Dunn woke up feeling refreshed, whistling as he buttoned up his pajamas and bounced down the stairs. The moment he looked up, he caught Nicole Kidman rolling her eyes at him from the living room couch.
"Did I tick you off again?" Dunn asked, scratching his head, genuinely confused.
Nicole huffed, "You two were so loud, I could hear everything from down here!"
"Heh, you know how strong I am in battle," Dunn grinned smugly, then his tone turned teasing. "But last night, you weren't exactly quiet either. Just a bit ago, Isla was saying even you two together couldn't take me—"
"Stop!" Nicole's face went stern, her teeth practically grinding. "Dunn, this topic's boring. Super boring!"
Dunn strolled over, plopping down beside her and throwing an arm around her with a playful smirk. "I think Isla's idea sounds pretty fun. Wanna give it a shot?"
"No way, not a chance!" Nicole squirmed out of his grip, dodging his wandering hands. "I don't care what others do, but a threesome? That's a hard no for me. End of story!"
"Alright, alright. Even if you said yes, it wouldn't work tonight—I've already booked a flight to London," Dunn said, waving it off, dropping the joke.
"London again? Isn't Mrs. Jacobson handling things over there?" Nicole raised an eyebrow.
She was in her thirties now, and though she acted all standoffish, she was at that age where she had plenty of energy. Dunn had only been back a week, splitting time with Isla Fisher, and Nicole clearly wasn't thrilled about it.
"You know I bought that Super Bowl ad slot, right? Gotta edit a trailer for it," Dunn explained, then glanced at her, catching on. "How about you come with me? No other ladies over there, I promise."
"Won't it look weird if your crew spots me?" Nicole hesitated.
Dunn shrugged confidently. "Don't worry, they're smart enough to keep quiet. Besides, this is Hollywood—who doesn't know what's up?"
"Fine… but I'm warning you, don't drag some random sketchy women into this to annoy me," Nicole said, giving him a sharp, preemptive glare.
Dunn chuckled and waved it off. "I got it, relax. Oh, by the way, at Mel's party last time, I noticed all those Australian actresses—pretty stunning group, huh?"
Nicole shot him a look that screamed *really?*
Dunn rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well, Nat was there too, so I couldn't exactly go all out. Barely got to chat with any of them."
"What, you want me to play matchmaker for you?" she asked dryly.
"Could you?" he perked up.
"Isn't Isla your secretary? She's Australian too," Nicole pointed out.
"Yeah, but she's young, not famous yet. She doesn't have the pull you do," Dunn countered.
Nicole went quiet for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine, but you're not getting something for nothing. If you get your way, you've gotta help their careers."
"Of course! You've known me this long—don't you trust me?" Dunn gave her an exaggerated eye-roll, but then his gaze landed on a newspaper next to her, and his eyes widened in shock.
Noticing his stare, Nicole picked up the *Los Angeles Times* and handed it over. "It came this morning, but you were… busy with Isla nonstop, so I didn't bring it up."
Dunn barely registered her jab, snatching the paper and sucking in a sharp breath.
Even though he'd seen this coming—knew it was inevitable—the concrete report still hit him like a truck.
AOL, the internet provider, had just bought Time Warner, the world's biggest media conglomerate, for $181 billion—$17 billion in cash plus $164 billion in stock!
The new merged company, AOL Time Warner, would split shares 55% to AOL's original shareholders and 45% to Time Warner's.
The date? January 13, 2000!
Yahoo's stock had already tanked, dropping from a high of $500 to $350. Scott Swift was in the futures market, shorting Yahoo like a pro.
But the internet hype? Still going strong. America wasn't showing any signs of slowing down!
The AOL-Time Warner merger had to have gone through months of negotiations and top-tier due diligence. Time Warner's shareholders weren't idiots—if they'd sniffed out the dot-com bubble about to burst, they'd never have greenlit this.
The fact that it sailed through proved one thing: the whole country was riding high on the tech stock boom!
