Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter totally got what Dunn was up to, but they were powerless to stop him.
Back in the day, they'd snatched Marvel from a bunch of Wall Street tycoons by taking a different route—worming their way into Marvel's inner circle and pulling off a management buyout. That's how they kept the Wall Street wolves at bay.
Now, Dunn had clearly won over the management team's trust. Wait, no… *all* of their trust!
These guys were Marvel's core crew. Even if Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter owned the whole company, they couldn't shake these people loose.
Unless, of course, they wanted to flip the table, call it quits, and tank Marvel completely.
But losing everything? Yeah, that wasn't in their best interest.
Dunn smirked as he watched the worried looks on Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter's faces. After a year and a half of plotting, it was finally time to reel in the net.
"George, grab the files and let everyone take a look."
George Paxton jumped up, pulled a fat stack of document copies from his briefcase, and started handing them out around the conference table.
"Last November, Dunn put me in charge of heading to Germany to negotiate with Constantin Film about buying the *Fantastic Four* rights they were holding onto," George said as he walked, a hint of pride slipping into his tone. "After a whole winter of talks, Dunn Films finally struck a deal with Constantin Film. We snagged the *Fantastic Four* rights for $5 million!"
Everyone—Marvel's two shareholders and the entire management team—looked shocked when they saw the copies.
But the reactions split from there. The management team? They went from shocked to pumped! The two shareholders? Shocked turned into straight-up panic.
A nuke. This was an absolute game-changing nuke!
Dunn Films had brought back the *Fantastic Four*, which had been floating out there for nearly 20 years. For Marvel, this was huge—totally morale-boosting news!
New boss, new journey!
Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter exchanged a glance, their faces grim. They were speechless.
Dunn had already shown with actions that his commitment to Marvel was rock-solid. He'd even shelled out big bucks to reclaim superhero rights!
Compare that to Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter.
Under the weight of debt, just to keep Marvel afloat, Avi had recently suggested selling the Inhumans to Lionsgate, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and Power Man to Sony, and Hulk and Namor to Universal.
Good thing Ike didn't agree—and with Dunn Walker on the outside and the management team fed up with selling off rights, they dropped it.
Next to that, Dunn's moves? Pure class!
This was true love for Marvel!
Back when Constantin bought the *Fantastic Four* rights, it cost them a measly $100,000.
Dunn Films? They didn't blink—just dropped $5 million to take it back. That kind of dedication alone was enough to make every Marvel employee tear up.
The tide had turned!
…
On March 1st, Twentieth Century Fox wired a hefty chunk of cash to Dunn Films.
That included $44 million in leftover box office splits, $9.5 million from pay-per-view, $15.6 million from North American TV revenue, and $4.8 million from overseas TV—totaling $73.9 million!
Add in the $50 million advance from before, and Dunn Films had raked in nearly $134 million from *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*.
And that's all after-tax income!
After last year's roughly $2 million, plus $18 million invested in *Wedding Crashers*, $2 million in investment taxes, $5 million for the *Fantastic Four* rights, $1.3 million in staff salaries, $8.2 million in bonuses to the union and crew for *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*, and $10 million to pay off Dunn's debts—plus some miscellaneous costs—Dunn Films was left with a $76 million surplus.
Over at Marvel, the two shareholders had finally agreed to sell their full stakes, but they were asking a ridiculous $100 million!
For a little company $30 million in debt and riddled with internal chaos, that was insane. Still, Dunn was in a good mood—at least they'd made their final call.
Price haggling? He'd leave that to AA to handle.
Dunn was swamped. He had to juggle post-production on *Star Wars* and *Wedding Crashers*.
Plus, he needed to figure out how to drum up more cash.
The Marvel talks were wrapping up soon—price bickering wouldn't drag on too long.
But Dunn Films only had $76 million left, and Dunn's personal $15 million (his *Star Wars* director fee) was about to take a $7 million-plus tax hit in mid-April.
Factor in the *Spider-Man* movie plan that'd kick off right after the acquisition, and money was tight!
*Wedding Crashers*? No hope there—funds would trickle in too slowly.
*My Big Fat Greek Wedding* was about to hit DVD and VHS, but that cash wouldn't show up for at least six months.
The 15% global box office cut from *Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace*? That'd take at least half a year to land too.
"Am I really stuck selling stocks?"
Dunn's heart was bleeding.
…
With the Oscars getting closer, Dunn was finally seeing what awards season hype was all about.
Ever since *Saving Private Ryan* nabbed 11 Oscar noms, its North American weekly box office had been $4.9 million, $4.7 million, $3.1 million, $2.2 million, $1.6 million, $1.3 million…
The fans were wild, and the buzz across North America was almost unanimous—everyone was convinced *Saving Private Ryan* would snag Best Picture!
Everywhere—media, newspapers, magazines, TV—you'd see experts and critics gushing over *Saving Private Ryan*.
Dunn suddenly got it. If he were an Oscar voter, he *wouldn't* vote for it.
It was too much!
The whole country shouting in unison felt a little like holding the Oscars hostage.
Especially after last year's *Titanic*—the Academy caved once, and now they'd surely crack down. No way would they let public hype sway the judges' votes again.
That vibe? It wasn't right!
For the sake of the Oscars' long-term cred, sacrificing *Saving Private Ryan* wasn't a big deal.
…
On March 21st, the 71st Academy Awards rolled into the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Dunn didn't snag any personal noms, but *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* scored Best Screenplay and Best Actress nods. As producer and director, Dunn naturally showed up.
Twentieth Century Fox didn't have a big contender, so Bill Mechanic skipped it. But second-in-command Tom Rothman was there—and when he spotted Dunn, he walked right over, all smiles, for a handshake.
"Dunn, if it weren't for *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*, Fox might not have even gotten a single nom!" Tom Rothman said, looking genuinely grateful—no trace of their past friction.
Dunn couldn't read the guy, but he was used to playing nice. "Mr. Rothman, you're too kind! If you hadn't given me a shot, who knows when *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* would've hit screens."
Tom Rothman laughed heartily. "Heard your new flick's almost done?"
"Yup, the director's got the rough cut finished."
"What's it called?"
"*Wedding Crashers*."
"Nice! Solid concept!" Tom Rothman nodded approvingly, grinning. "You'll bring it to Fox for distribution, right?"
Dunn smiled back. "Of course—as long as you're on board."
"Dunn Films and Fox? We're old pals! I'm in—no problem!" Tom Rothman's eyes glinted with something deeper. "I'll keep an eye on it myself. Your movies never disappoint."
"Thanks for that."
Dunn's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
Once Tom Rothman walked off, Nicole Kidman slid over and whispered, "Didn't you two have beef?"
"Just small talk," Dunn shrugged, brushing it off.
Nicole frowned slightly, eyeing Rothman's retreating figure. "Didn't feel like he was just chatting."
Dunn smirked coldly. "He's a sly old fox —deep meaning or not, I couldn't care less!"
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