People certainly didn't forget that director. This brilliant fellow always managed to surprise everyone. No wonder he was unwilling to sell the movie adaptation rights; he was likely planning to shoot it himself.
Many considered the Hollywood fools unworthy of making this film. They were best at staging gunfights with actors riding horses. The Westerns of that era could only be described as a flood.
...
USC (University of Southern California) also gained plenty of attention. Their freshman students certainly made the school proud, not only excelling in software but also performing well in directing.
His crew was indeed a ragtag bunch, with all the actors washed-up and a few not-so-great students thrown in too.
The school teachers knew very well these kids were troublemakers. Not a single one was a model student.
William White managed to carve out a bloody path with a bad hand, leaving Hollywood speechless.
Now, the school officials realized that letting this guy drop out was a mistake; they decided to let him stick around.
This guy truly was a straight-A student, excelling in both directing and computer science. You had to understand, these were two completely unrelated fields; just passing would be commendable, yet he aced both.
After a few discussions, William White decided to finish college. As long as he passed his exams, he would be a sophomore next semester.
American universities were quite lenient. As long as you could earn the credits, getting the diploma wasn't too hard. Didn't we see a bunch of NBA players who were college students? Most were barely literate, yet all graduated from prestigious schools; that was their credit system.
...
In July, Los Angeles was still pretty hot; that damned place hardly ever saw rain, and a long drought had become the norm.
Wildfires raged through Los Angeles. Although the burned areas weren't vast, the air always carried a smoky scent.
Los Angeles went crazy, and so did the futures market. Due to global instability and severe inflation, people increasingly prioritized protecting their wealth.
In that situation, keeping money in the bank was obviously a foolish move. Who knew if a bank would still be around tomorrow? It could close overnight.
With serious inflation, there wouldn't be a bull market; the stock market naturally plunged as well. The only things that seemed to hold investment value were precious metals.
Gold prices had surged over ten times, yet that didn't seem very reliable. No matter how bad inflation got, prices didn't rise tenfold; why should gold be any exception?
So, everyone shifted their focus to silver.
"Hey, it's only over six bucks. Seems like it just went up three or four times. It shouldn't be a problem if it rises another fifty or sixty percent, right?"
With a little help from some interested parties, this kind of talk quickly gained traction. Everybody knew who was pushing this narrative, but no one cared, as long as it brought profits to the table.
As a result, silver trading volumes skyrocketed, and the market began to heat up.
"Sir, it's already gone up a lot; should we cash out?"
"Don't worry. Their constant increases come with their costs. It'll never drop below six bucks again. We're just deciding how much to profit; it doesn't matter."
"This is just too crazy; I jump every time the phone rings."
"They're planning something big this time. It's impossible not to double their money. As long as it stays under twenty bucks, no one dares short it."
"They're indeed ruthless; it's like the shorts almost went bust all at once."
"They're so selfish. They only think about their own profits and leave no room for everyone else. If they keep this up, someone will take care of them sooner or later. By the way, Fulton, once the movie profits come in, we'll slowly buy shares in White Oil."
"Got it, sir. I'll take care of it right away."
He didn't want anyone else to reap the benefits of their family's business. Selling his shares was one thing; having someone else snatch them away was another.
He didn't realize that nobody was after that company anymore. Many had seen his reckless temper; if you didn't have a strong heart, it was best to steer clear of such troubles.
To put it simply, he was still a student, just a kid. If kids did something outrageous, as long as it wasn't too extreme, the public usually just chuckled.
...
For his opponents, it wasn't a delightful situation.
Didn't they see the troubles the United Artists fell into? To be precise, the Hollywood big shots faced misfortune.
One had to admit, they really misjudged the situation. Their most optimistic box office prediction was just twenty million dollars.
Now, look at it; it clearly showed how foolish they were. It was obvious now that this was a blockbuster movie, not just a one-off.
Every year when the film released, they'd be dragged out and scorned. Whenever they thought about it, it felt like a knife to their hearts.
...
The moguls were moping around, but William White felt it wasn't enough. The biggest celebration in Hollywood history happened.
It was like pouring salt on their wounds -- the air was thick with tension throughout Hollywood.
After the party, word spread that a drunken William White declared that if the box office didn't hit 150 million bucks, he'd run a lap around USC.
In his drunken state, William White reverted to recklessness. Looking at his messy bedroom, he could only shake his head and laugh.
He went to the bathroom to clean up. He decided to leave immediately. (He couldn't stay; it was getting out of hand. He was actually going to drive.)
Alright, he might have had a little too much to drink, but he hadn't forgotten to take precautions. Wasn't it said that if you didn't bring protection, it didn't count as forcing things?
Okay, mainly because the situation in that era was too chaotic. This was around the time of a massive plague outbreak, and there wasn't any cocktail therapy around; he might be gone in a couple of days.
One wild night seemed to have relieved a lot of the recent negative emotions. To enjoy his life ahead, William White needed to keep pushing forward.
...
Things in Los Angeles were settled; nothing major was left. He decided to check on the farm, seeing if his arcade games were up and running. That was a good source of income.
When he arrived at the farm, he received a warm welcome. Many nearby farmers showed up to get in on the action; they wanted to meet this amazing guy.
You had to know, this movie was a massive hit in Texas, and someone capable of making such a film had to be quite the character.
Don't be fooled by how cowboy Texas was; they really didn't like Westerns.
In their eyes, it was absurd to think such a sissy could ever win over a beautiful woman. That, they thought, was just a disgrace to history.
*****
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