make a profit. In the longer term, the film copyrights held by United Artists Pictures alone are enough for Zhou Hexuan to earn a lot of money.

As for domestic investments, Zhou Hexuan is not optimistic and does not intend to follow Chang Kaishen, Song Ziwen and others to fool around. For example, buying a stake in the Bank of Guangdong seems to be a profitable business now, but two years later, when Japan fully invades China, everything will become a thing of the past.

Of course, some companies can also invest, such as companies in the Lianghu region. That can be regarded as supporting local economic construction, which will be helpful to the future war of resistance.

The companies that are truly worth investing in are American companies, and Coca-Cola must be the first choice.

Coca-Cola was hit hard during the Great Depression and continued to suffer losses until the early days of World War II. At that time, several shareholders of Coca-Cola even proposed to withdraw their shares and exchange their shares for cash to return to their hometowns to buy land and become farmers. This made the major shareholder Woodruff unable to sleep.

As a result, as the United States entered the war, Coca-Cola was marketed around the world along with American soldiers, and the company's value increased a hundredfold in an instant.

Zhou Hexuan does not plan to invest in Coca-Cola now, because it has been losing money in the past few years, and no matter how much money he invests, it will be wasted. The best time to invest was before the Pearl Harbor incident. As long as Zhou Hexuan waved his banknotes and roared, Coca-Cola shareholders would rush to sell their shares, and then get the money they wanted and go home to become farmers.

This is the benefit of time travellers. It doesn’t require strong abilities, as long as you have the right time to strike.

"Come, let's toast and welcome our new partners!" Fairbanks stood up with a smile.

Chaplin was also very happy. With Zhou Hexuan's investment, he no longer had to worry about the distribution costs of "Modern Times".

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "I brought you a gift."

"What gift?" Pickford asked.

"A novel, a novel that will soon be popular all over the United States," Zhou Hexuan said mysteriously, "It will be published soon. As long as it is adapted into a movie, it will definitely become another classic!"