Another interesting scene had a filming location that almost no one expected: Trump Tower.
Unlike the original plan of redesigning a brand-new Stark Tower, when Donald heard from Ivanka that Gilbert needed a tower, he directly offered Trump Tower.
In some ways, Donald's personality is quite similar to Tony Stark's, and the tower itself fits Tony Stark's flamboyant character rather well.
In addition, Donald also made a cameo appearance in the film, playing the police officer who follows Captain America's commands.
Not only Donald—some scenes in the film also feature FOX News host Robert, NBC's star anchor Rebecca, and players from the Seattle Thunder basketball team.
After these people were satisfied, they naturally helped with publicity, making it a very worthwhile deal.
Christmas was spent right in New York. Gilbert owns property there—a villa on Long Island and a luxury residence near Central Park.
Since he was in New York, social engagements were inevitable. Gilbert received many invitations, all from gatherings of New York's wealthy elites.
And New York is Wall Street's stronghold. While Gilbert's conflicts with Wall Street may not be common knowledge, the city's wealthy elites were certainly well aware of them.
"Look at these hypocrites, wearing masks of false kindness, thinking they're the center of the world. In reality, they're nothing—just a pile of trash."
Facing the constant flow of wealthy elites and the New York socialites who kept throwing flirtatious glances at Gilbert, Scarlett didn't hold back with her mockery.
Gilbert wanted to laugh, but he still maintained proper etiquette.
"This is a public occasion, Scarlett. You need to watch your lady-like image."
Scarlett pouted, but when someone came over to greet them, she still put on a sweet smile and accompanied Gilbert in socializing.
"Gilbert, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere."
Gilbert's old acquaintance Larry Fink found him and glanced at Scarlett. "Miss Johansson, may I have a word alone with him?"
"Of course."
Scarlett said to Gilbert, "I'll go get something to eat. Come find me at the bar when you're done."
"Alright…"
Watching Scarlett leave, Gilbert gestured to Larry Fink, and the two moved to a quiet corner where they could discuss private matters without interruption.
During the financial crisis, Gilbert and Larry Fink had joined forces to buy quality assets everywhere, scooping up plenty of valuable holdings.
Gilbert's wealth expanded even further, while Larry Fink gained a more significant position on Wall Street.
Both were ambitious. Larry Fink was unwilling to remain merely a glove for the financial conglomerates and wanted to take control himself, while Gilbert wanted those so-called old-line financial families to fall apart.
The two hit it off immediately and formed a partnership.
"Latest news, Gilbert," Larry Fink whispered like an agent passing along classified information. "Some people within the Rockefeller and Morgan families have reached the peak of their dissatisfaction with you. They may be preparing to make a move."
Gilbert frowned. "Do they have a plan?"
"They're raising funds, planning to manipulate the stock prices of Watermelon and Banana to force you to sell your shares in both companies.
"They're also contacting shareholders. Once your stake drops to a certain level, they'll join forces to push you out of the board."
Like many North American tycoons, Gilbert's wealth is diversified and not limited to just these two companies.
But just as Bill Gates' fortune mainly came from Microsoft, Watermelon and Banana also occupy a crucial position in Gilbert's financial empire.
Losing these two companies would significantly shrink his wealth.
"The same old trick. How much do you think they can raise? Given the size of the two companies, it would take hundreds of billions of dollars."
Larry Fink replied, "Quite a few people are backing them. I've heard they're aiming to raise over a hundred billion dollars. This banquet is aimed at you—to lower your guard."
"That's not surprising," Gilbert said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The manager of Quantum Hedge Fund even smiled at me earlier.
"I was wondering why that cold-faced guy suddenly turned into a smiling tiger. Turns out he's plotting against me."
"What are you planning to do?" Larry Fink asked.
Gilbert smiled. "When it comes to finance, they're experts. I know what they're best at—hyping up intangible concepts, turning something nonexistent into a hot commodity.
But this world is ultimately material. Unless humanity evolves to the point where it no longer needs physical goods, real products will always matter. Just wait. There's plenty of good stuff still to come."
In fact, for Gilbert, even if both companies were shorted by Wall Street, it wouldn't be a big problem, because the nature of the companies is clear—they have real products.
In recent years, many so-called high-tech companies in North America have continuously rolled out various concepts and then, through Wall Street operations, pushed these concepts onto Nasdaq for listing.
These are not technology companies but financial companies, with no real substance.
But Watermelon and Banana are different. Wall Street has overlooked one thing: internet user habits are not something the financial market can easily disrupt.
No matter how Wall Street hypes that Watermelon and Banana are doomed, as long as the two companies continue to operate steadily, users will not leave.
Ultimately, because they were established relatively early and had more advanced concepts, the two companies have already formed a Matthew effect in search engines and social networking sites.
The vast majority of companies of the same type have either shut down or been absorbed during the rapid expansion of these two companies.
For example, Google was acquired by Watermelon in 2006, while Zuckerberg's Facebook announced the suspension of its services last year amid the wave of the financial crisis.
For internet companies of such massive scale, the most fundamental factor is their user base.
According to last year's data from the North American Internet Association, Watermelon's search engine recorded 118 billion searches annually, while Banana's social products reached 210 million users—an astonishing number.
And this is only North American data. If users from the rest of the world are included, the figure becomes astronomical.
Steve Jobs rarely concerned himself with Apple's stock price on Wall Street. He believed that as long as Apple had a massive user base, even if the stock fell today, it would rise back tomorrow and go even higher.
Ultimately, the internet is about users, not finance.
That is why Gilbert is not worried at all about the Rockefeller, Morgan, and other financial conglomerates shorting the stock. What they should be thinking about is how to pry users away.
But unfortunately, they can't do it. Doing so would be nothing more than a futile effort, incapable of striking at Gilbert's foundation.
After ending his conversation with Larry Fink, Gilbert found Scarlett, and the two left the banquet together.
Seeing the thoughtful look on Gilbert's face, Scarlett asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about the film's post-production."
"I don't believe that for a second. Whenever you have that expression, it means you're planning to scheme against someone."
"You can tell that?"
Gilbert reached out to pat Scarlett's head, but she dodged away.
"Don't touch my head. If I'm not tall enough, it's all your fault."
"Hahahaha…"
After laughing, Gilbert took out his phone and called Ivanka.
"Ivanka, help me raise a sum of money. We're going to make a big move."
A favor demands a return—let's see who has more money and who can burn it longer.
..
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