Roy Disney might be younger than Sumner Redstone, but compared to the sharp-edged media titan, Roy looked far more worn out. His speech was slow, his mind… a bit foggy. He rattled off three demands to Dunn, each one more outrageous than the last—pure wishful thinking.
Plenty of Hollywood companies bent over backwards to team up with Legendary Pictures, tossing juicy incentives Dunn's way for their co-investment schemes. Even a mogul like Redstone approached Dunn with a vibe of partnership and deal-making. But Roy? He acted like it was all a given, like Dunn owed him something.
Dunn couldn't hold it in—he almost burst out laughing. Mr. Disney, how big do you think your head is? These days, even Walt Disney himself wouldn't dare throw such absurd terms at Dunn. Still, Roy was an old man, so Dunn didn't mock him to his face. Instead, he just tossed out a casual, "What's in it for me?"
Roy replied, "You get to kick Michael Eisner out. Isn't that enough? I know Eisner's been using Disney's muscle and channels to box you in. If we team up and take him down, doesn't that lighten the load on Dunn Films?"
Dunn blinked, playing dumb. "Load? What load?"
Roy snapped, "The pressure from Disney, obviously!"
Dunn smirked, half-amused, half-annoyed, shaking his head. "Mr. Disney, I think you've got it twisted. Maybe last year Disney could've rattled me a bit, but this year? They're not even a blip on my radar."
"You…" Roy's face darkened, like he'd been slapped with an insult. "You don't have to act tough. Disney's power isn't something a kid like you can wrap your head around."
Dunn finally let the laugh slip. "Yeah, I'm young, but I'm not clueless about the world. I've rubbed shoulders with plenty of big shots—Murdoch from News Corp, Redstone from Viacom, Conrad Black, Jack Welch. I've dealt with them all."
"Disney's got clout, sure, I won't deny that. But so what? My beef with Eisner's been out in the open for ages. He's been gunning for me all year—big deal. This year's North American box office? Unsinkable and Mr. & Mrs. Smith are running the show. No offense, but Disney's movies are a joke!"
"Mr. Disney, you're an elder, and I respect that. But you're overrating Disney's pull and underrating what I've got. I'll say it again: Disney, Eisner, whatever—they don't faze me. I've got the confidence and the chops!"
Roy's expression turned stormy, his voice heavy. "So… you're saying you won't work with me? If you're not serious, why even show up?"
"No, no, no—I've always been up for a deal. The real question, Mr. Disney, is where's your sincerity?" Dunn locked eyes with him, not giving an inch.
Roy growled, "Me showing up in person is my sincerity!"
"Hahaha!" Dunn let out a loud, unfiltered laugh—rude as hell. "Mr. Disney, you must be living in a dream world! I've been schooling Disney's top dog left and right. Their stock's tanked from a high of $34.8 on May 22nd to $29.1 now. Let's get this straight: I'm the chairman of Dunn Films. I'm Dunn Walker!"
"You… you…" Roy was so mad he couldn't even speak.
Dunn didn't rush off. He just leaned back, took a sip of the rich, bitter coffee—bitter at first, but it left a lingering warmth on his tongue.
After a long pause, Roy finally muttered, "What's your game here?"
Dunn shrugged lightly. "I've said it before—I'm in for a partnership. Taking down Eisner? To borrow your line, me making time to meet you today is my sincerity."
Roy gritted his teeth. "Then you've got to agree to my three terms. Otherwise, we've got no shot at ousting him!"
Dunn's face hardened, his tone icy. "Mr. Disney, if you're still pushing those pie-in-the-sky demands, this deal's off the table!"
Roy frowned, sensing Dunn's pushback. He sighed, softening a bit. "Eisner's grip on Disney—his status, his authority—it's beyond what you can imagine! Even I don't have the juice to sway the shareholders into firing him. The only way is to show them clear, tangible benefits to dumping him."