Sure, some economists had been screaming about a Nasdaq bubble ready to pop and crash the market, but who listened to them?
Call them experts if you're polite—or just a bunch of loudmouths if you're not.
If they were so smart, why weren't they shorting futures and raking it in? They'd be rich by now instead of scribbling columns for peanuts.
It was all just noise to grab attention.
The American public wasn't buying it—they kept snapping up stocks, charging full speed into Nasdaq mania.
A dark, sly grin crept onto Dunn's face. "Madness! If you want something to collapse, let it go wild first! The crazier you get, the more I cash in!"
…
Suddenly, Dunn and David Heyman were getting real cozy. David had been a big help with securing the rights to *Harry Potter* and *Narnia*, plus handling *Spider-Man*'s tax rebates and post-production.
Dunn was keen on keeping the partnership going long-term. "Hey, David, heads-up—*Harry Potter* might not kick off this year."
"Huh?" David blinked, caught off guard. "But Warner's been waiting for it."
"I know, I know. The contract says we've got three years—"
"We've got to kick off this project—there's still plenty of time, right?" Dunn grinned at him.
David Hayman looked a bit let down. He'd been hustling hard for the *Harry Potter* project, hoping to get it greenlit soon. As a producer, he'd pocket at least $3 million for it. The whole series? Tens of millions, easy.
Dunn clearly saw right through him and chuckled. "The *Harry Potter* delay? It's because I'm planning to launch another big project—and I'll need your help with it."
"Huh?" David blinked, caught off guard.
"It's C.S. Lewis's *The Chronicles of Narnia*."
David's eyes lit up instantly. "Dunn, wait—you're saying you want to turn *Narnia* into a movie?!"
*The Chronicles of Narnia* is the greatest fantasy epic after *The Lord of the Rings*. It's got massive, jaw-dropping scenes—way bigger than *Harry Potter*—and pulling it off would be a whole lot tougher.
Dunn smirked. "Yup. You know Peter Jackson's working on his *Lord of the Rings* trilogy right now. I've heard through the grapevine that it's looking pretty awesome! If *The Rings* can make it to the screen, why not *Narnia*?"
"As long as the special effects hold up, *Narnia* could outshine *Harry Potter* any day! I mean, come on—the fame, the prestige, the fanbase—it's on another level. Way more readers, way bigger hype!" David was practically buzzing, staring at Dunn with this hopeful, starry-eyed look.
"*Harry Potter* isn't hot enough yet. This year, I'm planning a big promo push for the books. Once they're everywhere, *then* we'll film it," Dunn said with a sly smile, glancing at David. "So, what do you say? Wanna help me get *Narnia* off the ground?"
"Absolutely! Count me in!" David didn't even hesitate.
*The Lord of the Rings* and *The Chronicles of Narnia* are both British treasures. The fact that a New Zealander snagged *The Rings* stung a little—British pride took a hit. The media's been all over Peter Jackson, doubting he can handle such a legendary masterpiece without screwing it up.
But now? *Narnia* could be a homegrown triumph. David was beyond pumped.
Just then, his assistant popped in to say Nina Jacobson—the president of Marvel Studios and producer of *Spider-Man*—had arrived.
"Nina! How's work going?" Dunn stood up to greet her with a smile.
"Pretty good," Nina replied, nodding politely at David before giving Dunn a curious look. "You called me over in a rush—what's up?"
Dunn's lips twitched into a half-smirk. "Someone's out to teach me a lesson. Thought I'd rope you in for backup."
David's face darkened instantly. "What?! That's ridiculous! Dunn, I might've stepped back from Hollywood, but I've still got connections. Need a hand?"
Dunn gave him a teasing, almost amused look. "Appreciate it, but this might be out of your league."
"I've got solid ties at Warner Bros!" David frowned, a little miffed that Dunn doubted him.
Dunn shook his head with a laugh. "What, Lionel Wigram? Even he can't help with this one!"
Nina's expression turned serious. "Dunn, who are we talking about here?"
"Disney."
"What?!" David's jaw dropped.