Before the subprime crisis hit, the U.S. stock market was a wild playground—short-selling leverage was sky-high, and the costs were next to nothing. That's why you'd see so many shorting cases back then. One little piece of bad news could tank a stock in no time!
Then came the subprime crisis, and oh boy, it shook things up. The feds stepped in with some tough laws—illegal shorting now came with heavy penalties. So after 2008, unless you were some big-shot institution, shorting was mostly a 1:1 deal, no leverage involved. But rewind to 2000? No worries at all!
In today's futures market, as long as your credit's solid, 10x leverage is a breeze—heck, even 100x isn't out of the question! But here's where it gets tricky.
Dunn had brushed up on the basics, but man, he didn't expect it to be *this* complicated. U.S. law says if you hold more than 5% of a company's total shares, you've got to report it to the company and the stock exchange. Yahoo's total shares? Under 2.5 billion. That means Dunn can't hold more than 12.5 million shares—or about 10 million, like Scott said he could borrow. Even if each share nets him $200, that's "only" $2 billion total.
Then there's the tax hit. U.S. tax law says capital gains over a year are taxed at 15%, but under a year? 20%. Add in the crazy 5% interest on futures, and how much is he really making here?
Universal Pictures has been bleeding money since the '90s, but it's still one of the Big Six movie giants. Without $4-5 billion, you're not even touching it. Luckily, Dunn's got a solid $1 billion to start with. With 10x leverage, that's $10 billion in buying power. 100x? A cool $100 billion!
Yahoo can't handle that alone? No problem—bring in a few more companies! By March, when the first-quarter earnings reports drop for internet companies, the shocking losses will rattle investors. That's when a massive wave of bad vibes will hit. Dunn can swoop in late February and take down Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Oracle—no one's escaping!
Oh, and don't forget America Online, the tenth biggest internet company by market value. They're busy sweet-talking Time Warner into a merger. Dunn *hates* outsiders meddling in Hollywood, even if Time Warner's a rival. For the sake of Hollywood's collective good, he's not about to let Time Warner get scammed. America Online—the biggest joke of the new century? Dunn's ready to kick it while it's down and teach it a lesson!
…
For Dunn right now, making money isn't even the point. His 10% stake in Google alone is enough to live it up forever. The real reason he's still chasing cash? To fuel his movie career. Films are his dream, the whole reason he's got that sweet Sunglasses System from the universe.
Back in California, Dunn headed to Industrial Light & Magic to check on *Spider-Man*'s special effects shots. Once they're done, it's onto film and shipped to the UK. *Girl, Interrupted* just wrapped post-production too. At Dunn Pictures, he ran into a pumped-up young director, Sam Mendes.
"Sam, congrats, man! I've gotta say, *American Beauty* is just too good!" Dunn tossed out a genuine compliment.
Sam, with his proper British upbringing, kept it classy and humble. "Dunn, you're too kind. Compared to you, my little wins are nothing."
Dunn shook his head. "You're way too modest. I haven't snagged an Oscar yet."
Sam grinned. "Neither have I!"
"*American Beauty* is your Oscar, dude," Dunn said, giving him a knowing look before cracking a smile. "Anyway, my votes for Best Director and Best Picture? They're all yours."
"Thanks! Thank you so much!"
Sam's still a newbie, not an Oscar voter yet, so he was genuinely grateful for Dunn's support—and for the chance to direct *Girl, Interrupted*. Artistically and value-wise, it's every bit as good as *American Beauty*!
"Oh, by the way," Dunn added, "I've got a friend, Christopher Nolan—another British director, a few years younger than you. He's working on *Memento*. Have you met him?"
Dunn's still new to the game, short on connections. After hitting it off with the "Aussie crew," he's now eyeing the British circle. Hollywood's American old guard is all about seniority and locked-in cliques—tough to crack. Foreigners, especially newbies, are easier to win over. Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Sam Mendes, Christopher Nolan, David Heyman… plus *Harry Potter* down the line? Dunn's ties with the Brits are only gonna grow. 🇬🇧
After seeing Sam off, Dunn called in his new secretary, Isla Fisher—a curvy, blonde, blue-eyed 24-year-old Aussie bombshell. "When'd you get here?"
His eyes roamed shamelessly over her tight blouse, hip-hugging skirt, sheer stockings, and those 10cm heels that made her look like a total knockout. Isla flashed a flirty smile, spinning around to give him the full view. "About two weeks ago."
"Settling into the job okay?"
"It's fine, I guess. The company's… pretty chill. Not as hectic as I imagined." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, winked, and undid a couple of shirt buttons, revealing a red bra and some serious curves. "Boss, should I lock the office door?"
Dunn chuckled and waved it off. "Hold that thought. Let's talk work first—what's been going on lately?"
"Oh." Isla's face fell a little, like she was bummed. But she didn't need notes—she rattled it off like a pro. "The box office split for *Wedding Crashers* came through from Fox. North America pulled in $210 million, overseas $80 million. Fox got $144 million total. After distribution fees, the $20 million advance, and some other costs, we netted $64 million."
"Whoa, not bad!" Dunn's face lit up.
Isla nodded. "The rental royalties for *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* and *Following* came in too—$8.2 million total. Right now, the company's sitting on just under $110 million."
"Pretty sweet!"
Dunn was pleasantly surprised. Looks like paying off debts won't even need stock market cash. But to take Dunn Pictures to the next level, he'll need way more fuel in the tank.
"Russell said he's really into *A Beautiful Mind*. He's stoked to play Nash."
"Nice."
"Time Warner's nagging again, asking when we're kicking off *Harry Potter*."
"Ignore 'em."
"Marvel Entertainment's been talking to a bunch of companies. Since you made *Spider-Man*, everyone's after the character rights."
"Hmph! Tell Marvel not to budge on price. Back when we shot the movie, they wouldn't cough up a dime for ads. Now that *Spider-Man*'s hot, they wanna cash in?"
Dunn wasn't thrilled. When he filmed *Spider-Man*, brands barely chipped in—sponsorships were peanuts. Now? Dunn Pictures dropped $4.5 million for a 45-second Super Bowl ad on January 30th at $100k per second! Internet companies are flush with cash and fighting for those slots, so the competition's brutal. Dunn Pictures stood out with that price tag, sparking buzz and jacking up *Spider-Man* hype even more.
"Got it, I'll tell Marvel. One last thing—the Golden Club got hit by an FBI investigation. It's officially a crime scene now, and the people in charge are facing charges."
"Oh? That's awesome!" Dunn's eyes sparkled. "Bruce Willis must be laying low, right?"
Isla shook her head. "Nope, total opposite. Disney's been backing him hard. *The Sixth Sense* made director M. Night Shyamalan a star, and Bruce rode that wave. Word is, Disney's got another thriller lined up—*Unbreakable*—with both of them."
"Disney, huh?" Dunn's face darkened.
"And, uh…" Isla paused, glancing at him cautiously. "Disney's also saying you need to clear up Bruce Willis's 'false statements.' Otherwise…"
"Otherwise what?"
"Otherwise they don't mind teaching you a lesson."
"Hahaha!" Dunn burst out laughing, a little wild and unhinged.
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