Chapter 168: Young and Brash, Total Chaos!
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In the past couple of years, Dunn's focus was all about the movies he was directing. Now, his attention had shifted to the company.
Everything related to *Spider-Man* had been handed off to Marvel Studios—he didn't even bother with the promotional stuff anymore.
Truth be told, he didn't need to.
Dunn's name was blazing across North America right now, hands down the top pick for "most popular figure" of the year.
His exploits in Hollywood and on Wall Street? Anyone who glanced at the news knew them by heart—his fame was off the charts!
That meant his movie was, without a doubt, the most anticipated film of the summer.
Take Tom Cruise's *Mission: Impossible 2*, for example. It'd been out in North America for nine days, raking in a massive $103 million at the box office—the hottest thing going.
But compared to *Spider-Man*, which hadn't even hit theaters yet, it was still a step behind in buzz.
It was basically toast before the fight even started.
The ones suffering most? Fox and Disney. To take Dunn down, they'd shuffled their summer blockbuster schedules.
Now, *Spider-Man*'s name was plastered across every media outlet imaginable. Any report about Dunn inevitably mentioned it too.
A new flick from a director worth $5 billion—how could you not want to see that?
As for *X-Men* and *Charlie's Angels*? Sorry, even with stars like Nicolas Cage, Matt Damon, and Drew Barrymore, they couldn't touch Dunn's hype.
Then June rolled around, and *Forbes*, the big-shot finance mag, dropped its global billionaire list as of May 22, 2000!
Microsoft's Bill Gates topped it with $60 billion, no surprise there. Oracle's Larry Ellison came in second at $47 billion. Warren Buffett took third with $28 billion, tied with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in fourth.
After that:
- Fifth, Saudi Prince Alwaleed, $20 billion.
- Sixth, Germany's Aldi supermarket Albrecht family, $20 billion.
- Seventh, Walmart's Robson Walton, $20 billion.
- Eighth, SoftBank's Asian investment titan Masayoshi Son, $19.4 billion.
- Ninth, Dell's Michael Dell, $17.8 billion.
- Tenth, Canadian media mogul Kenneth Thomson, $16.1 billion…
Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, clocked in at $11.3 billion, ranking 22nd.
And Dunn Walker? The magazine pegged his net worth at $6.3 billion—58th in the world!
Among billionaires under 30, Dunn was numero uno. Under 40? Still in the top three!
When that issue hit stands, it was like tossing gas on a fire—Dunn's momentum exploded even bigger, fiercer, wilder!
…
Inside the CEO's office at 20th Century Fox, it was a mess—shattered glass from smashed cups littered the floor.
Tom Rothman's face was dark as a storm cloud, glaring at distribution head Wes Cotton like he wanted to bite his head off. "One question: can we change *X-Men*'s release date or not?"
Wes Cotton gave a bitter smile. "It's too late, man. We're 20 days out from the set date. The prints are already shipped, and the theaters have everything lined up."
"So, no dice?"
"Nope!" Wes's tone was firm, but then he sighed. "Tom, switching it now would screw over the theaters big-time. We'd be on the hook for huge penalties!"
Rothman's teeth were practically grinding, his legs trembling under the desk. "So you're just gonna sit there and watch our movie crash and burn under that jerk's feet?"
Wes smirked inwardly.
He'd originally slated *X-Men* for mid-July, neatly dodging *Spider-Man*'s early summer heat. But Rothman, acting like he'd lost his mind, shifted it up just to flex—pitting it head-to-head with Dunn's flick.
That's a death wish, right?
*Spider-Man* was Dunn's baby, with a $1.5 billion budget!
And *X-Men*? Even Fox's marketing team wasn't sold on it!
This guy Rothman wasn't just digging his own grave—he was dragging Disney down too. What, trying to show the board he's tight with them?
Ha! Wait till Disney's *Charlie's Angels* flops under *Spider-Man*'s shadow. He'll be screwed on both ends—good luck with that!
Might climb the ladder in January and get booted by December!
"Say something, you mute?" Rothman slammed the desk, snarling.
