**The Plane Lands**
This was Rosarito, a city in northern Mexico.
Four months ago, the production team had purchased a 160,000 square kilometer area here and built a fully-equipped film set.
A large artificial lake had been created on the set, and the famous "Titanic" was docked on its surface.
Even though they were mentally prepared, seeing the massive ship alongside the early 20th-century dock scenery gave everyone a sense of awe and a strange feeling of being transported back in time.
"James, you did an amazing job!" Dunn exclaimed sincerely.
Cameron, with a weathered face, sighed deeply, "The film's budget is indeed huge, but not a single penny from the production was wasted."
Clearly, he was still harboring some resentment about Dunn taking over his role as director.
Dunn shook his head with a smile. "Can we board the ship and take a look?"
Cameron led Dunn aboard, and the sounds of admiration and respectful gazes around him made him feel a bit smug. "The carpets, chairs, layout, and style here were all made according to the standards from a hundred years ago. Many of the props were flown in from England."
Dunn nodded.
Indeed, the massive budget for the film was justified.
"This ship is so beautiful!" Kate Winslet exclaimed. "Dunn, I read in the script that the ship will be destroyed at the end. Is that true?"
Dunn chuckled, "Of course not. That's all done with special effects."
"That's a relief."
Leonardo DiCaprio, sensing something unusual in Kate's tone, whispered, "Hey, have you and Dunn patched things up?"
The two had become close friends, sharing everything with each other. Kate flashed a smile and a hint of pride. "Of course, it was easy!"
"How did you manage that?" Leonardo asked, surprised. He was smart enough not to believe that Dunn was as easygoing as he seemed.
Kate didn't bother hiding anything and whispered, "I went to his room last night."
"Did you stay the night?"
"Mm-hmm."
"No wonder!" Leonardo exclaimed, laughing as he teased, "So, how was Dunn?"
A rare blush appeared on Kate's fair cheeks as she bit her lip and said, "Very strong!"
"Wow!"
Leonardo burst out laughing.
"Don't go spreading this around, though. Dunn wouldn't be happy," Kate cautioned, still careful.
"I know how to keep a secret," Leonardo waved his hand dismissively.
After touring the ship, the crew headed to the hotel to settle into their rooms, with plans to start shooting that afternoon.
As the director, Dunn was naturally assigned the best room. He approached Grant Hill and quietly said, "Arrange for Kate's room to be next to mine."
This was Hollywood, so Grant understood Dunn's implication without surprise. "Just don't let it affect the shoot."
Dunn grinned, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
At that moment, the door was flung open with a bang, and James Cameron stormed in, looking ready for a fight.
"Hey, Jim, what are you doing?" Grant immediately stood up, his expression serious.
"What am I doing?" Cameron, still seething with anger, threw a document onto the couch. "I should be asking what he's doing!"
Grant Hill raised an eyebrow, looking at Dunn, who remained calm. He picked up the document from the couch and realized it was the storyboard script for the film.
Cameron had created this script himself, complete with detailed drawings, making it a work of art.
However...
There were numerous large red crosses slashed across the beautiful drawings, marring them.
"Dunn, did you make these changes?" Grant understood why Cameron was furious.
Dunn responded seriously, "Yes, I spent five consecutive nights working on these."
Grant's tone grew heavy, "Dunn, I think you owe us an explanation."
Cameron gritted his teeth, "You're the director, and I respect your work. But you're just a director—you don't have the right to alter the script!"
This was Hollywood, where the rules were clear.
A director was merely a tool to bring the producer's vision to the screen.
This was why many great directors often took on the role of producer themselves.
Dunn had also researched the system, and in the division of powers between director and producer, editing, writing, post-production, and casting were all under the producer's domain, highlighting the producer's immense power.
In fact, since the 1990s, Hollywood had increasingly moved towards a producer-centered system. Even the biggest directors would not be given final cut rights.
That's why directors like Spielberg and Cameron always served as producers on their films—to retain control over the final cut.
But Dunn was undeterred.
Grant Hill supported him as the official spokesperson, while Cameron had long since fallen out of favor.
If Dunn didn't still feel a tinge of guilt towards Cameron, he would have joined forces with Grant long ago to completely sideline Cameron.
The most important point was that Dunn's changes aligned with Fox's interests, made the crew's work easier, and didn't compromise the film's quality.
"It's simple. In my view, those scenes are unnecessary. They would not only waste a lot of our shooting time but also deplete our budget significantly," Dunn said calmly, gesturing for Cameron to sit down.
