$7.7 million today. Selznick had been dabbling in theatrical production, and his company put popular plays on film. World Films releases in 1915 included Old Dutch featuring Lew Fields, The Boss starring Alice Brady and Holbrook Blinn, Trilby starring Wilton Lackaye and Clara Kimball Young, and Wildfire starring Lillian Russell and Lionel Barrymore. He soon merged with the Peerless Pictures Studios and the Shubert Brothers, Shubert Pictures Co. Selznick's company became very successful, in 1915 hiring Sidney Olcott away from Kalem Studios plus the French director Maurice Tourneur away from the American arm of the giant, Pathé. By 1916, personality conflicts with his partners saw him ousted from the firm by the Board of Directors. Selznick took with him World Film Corporation's biggest star, Clara Kimball Young, and became president and general manager of the newly formed Clara Kimball Young Film Corporation. Selznick and Young began a much publicized affair, which resulted in her husband James Young divorcing her. He then launched the film career of Nazimova with her first film War Brides, which was a success. Selznick's business practices such as special preview functions, putting his name up in lights, signing stars for big salaries, upset others in the industry and Adolph Zukor purportedly offered him a salary of $5,000 a week for life to go to China and stay there. He later invented an advance deposit system whereby his productions were financed by selling the rights to exhibitors. Although he had annoyed other film industry people, he had a friendship with Marcus Loew who helped him with loans. Following Norma Talmadge's marriage to Joseph Schenck, the booking manager for the Loew circuit, Talmadge signed for Selznick and the first film of hers he distributed, Panthea, set her on the road to becoming a star. Talmadge's sister Constance also signed for Selznick. In 1917, Zukor acquired a 50% interest in Selznick's Select Pictures; however, this led to Selznick's name no longer appearing in lights or on the screen. Constance Talmadge then asked for his name to be removed from her pictures. Following this, Selznick's son Myron signed Olive Thomas in December 1918, and put the Selznick name up in lights again. Selznick then bought out Zukor to take control of Select Pictures again. Selznick continued in film on the East Coast until 1920 when he moved to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky. However,