Tom Rothman was in a rotten mood. He'd thought that after shoving Bill Mechanic out and taking over as the big boss of 20th Century Fox, he'd be calling the shots and feeling on top of the world. But nope—Dunn had to go and stab him in the back.
Bill Mechanic had barely left Fox when he waltzed over to Dunn Pictures as president, scooping up all the employees Fox had fired and building a shiny new team to serve Dunn's empire. If that was just typical Hollywood shuffling, what happened next was a straight-up slap in the face. A week after 20th Century Fox canceled a certain project, Bill announced Dunn Pictures was throwing $0 million at Steven Soderbergh's new film. Talk about a power move!
Using Dunn Pictures as a battering ram to smack 20th Century Fox around? Ridiculous! But Dunn Walker was a wild card, and Bill Mechanic wasn't the type to back down either.
Tom Rothman, now chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox, shouldn't have to sweat the small stuff like this. But Bill Mechanic wasn't small potatoes—he had massive connections in Hollywood. For starters, he had two heavyweight directors in his corner that made Tom green with envy: James Cameron and Roland Emmerich.
Take Cameron's project—Bill had been his biggest cheerleader. Without him, Cameron would've bailed ages ago. And Roland Emmerich? That was an even bigger bond. Back when Emmerich was shooting his big flick, Bill gave him full support, even helping him join the elite club of commercial directors with final cut privileges—right alongside Spielberg, Lucas, and Cameron. Emmerich didn't disappoint either; that movie raked in over $800 million worldwide and snagged the box office crown for the year.
Now, Cameron was gearing up for his next big thing, ready to greenlight it any day. Meanwhile, Emmerich was working with Mel Gibson on a Columbia Pictures gig, and his next collab would almost certainly be with Bill Mechanic. Losing two key partners like that? No CEO could explain that away to the board without breaking a sweat.
Tom sat in his office, stewing for ages, until his eyes landed on Dunn—the young hotshot who drove him up the wall. They *had* to lock in a long-term deal with Dunn Pictures! It was just a production studio, no distribution arm. If they teamed up, even if Cameron and Emmerich went with Dunn for their films, Fox could still handle distribution, right? A sneaky little workaround to save face with the board.
So, Tom picked up the phone and called Dunn, keeping his tone extra polite. "Hey Dunn, got a minute? How about we grab a drink?"
"Sorry, Tom," Dunn replied, sounding genuinely bummed. "I'm swamped with post-production on right now. No time to sneak away."
Tom wasn't an idiot. He swallowed his irritation and forced a chuckle. "Oh, really? Haha, I saw the trailer—looks amazing! It's gonna be a killer movie, no doubt. But I hear you haven't started promo yet? That's a big no-no, could mess things up."
Dunn smirked on his end, catching Tom's drift but playing it cool. "Oh, I don't worry about that stuff. You know I just hired Bill as president of Dunn Pictures, right? He's handling all the business side—I just focus on the creative bits."
Tom nearly exploded. This kid Dunn had some nerve! Here he was, the head honcho of 20th Century Fox, reaching out with an olive branch, and Dunn was dodging him left and right. Did he really think a few hit movies meant he'd conquered Hollywood?
"Dunn," Tom said, his voice icing over, "Fox wants to distribute . What do you say?" It sounded like a question, but there was a clear edge of "don't test me" in there.
Dunn acted oblivious, laughing it off. "Tom, maybe I wasn't clear earlier, so let me spell it out. When I brought Bill on as president, we agreed he'd handle distribution. I'm the boss, sure, but I don't meddle in that stuff."
Tom wasn't buying it. His temper flared. "Mechanic's already handed 's distribution to someone else, hasn't he?" he snapped.
Dunn kept up the cheerful act. "Uh, maybe? I'm not totally sure. Tell you what—I'll check with him. If the contract's not signed yet, I'll make sure Fox gets the distribution. How's that sound?"
