Dunn slipped on his sunglasses.
Having just wrapped up post-production on A Beautiful Mind, the first notification from the system was that the "Mirror Possession" ability tied to Oliver Stone had expired.
In the search bar at the top right, Dunn typed in Minority Report. Within seconds, over 1,200 contracts related to the project popped up.
The seventh entry on the first page was the preliminary contract for the male lead!
He opened it—yep, there it was: Tom Cruise's name, clear as day.
Lately, Dunn had been stressing over the TV network situation, racking his brain to butter up that old fox Redstone and dodge a looming crisis. He'd even handed off all the marketing for Mr. & Mrs. Smith to others, barely keeping tabs on it.
And then, at a time like this, Tom Cruise had the nerve to step on his toes—and worse, make Natalie cry? Well, no one could blame Dunn for what came next!
Time to hit hard.
He had to stomp out this kind of nonsense once and for all!
Other studio bosses might treat Tom Cruise like some golden goose, but not Dunn. Never had, never would.
Whether it was Bruce Willis or Michael Bay, Dunn didn't coddle anyone. Revenge for grudges, payback for slights—that's how he rolled.
Since Tom Cruise wanted to flex his clout in the crew and start a fight, Dunn wasn't about to hold back. Ruthless and relentless—that's what Cruise was in for.
A grim, menacing smirk tugged at Dunn's lips.
Let's play, then!
20th Century Fox, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise—you all love games, don't you? Fine, let's make it a big one!
Dunn already had a plan. He was going to flip the script—literally—"Steal the Contract"!
Back when he first got the system's newbie gift pack, it came with two "Steal the Contract" skills. He'd used the first to snatch James Cameron's Titanic and the second to grab George Lucas's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Those two moves were a huge part of why Dunn was where he was today—unstoppable!
The skill let him rewrite a contract's ownership, and it didn't even have to be for himself.
It could be for anyone.
These days, Dunn didn't need "Steal the Contract" for his own projects—he could fund his movies outright. But Natalie Portman? She was different. She loved acting, dreamed of working with top directors, and thrived on the joy of performing.
The "Steal the Contract" he'd been holding onto was meant for her down the line.
Sure, Dunn's name carried weight in Hollywood, and his influence was massive. But using that to strong-arm legends like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, or Clint Eastwood? Not a chance.
"Steal the Contract" was his ace in the hole.
And now, it had a new target.
"Using a rare skill like this on you, Tom Cruise—you should feel honored!" Dunn muttered with a cold sneer, ready to erase Cruise's name from the contract.
But just as he started, he paused. "If I ditch Tom Cruise… who's taking his place?"
Minority Report only got off the ground because Tom Cruise was the male lead—a cash cow who could pull in investors left and right. The project had faced almost no pushback during development.
Dunn knew swapping out the lead could throw everything into chaos. Spielberg might even walk away, and 20th Century Fox could scrap the whole thing.
To keep the project alive—and give Natalie her shot with Spielberg—he'd need to pick a star big enough, with enough box-office pull, to keep the investors and producers happy!
"Who should it be?"
Dunn sat there for five minutes, racking his brain, but no perfect candidate came to mind.
Mel Gibson?
Big enough, sure, but he was tied up prepping Signs for Dunn's studio—no way he could juggle both.
Tom Hanks?
No dice. He was all about serious dramas, not action flicks.
Will Smith?
Wrong fit—too much of a racial mismatch for this one.
Leonardo DiCaprio?
That kid just finished Gangs of New York and was chilling in Hawaii. Lazy as he was, no chance he'd jump into back-to-back shoots.
Brad Pitt, George Clooney? They had the chops for a lead role, but their box-office draw wasn't quite there.
After running through a dozen names, one finally clicked, and Dunn's eyes lit up. "Yes! Him!"
He dialed Sofia Coppola. "You know about Minority Report, right?"
Sofia, deep in the weeds writing her new script Lost in Tokyo, chuckled. "Yeah, Spielberg's next big thing. It's been hyped for years—what's up?"
Dunn cut to the chase. "I'm thinking of putting your cousin in as the male lead. What do you think?"
