Suddenly, the office door swung open, revealing the flushed, excited face of Dunn's assistant, Isla Fisher. "Dunn, great news!"
Cameron wasn't an outsider, so she didn't think twice about barging in.
Dunn waved her over. "What's up?"
"Hot off the press—Disney just fired Richard Cook, the head of their production department, after Pearl Harbor and Atlantis: The Lost Empire tanked at the box office! Dunn, that's two Disney production chiefs down!"
Isla was practically bouncing with glee, like she might jump for joy.
Dunn, though, just chuckled quietly.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"
"Nah, it's not that. I'm just marveling at how Roy Disney—that old geezer—flopped again!"
Dunn sighed, leaving Isla looking puzzled.
Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Dunn, what's going on?"
"A few days ago, the Disney old man called me up, asking for my help. He wanted to make a move inside Disney to take down Michael Eisner in one fell swoop. I turned him down. Looks like his plan fell apart, and now Eisner's pinned the blame on another production exec."
Dunn shrugged, pretty relaxed about it.
Roy Disney's failure was good news for him. If Michael Eisner went down that easily, how was Dunn supposed to cash in on Disney's assets?
Disney had a ton of stuff he'd been eyeing.
Isla's face fell when she heard this. "Oh… that Michael Eisner's such a jerk!"
Dunn waved it off with a grin. "Winning or losing isn't decided in a day. The old guy's washed up, but we're still young, right? We'll take it slow!"
The mention of "old guy" made Cameron's heart skip a beat. Once Isla left, he lowered his voice, sounding cautious. "Dunn, I heard… you stirred up trouble again?"
"Trouble?" Dunn blinked. "What do you mean?"
Cameron frowned. "Word's going around that a real industry veteran's pretty pissed about something you did."
"Oh?" Dunn caught on quick and smirked. "What else did you hear?"
Cameron stared him down, not blinking. "Old Mr. Douglas?"
"Haha!"
Dunn let out a loud, cocky laugh, tinged with disdain. "Yep, that old fossil thought he could lecture me. I gave him a piece of my mind!"
"You what?"
Cameron's face changed in a flash, his jaw clenching like he was mad Dunn couldn't see sense. He jabbed a finger toward Dunn's face. "You… you… Dunn! Are you out of your mind?"
Dunn froze, then raised an eyebrow. "James, isn't that a bit dramatic? He's just some old guy with one foot in the grave. What's so scary about him?"
"You!" Cameron shook his head repeatedly. "What's the most important thing in Hollywood? Not piles of cash, not blockbuster hits—it's connections!"
Dunn smirked, unbothered. "That's not entirely true, is it? This time last year, I was up against a joint attack from 20th Century Fox and Disney. Now? Fox backed off, and Disney's sacked two production heads in a row."
"Sure, that's market competition," Cameron said warily, "but Hollywood… there's a puppet master pulling strings behind the scenes. Haven't you noticed?"
Dunn paused, thinking it over.
True, beyond the obvious rules of market competition, Hollywood had a bunch of unwritten codes.
Those insider rules were the real foundation for networking and surviving in this town.
Everyone knows movies rake in huge returns—over 5,000 film companies operate in Hollywood.
But aside from the Big Six and thirteen established indie studios, the rest are just background noise. Getting a movie released on VHS is a win for them.
Theaters? Dream on!
Hollywood's a game of capital, sure—but even more, it's a game of connections.
Money from the Middle East, Asia, or Wall Street? Plenty of it, but useless here!
You want to play in Hollywood, you follow Hollywood's rules.
Cameron's nervous vibe made Dunn realize this might be serious. He quickly called in Bill McNickle.
Dunn Films had been swamped lately. Besides prepping Every Hour and Chicago for production, Pirates League: Curse of the Black Pearl, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Spider-Man 2 were all in the middle of shooting.
Bill had just flown back from the UK and had no clue what was up.
Dunn cut to the chase. "I chewed out Kirk Douglas. What's the fallout?"
Bill's face dropped, his eyes bulging like bells. "Who? Kirk Douglas?"
Dunn rolled his eyes and crossed his legs. "Don't freak out. It's done. That old jerk… he went too far!"