Tom raised an eyebrow, pausing. "Hmm? Alright then, I'll wait for your update."
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After hanging up, Dunn shot a wry smile at Bill Mechanic, who was lounging on the sofa looking way too relaxed.
"What, you enjoying my misery?" Dunn said, rolling his eyes.
Bill shook his head. "If you're scared, I can step back."
Dunn snorted. "Scared? Of Tom Rothman? Please. Tell Universal to make the signing ceremony a big deal—Dunn Pictures execs will all show up!"
Bill gave him a long, hard look. "Dunn, think this through. Doing this… it's basically declaring war on Fox."
Dunn's lips curled into a faint grin, his tone steady and firm. "Bill, if I dared to put you in charge of Dunn Pictures, that means I value you more than 20th Century Fox."
Bill's expression softened, a mix of emotions flickering across his face. After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh. His voice was calm, but his eyes carried a vow-like weight. "I'll shield you from wind, frost, snow, and rain! Dunn, all I ask is simple: keep making great movies. That's the heart of Dunn Pictures."
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Tom Rothman stared at the front-page headline, complete with a giant photo of Dunn and Ron Meyer shaking hands and grinning like best buds. His scalp tingled with rage.
That jerk!
That absolute jerk!
The brighter Dunn smiled in the picture, the angrier Tom got. He couldn't believe Dunn had the guts to play him like this—saying one thing to his face and then turning around to strike a strategic deal with Universal!
From the start, Dunn had been tight with 20th Century Fox, their biggest partner, pulling in over $100 million in profits yearly. Now, right as Tom took the reins, Dunn jumped ship to Universal. It was a public slap in the face, screaming to the Fox board that Tom couldn't keep Dunn in line.
"You wanna make my life hell? Fine—yours won't be a picnic either!" Tom growled through gritted teeth, summoning his assistant. "Is Disney still gunning for Dunn?"
"Yeah," the assistant replied. "Disney's media outlets keep digging into Dunn's personal life. It's just unmarried guy, unmarried girl stuff—nothing too juicy. But I hear Disney's cracked down hard: no TV stations under their umbrella can report any news about ."
Tom's lips twisted into a cold smirk. "Perfect. Tell our TV division: no Fox channels are allowed to cover any Dunn Pictures movies or any positive news about them—especially . Make it airtight!"
The assistant hesitated, looking shocked. "Uh… is that a good idea?" It was a blatant overreach into the TV side's independence.
"Just do it!" Tom barked. "Anyone's got a problem, they can come to me!"
He was done playing nice. Dunn needed a lesson in how Hollywood worked, and Tom was determined to teach it. "Oh, and when's our locked in?"
"July 14th."
Tom mulled it over. Dunn had mentioned post-production delays pushing out of May into mid-to-late June. "What's Disney's big summer A-list project this year?"
The assistant flipped through some notes. "Nicholas Cage starring in , $100 million budget, plus two animated flicks."
Tom narrowed his eyes, scheming. He knew Dunn's commercial films were juggernauts. He wasn't delusional enough to think a $75 million could take down alone. But… what if Disney's joined the fray?
No huge stars in , sure, but Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore headlined it, with action icon Nicholas Cage anchoring Disney's . If Fox and Disney teamed up, they might just land a knockout blow.
As the guy who'd pushed the loan for , Tom knew exactly how much Dunn had poured into it. He didn't know Dunn's exact cash reserves, but he did know this: if tanked at the box office, Dunn and Dunn Pictures would go belly-up.
To teach Dunn a lesson, Tom was willing to take a hit on 's profits. Disney probably felt the same—big studios didn't let tiny upstarts like Dunn Pictures disrespect them.
"Get me Joe Roth on the line. I need to talk to him."
Tom was already spinning a web to trap Dunn. Joe Roth, head of Disney's production department and chairman of Touchstone Pictures, was his next move. Tom was confident he could convince Disney to join forces and give Dunn a lesson he'd never forget!
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