By June, the buzz around *Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace* had crossed oceans, sweeping the globe in a wave of excitement. Even though it had been out in North America for over ten days, its popularity showed no signs of slowing down. The hype was unreal—bigger than what *Titanic* had stirred up back in the day.
Major film studios were steering clear of its path. Any movie daring to share a release slot with *Star Wars* right now was doomed to be cannon fodder. No one was foolish enough to pit their big projects against it. New Line Cinema's *Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me* hit theaters on June 11; Disney's *Tarzan* swung in on June 16; Paramount's *The General's Daughter* followed on June 18; Sony's *Big Daddy* dropped on June 25; Warner's *Wild Wild West* rode in on June 30; and Paramount's *South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut* landed the same day. June was a battlefield, with studios slugging it out like mad to grab a slice of the market.
Funnily enough, everyone avoided early June, leaving a solid ten-day window wide open for *The Phantom Menace*. They'd rather tear each other apart than get crushed under the *Star Wars* tidal wave. The memory of *Titanic* still stung too much.
Around this time, Natalie Portman wrapped up her final exams and headed to California with her mom. Shirley Hershler had lined up a film gig for her daughter to shoot over the summer, but when Dunn heard about it, he wasn't thrilled.
"No way!" Dunn shot it down instantly, grabbing Natalie's hand. "Nat, I've got your career all mapped out. I'm going to make you the brightest, most dazzling star in Hollywood. You can't waste your time on trash movies!"
"Trash?" Natalie and Dunn strolled down the street, both in sunglasses, keeping it casual. "Are you saying *Sweet November* is trash? I read the script—it's pretty good! Plus, it's a romance flick Fox is pushing hard."
Seeing Dunn's sour expression, Natalie giggled. "What, are you worried I'll have to kiss some guy in the movie? Relax, it's not like that!"
Dunn waved her off, dead serious. "Honey, I looked into that film. It's got a measly $15 million budget, and the director's a nobody—only done TV stuff before. Don't you trust my judgment?"
He looked genuinely pained.
Natalie was a triple threat: killer acting chops, drop-dead gorgeous, and squeaky clean—no scandals. After turning eighteen, she'd been a constant top-three pick in every goddess poll across U.S. magazines and papers, usually snagging first place. But even with all that, she'd never quite broken into Hollywood's A-list. Not even after starring in the *Star Wars* trilogy or winning Best Actress for *Black Swan*. She stayed stuck just shy of the top tier, with her pay capped at $10 million.
It was kind of heartbreaking.
The reason? She had a lot in common with Nicole Kidman. Nicole's agent had turned her into box office poison, though at least she kept a decent rep. Natalie, though? Her movies tanked at the box office *and* got trashed by critics. Why? Simple: her agent was her mom, who was about a hundred times worse than even Nicole's old handler, Pat Kingsley.
You could tell just from Shirley picking *Sweet November* for Natalie—her taste in projects was practically nonexistent. She'd lucked into *Closer* once, but that was a fluke.
Seeing Dunn's heavy, almost pitying look, Natalie seemed to catch on. She leaned into him, tilting her pretty face up. "Dunn, did I mess up?"
"No, you didn't." Dunn shook his head repeatedly, sighing. "But your mom, Mrs. Hershler? She's no pro agent."
Natalie was sharp—she got what he meant right away. Her brow furrowed, a little annoyed. "She's still my mom!"
"That doesn't mean she should tank your future!"
Dunn softened his tone after that, kissing her forehead gently. "Nat, you're turning eighteen soon. You can call the shots now."
Natalie pouted. "Oh, you don't want me calling the shots—you want me following *your* lead."
Dunn grinned. "When it comes to movies, don't you think I've got a better track record than Mrs. Hershler?"
"Yeah," Natalie nodded without hesitation. "I trust you, Dunn. But… what about my mom?"
"I'll talk to her. I'm sure she'll understand."
Dunn was confident—he'd pretty much figured out Shirley Hershler's mindset and felt good about swaying her.
"But what about Fox? I already half-signed the contract," Natalie said, blinking up at him with a teasing half-smile.
Dunn pinched her cheek playfully. "I'll handle it! Half-signed or fully signed, I've got your back!"
"Hehe, I knew it—you're the best!" Natalie lifted her chin proudly, clinging to his arm, looking totally content.
"Nat, trust me, I'll make you Hollywood's brightest star!" Dunn wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gazing off into the distance.
Natalie smirked, giving him a playful look. "Brighter than Katharine Hepburn?"
"Katharine Hepburn?" Dunn paused, smirking back. "Four Oscars? Big deal!"
"Such a bragger!" Natalie wrinkled her nose at him.
Dunn chuckled at her cute reaction. "Oh, by the way, you're done with high school now. Which colleges did you apply to?"
"Three: Harvard, Yale, Princeton," Natalie said casually.
Dunn couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Of course she'd pick the top dogs—America's toughest schools to get into.
"What major are you thinking for college?" Dunn secretly hoped she'd go for management so she could help run his company someday.
But without missing a beat, Natalie said, "Clinical psychology."
"Huh? Why?" Dunn raised an eyebrow.
She gave him a sly look. "I want to study the human mind—especially yours. Living with three girlfriends at home and flirting with an underage girl outside… don't you ever feel guilty?"
"Ack!" Dunn broke into a sweat. "Honey, didn't we agree to drop that topic?"
"Why should we?" Natalie huffed, shooting him a glare. "That was then. I've thought it over, and we need to face this head-on. Otherwise, when I'm off at college and we're long-distance, it's going to be a mess."
Dunn blinked, impressed. "Wow, Nat, you're really thinking ahead."
"I have to, or someone's going to snatch you up," she muttered, pouting. "Don't think I don't know—Hollywood's full of vixens."
Dunn laughed. "Vixens, sure, but I've only got one queen: Amidala."
Natalie grinned, humming smugly. "Everyone says I brought Amidala to life."
"Of course! My Nat's the best actress out there—I've been saying it!"
"Will you help me find an agent?" She tilted her head up at him.
Dunn thought for a sec. "How about this: I'll talk to Brian, get him to cover your exit fee, and you switch to AA. He'd be thrilled."
"Okay," Natalie agreed instantly. "I'm in—as long as you convince my mom."
"I've got it covered. And I've already got an agent in mind for you."
"Who?"
"Hilda Quealy."
Natalie's eyes lit up. "The one you hooked Nicole Kidman up with?"
Dunn froze. "You know about that?"
She raised a little fist, smirking. "I know a lot more than that! I told you, I've got my sources—you can't hide anything from me!"
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