At the celebration party, some of Dunn's business partners were present, including Michael Ovitz from Legendary Pictures.
"You've been getting pretty cozy with Eisner lately, huh?"
Michael Ovitz, a Hollywood agent for 20 years, had seen his fair share of romantic entanglements and wasn't fazed in the slightest. He didn't even blink as Dunn flirted with Julia Stiles, strolling right over to them.
Dunn glanced at him, amused, then shot Julia a mischievous wink and leaned in to whisper, "I booked a room upstairs. Wanna head up?"
Julia pressed her lips together, her cheeks flushing slightly, before giving a soft "Mm-hmm."
"Alright, once the party's over, we'll go up!"
Only then did Dunn turn back to Ovitz, shaking his head. "Getting close doesn't mean we're buddies."
Ovitz, who had a major beef with Michael Eisner, cracked a small smile at that. "Spider-Man 2's box office is looking great. Looks like when it comes to comic book movies, Marvel Studios is leaving DC Films in the dust!"
For the past 30 years, comic book movies had been DC's domain, no question.
Dunn shrugged noncommittally. "By the way, didn't Warner reboot Batman with a new version?"
"You don't know? They're almost done shooting!" Ovitz was a little surprised, then chuckled. "Dunn, you're way too confident, man. You don't even keep tabs on your competition? You really don't take DC Films seriously at all?"
Dunn asked, "What's the deal? Who's starring?"
Warner Bros. was Legendary Pictures' biggest co-investment partner—Legendary had a stake in every Warner film—so Ovitz naturally had the inside scoop.
His expression soured, though. "Hmph! It's Ben Affleck!"
"What?"
Dunn nearly burst out laughing.
Ben Affleck had officially become the new "Batman"!
But after his awful performance in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, the media tore him apart, and life hadn't been kind to him since.
Ovitz fumed, "I told them back then—Ben Affleck's a bad fit! But DC and the director, Bryan Singer, both thought he matched Batman's image."
Dunn waved it off. "No point getting mad now. Besides, this is Batman we're talking about—the big name, the huge draw. Way more pull than Spider-Man."
Ovitz's tone grew serious. "Yeah, but Batman's slated for next May!"
Dunn paused, caught off guard.
Now that was interesting!
Next May, Dunn Films' Daredevil was set to hit theaters too.
Batman vs. Daredevil?
This was shaping up to be a real showdown to see who'd claim the title of the true "Dark Knight"!
Brand-wise, "Spider-Man" obviously crushed "Daredevil." Even with Dunn and Natalie's Marvel Song and that MV boosting it, Daredevil couldn't touch Batman's star power.
But here's the kicker: Daredevil was directed by Christopher Nolan!
In front of "Nolan the God," honestly, Batman's director Bryan Singer looked like a kid playing pretend.
In Dunn's past life, Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy became legendary, while Singer's Superman Returns—with its $270 million budget—barely scraped $390 million worldwide, bleeding money. It wasn't until Zack Snyder's Man of Steel that the Superman brand got a lifeline.
"No matter what, Batman won't lose money," Dunn said with a laugh, brushing it off. "Between the DVD market and merchandise, it'll at least break even—maybe even turn a small profit."
Ovitz blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Even though I'm not sold on Ben Affleck, it sounds like you're saying Batman doesn't stand a chance against Daredevil at the box office?"
Dunn dodged the question with a few chuckles.
Ovitz knew Dunn's unshakable confidence in films and didn't press further. Lowering his voice, he said, "I've set it up—dinner with the Bronfman family at the end of the month. You're coming."
Dunn's expression turned serious. "No problem!"
Back in the day, Ovitz had been the mastermind behind Matsushita's acquisition of Universal and Seagram's buyout of it later on.
For Dunn to snag Universal Pictures this time, Ovitz's help was indispensable.
The Bronfmans, that Canadian family, had been the majority shareholders of Seagram back then. After Vivendi swallowed Seagram, they naturally became big players in Vivendi too.
Both of those massive mergers flopped, though, leaving the company drowning in debt and teetering on bankruptcy.
The Bronfmans were done with Universal Pictures—done with Hollywood entirely.
Inside Vivendi, they'd teamed up with a bunch of American shareholders on two goals: first, oust CEO Messier; second, sell off the U.S. assets ASAP.
They were tapped out!
The catch? Vivendi's board was currently controlled by the French faction of shareholders.
Vivendi's ownership split into two camps: the French side and the American side. The Bronfmans, though Canadian, were the face of the American faction.
Dunn needed to move fast and get cozy with them.
---
Everyone knew May belonged to Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars: Episode II.
But the whole month couldn't just be those two films, right?
So, a slew of cannon fodder rolled out:
DreamWorks' animated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron—critical darling, rave reviews, opened at $17.5 million;
Warner's crime action flick Insomnia—produced by George Clooney, starring Al Pacino, opened at $15 million;
20th Century Fox's steamy drama Unfaithful—opened at $14 million;
Universal's comedy About a Boy—opened at $8.5 million;
Sony's comedy The New Guy—opened at $9 million;
MGM's action-crime Deuces Wild—opened at $2.7 million;
DreamWorks' Woody Allen joint Hollywood Ending—opened at $2 million…
Basically, aside from Star Wars: Episode II putting up a fight, everything else got flattened by Spider-Man 2. Whimpering all the way.
At the end of May, Dunn attended a dinner at Ovitz's place and hit it off with both Edgar Sr. and Edgar Jr. Bronfman.
When it came to acquiring Universal Pictures, Universal Music, and Vivendi's other U.S. entertainment assets, they gave him their full backing!
That night, after heading home, Dunn got a transatlantic call from the other side of the world.
It was Scott Swift, who'd been busy investing in internet companies over there.
"Dunn, I'm in trouble."
"What's up?"
"That Penguin company you told me to focus on? It's about to go bankrupt!"
Dunn almost laughed in disbelief. "Scott, sounds like you're living it up over there, huh? Picking up a sense of humor too?"
Scott's voice stayed dead serious. "No, Dunn, I'm not kidding. This is real."
"Penguin company? Bankrupt?"
Dunn raised an eyebrow, confused. "If they're short on cash, just pump in more investment! I already told you—Alibaba and Penguin, those two companies. Don't worry about overfunding; worry about not owning enough shares!"
Scott's tone grew heavy. "It's not about the money."