Half an hour later, Dunn managed to cool off his emotions. Only then did he pick up the phone on his desk and dial a number—Tom Rothman, the CEO of Twentieth Century Fox.
"Tom, about Nat… you know, right?"
Dunn's tone was calm, but beneath that calm, there was a hint of ice.
Tom Rothman had been burned by Dunn too many times to want to mess with this troublemaker again. He quickly explained, "Dunn, I know about it, but… there's nothing I can do."
"Nothing you can do?" Dunn's voice carried a touch of mockery.
Rothman said, "I'm the CEO of Twentieth Century Fox. I have to look out for the company's interests. And… you know I come from an administrative background. I don't meddle much with movie content—that's all handled by the production department."
Dunn replied coolly, "So you're just going to sit there and watch my girlfriend get kicked out of the crew by Tom Cruise?"
"No, no, no, it's not 'kicked out,' heh, it's just normal collaboration stuff. Besides… I'll make sure the crew pays Miss Portman some compensation."
Dunn let out a cold laugh. "You think I'm short on cash?"
Rothman sighed. "Dunn, let me be straight with you. I got word of this two days ago, and my first instinct was to stop it. But I can't call all the shots alone. Minority Report has seven production companies involved—not just Twentieth Century Fox, but also Tom Cruise's production company, Legendary Pictures, DreamWorks, Amblin Entertainment, Blue Tulip Productions, and Ronald Shusett & Gary Goodman's outfit. Their investment is all riding on Tom Cruise."
Dunn's response was flat. "And Steven feels the same way?"
"He…" Rothman paused. "He probably didn't object."
Dunn gave a cold snort. "Got it!"
He hung up and immediately called Steven Spielberg, his tone far from polite. "Steven, I need an explanation!"
"Is this… about Miss Portman?"
"Sounds like you're well aware."
Dunn's words dripped with sarcasm.
Spielberg, one of Hollywood's most iconic directors and a living legend, wasn't thrilled with Dunn's tone. He said gravely, "Dunn, you're a director too. I always thought… you'd understand this."
"Understand?" Dunn scoffed. "I don't understand! Unless I'm remembering wrong, we agreed six months ago that Natalie would play the female lead."
Spielberg replied, "True, I did promise that. But I also said I'm just the director. The biggest production entity here is Twentieth Century Fox—they're the ones with real decision-making power! We all know Natalie's your girlfriend, but movies are movies. Her box office draw… it's not even in the same league as Tom Cruise!"
"Steven, are you going back on your word?"
"I never went back on anything. I don't speak for the whole crew, though, and the crew has to prioritize future profits."
Dunn's lip curled. "I've never thought profits outweigh promises!"
Spielberg adjusted his tone. "Dunn, I'll say it again—I'm just the director on this project. DreamWorks' investment share isn't even as big as Tom Cruise's production company. So you should know I don't have much say in this."
"Then who does?"
"Twentieth Century Fox, obviously!"
Dunn laughed in exasperation. "Steven, you're playing this deflection game like a pro!"
"Deflection?"
Spielberg clearly didn't catch the reference right away.
"Hmph!" Dunn's reaction was icy. "Steven, I'm really disappointed with how you're handling this!"
With that, he hung up without a shred of courtesy.
One Tom Rothman, one Steven Spielberg—both were masters at this game. With all their experience, their skill at dodging responsibility was top-notch.
After mulling it over for a bit, Dunn decided to confront the core of the issue head-on: Tom Cruise!
Even now, Dunn didn't believe Tom Cruise would dare challenge his authority. Maybe the production team just thought Natalie wasn't right for the lead role and used it as an excuse.
He called Bryan Lord at CAA and learned that Tom Cruise had jumped ship to ICM three months ago. His new agent was his cousin, Lee DeWitt.
Dunn got the picture pretty quickly.
Family agents might seem like they'd take better care of their clients and prioritize their interests.
But in reality, it's like a family-run business—more cons than pros.
Dunn got Lee DeWitt's number and called her up.
"Hello, this is Lee. Who's this?"
"Dunn."
"Dunn?"
"Dunn Walker!"
Lee DeWitt's tone shifted instantly. "Dunn Walker? You… you're that director?"
Dunn wasn't in the mood to chat. "You know about the Minority Report project, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Tom Cruise pushed my girlfriend out?"
Lee calmed herself down, picking up on the accusation in Dunn's voice. After a pause, she said slowly, "Mr. Walker, this is about the Minority Report crew. It doesn't really… involve you, does it?"
"Huh?"
Dunn was stunned. He couldn't believe someone in Hollywood still dared to talk to him like that.
Tom Cruise's new agent had about as much emotional intelligence as he did!
"Mr. Walker, I know you're a big deal, and I can't afford to cross you. But movie business is movie business, right? It's all about the rules of the game."
Lee might've been older, but she was new to Hollywood and had that fearless newbie vibe. "The market decides everything. Tom's got more pull, more fame, and more influence than Miss Portman. The Minority Report crew should revolve around him, don't you think?"
She seemed to think Hollywood's commercial market worked the same way as the cosmetics marketing world she came from—almost like she was schooling Dunn.
Dunn laughed despite himself. "So Tom Cruise gets to shove other people aside?"
Lee said matter-of-factly, "People love Tom more—that's just the truth. I feel bad about what happened to Miss Natalie… really. Tom's the male lead, though, and he needs a female lead he can work with. Miss Portman… she's too tall."
"Ha!"
This time, Dunn couldn't hold it in—he burst out laughing.
Natalie, too tall?
It was the funniest thing he'd ever heard!
Out of all the girls Dunn had dated, aside from his little secretary Isla Fisher, Natalie was the most petite.
And yet Lee DeWitt had the nerve to pull out such a ridiculous excuse, saying she was too tall to work with Tom Cruise. What a load of nonsense—wait a sec!
Tom Cruise's height…
Okay, fine. Next to that superstar, Natalie might actually seem tall enough.
"Mr. Walker, anything else on your mind?" Lee sounded annoyed by Dunn's unrestrained laughter.
Dunn shook his head, his voice cool. "I'll give you one last chance. You're sticking with this call?"
"What?"
Lee was furious now. "Mr. Walker, are you threatening me? I respect that you're a big-shot director, but if you think you can bully a newcomer like this, I'm not just going to roll over! Don't forget, I'm Tom Cruise's agent—and his cousin!"
Dunn was equal parts amused and irritated. He hung up without another word.
The free market economy had clearly filled this naive woman's head with mush.
Hollywood, a free market?
Sure, you could say that—until a big player steps in.
Now that Dunn was personally involved, and this clueless woman was still yapping away, did she really think he couldn't touch Tom Cruise?
Yeah, Tom Cruise was a megastar!
Even if Dunn's studio wouldn't work with him, other companies would be tripping over themselves to sign him and kiss his feet.
Like Spielberg, Tom didn't have the juice to take Dunn head-on, but he could at least sidestep him.
What they didn't realize, though, was how Dunn became Dunn. He had something no one else did—a secret weapon up his sleeve!