"What?!" Sofia yelped. "That's crazy! Isn't Tom Cruise already locked in? It's been public for ages!"
Dunn scoffed. "I wanted Nat as the female lead, but Cruise got in the way, trying to edge her out. So, sorry, but I'm not playing nice anymore."
Sofia knew his temper but was still floored. "Dunn, you're not joking, are you? How's that even possible? It's not your movie! Kicking out Tom Cruise—God, that's wild!"
To her, it sounded insane.
Tom Cruise was a studio's dream—everyone fought to get him, not shove him out!
Unless it was a Dunn Pictures production, no company in their right mind would ditch Tom Cruise!
"If I say I can make it happen, I will," Dunn shot back, dripping with disdain. "Tom Cruise is a big deal? Compared to me?"
Sofia frowned. "Okay, you're the big shot, but—"
"Enough, Sofia," Dunn interrupted. "I'm not here to argue. I'm telling you what's happening. Your cousin's last movie, Gone in 60 Seconds, didn't exactly light up the box office—partly my fault. And his next one, Windtalkers? I'm not sold on it. Like Pearl Harbor, war movies aren't hot right now with the economy tanking. Two big flops in a row could hurt his standing."
That got Sofia nervous. Dunn's track record on movie predictions was flawless.
"You—you really think you can get him the Minority Report lead?"
"Yep. Only problem is, I don't have his number. Just need to make sure he's free."
"He is! I saw him a couple days ago—he's got nothing lined up," Sofia said, pausing. "Tell you what, I'll call him and have him reach out to you."
After hanging up, Dunn sighed, already dreading Nicolas Cage's personality.
The guy was a bit of an arrogant oddball. They'd met a few times but barely exchanged words.
Part of it was because Cage ran with Jerry Bruckheimer—Dunn's sworn enemy!
Still, Dunn's approach to Cage versus Michael Bay was night and day.
Sure, both were Bruckheimer's lackeys, but Cage had never trashed Dunn in the press—not even when Spider-Man crushed Gone in 60 Seconds last year. He'd stayed cool about it.
Plus, Dunn had a solid bond with the Coppola family. They looked out for each other, so helping Cage was a no-brainer.
A guy with his acting chops and action-star cred was rare in Hollywood.
Letting him fade into a king of flops would be a damn shame—for him and the industry.
Ten minutes later, Dunn's phone rang. First time he'd ever talked to Nicolas Cage directly.
"Mr. Walker, you—you really think I could take the Minority Report lead?" Cage asked, using formal tones, his voice buzzing with excitement.
Dunn laughed. "Call me Dunn. As for whether it'll work—well, we'll see. If you're in, I'll start talking to 20th Century Fox."
"I'm in! Of course I'm in!" Cage replied fast. "Truth is, two years ago when Spielberg announced Minority Report, I had my agent reach out. But he'd already picked his guy."
Dunn smirked. "Producers, crew, director—I'll handle that. Just sync up with your agent and be ready to jump in."
Cage went quiet for a sec. "Mr. Walker, thank you."
Dunn chuckled. "No need to thank me—we're friends, right? Oh, and going forward, be pickier with your roles. Think about all the angles."
"Yeah, got it," Cage said quickly.
Did he really catch the subtle hint? Dunn wasn't so sure and shook his head.
He just hoped Cage would wise up and ditch Bruckheimer before running his career into the ground.
After the call, Dunn grabbed a new phone, typed out a text, and mass-sent it:
"I think Nicolas Cage should be the male lead for Minority Report, with Natalie Portman as the female lead. —Dunn Walker"
Recipients: Tom Rothman, Jim Gianopulos, Jan de Bont, Steven Spielberg, Michael Ovitz, Ronald Shusett, Gary Goldman, Brian Lord, Hilda Quirly, Natalie Portman, Nicolas Cage
Then, Dunn slid his sunglasses back on, pulled up the contract, and without hesitation, wiped out "Tom Cruise" from the signature line, replacing it with "Nicolas Cage."
"Confirm use of Steal the Contract skill?"
"Confirm!"
In that instant, the game changed!