He wasn't acting without reason.
A movie's final cut typically involved shooting dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of footage, which would then be trimmed and modified to create the final edit.
A two- or three-hour movie meant that a lot of footage was inevitably wasted.
However, to have more options during post-production, directors and producers often shot excessive footage, regardless of cost, to ensure there were enough options during editing to avoid reshoots.
Especially with someone like Cameron, who was known for his exhaustive shooting process.
Cameron was famous for saying that a film needed to be shot three times!
The first time was in writing the script, the second was during the directing process, and the third was during the final edit.
Even Cameron himself couldn't predict how the final movie would turn out!
But Dunn was different. As a film enthusiast, he had watched the classic masterpiece *Titanic* at least seven or eight times! He already had a template in mind for the final cut.
Since that was the case, why bother filming those unnecessary scenes?
They wasted time, effort, and money!
Cameron's anger hadn't subsided. "Your explanation doesn't convince me!"
"James, do you think we can make the summer release next year if we follow this storyboard script?" Dunn asked, his eyes sharp as he stared at Cameron. "In my shooting plan, we need to finish all scenes by the end of the year, then spend three to four months in post-production, and release in mid-May next year."
**"That's Impossible!"** Cameron immediately rejected the idea. "At our current pace, there's no way we'll finish in two and a half months!"
Dunn chuckled, "That's why we need to revise this storyboard script."
Grant, understanding Dunn's intentions, hesitated but said, "Dunn, even if we're speeding things up, we can't compromise the quality of the film."
"Of course!" Dunn responded confidently, flipping through the storyboard. "Look at this scene—where the protagonist and the supporting male character start fighting over Rose. It's absurd! Not only does it clash with their social statuses, but it also shifts the tone of the film. We're making a beautiful love story, not an action movie! Leonardo isn't Bruce Lee!"
Cameron remained silent, while Grant nodded, "You have a point."
Dunn casually flipped to another page. "And here, in the scene where disaster strikes, it shows the dark side of humanity as people fight with women, children, and the elderly for lifeboats. It's too brutal."
Cameron quickly interjected, "But that's human nature! Earlier, we have noble gentlemen sacrificing themselves, so there should also be cowardly characters struggling for survival. Human nature is complex, and if we depict it one-dimensionally, the film's philosophy will be too shallow."
Dunn shook his head. "I'm not saying we shouldn't include it, but we should just hint at it, filming it briefly. *Titanic* is a disaster that will already chill the audience's hearts. We can't further wound them with such harsh realities. We need to show the beautiful side of human nature, like in a fairy tale, to soften the psychological blow from the disaster."
Grant's eyes lit up, "Exactly, Jim. At the end of the day, this is a Hollywood blockbuster, not an art film. We can't demand too much artistic integrity from it."
Cameron sighed and fell silent again.
Dunn turned another page, his expression darkening.
This scene was based on a historical event.
When the *Titanic* sank, another large ship, the *SS Californian*, had been nearby. However, it chose to ignore the distress signals and turned off its radio...
Cameron glanced at it and shook his head. "Alright, kid, you've convinced me. This set of shots is indeed too cold-hearted; let's discard it."
Dunn smiled, "Thank you for your understanding, James."
Cameron gave a bitter smile.
He agreed with some of Dunn's ideas, but a troubling thought arose within him: if everything was revised and executed according to Dunn's vision, would this still be *his* film?
Unfortunately, his opinion no longer mattered. Officially, he was the lead producer, but in reality, Grant Hill had taken control.
Grant rubbed his temples, clearly stressed. "Dunn, your ideas are good, and I support them. But... you've cut two-thirds of the storyboard! What if—I'm saying, what if we run out of footage during post-production?"
Dunn pointed to his head confidently. "Grant, trust me, okay? The film's scenes are already fully formed in my mind. We just need to shoot them."
Grant sighed, "Alright. Your approach will save the crew a lot of money, and worst case, we can always do reshoots."
Dunn smiled, "Thank you for your support, Grant."
...
"Do you think he can pull it off?"
After leaving Dunn's room, Grant quietly asked Cameron.
Cameron shook his head. "I don't know."
But then he sighed deeply and said, "But I do know one thing: Dunn... he's a genius!"
If Dunn had heard this, he would have burst out laughing!
"James, are you complimenting me? Or are you just praising yourself?"
Ha ha!