Truth is, everyone's pretty sharp around here.
In the business world, there aren't any forever allies—just forever interests.
Even with all the friction in the past, Dunn never completely ruled out working with Tom Rossman. Sure, the guy's just a Fox president with his power seriously trimmed, but the influence, connections, and info he still controls? Dunn's little film company can't even dream of matching that!
"Look, even if you've got enough cash to buy Marvel, do you have enough left to actually make movies?"
Tom Rossman, that sly old fox, went straight for Dunn's weak spot.
And yeah, money's a real headache for Dunn right now. He's sitting on Yahoo stock worth over $500 million, but unless it's a last resort, there's no way he's selling. Use it for a loan? *Spider-Man*'s gonna take at least a year and a half to shoot, promote, and release before any cash rolls back in. But those Yahoo shares? He's gotta offload them by early next year. Talk about a timing mess!
What about raising funds from other sources? Superhero movies are in a total ice age right now—no one's betting on them. Even if some big-shot investor's crazy enough to jump in, Dunn's not about to let them. *Spider-Man*'s a guaranteed hit, and giving someone else a piece of that? That's basically charity, and Dunn's not in the mood to play Santa!
There's one more option: pre-selling rights. You know, cashing in early by selling off rights to places like Japan, the UK, Germany, France, or Australia to cover production costs. But that's just another flavor of giving money away, and Dunn's not having it.
He flashed a little grin. "Think you could help me out with this one, Mr. Rossman? Oh, and by the way, my movie's my baby—I don't want anyone else tossing in cash. I'm doing this my way."
Tom saw right through Dunn's solo act. This kid's got some serious confidence! Shaking his head, he asked, "Your new flick—what kind of budget are you looking at?"
Dunn's got a sweet 15% cut of *Star Wars*' global box office, plus a guaranteed payday from *Wedding Crashers*. Fox could front him a few tens of millions, no sweat.
"Rough guess… about $150 million."
"What?!"
Tom's jaw practically hit the floor while Dunn just sat there, cool as a cucumber.
This Dunn Walker guy—his ambition's off the charts! $150 million for a superhero movie? You're either nuts or… well, nuts!
Tom's the one pushing *X-Men*, a flick with a dozen heroes, and even that's only clocking in at around $70 million. Dunn's either way too full of himself or onto something huge.
Staring at Dunn for a sec, Tom realized he wasn't joking. Swallowing hard, the old fox kept his cool. No point in talking him out of it—if Dunn crashes and burns, it's all upside for Tom anyway!
"That's a lot of cash. Might be tough to pull off," Tom said, frowning like he was really worried.
Dunn chuckled. "Yeah, I know it's a stretch. That's why I'm thinking of chatting with Bill soon—see if he's got any bright ideas. $150 million's a monster for Dunn Films, but for Twentieth Century Fox? I bet it's no biggie."
Tom cursed under his breath—"Little fox!"—but kept a warm smile plastered on. "Sure, it's a hefty sum, but not impossible. You've got *Wedding Crashers*' rights, plus future video sales from *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*. And that *Star Wars* 15% split? That's some serious cash too."
Dunn smirked, playing along. "Oh? So it's not that hard after all?"
Tom's face flushed a bit. Coughing, he said, "Well, it's not *easy*, but there's a way."
"You'd help me out?"
"Of course!" Tom beamed with confidence, offering Dunn a cigar. When Dunn waved it off, Tom set it aside. "Fox could advance you some of that split upfront. Then, through some financial wizardry, we use the future earnings from those three films as collateral to loan the rest. Problem solved!"
He made it sound simple, but that's Fox's muscle talking. If Dunn tried pulling that off solo, it'd be a nightmare.
"Sounds like a lot of hassle. I'd hate to put you through that," Dunn said, waving his hands like he was doing Tom a favor. "Nah, I'll just bug Bill instead. He owes me a couple favors anyway."
Tom's teeth were grinding behind that smile. "This little fox is greedy as hell!" he thought. He knew exactly what Dunn was up to—Bill Mechanic could snap his fingers and make those loans happen, maybe even through AA. Why team up with Tom?
It all came down to *Wedding Crashers*' distribution rights. Tom *needed* them. It wouldn't boost him much, but it'd sure as heck keep Bill and Dunn from getting too cozy.
For that, Tom had to sweeten the pot.
Taking a deep breath, he grinned. "Dunn, you snagged Marvel—guess you're pretty into superheroes, huh?"
"Oh yeah, grew up obsessed with comics. Marvel's my jam."
"I heard a little rumor you bought back *Fantastic Four*'s rights?"
Dunn laughed. "Yup! Took $5 million to crack those stubborn Germans. Tough negotiators!"
Tom felt a twinge of regret. *Fantastic Four*'s a big deal—right behind *X-Men* and *The Avengers*. He'd planned to swoop in and grab it from Constantin Film after *X-Men* hit big, but Dunn beat him to it.
Still, that was a win for Tom too. Dunn's Marvel obsession? That's his ticket to reel him in!
"Heh, back when Marvel was in the dumps, they sold off a ton of hero rights. I made sure Fox grabbed some too," Tom said, giving Dunn a knowing look.
Dunn burst out laughing. "Mr. Rossman, you planning to send those heroes home?"
Tom shook his head hard. "No way. *X-Men*'s already greenlit—shooting starts soon."
Dunn shrugged casually. "Then we've got nothing to talk about."
This was his one shot. Once *Spider-Man* drops, whether *X-Men* flops or flies, Marvel's never getting those mutant rights back.
"Hear me out," Tom said, waving a hand. "Back in '94, we snagged that series' film rights. Marvel was weak, so we pushed some harsh terms—like no mentions of mutants or X-Men in any other Marvel flick."
Dunn's eyes lit up. He got it—Tom was dangling a piece of *X-Men*'s rights to trade for *Wedding Crashers*' distribution!
Jackpot! Absolute jackpot!
Dunn had given up on ever getting *X-Men* back, but here was a twist he didn't see coming. He'd only made *Wedding Crashers* to rake in some cash—who knew it'd turn into this kind of leverage?
He knew this was Bill and Tom's power struggle at play, but he didn't care. All he cared about was Marvel!
"Yeah, that old deal basically handed Fox everything tied to *X-Men*. Kinda overkill," Dunn said. "Lots of those heroes aren't even mutants—like Deadpool or Daredevil."
"Exactly!" Tom nodded, all smiles. "I figure it's time to send some of those sidekicks back to Marvel." He had Dunn pegged and the upper hand now. *Wedding Crashers*' rights? Locked in.
"That'd be awesome!" Dunn said, buzzing with excitement. Then he pushed his luck. "Oh, by the way, Deadpool was part of this group called 'Weapon X' with some mutants. For his story to stay solid, maybe Marvel could take that back too?"
Tom's eyebrow twitched. Greedy little fox. "Uh, not sure about that one. Need to dig into it. But if it's tied to codenames and genes, splitting it from *X-Men* might be tricky, right?"
Dunn laughed it off. "Oh, maybe? I'm no expert. How about this—once the Marvel buyout's done, I'll send some pros to hash it out with you. Sound good?"
Tom stuck out his hand. "Deal! Looking forward to working together."
"Same here!"
Dunn gave him a firm handshake, sealing the deal.
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