Dunn shot back, "So you're squeezing those benefits out of me? Using my perks to sell the shareholders on axing Eisner?"
Roy gave a small nod.
Dunn's voice rose sharply. "Then who's guaranteeing my interests?!"
"You'd get Disney's goodwill," Roy said, baffled by Dunn's anger. "We'd be partners. You'd lose Eisner as a rival—isn't that enough?"
Dunn laughed—a wild, reckless sound. "Disney's goodwill? I couldn't care less! Partner with Disney? My current partners are Time Warner, News Corp, Vivendi Universal—which one's weaker than Disney? As for Eisner? Hmph, that clown's never even been on my mind!"
Roy swallowed his fury, his face like steel. "That's the foundation of this deal—the prerequisite to taking Eisner out. If you can't handle it, we're done talking."
Dunn smirked, a mix of disdain and swagger. "Eisner? Heh, Mr. Disney, no offense, but maybe he's a big deal to you. To me? He's a cockroach. Taking him out's a breeze—nothing like the mountain you're making it."
"Kid, you're full of hot air!" Roy's voice was cold, a warning.
Dunn shrugged it off, unfazed. "Back when I said Titanic would clear $1.5 billion, people called me cocky. When I said I'd save Marvel, they laughed. When I said I had a game-changer for Hollywood? Well, co-investment's the hottest thing in town now!"
Roy went quiet. For a while, the press had painted Dunn as brash, loud, and reckless. But over the last couple years, that chatter had died down. A lot of what he'd said—crazy as it sounded—had come true.
After a long silence, Roy raised an eyebrow. "How would you do it?"
Dunn grinned, amused. "Mr. Disney, you don't think I'm just gonna spill it, do you? This is a partnership, a trade—not me handing you a freebie!"
Roy's eyes narrowed to slits. It hit him: Dunn probably already had a plan to topple Eisner. Whether he ran Disney or not didn't matter much to Dunn—he just couldn't be bothered to act. If Roy brought enough to the table, Dunn might casually step in, knock Eisner out, and let Disney's new leader steer the kiddie kingdom into a fresh era.
Roy took a deep breath, locking eyes with Dunn. "What do you want?"
A smile crept onto Dunn's face—not the polished, professional one or the cold sneer, but a smug, victorious grin. "My terms? Not too tough, but not exactly simple either. Heh."
"Lay it out."
"You're the head of Disney Animation, right? Loads of sway there. I want… adaptation rights to all of Disney's animated films from the past 50 years."
"You… you're out of your mind!" Roy went from shock to rage, trembling with anger.
Disney's animated films were the company's crown jewels! The resorts, parks, channel, merchandise—everything leaned on those classics from decades past. They were a generation's nostalgia, Disney's symbol, its soul! If Roy's three demands were a long shot, Dunn's ask was flat-out delusional!
But Dunn didn't see it that way. He calmly sipped his coffee, acting like it was all perfectly reasonable.
After a while, he looked up to find Roy still fuming. Dunn chuckled. "Mr. Disney, if this is a partnership, a deal, we've both gotta bring real sincerity. Eisner's your big headache right now. Disney's animated films? They're what I've got my heart set on. From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to this year's Atlantis: The Lost Empire—not counting the three Pixar releases—that's 49 films. I want them all!"
Roy ground his teeth. "You think that's possible? Even if I agreed, the board wouldn't. The shareholders wouldn't! Those films are Disney's most precious assets!"
"No, no, no, Mr. Disney—you've got it wrong. I don't want ownership of the films. Just the adaptation rights."
Dunn's friendly smile hid a sly, cunning edge. Disney had never been great at live-action—aside from early Jerry Bruckheimer collabs, their best stuff came from remaking animated classics. Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book—these feminist-friendly, critically acclaimed, box-office-smashing live-action adaptations were a goldmine series. Dunn had already nabbed the Pirates of the Caribbean and was eyeing National Treasure. Why not scoop up the even bigger animated remake slate while he was at it?