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*Chapter 173: Sillywood Animation*
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 17:27:08 +0000 UTCWhen Reese Witherspoon first mentioned her dropout classmate, it had already put Dunn on alert.
After all, plenty of game-changers—people who’ve shifted the way the world works—had dropped out to start their own ventures. Think Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, and the like.
Now, Dunn finally knew who Reese’s classmate was: Elon Musk!
Another powerhouse trying—and actually succeeding—to shake up the world. And honestly, he’s on a whole other level: bigger vision, bolder ambition, and cooler ideas!
From rockets to electric sports cars, from Bitcoin to solar power. From aerospace to transportation, from economics to green energy…
No doubt about it, Elon Musk is the most disruptive legend since Jobs!
And who would’ve guessed? His sister, standing right in front of Dunn, was Tosca Musk—not just a pretty face, but a brilliant mind too!
Rumors had long swirled that all five Musk siblings were exceptional, and meeting her today, Dunn could see it was no exaggeration.
Originally, Dunn hadn’t planned on teaming up with Tosca Musk to start an animation studio. But now, hearing she was Elon Musk’s sister, his mind started racing.
On the tech side, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Tosca had spent three years in Silicon Valley, building solid connections. Plus, with her brother’s backing, hiring top-notch computer engineers would be a breeze.
Creativity? That wouldn’t be a problem either.
Elon Musk’s ideas were out-of-this-world brilliant. Even if Tosca only inherited half his flair, she’d still have more than enough to handle animated films.
As for the film side—planning, structure, all that jazz—Dunn Films could easily step in and take care of it.
So, looking at it this way, a partnership didn’t seem like such a long shot after all!
Worst-case scenario, even if it flopped, Dunn wouldn’t be the only one footing the bill. Elon Musk was investing too. Plus, it’d be a chance to connect with a legend like him.
“If I get the chance, I’d love to meet your brother and have a chat,” Dunn said, his tone warming up. “You know, besides Dunn Films, I’ve got another company—Dunn Capital. We’re gearing up to invest in some high-tech ventures.”
“Cool! I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you,” Tosca replied, tilting her head with a grin. “So… does this mean I’ve convinced you?”
Dunn burst out laughing. “Yep, you’ve got me! I’m ready to see what it’s like to climb uphill for once.”
“That’s awesome!” Tosca’s face finally lit up with excitement.
“So, do you have any rough plans for how we’d work together?”
“Not yet,” she admitted. “But my brother said he’d invest $20 million. As for the specifics—like shares—that’s up to you.” Tosca seemed genuinely eager to team up with Dunn Films, and she was flexible, ready to compromise.
In the movie biz, Dunn didn’t need to play modest. He waved a hand confidently. “Easy. Dunn Films will put in $30 million for a 51% stake. Your brother can take 40%, and the rest goes to you and your team as management shares.”
“51%?” Tosca paused, caught off guard. “Would it be run as a subsidiary of Dunn Films? Sorry, Dunn, I told you—I want full control.”
“You’d have total say over the animation studio, don’t worry about that!”
Tosca let out a quiet sigh of relief, a satisfied smile creeping onto her face.
“But I’ve got two conditions,” Dunn added, cutting straight to the point. He didn’t need to beat around the bush—when it came to movies, he held all the cards.
“I’m listening.”
“First, Dunn Films wants to launch an animated series for Nickelodeon. We were going to hand the rights over to their studio, but that doesn’t align with Marvel’s interests. Since we’re setting up this animation studio together, we’ll produce it ourselves.”
Tosca grinned. “That’s perfect. I’m new to this, and my team’s mostly inexperienced too. Starting with a series to get the hang of Hollywood’s workflow sounds like a great move.”
Dunn nodded. “Second, if the studio really takes off down the line, Dunn Films gets the option to buy out the remaining 49% at fair market value, making it a fully-owned subsidiary. That needs to be in the contract.”
Tosca blinked, surprised. “Is that, like, a power move?”
Dunn shrugged. “You could call it that.”
She frowned slightly, not thrilled about it.
“Look, Tosca,” Dunn said with a smile, “even with this tentative deal, I’m still not super confident in the studio’s odds. But if you can make it work, that proves you’re ahead of the game. And honestly, if you pull that off, a little studio might not be big enough for your talents.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Like what?”
“Dunn Films has a vision for branching out,” he explained. “We’ll need top-tier management talent. I think you get where I’m going.”
It was practically a promise: if Tosca could turn the studio into a success, she’d have a shot at a major role in Dunn Films’ future. She’d be standing at the top of Hollywood.
Tosca smirked playfully. “What if Dunn Films flops?”
“No chance!” Reese Witherspoon cut in firmly.
Dunn chuckled. “If we did flop, we wouldn’t have the cash or clout to buy out those shares anyway. So you’d be fine either way, right?”
