I concentrated on the golf ball. Smooth backswing. Perfect rotation. The driver connected with a satisfying crack, sending the ball soaring 285 yards down the center of the fairway.
"Beautiful drive," Ted said from behind me, selecting his own club.
I stepped back with a grin. "Let's see you beat that."
Nathan teaching me to golf all those years ago had paid off well. While I didn't play all the time, not like some of my peers in the industry, I'd learned early on that most important decisions with major partners, for some reason, happened on the golf course.
It was relaxing in its own way, even if it wasn't my preferred pastime.
Today I was golfing with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and the chairman of NBCUniversal, Steve Burke. Ted was the one who had invited me, and I knew Steve as well since I was doing a movie with them for their Dark Universe initiative.
Steve grinned. "Watch this." He went next, a solid 240 yards but slightly to the right.
Ted followed with a respectable 250, straight but short of mine.
We made our way down the fairway together, the afternoon sun warm but not oppressive. The course was beautiful, meticulously maintained and quiet except for the distant sound of other players and the occasional bird call.
As we approached the green, Steve turned to Ted. "Congratulations, by the way, on Game of Thrones. I just started watching. Looks like you struck gold, Ted."
Ted's face lit up immediately. "Our stock price is evidence enough of how popular the show is. Oh yes, we have struck gold."
Steve laughed as I lined up my putt. "I'm sorry, what I should say is, you have your golden goose over there." He gestured at me as I tapped the ball smoothly into the hole.
I straightened up, grinning. "Netflix is my golden goose. Best choice I ever made, buying in all those years ago."
Ted nodded. "I guess it was meant to be."
"Yep," I said, collecting my ball. "I keep making content, the company keeps getting richer, which in turn makes me richer. It's a beautiful."
Steve chuckled. "Well, let's hope some of that magic helps us too with the Dark Universe."
"That's the plan," I said.
We moved on to the next hole.
I took my shot, another clean drive, about 245 yards.
Ted stepped up next, adjusted his stance, and swung.
The ball sailed beautifully, landing about 270 yards down the fairway, perfectly centered.
I raised my eyebrows. "Okay. Not bad, Ted."
Ted grinned, clearly pleased with himself.
Steve laughed. "Finally! Someone beats Mr. Perfect over here."
I shook my head, smiling. "Alright, alright. Don't get too cocky. We've just begun."
We continued to play.
On the third hole, I sank a chip shot from 40 yards out, the ball rolling perfectly across the green and dropping into the cup. Ted and Steve both stopped mid-conversation to watch it fall.
"Show-off," Steve muttered.
On the fifth hole, I drove the ball 265 yards with a slight fade that landed it within five feet of the pin.
Ted shook his head. "You know, you didn't need to lie when I asked if you played often."
"I don't play often, Ted. This is just pure, unadulterated skill," I said with a straight face.
By hole seven, I was firmly in the lead.
I tapped the ball in smoothly, and it dropped with a satisfying plunk.
Our conversation had shifted to Universal's movies. Steve was telling us about the good year they'd had, especially with The Werewulf getting solid reviews and strong box office numbers. The next movie in the Dark Universe was The Last Voyage of the Demeter, set to come out this Halloween.
I had originally agreed to write a different film when Julian first approached me about the Dark Universe initiative, but eventually I'd signed on to do Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein instead. I felt that would suit me better and, well, I genuinely wanted to work with Guillermo.
"The script will be done by July, though del Toro and I hit a rough patch."
Steve waved it off. "Production hasn't been delayed. Del Toro has been spearheading pre-production while you both work on the script."
"He told me working on both the script and pre-production helps him somehow," I said. "The man's a genius, but he has a very specific process."
Ted lined up his next shot. "You and I need to talk about getting your Dark Universe on Netflix, Steve."
He hit the ball cleanly, a beautiful drive that sailed past mine.
I raised my eyebrows. "Wow. I think you've got me beat there."
Steve stepped up next, lining up his own shot with a grin. "We have some plans of our own. Ted might have competitors soon."
He swung. Another solid drive.
Peacock, I remembered. NBCUniversal's answer to Netflix. Disney was getting into it as well, but Netflix was too far ahead for them to catch up easily. Only Amazon Prime Video was close, and I was sure that with my push for more live events and sports on Netflix, it would expand its user base even further. It was the industry leader now and well ahead, so it could easily take advantage of that before more serious competitors emerged.
We continued playing until we reached the turn at the halfway point. All three of us walked into the small clubhouse to grab some refreshments.
