"The male actor is still being decided, but the female lead has been chosen. It's Scarlett Johansson, an actress with a very artistic flair."
"Scarlett..." Dunn murmured to himself.
Sofia Coppola raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a smirk. "You know her, it seems?"
Dunn cleared his throat. "I've met her once or twice. Her performance in The Horse Whisperer was quite good."
"What a coincidence," Sofia Coppola laughed. "I chose her after seeing her in The Horse Whisperer, too. She's only had small roles before. In my film, this will be her first time as a lead, her first time playing an adult woman!"
"An adult woman? How old is she?"
"Seventeen... she'll turn seventeen at the birthday party at the end of this month."
Dunn was surprised. "Playing an adult woman—won't she seem a bit too young?"
"It'll be easy; I can handle it," Sofia Coppola waved her hand, then gave Dunn a teasing look. "How about you come to her birthday party with me?"
"Me?" Dunn immediately shook his head. "No, thanks. I don't know her well. I'd probably scare her."
"Why would you? She really admires you!"
"Really?"
Sofia Coppola burst into laughter, holding her stomach and pointing at Dunn. "I knew it! You've got a dirty mind and are up to no good! See? You gave yourself away in just a few words, didn't you?"
Dunn's face turned red, and he argued righteously, "There's nothing wrong with appreciating beauty! It's completely normal, right? Besides, I was just asking. I never said I'd actually go."
After a moment of laughter, Sofia Coppola became serious. "Dunn, I'm serious, though. She's very interested in you. She's always asking me about you, especially..."
"Especially what?"
Sofia Coppola hesitated, then said in a low voice, "At the time, your movie Titanic was a global sensation, and your fame was incredible. It was when you were shooting My Big Fat Greek Wedding and we... well, we slept together a few times."
"What?" Dunn frowned. "Why bring that up? Let me be clear, Sofia, I see you as a good friend now, and I don't think of you that way anymore."
She was over thirty now and had lost the fresh, delicate look she had a few years ago.
"You're not giving me a choice!" Sofia Coppola snapped, annoyed. "Idiot! I'm talking about Scarlett!"
"What does us sleeping together have to do with her?"
"At that time, you were at the top of your game. She was a young girl who admired you and was curious, so she asked me a lot of questions about you."
"What?"
Dunn's eyes widened, thinking he'd heard wrong. "You told her we slept together?"
"Yes, we're good friends!"
"Stop!" Dunn looked at her incredulously. "How old was she? Thirteen or fourteen? And you were telling her things like that? You're corrupting a child!"
Sofia Coppola rolled her eyes. "Corrupting a child? Don't be ridiculous! She already had a boyfriend and was thinking about... you know. But it was her first time, so she was a bit scared and confused. She asked me for some advice."
Dunn's expression immediately darkened.
He was furious. A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl was already involved in stuff like that. He thought the corrupt American culture was just awful!
Dunn's mood dropped, and he became sullen.
Sofia Coppola found his reaction amusing. She knew Dunn was a chauvinist. With a smirk, she said, "But back then, I told her that Dunn Walker was a chauvinist and that he only liked innocent young women. The next day, she broke up with her boyfriend."
"So what?" Dunn said angrily. "She'll break up with him and just get another one!"
He was in a terrible mood. He felt like a prized cabbage had been trampled by a pig.
"She... as far as I know, she's still a virgin," Sofia Coppola said, biting her lip to hold back her laughter.
Dunn waved his hand, not believing a word of it. "Don't give me that! In a place like America, everyone's a woman after middle school!"
"What about Natalie?"
"She's different! Her family is very traditional, especially her dad. He's very conservative and strict. He wouldn't let her date any boys. What do you think is the reason for her good grades? I was just lucky and got to her early. Otherwise, when she went to college and had more freedom, she would have fallen into the same trap."
Sofia Coppola laughed so hard tears were streaming down her face. "Dunn, you're such a jerk! How can you talk about your girlfriend like that?"
"I'm just being honest!" Dunn said with a huff. "I've slept with... I've dated at least fifty women, and other than Natalie, not a single one of them was a virgin."
That remark included Sofia, whose face turned cold. She said flatly, "You're truly shameless! Believe what you want. Scarlett is a virgin; she told me herself! She's also Jewish, by the way!"
Dunn snorted in disbelief.
