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Chapter 152: A Treasure Trove
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 20:18:34 +0000 UTCTime magazine, owned by Warner Bros., is hands-down the most influential publication in the U.S.—maybe even the world. Dunn’s gracing its cover for the third time, following the blockbuster hits of Titanic and Spider-Man. This time, though? It’s not about movies. The cover’s just one word: “Taxes.”
Flip it open, and the lead article dives into a fresh angle on America’s most controversial figure right now—Dunn Walker. The headline’s got some bite: “Dunn Williams Walker: Taxpayer Extraordinaire.”
Here’s the gist: “Dunn, a director not even 22 yet, has been churning out miracles in Hollywood over the past three years. From Titanic to Spider-Man, this genius has blown movie fans away worldwide. No doubt about it—he’s the new king of cinema! 👑
“But he wasn’t content just directing. After Titanic, he pocketed nearly $100 million post-tax from box office splits. He took $80 million of that and bet big on Yahoo stock when it was red-hot. Then this year, he pulled a move that left everyone speechless—sold all his Yahoo shares at the peak of the tech boom and shorted a bunch of internet giants.
“The result? Dunn made a fortune—a haul he couldn’t spend in several lifetimes! Now he’s got the FBI on his case and the media tearing him apart, calling him a thief, a fraud, a criminal who ‘robbed’ NASDAQ. But is that the real story?
“We’re not here to talk movies, stocks, Hollywood, or Wall Street. Let’s zoom in on one thing: taxes! Everyone knows Clinton’s a high-tax Democrat prez, and personal income tax is at an all-time high. But are the rich actually paying up?
“According to Forbes, last tax year, North America’s top 400 richest averaged a measly 27% tax rate! That’s shocking—lower than stockbrokers, lawyers, doctors, professors, even celebs in ‘mid-tier’ jobs. It’s enough to make you worry about our tax laws!
“But there’s one exception—yep, our guy Dunn Walker! With his permission, we’ve got his and Dunn Pictures’ tax records from the last three years attached at the end. And this list? It shuts down all the media’s trash talk!
“1998: Dunn paid $94.668 million. 1999: Dunn paid $75.348 million, Dunn Pictures $35.873 million. 2000: Dunn Pictures paid $42.067 million, and Dunn personally? A jaw-dropping $1.327 million! You read that right—over $1.3 billion in taxes last season!
“Maybe $1.3 billion is just a crazy number to most. So let’s compare: Bill Gates, the world’s richest with a $90 billion net worth in ’99, paid $56 million. Larry Ellison: $198 million. Warren Buffett: $1.8 million. Paul Allen: $219 million. Robson Walton: $32 million. Michael Dell: $5.46 million…
“Last tax season—two weeks ago—Dunn’s personal tax bill beat the combined total of Forbes’ top 20 North American billionaires from ’99! That $1.327 million could better millions of American lives—your healthcare, your kids’ education? Dunn’s chipping in!”
…
This Time piece dropped like a bomb in the middle of the “anti-Dunn” storm, stirring up a wild whirlpool. Sharp noses caught a whiff of something big. After weeks of silence, was Dunn finally striking back?
…
That afternoon, Warner Bros. held a splashy press conference—no big shots, just a bombshell announcement: Warner Bros. and Dunn Pictures are teaming up! By year’s end, they’ll co-invest in a massive new fantasy flick—Harry Potter. Key producers? David Heyman and Lionel Wigram. Director? Dunn handpicked Ang Lee, the acclaimed Chinese filmmaker.
Warner’s going all-in on this partnership, even with Dunn Pictures’ funds still frozen. The message is loud and clear. After DreamWorks and Universal, Dunn’s snagged a real heavyweight to take on Disney and Fox: Time Warner!
Harry Potter has been Hollywood’s hot topic for months. Dunn Pictures hyped it hard—sparing no expense to bring this epic fantasy to the big screen. But after all their hustle, it’s Warner walking away with the prize. Still, Dunn Pictures scores bigger—they’ve got the muscle to rival Disney and Fox now.
…
Dunn’s never been the “grin and bear it” type. He didn’t expect a tiny spat with Disney to spiral into this full-on feud. But since the gloves are off, he’s done hiding—he’s hitting back head-on!
His target? Disney’s bread and butter: the Disney Channel. Right now, it’s got 27 million household subscribers. It’s only been a basic cable network for a few years—not the unstoppable titan it’ll become later. Strike while it’s young—cripple Disney’s arm before it grows!
In Dunn’s office, his inner circle—Bill McNick, Nina Jacobson, George Paxton, Andrew O’Hare, Isla Fisher, Reese Witherspoon—huddled up to plot the counterattack.
“Here’s the rundown on the U.S. kids’ TV market,” Reese said, flipping through her folder. “Three big players: Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel. Cartoon Network and Disney lean on classic cartoons; Nickelodeon’s all about live-action sitcoms and reality shows.”
Cartoon Network’s Warner-owned, banking on MGM’s golden-age hits like Tom and Jerry. Disney Channel runs Mickey Mouse and pals. Nickelodeon, under Viacom’s B group, lacks animation chops since Paramount (also Viacom) isn’t big on cartoons—so they pivoted to sitcoms.
Dunn jumped in: “You all get my drift. Disney Channel’s in transition. They’ve seen the limits of classic cartoons and are shifting to live-action comedies. Nickelodeon’s sitcoms target little kids; Disney’s eyeing tweens—10-to-14-year-olds. I can’t let that happen.”
His crew knew him well—Dunn doesn’t let slights slide. With Dunn Pictures tied up acquiring Tarz Network, focusing on operations and growth, buying another kids’ channel to slug it out with Disney isn’t an option. So, Plan B: boost Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon to kneecap Disney!
Petty? Sure. Self-serving? Not really. But Dunn’s thrilled, and most of the room’s on board. Disney’s been hammering Dunn Pictures too hard lately—some employees even swore off Disney movies for life!
Bill McNick, ex-20th Century Fox exec, mused, “Honestly, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel—they’re all narrow in focus, so subscribers are low. The real giant? Fox Family Channel. Twenty years strong, 80 million North American homes, 10 million in Latin America, 24 million in Europe. It’s teen-focused, so it’s not lumped with ‘kids’ channels.’”
Dunn’s eyes flickered. “Bill, you’re saying Disney’s shifting its audience?”
“They already are,” Bill nodded. “High School Musical isn’t your typical kiddie flick.”
Andrew O’Hare added, “Makes sense. Disney’s diversifying. Teens are the biggest spenders—they won’t miss that market.”
Dunn scowled. “No way. We’ve gotta mess up Disney’s plans, whatever it takes!”
“But… how?” Reese asked.
Dunn, Bill, and Nina all blurted out: “Marvel!”
“Marvel?” Reese blinked.
“Yep!” Dunn grinned. “Marvel’s got 5,000+ ultimate heroes. We can’t put ‘em all on the big screen. TV’s the future—and Marvel’s gonna shine there.”
Nina smiled. “Dragging 7- or 8-year-olds to see X-Men in theaters? Tough sell, and not ideal. But cartoons? That’s how we hook kids on Marvel. Ten years from now, those kids grow up, and bam—Marvel movies have their biggest fans!”
Bill nodded slowly. “Fox bought X-Men rights back in the day ‘cause their animated series crushed it—huge ratings, massive popularity.”
Reese murmured, wide-eyed, “Wait… Marvel’s a gold mine!”
Comments
David Karlsson
So damn confusing. They were talking about 7 films based on the Hobbit last chapter, now it's Harry Potter? The one he swore not to give WB?