Wes frowned, swallowing his irritation. "Boss, no matter how you slice it, changing the date's off the table. Disney's *Charlie's Angels* team is sucking it up too, aren't they?"
"So what's your plan now?" Rothman locked eyes with him.
Wes hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "I hear *Spider-Man*'s got a $100 million promo budget, and with Dunn's name as huge as it is, fighting it head-on's a pipe dream."
Put it this way: as long as the movie wasn't a total dud, Universal's hype machine plus Dunn's clout guaranteed a box office blowout.
"Are you just spouting obvious crap?"
Rothman wasn't dumb. Even with a thousand, ten thousand grudges, he knew the tide was against him. His two-month crusade to crush Dunn had flopped hard.
Not only did it not dent Dunn or Dunn Pictures, it backfired—fueling Dunn's rise instead.
Without Fox and Disney teaming up to stir the pot, plastering Dunn Walker's name across the news every day, he wouldn't be this big now.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
Rothman was pissed at his own stupidity. His mouth was full of ulcers, he'd seen a doctor three days straight, and it felt like a fire was burning in his chest, ready to blow.
Wes clenched his fists, forcing himself to push on. "Same slot, three big releases: *Spider-Man*, *X-Men*, and *Charlie's Angels*. Since *Spider-Man*'s untouchable, if we want more screens and market share, we've got to steal from *Charlie's Angels*."
It was a standard, sensible pitch from a distribution guy.
But it hit Rothman's sore spot. He slammed the desk again, roaring, "Are you trying to ruin me? Get out, you idiot!"
Rothman looked half-crazed.
Boost *X-Men*'s box office by kneecapping Disney's movie? That's a straight-up slap in the face!
He'd been the one pulling strings behind the scenes, egging Disney on to tweak their schedule. Now that things were going south, ditching his ally would trash his rep. How'd he keep playing in Hollywood after that?
He'd already burned bridges with Dunn Pictures, indirectly ticked off DreamWorks and Universal, and if he flipped on Disney too, Fox would be surrounded on all sides!
As chairman and CEO, he'd take the fall—pack up and go, no question.
Right now, he had to keep Disney on his side—no provoking them!
It didn't serve Fox's interests, but it sure served Rothman's.
Wes sneered to himself. Moron!
He saw right through Rothman's thinking—pure delusion.
In times like this, you fight to survive.
If Fox didn't snatch from Disney, did he think Disney wouldn't snatch from Fox?
*X-Men* had a $75 million budget, but marketing only got $20 million since the team wasn't optimistic.
*Charlie's Angels*? $90 million to make, $60 million to push—a hefty investment. Did Rothman think Disney would just let that slide?
No wonder they say don't make decisions when you're mad—Rothman was straight-up brain-dead right now.
Wes shrugged coolly and walked out.
Behind him, another cup shattered in the office, followed by an enraged yell.
Then Rothman's secretary crept in with a fresh mug, whispering, "Boss, want to check the news? It's about Dunn Pictures."
"News? Screw the news! Wait—what'd you say? Dunn Pictures?" Rothman's eyebrow shot up, his scowl deepening.
The secretary flinched. "Yeah, Dunn Pictures. They just locked in a dozen strategic deals with Hasbro."
"Hasbro?" Rothman blinked, confused. "The toy company?"
"Yep, the toy folks! Word is, Dunn Pictures might be looking to turn Hasbro's toy properties into movies. It's on TV right now—the press conference is blowing up."
Back then, the whole IP craze hadn't taken off yet. Even a seasoned guy like Rothman couldn't figure out Dunn's angle.
Partnering with a toy company to make movies out of their stuff?
What a joke!
For decades, Hollywood had led with its own films, spinning off merch—like toys—after the fact to cash in on the side.
Dunn flipping that script? It felt totally out of left field.
Making a movie's risky enough.
Making one that hits big *and* drives a merch empire? That's a tall order!
That's why Hollywood stuck to its own original stories—prop sales could rake in 80 or 90% of the profits, maxing out the payoff.
But adapting toy rights? Bust your hump to make the film, and what's the split? 20%? 30%?
The original rights stay with the toy company!
Rothman mulled it over, then snorted coldly, "Young and cocky, screwing around!"
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