I took a long drink of water. "We have Lady Bird coming out this year. Also distributing some amazing indie films as well."
"So another Oscar for Midas next year, then?" Steve asked.
I grinned. "Of course. I want one every year."
They both laughed.
Ted pointed across the room. "Oh, there's Bob."
I looked up and saw Bob Iger standing near the bar. And with him was Kevin Tsujihara, the head of Warner Bros.
"Oh great," I muttered. "Tsujihara is with him."
Steve smirked. "What, Kevin still hung up over the Nebula merger?"
"Of course," I said. "It must really hurt him, and others at Warner, seeing how much money the DCU has been making."
Warner had been gunning to buy Nebula before I got Henry, Chris, and the Stardust investors involved and orchestrated the merger. Warner had tried their best to block it, pulling every string they had, but in the end it all came down to Buddy, now the chairman of Stardust and previously the head of Nebula. I had impressed him enough that he chose to merge Nebula with Stardust instead of selling to Warner.
And from that merger, the DCU was born.
So yes, Warner had wanted Nebula and DC badly. Many people there felt that Stardust and I had taken it from them.
There was also the fact that a lot of Warner's movies had flopped last year, some of them directly against films I had produced.
That probably didn't help either.
Bob saw us and called us over.
"Daniel! Ted! Steve!" Bob Iger said, waving from across the room. "I thought I saw you three just behind us."
I walked over with Ted and Steve, greeting Bob with a handshake. "Bob, good to see you."
Bob smiled warmly. "You too."
I turned to Tsujihara and extended my hand. "Tsujihara."
He nodded curtly but didn't say much, just a brief handshake.
I couldn't resist. "So, Bob, is Disney buying out Warner too?"
Everyone except Tsujihara laughed. Kevin's expression remained stone-faced.
Bob grinned. "What, you want the regulators to come and kill me?"
Everyone shared a laugh.
Bob gestured toward the course. "Why don't we all do the back nine together?"
Ted nodded immediately. "Sure, let's do it."
We settled into the clubhouse for a few more minutes, taking a proper break before heading back out.
"How'd you play the front?" Bob asked as I grabbed a bottle of water.
Steve answered for me. "Adler's been dominating."
Bob raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "What's your handicap?"
"Six," I said.
"Six? Not bad at all."
Bob set down his water bottle and looked around the table. "Gentlemen, I have a proposal."
Everyone turned to him.
"Let's make the back nine interesting," Bob said. "Individual play. Lowest score takes the pot."
"What kind of pot?" Steve asked.
Bob smiled. "Fifty thousand. Per person."
The table went quiet for a moment.
Ted laughed. "Sure, let's do it."
Steve leaned back, grinning. "Why not?"
Kevin nodded slowly. "I'm in."
I shrugged. "What the hell. I'm in too."
Bob stood, adjusting his glove. "Excellent. Gentlemen, may the best player win."
We began playing.
I teed off first, and the ball sailed 255 yards down the center of the fairway.
Bob went next. A solid drive, 240 yards with a slight fade.
Ted, Steve, and Kevin followed with respectable drives, but none matched my distance.
My approach shot from 105 yards landed ten feet from the pin.
Bob's approach found the green, but he was twenty five feet out.
The others needed extra strokes to reach the green in regulation.
The game continued, and as it did, Tsujihara started to get on my nerves with subtle digs my way, mostly implying I didn't belong where I was, that I hadn't paid my dues, that kind of talk. The others picked up on it but seemed to understand it was better to stay on my good side.
On hole ten, as we approached the green, Tsujihara even implied that the incident at the Oscars had been staged by me.
I stopped mid stride. "It was an honest mistake. No conspiracy."
Bob immediately agreed. "It was PricewaterhouseCoopers' fault. Everyone knows that."
Steve and Ted nodded in agreement.
Tsujihara shrugged. "We all hoped that with Weinstein gone, it would be the end of such dirty plays. But it seems, Mr. Adler, you…"
I looked at him sharply. "Did you just compare me to Weinstein?"
"Nothing like that," he said quickly, but the implication hung in the air.
Okay, this guy is done, I thought.
There were some rumors about him. I paused as I remembered something about him from my past life. He had been caught in a sex scandal, soliciting sex from an actress in exchange for a role in one of Warner's movies.
Basically just like Weinstein.
The guy was projecting hard.
Bob, sensing the tension, stepped in. "Mr. Adler has deserved all the accolades he's received so far, Kevin. Let's not look for trouble where there isn't any."