"What happened?"
Bill's brow furrowed tight.
Dunn hesitated, then gave a quick rundown of that day, including his later chat with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
"So… he got the wrong idea about you two?"
"Of course. I don't pull that 'pants up and deny' crap. I didn't do it—nothing happened. We're clean."
Cameron looked stunned. "Dunn, you're saying… nothing went down, but he thinks you insulted the Douglas family's honor?"
"Yeah, that old fool! I didn't even know what was going on, and he just unloaded on me. No way I was taking that." Dunn said it like it was obvious.
Bill glanced at him. "It's been a few days—things should've cleared up by now, right?"
Dunn shrugged casually. "Maybe. There were a bunch of people at that lunch. Catherine only said we hooked up because her husband pissed her off. They've probably figured it out by now."
Bill let out a relieved breath. "If that's the case, it's manageable—just a misunderstanding. I'll reach out, find a couple of middlemen. You apologize to him, and it's over. No big deal."
"Hold up!" Dunn reacted like he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight, his voice rising. "What? Apologize to that old creep? Bill, are you kidding me? He's a dirty old dog—don't tell me you don't know about his scandals!"
Cameron stiffened, looking awkward.
At this point, it was beyond what a director like him could meddle in.
Still, he'd heard some rumors. "Dunn, there's something—don't know if you've heard. Robert Downey Jr., the young one, got arrested at home in April for drugs."
"Robert Downey Jr.?" Dunn frowned. "What's he got to do with this?"
Cameron explained, "He's tight with Natalie Wood's daughter. You know Natalie Wood, right? She had a rough end thanks to old Douglas. Earlier this year, Downey stood up for her, calling out Kirk Douglas in front of the press."
Dunn's eyes widened. "For real?"
Cameron nodded. "The call-out's real. The arrest… people just speculate. You know half the male stars in Hollywood mess with drugs, but who gets busted? Just him!"
Dunn sucked in a sharp breath and turned to Bill. "Is that legit?"
Bill shook his head. "Can't say for sure, but old Douglas has the pull to make it happen. Hollywood's five congressmen are his old buddies."
"Hollywood's congressmen?"
"Two in the Senate, three in the House—all Democrats, representing Hollywood's interests."
Bill's words clicked for Dunn.
U.S. lawmakers all stand for some group's interests, and Hollywood's got its own mouthpieces.
Now it made sense—Hollywood's big "political correctness" obsession with sticking to Democratic principles came from leaning on those Democratic lawmakers.
Cameron added with a heavy tone, "Dunn, this guy… he's not like the others you've tangled with. His network's deeper, wider, stronger!"
Dunn snorted. "So what if he's got congressmen? I don't steal, I don't rob, I never touch anything illegal. Congressman or president—they've got nothing on me!"
Bill chimed in, "True, you're right. He's old, long retired, and has no sway over today's market. Our movies will still sell big—he can't sway the fans. But, Dunn, don't forget: Hollywood walks on two legs!"
Dunn's lips curled slightly. "I know. Box office—and awards."
Bill pleaded, "Sure, the Oscar voters are opening up to the global market, but the core's still Hollywood. For the Oscars, connections matter more than even the movie's quality!"
Dunn narrowed his eyes, but his vibe relaxed. "Sounds like… that old coot's got a big grip on the Academy, huh?"
Bill sighed. "Dunn, you've already pissed off Harvey Weinstein. If you want a shot at the Oscars, you'd better not cross Kirk Douglas too."
Dunn just chilled out more.
Bill and Cameron's tag-team scare had rattled him at first.
He'd thought the old man had some godlike power to tank his business or throw him in jail!
Total overreaction!
Dunn lived carefully—dates with beauties came with six or seven plainclothes bodyguards, and he never touched anything shady.
Robert Downey Jr.? That guy dug his own grave. Fresh out of prison and back on drugs—of course he'd be the one they'd bust to clean up Hollywood's image.
As long as that iron fist couldn't touch Dunn, he was golden.
Foresight, his shades system—he was damn sure he could dominate Hollywood!
Apologize? No freaking way!