*Rush Hour*, starring Jackie Chan, is an action-comedy with a low budget… but big results.
Back when Dunn gave Warner Bros. a sharp-tongued smackdown without sparing their feelings, it ticked off Barry Meyer. He ordered New Line Cinema to have their two films, *Blade* and *Rush Hour*, team up to squeeze out *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*'s market space.
Before this, *Blade* had already served its purpose and totally tanked.
Thankfully, *Rush Hour* hit theaters and saved some face for New Line Cinema. It might even make up for the losses from *Blade*.
This fresh and quirky action flick won over North American audiences big time, raking in $33 million during its opening weekend and snagging the top spot for the week with just three days of showings!
Meanwhile, *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*'s weekly box office dipped to $12 million, but in this slow season, it still held strong at second place on the weekly chart.
As for *Blade*… let's just not talk about it.
The huge success of *Rush Hour* took a ton of pressure off New Line Cinema. They started paying less and less attention to *Blade*—no point even thinking about a sequel. They wouldn't waste extra resources on its VHS or DVD sales and rentals either.
Both being action movies, *Rush Hour* was clearly the new golden child!
Just based on that opening weekend, New Line Cinema was already set on making a sequel for *Rush Hour*.
Their neglect of *Blade* was like pouring salt on Marvel's wounds—pure agony.
The failure of the film even soured Marvel's relationship with New Line Cinema, with the latter openly expressing doubts about Marvel's superheroes.
That harsh stance definitely had Warner Bros. pulling strings behind the scenes.
But Marvel didn't know that. All they knew was that across all of Hollywood, New Line Cinema was the only studio still daring to make superhero movies!
If even New Line ditched them, Marvel's future would be down to one single path.
Dunn's long-term planning and wide network of connections were finally paying off in his quest to acquire Marvel.
On September 25th, Dunn Films' negotiation team rolled up to Marvel's headquarters for a second round of talks.
This time, Marvel's two major shareholders, Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter, made a huge concession: they agreed to Dunn taking a controlling stake in Marvel.
They were willing to sell 51% of the shares to Dunn for $40 million.
That price… it's a bit steep.
Four years ago, the two of them had bought Marvel for just over $50 million. Even with later debt payments and investments, it came out to around $70 million total.
And now, with Marvel in crisis and its value tanking, $40 million for 51% felt a little shady.
But Dunn didn't haggle over the price. He just had one thought—damn, that's cheap!
$80 million to buy Marvel outright? If this were ten years from now, it'd be worth at least 50 times more!
Well…
It's the entertainment industry, after all. It can't compare to the explosive growth of tech stocks.
"Sorry, I've said it before—my goal is a full acquisition!" Dunn's stance was crystal clear. "I'm sure everyone here knows I'm not buying Marvel because I'm some comic book fanboy. I'm a director! Movies are the heart of the entertainment industry, the key to reviving Marvel. I'm not about to do all the work just for you guys to profit off me."
Revive Marvel with Dunn's efforts, only for Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter to sit back with their big shares and rake in the cash without lifting a finger?
Uh, why the heck would he do that?
Even if Dunn were a saint, he wouldn't just hand over his money like that.
The second round of acquisition talks fell apart again.
Dunn wasn't worried, though. At this point, Marvel was the one sweating.
Their debt issues were pushing them back toward the old path of selling off rights, and the comic creators and Marvel veterans—who saw their superheroes as their babies—weren't about to let that happen willingly!
After coming back from Lucasfilm each day, Dunn's main focus was still on *The Wedding Crashers*.
The third draft of the script was done, and after some feedback from Dunn, Andrew O'Hare, Nolan, and Danny Boyle, the fourth draft would be finalized. They expected to start shooting by mid-October.
Reese Witherspoon hadn't gone to work lately—she'd been holed up at home, poring over the script and digging into her character. You could tell she was taking this project super seriously.
Dunn also caught a glimpse of a young Jude Law—super handsome, totally charismatic.
As October rolled in, *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*'s North American box office had climbed to $1.7 billion, still rising steadily and strongly.
Dunn took the weekend to fly out to New York to see Natalie.