Sofia Coppola frowned. "So, you're not planning to go to her birthday party?"
Dunn remained silent.
Sofia Coppola got a bit annoyed, stood up, and waved her hand. "Go or don't go! I don't care to take you anyway! I'm leaving!"
As she reached the door, Dunn called out to her from behind.
"Wait! Hold on!"
"What?"
"What day is her birthday?"
Sofia Coppola almost burst into laughter. She held it in and said, "November 22nd. It's Thanksgiving Day. Why?"
"Oh, Thanksgiving Day! Haha, I just realized I have nothing going on that day."
"So you're going?"
"We're all in the same industry. We'll run into each other eventually. It's a good idea to go and give her a card."
"You're so pathetic! You're saying one thing and doing another!"
Sofia Coppola gave him a sarcastic eye roll.
On November 16th, the commercial blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a co-production between Dunn Pictures and Warner Bros., directed by Ang Lee, was officially released.
The film had a budget of $140 million and a promotional budget of over $70 million. It was a joint production by two of the highest-quality film companies in Hollywood, Dunn Pictures and Warner Bros., with distribution by Universal Pictures, giving it immense influence.
Other blockbusters gave way, leaving the release date to The Chronicles of Narnia. It opened in 3,682 theaters, surpassing Pixar's Monsters, Inc. It was the widest release of the year and the largest opening in Hollywood history!
The results were impressive. The Chronicles of Narnia was a powerhouse at the box office, grossing a massive $89 million in North America in its first three days. It was the best opening of the year!
However, the box office revenue was... slightly different from what Warner had expected.
Warner had estimated that with the lack of competition, The Chronicles of Narnia would easily break the $100 million mark in its opening weekend.
In fact, the first two days were great—$32 million on Friday and $33 million on Saturday. But on Sunday, it only brought in $24 million.
The Chronicles of Narnia had beautiful special effects and great reviews, so what caused a 27% drop in its third day?
The reason was simple: Band of Brothers!
On November 18th, the final episode of Band of Brothers aired on the Starz channel!
That evening, during prime time, more middle-class consumers with the means for entertainment chose to stay home and watch Band of Brothers!
They could watch The Chronicles of Narnia later, but the final episode of Band of Brothers was only on that night!
By then, the number of paid subscribers to the Starz TV network had successfully exceeded 15 million. And that night, the viewership for Band of Brothers hit a new record, breaking through 19 million!
This viewership wasn't just on par with competing specialized cable networks like HBO or Showtime. It was also on par with major television networks like CBS, ABC, and NBC!
Bill McNick had full authority at Dunn Pictures and only consulted Dunn on very important decisions.
After the premiere of Band of Brothers, the mood was originally celebratory.
But the next day, Bill McNick looked a bit troubled.
"What's wrong?"
Dunn was surprised. He had just received an enthusiastic email from Alan Horn, the president of Warner Bros. The success of The Chronicles of Narnia had created a very positive relationship between the two companies.
"It's about the bidding for the Band of Brothers rerun rights," Bill McNick said solemnly.
Dunn laughed. "Didn't we already settle that? Besides the Starz channel, there are five other networks."
Dunn Pictures had bought the North American TV rights for Band of Brothers for $80 million, so they could sell the rerun rights at a high price.
Over the past two weeks, more than 37 TV stations had sought to buy the rerun rights. However, due to factors like price, competition, and personal favors, Bill McNick had confirmed only five.
Among them, The History Channel made the highest bid at $7.5 million, while the lowest was USA Network at $5 million.
Dunn Pictures had earned $30 million just by selling the North American rerun rights for Band of Brothers!
Band of Brothers was a cash cow in the TV world, comparable to Titanic in the film world!
Given this, Dunn's $80 million investment to buy the North American TV rights and global streaming rights for Band of Brothers seemed incredibly cheap.
Bill McNick said in a serious tone, "That's true, but Band of Brothers was so successful. The final episode was a huge event; it felt like the whole country was watching. And now, another network has appeared!"
Dunn frowned, realizing this new network must be something special. Otherwise, Bill McNick would have just rejected them.
Dunn Pictures had made it clear when selling the rerun rights that only five networks would get them, besides Starz. That was the only way they could get such high bids.
"Who is it?"
"Showtime."
"What?"
Dunn slammed his hand on the table and stood up in anger!