Tsujihara said nothing.
The game continued.
By hole sixteen, Bob had caught up with me.
We were tied.
By then, the conversation had shifted to Quibi, of all things, something Jeffrey Katzenberg, the legendary producer, was working on.
"Premium short form. Mobile first. High production value," Tsujihara said. "People will pay for quality."
"I've invested heavily in it," he added proudly.
I frowned. "I'm not sure about it."
Ted agreed. "What does it offer that other streaming websites don't?"
Bob considered. "Maybe the mobile first approach gives it an edge."
I shook my head. "Nobody's paying a subscription to watch something that's free on YouTube or TikTok." I set the ball down. "Quibi is an answer to a question nobody asked."
Tsujihara's voice was measured. "Experience matters in this business, Daniel." He gestured around the group. "I'm sure someone as young and new as you won't understand. We've seen what survives."
I crouched behind the ball and checked the line.
"I'm sure you have," I said quietly.
I stood, addressed the ball.
"Sometimes experience is just time spent watching someone else figure it out." I added.
I swung.
The contact was almost silent.
The ball climbed, held its line, and dropped onto the green. It bounced once, then rolled toward the pin with a kind of lazy inevitability.
Nobody said anything for a moment.
Bob laughed loud and genuine. Ted shook his head. Steve said "fuck" quietly to nobody in particular.
I looked at Tsujihara.
"Which one of us is the billionaire here again?"
========
The game finished with me winning and two hundred thousand dollars richer.
On the way back to the clubhouse, Bob fell into step beside me.
"Daniel, I was going to have dinner with Kathleen. You should join us."
I glanced at him, curious. "Sure."
After leaving the club, we arrived at the restaurant.
The waiter walked away with our orders.
"I'm looking forward to Justice League. The numbers being projected for it are quite something," Bob said.
"Thank you. It's been quite a few years in the making."
"Yes. Yes, it has." Bob paused, swirling his wine. "Do you remember our conversation from two years ago? About working together?"
I nodded. "I said I would love to when I had the time."
Bob smiled. "I want to return to that. Again."
"Oh?" I said.
Then Bob looked behind me and said, "Oh, Kathleen's here."
I turned and saw Kathleen Kennedy walking over.
I guess I see where this is going, I thought as I watched her approach.
"Bob," she said, greeting him warmly. Then she turned to me. "Mr. Adler."
"Please," I said. "I told you to call me Daniel."
She smiled. "Daniel."
Bob gestured to the empty seat. "Good, you're here. We were just about to talk about Star Wars."
"We were?" I asked, genuinely surprised.
Kathleen joined us at the table, settling in across from me. Bob leaned forward.
"Here's the idea," Bob said. "The Force Awakens has been great for us. And Kathleen tells me the next one is going to be even bigger."
I doubt that, I thought, remembering the movie that split the Star Wars fandom in two.
Kathleen continued smoothly. "George wanted you involved from the beginning, but we all went in different directions."
I nodded slowly. "I did tell George I was interested years ago."
Bob's eyes lit up. "Oh, then we're nearly there."
I wondered if they were making Rogue One here. I hadn't heard anything about it.
Yes, I had wanted to do Star Wars, but not for a while. At least not until I stepped away from the DCU in a few years. I had an idea: a trilogy of movies based on my interpretation of the Old Republic, which I was surprised to see didn't exist in this world.
I could start with Rogue One, and maybe even do a show based on Cassian Andor too.
I loved that character in Rogue One. Then I'd take over years later once I was sure Disney would mess everything up.
Or maybe they wouldn't. Still, putting one foot in the door was a good idea. It would build goodwill with the fans, let me be the guy who made a good Star Wars movie. The only thing that didn't appeal to me was dealing with the studio politics at Lucasfilm.
But Star Wars was something I could not pass up. I wanted to see how this would pan out. Dealing with the Mouse always required careful negotiation. I had some demands. If they met them, I would do it.
I glanced at Kathleen. I could see she was only here because Iger wanted her to be. She didn't want me involved at all.
"Are you planning to do any prequels? I mean, not those prequels. Any movies about events between Episode III and IV?"
Kathleen looked proud. "We're doing a Han Solo movie."
"Nothing else?"
She shook her head. "We're heavily invested in that era."
I sat back, processing. "I have an idea. If we all agree on it, maybe we can move forward."
Bob smiled, clearly pleased. "That sounds perfect, Daniel."