Chapter 177 - Chapter 176: Stirring the Pot Is Where the Fun’s At  

This year, Dunn Films has been pumping money into quite a few projects. 

Steven Soderbergh's ** kicked off in early April. If it stays on track, it'll wrap in about a month. They're eyeing a release late this December or maybe early next year. 

Ang Lee's *

Here's a fun tidbit: George Lucas is prepping **, so Industrial Light & Magic is swamped. James Cameron's got a new flick in the works, keeping Digital Domain busy. And the ** trilogy's still in post-production, so Weta Digital's slammed too. After some back-and-forth with Warner Bros., *'s* post-production is being split between Weta in New Zealand and Rhythm & Hues in the States. 

Just greenlit, ** has Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau training hard—guns, dancing, stunts. Sophie's been wiped out every day, barely able to muster the energy to fool around with Dunn. Lucky for him, two Brazilian bombshells stepped in, their sultry charm and eager efforts sending him to cloud nine. 

**'s script has been rewritten seven times already, and neither Dunn nor Luc Besson is happy yet. It's still being tweaked, so shooting won't start until August at the earliest. 

Meanwhile, the ** crew's already in Europe. Gun coaches and military instructors are putting the actors through rigorous drills. This TV series boasts a dream team of producers: Steven Spielberg, Dunn Walker, and Tom Hanks—talk about star power! 

That said, Spielberg and Dunn are producers in name only—aka, the money guys. Tom Hanks is the real driving force. He kicked off the project, handpicked the cast and directors, and he's heading to Europe to live with the crew and co-create the show. Word is, he might even direct an episode or two himself. 

But right now, Dunn Films' top priority is **, hitting theaters in just eight days! 

… 

Disney's live-action movies have always been their weak spot. 

Good thing they scooped up Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures back in the '80s—it gave them a lifeline. By the '90s, they teamed up with ace producer Jerry Bruckheimer and churned out hits like **, **, and **. 

This live-action breakthrough turned Touchstone's chairman, Joe Roth, into Disney CEO Michael Eisner's golden boy. He got bumped up to president of Disney's film division, overseeing all their live-action projects. 

To boost his numbers last year, he had Bruce Willis take potshots at **, hoping to trick audiences into buying tickets for **. Sure, it sparked a feud with Dunn, but Joe wasn't fazed. 

What's a little Dunn Films gonna do to Disney? 

Plus, Twentieth Century Fox jumped in too. Joe and Fox's Tom Rothman go way back. When Dunn didn't play nice, Joe didn't hesitate—he teamed up with Fox to take down Dunn Films and their upcoming **. 

Since Joe's tight with Michael Eisner, he got the green light to unleash Disney's PR machine against Dunn during that crisis. 

But then—bam!—the tables turned. 

Not only did Dunn weather the storm, but with some clever multi-front promotion, his fame and clout shot through the roof! 

Now Joe Roth's in hot water. 

To kneecap **, he'd shuffled Disney's summer blockbuster ** to clash with it, banking on Fox's help to deliver a knockout blow. 

What a joke that looks like now! 

** hasn't even dropped yet, and it's already the talk of the nation—hotter than Tom Cruise's current box office champ, **. 

A movie like that? Even Satan himself couldn't stop it. 

Still, Joe's situation isn't like Tom Rothman's at Fox. Before Joe, Disney's live-action slate was a ghost town—he's the guy who turned it around, and he's got Eisner's full backing. Rothman, though? He took over Fox after Bill Mechanic's four-year streak of North American box office champs—**, **, **, and **. 

So Joe's got less heat on him. He can think clearer, make smarter calls, always putting Disney first—especially with Eisner there to catch him if he stumbles. 

**'s an unsolvable puzzle right now. Any movie going up against it is toast—just like ** crushed everything last year. 

But Joe hasn't given up yet! 

** isn't some dud. With Jerry Bruckheimer producing and Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie starring, it's a slick, action-packed ride. 

No matter how unstoppable ** looks, it can't hog the *whole* market, right? Even scraps are better than starving and losing it all. 

How hot can it get? At its peak, it'll grab maybe 70% of the screens—leaving 30% up for grabs. 

Joe knows even Disney's muscle can't strong-arm theaters into cutting **'s showings at this point. 

So he's down to one play: if he can't take down the big fish, he'll gobble up all the little shrimp. 

That 30% screen share? He's gotta lock down as much of it as he can. 

Joe buzzed his secretary. "What else is hitting theaters around the same time?" 

She came back fast with the rundown. "Thirteen films total. Aside from some low-budget previews and test runs, four stand out as real competition: our ** on June 21st, Dunn's ** on June 22nd, a British animated flick ** on June 23rd, and Fox's ** on June 24th." 

"**?" Joe smirked. "What's some stiff, quirky Brit cartoon gonna do? Different audience anyway—no threat to us." 

The secretary sighed. "Yeah, the real problem's **." 

"**?" Joe shook his head. "Look, only someone on your level can threaten you. If the gap's too wide and you're still sweating it, you're dreaming." 

She caught on. "So you're saying ** isn't up against **?" 

"Exactly! Our rival's **! Snag its market share, and even if ** cleans up, the spillover crowd'll keep us in the black." 

"But us and Fox…" 

Joe cut her off with a wave. "Business is business, personal's personal, and money's money!" 

… 

Dunn stretched lazily, letting out a huge yawn as he wandered downstairs. 

Those two Brazilian supermodels had been a blast—pure ecstasy—but man, they'd drained him dry. 

Good thing Nicole Kidman moved out after Cannes, ending their wild 16-month cohabitation circus. 

He poked around seven or eight rooms before spotting Sophie Marceau in the gym, looking stunning as ever. She was sprawled on a foam mat, cranking out sit-ups. 

"Working hard, huh?" Dunn said, surprised. 

Sophie flashed a smile over her shoulder. "Gotta shape up—art director's orders." 

"You're killing it," Dunn said, yawning again. "Don't wear yourself out today, though. Come back early—I'm crashing at your place tonight." 

Sophie teased, "What, Mr. Big Shot can't handle two women anymore?" 

Dunn grinned. "Nah, it's not that. They're heading back to New York today—model gigs, you know, that's their turf." 

"Oh." Sophie pouted. "So I'm just the backup when there's no one else?" 

Dunn wasn't in the mood to bicker. "Seen the paper? Any news today?" 

In an era before smartphones and widespread internet, newspapers still ruled the news game. 

"There's one thing," Sophie said. "A bunch of old Drew Barrymore scandals popped up out of nowhere, and they're all trashing Fox's new movie." She paused, eyeing Dunn. "You didn't cook this up, did you?" 

Dunn scoffed. "That petty, small-time crap? Who else but Disney would stoop that low?" 

"Disney?" Sophie blinked, caught off guard. 

"Forgot how they smeared me a month ago? Whatever, you wouldn't get Hollywood anyway." Dunn waved it off and left the gym. 

Back in his study, he grabbed the phone. "George, get that Bruce Willis story out—now. By tomorrow, I want every American knowing he cheated during his marriage!" 

Disney's clearly playing dirty to prop up **'s box office. 

Dunn wasn't sure how Fox would clap back, but hitting Bruce Willis now could plant a seed—make Disney wonder if this was Fox striking back. 

Heh, stirring the pot? That's where the real fun's at!