She was rocking a pair of faded, washed-out jeans and a school jacket slung open lazily, showing off a white shirt underneath—pretty well-developed for her age, if you catch my drift.
No makeup, just her natural face, with a bouncy ponytail swinging as she laughed and chatted with her friends, carefree as can be.
Did she even look like a Hollywood star?
Not one bit—just a typical teenage girl, a high schooler in her prime.
When she spotted Dunn standing at the school gate, rocking black sunglasses, she froze for a second. Then she let out an excited squeal, ditched her friends, and bolted over to him.
"Haha!" Dunn opened his arms wide, pulling her into a warm hug and teasing, "No ladylike restraint at all, huh? Not afraid your classmates will laugh?"
"Who'd dare?" Natalie shot him a playful glare and a little huff, though her cheeks turned pink as she wriggled out of his embrace. "What're you doing here?"
Dunn gazed at her softly. "Just wanted to see my girl."
Natalie pouted, but her heart was clearly melting. Seeing her friends come running over, all shocked and squealing, she let out a little sigh. "Alright, fine, you probably all know him—Dunn Walker, my… boyfriend."
"Wow! Natalie, Dunn's really your boyfriend? I didn't believe it at first!"
"Yeah, he doesn't even look like a big-shot director! More like a baseball player or something."
"Hey, Dunn, the papers say you switch girls every day—is that true?"
"Natalie's my bestie! If you ever cheat on her, I'm done with your movies!"
Dunn's forehead practically sprouted black lines. These little troublemakers—always stirring the pot!
"Ahem… uh… don't believe everything you read in the papers, okay?" Dunn's tone was a bit shaky.
Natalie smirked mischievously, tossing him a smug glance before clearing her throat. "Those rumors are all fake, so don't go spreading them around."
"But there were photos! He was holding hands with some actress—what was her name again?"
"Winslet! Kate Winslet!"
"No, I think it was Liv Tyler?"
"Wait, didn't I hear it was Sofia?"
Dunn was ready to cry. Nat, what kind of friends do you have? Absolute gremlins, every one of 'em!
Once the two finally got away, Natalie couldn't hold it in anymore—she doubled over, laughing her head off.
"Alright, happy now? You loved watching me squirm, huh?" Dunn grumbled, still reeling from those chirpy little gremlins giving him a headache.
Natalie huffed. "Serves you right for always messing around! That's your lesson!"
"Nat, watch your phrasing!" Dunn frowned.
"What, you can do it, but I can't say it?" Natalie shot him a dramatic eye-roll.
Dunn felt a spark of irritation but grinned slyly, lowering his voice. "Nat, speaking of doing stuff… wanna go get a room tonight?"
This was New York, after all—different laws from California. As long as someone's over 16, it's not illegal.
Natalie giggled, a bit shy. "I'd have to ask my mom. If she says yes, then sure."
Dunn blinked, totally thrown off. Ask her mom about something like that? Wasn't it supposed to be a sneaky, private thing? Was the cultural gap between East and West that huge? Or was this some Jewish family rule?
Traditional Jewish families often insisted on purity before marriage, but come on—it's almost the 21st century! Even folks in Iran were loosening up.
"Uh… do we really need to? It's just between us, isn't it?"
"I'm only 17! My mom's still my guardian, you know."
Natalie watched Dunn's bitter expression and couldn't help but laugh again. "Once I turn 18, I can decide stuff like that myself. But for now… aren't you supposed to be some big shot? I bet you can convince my mom, right, Dunn?"
Dunn's lips twitched as he forced out an awkward laugh. "Nah… let's just take it slow. No rush."
As if he'd lost his mind enough to go ask her parents—pretty sure he'd get chased out with a broom!
Natalie giggled again. "Let's hit Broadway instead. There's a classic musical tonight—*Les Misérables*."
"No need to check with Mrs. Hershlag about that one, right?"
"Pfft! Of course not—I used to work there!"
"Then let's go. Who knows, maybe I'll spot a couple of gorgeous actresses."
"What'd you say?"
"You heard wrong—I meant *talented* actors!"
"Hmph!"
Natalie bumped him with her hip, thought for a sec, then planted a quick kiss on his cheek.