Tosca grinned. “Dunn, if you ever started a company in Silicon Valley, I bet you’d sweet-talk investors just as well as my brother!”
“Haha!”
Dunn laughed heartily, and Reese couldn’t help but giggle too.
“Have you thought of a name for the new company?”
“Musk Entertainment,” Tosca suggested.
“Nope!” Dunn shot it down instantly. “It’s still a Dunn Films subsidiary. Can’t use your family name.”
“Well…” Tosca hesitated.
Reese, who’d studied English at Stanford and knew a thing or two about wordplay, perked up. “How about Sillywood Animation Factory?”
“Sillywood?”
“Yeah! It’s a mashup of Silicon Valley and Hollywood,” Reese said with a sweet smile. “Take the first four letters of Silicon Valley—‘Sili’—and the last four of Hollywood—‘wood’—and you get ‘Silid.’”
Tosca’s eyes lit up. “I love it! ‘Sili’ ties to graceful dances, and ‘d’ could hint at a forest. It’s like saying Sillywood Animation is an artistic paradise.”
Dunn rubbed his temples, a little exasperated by their whimsical logic. But fair enough—Sillywood Animation did have a nice ring to it.
…
Setting up the new company meant signing a bunch of legal docs as investors.
That’s how Dunn and Elon Musk ended up meeting for the first time.
Turns out, Elon—only 29—was already a Wall Street fundraising whiz and Silicon Valley’s rising star.
Back in 1995, he’d started Zip2, which got bought out last year, landing him a hefty payout. Then, with his brother, he launched an online financial service and email payment company.
And that company? A big deal. After merging with Xfinity, it became PayPal—yep, the “PayPal” we all know!
“Your company’s merging with Xfinity?” Dunn raised an eyebrow, a bold idea forming in his head.
Elon sighed. “No choice. The economic crisis hit hard. Investors aren’t shelling out cash, and the online payment game’s cutthroat. Merging’s our best shot at surviving the storm.”
Dunn shook his head. “Didn’t you say Xfinity’s bigger than your outfit?”
“Yeah, they started earlier, so they’ve got more customers,” Elon admitted with a nod.
“Then if you merge, you’d lose control, right?” Dunn pressed.
“It’s not ideal, but it beats bankruptcy,” Elon said, staying chill. “Besides, Peter Thiel’s solid. I’m fine playing second fiddle to him.”
Dunn wasn’t buying it.
Peter Thiel? Who cares? In his eyes, Elon Musk was the real deal!
“That’s a lousy plan, Elon. Why not just buy Xfinity out instead?” Dunn tossed out what sounded like a naive question.
“No money!” Elon started, his voice bitter. “Investors won’t—” He stopped mid-sentence, staring at Dunn, stunned.
Elon, scrambling for cash in Silicon Valley, knew Dunn Capital had been making noise about diving into high-tech investments. But he’d assumed it was just a Hollywood distraction tactic and hadn’t bothered pitching.
Now, it hit him: Dunn might actually mean business!
“How much do you need?” Dunn asked, exuding confidence.
“My company’s valued at $80 million, Xfinity’s around $100 million…” Elon was practically tripping over his words in excitement. “Dunn, I’ll have my assistant grab the detailed files for you!”
“$100 million?” Dunn locked eyes with him. “If I give you $100 million, would you take it?”
If Elon accepted that kind of cash, Dunn Capital would snag over half the company’s equity.
Most ambitious founders would balk at that.
But Elon’s situation was different.
After two funding rounds, he only held 25% of his company. His brother had 15%, and a few partners owned 12%—just over 50%, keeping the management team in charge.
A merger with Xfinity would flip that. Elon would lose control, and his team’s stake would shrink to about 25%.
How was that any different from Dunn investing?
Wait—no, it was different!
With Dunn’s money, Elon could stay the main guy, like at Google—Dunn wouldn’t meddle in day-to-day stuff. Elon could keep running the show!
Taking Dunn’s cash and buying Xfinity outright would be way better for him than merging.
“You bet I’d take it!” Elon blurted out without hesitation. “Just one thing—like with Sillywood Animation, I want full control.”
“Of course! I trust your judgment,” Dunn said, clapping him on the shoulder.
And just like that, two titans stood tall, frozen in a moment that defined this era of wild ideas.
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Comments
Matt
Would be smart to ask Musk to setup a meeting between all of them and give Thiel the idea of setting up a streaming/upload to have ready because MC could pitch to both that they can all share in the profits of setting up the merger of TV and Radio, YouTube and podcasts..as something that allows nearly no barrier to entry and potential to collect massive amounts of data, meaning they always are ahead and get better data than any other platform
Matt
Peter thiel is bigger in terms of influence since he’s the one that helped launch musk
