The youngest Best Director in Golden Globe history!
Dunn Walker's name was plastered across the front pages of every major American outlet once again.
During an interview, the Golden Globes spokesperson didn't hold back, subtly throwing shade at the Oscars. "The Golden Globes aim for transparency, fairness, and impartiality in our selections. We don't care about seniority or age—if your work is exceptional, you'll walk away with the prize!"
The Golden Globes had long insisted they weren't just a stepping stone for the Oscars, and this time, they doubled down, using Dunn Walker as their poster boy to challenge the Academy head-on.
Media outlets buzzed with speculation: Would the Oscars dare break tradition and hand the Best Director award to a 20-year-old kid?
Before this, the youngest Best Director winner in Oscar history went all the way back to the first-ever Academy Awards. Back then, 32-year-old Louis Milestone snagged Best Comedy Director for *Two Arabian Knights*.
But that was ages ago! The rules, the film output, the mindset—looking back, a lot of it feels pretty absurd. Even so, the youngest Oscar-winning director was still 32.
A guy not even 20 taking home the Best Director statuette? Yeah, that'd be a stretch.
"Oscar Dunn" became the hottest topic in America that year, overshadowing even the Asian financial crisis.
Dunn, though, wasn't sweating the media frenzy. What caught his eye was a chaotic piece in the *Boston Globe* with the headline: "Genius Director Steals the Spotlight Again, While the Legendary Prodigy Crashes and Burns."
"Last year, Dunn Walker's *Titanic* and Steven Spielberg's *Jurassic Park 2* went head-to-head at the box office. We all know how that turned out—*Titanic* raked in over $1.8 billion worldwide, dominating 1997! Meanwhile, *Jurassic Park 2*? A measly $590 million globally, not even touching *Titanic*'s North American haul."
"For the past two decades, Steven Spielberg has been untouchable at the box office—until now. For the first time in his career, he's facing a crisis, beaten by a 19-year-old kid! But that's just the beginning!"
"At yesterday's Golden Globes, Steven brought his passion project *Amistad* to challenge Dunn's *Titanic*, hoping to settle the score after last year's box office defeat. But guess what? On this massive stage, Dunn Walker and *Titanic* cleaned house!"
"Not only did *Titanic* snag major awards like Best Motion Picture – Drama, but it also crushed Spielberg's comeback attempt, with Dunn walking away with Best Director! After losing to Dunn at the box office, Spielberg took another L at the awards!"
"The rising genius Dunn Walker is claiming his throne with unstoppable momentum, while the once-legendary Steven Spielberg is relegated to the background, watching Dunn's streak of wins! Spielberg's glory days are fading—looks like the future belongs to the young guns!"
Reading that article, Dunn slammed his desk in frustration.
He'd been working hard to mend things with Spielberg, and now the media was pouring fuel on the fire. How was a Hollywood icon like Spielberg, a Jewish titan who'd dominated the industry for 20 years, supposed to take this lying down?
Spielberg's love and passion for filmmaking were undeniable. Dunn would rather go toe-to-toe with deep-pocketed capitalists than cross this respected film artist.
But the way things were looking… not great, huh?
Just then, market analyst Andrew O'Hare strolled into his office, buzzing with excitement. "Boss, we secured the TV rights for *The Dark Tower*!"
"Oh?" Dunn's eyes lit up.
So far, Dunn Films had nabbed the movie rights for *Girl, Interrupted*, *A Beautiful Mind*, and *My Week with Marilyn* at reasonable prices.
Stephen King's *The Green Mile*, though? They were asking $3 million, which scared off Manola Dagis.
But to think they'd actually land the rights to Stephen King's hottest, bestselling work, *The Dark Tower*—that was a shock.
Andrew O'Hare grinned. "The price… might surprise you. Nineteen dollars."
"Say what? $1.9 million, right?" Dunn thought he'd misheard.
Andrew shook his head, dead serious. "Nope, 19 bucks! If the TV series gets made, Stephen King gets an extra 3% profit share."
"That doesn't add up. That's way too cheap!" Dunn couldn't believe it.
Andrew explained, "The movie rights for *The Dark Tower* were actually sold years ago to Imagine Entertainment, also for 19 bucks, but with a 5% cut. Stephen King figures turning it into a TV show would cost at least $50 million a season—too much hassle—so he lowered the share he's asking for."
Dunn laughed. "Sounds like this Stephen guy isn't just chasing cash. What about *A Song of Ice and Fire*?"
That was what he really cared about. The asking price for *The Chronicles of Narnia*—"$10 million plus 10% profit share"—was way out of his budget right now. He'd have to circle back later.
"George R.R. Martin… he's a stubborn old coot," Andrew said with a wry smile. "He used to be a screenwriter, but movies couldn't handle his massive world-building, so he turned to writing novels. Movie rights? He flat-out won't sell."
Turning *A Song of Ice and Fire* into a movie was unthinkable to Dunn, but with Andrew's 97-point market savvy, he shouldn't be making such a rookie mistake, right?
"Andrew, you really think *A Song of Ice and Fire* works as a movie?"
"Totally!" Andrew said like it was obvious. "The first book, *A Game of Thrones*, is out now, and you can already see the potential. 'Ice' stands for the White Walkers in the northern wastes; 'Fire' is the dragons down south. Ice zombies versus fire dragons, humans against the undead, good versus evil—it's a goldmine for movie ticket sales!"
Dunn started to get where Andrew was coming from. "So you're saying… don't adapt the main story, do a spin-off?"
Andrew chuckled at Dunn's phrasing. "Yeah, the main story… it's too long, too slow. A movie would tank. But a spin-off—or a prequel—something like epic good-versus-evil battles with stunning visuals? That'd blow people's minds."
Then he sighed. "But George R.R. Martin's got that stubborn streak… convincing him won't be easy."
"Alright, then let's just go for the TV rights," Dunn said, settling for the next best thing. The TV adaptation of this story practically reshaped the global landscape, status, and impact of American TV single-handedly!
Andrew looked bitter. "He won't sell the TV rights either. Says Dunn Films is too small-time, doesn't even have a network. He wants a bigger player to partner with."
Dunn rolled his eyes, annoyed. "This old geezer, looking down on us! Fine, keep tabs on it, stay in the loop. Whether it's movie rights or TV rights, I want this one!"
That afternoon, Dunn Walker headed to CAA to sign a new contract, officially becoming one of their directors again.
Sure, they'd had some rough patches before, but Brian Lord had won back Dunn's trust. Plus, they'd need to work closely on the upcoming Marvel acquisition.
Especially with the *Blade* production—word was the budget had ballooned to $65 million…
Marvel's hopes were fading fast, vanishing right before their eyes.
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