William White's movie was just starting filming, yet all sorts of rumors were already topping the entertainment sections of newspapers.
Not only were other newspapers covering this buzz, but even William White's own media outlets didn't miss out on this juicy gossip.
The richest man, a beauty, a Cinderella story -- well, they could practically write a novel about it. As for how much of it was true, who cared?
Once William White got into work mode, he was really reliable. His team knew that, but those unfamiliar with him were a bit surprised. Was this the same carefree playboy from a few days ago? What a change!
William White's seriousness had its reasons. Hoping to come back for reshoots was just impossible. If a real conflict arose with British, America was clearly the potential enemy.
UK's colonial policies were indeed hated. No matter how the history was twisted, no one would support it.
...
Nowadays, Madonna was genuinely touched, as this movie felt tailor-made for her.
Most importantly, it wasn't just some popcorn flick; it had a shot at the Oscars. As for winning, as William White said, it's hard to say about other awards, but Best Original Song was a sure bet. If it didn't win, those old Academy guys were going to face some repercussions.
"Hey, darling, heading back tomorrow?"
"Yup, finished the location shoots, now onto the studio. You want to stick around?"
"Not really, just wondering if Evita Peron ever found her happiness."
"Heh, maybe she did before. But once a political figure, everything changes. For politicians, love is just a joke."
"Is that Colonel really that kind of person? Did he ever love her?"
"Maybe he did. If momentary impulse counts, then feelings developed later."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ahem, 'familiarity breeds fondness'; originally that's what it meant. But later, it came to mean something else too."
"Ha, you're wicked. Would you 'breed fondness over time'?"
"Sure, look, I've developed plenty of fondness."
William White found it difficult to delve deeply into this matter. This lady could only be a friend. He wouldn't dare bring her home.
In reality, a friendly match was just fine. Look, winning or losing wasn't important, the process wasn't important, it was just a cultural or technical exchange. That was great, and it didn't carry any psychological burden.
..
Back in Los Angeles, William White was certainly busy as ever. He knew very well that this movie was just riding the wave of popularity. If luck was on his side, it might not just mean one Oscar.
He was pondering over the Oscar, and others were pondering over him. Quickly enough, he received an Oscar invitation letter for the second time.
"Wow, actually got nominated again."
"Boss, Johnny English is pretty good, right? Think it'll win this time?"
"Very unlikely. The chance of just being there without winning is close to 100%. Those old Academy geezers are just messing around with us."
"Then we shouldn't go."
"No way. These old folks hold grudges. If you don't show them respect, they'll hold it against you for life."
In this world, there were many people riding the wave of popularity. Since you're so famous, why not have you run along? Got a problem with that?
"This is so darn annoying," William White mumbled to himself about the Oscar. With a light invitation letter, he still had to gather the whole team to attend.
"Ah, and I have to promote the new movie. Wouldn't want the two actresses to start fighting," William White thought to himself, stressed out as he had to go calm things down.
Oh, my poor back!
Alright, perhaps I'm being melodramatic.
...
The third-party game finally hit the market, and surprisingly, it was a great success.
Some people just don't listen to good advice; it isn't until they hit some setbacks that they finally wake up.
Legendary World had very strict reviews. Anything shoddy could forget about getting licensed. That's where those greedy folks struggled. They weren't interested in developing new games, just re-tweaking old ones and slapping on flashy titles.
Well, those greedy folks looking for quick money failed miserably. All these so-called new games were sent straight back.
Now, the Japanese gamers' products hit the market first and started raking in the profits, making the greedy ones all the more noisy.
"Filson, tell those fools we can leave it to the users to decide, using a live TV broadcast to let their games compete with the Japanese ones. If they pull any trickery, it'll ruin the company's brand value, so they'd better give it some thought."
"Okay, boss."
"Tell them, closing this outlet is also an option. We won't help those crooks."
William White was furious. In the past, this bunch almost ruined the American gaming industry, and now they wanted a comeback. They're out of their minds.
...
In this world, there were always countless jerks. After a good amount of coercing, the rowdy bunch backed down. NBC was thriving; being targeted deliberately would make it hard to fool anyone in the future.
Sometimes it's just mind-boggling -- why would anyone let quantity win in the game industry?
To be honest, if these games didn't bear the Legendary World label, William White wouldn't care less unless they went overboard.
But now these lousy games threaten to make users question the Legendary World platform.
Oh, whatever, go ruin Atari instead. Over there, they just collect tolls and don't meddle with anything else.
William White could think this way, but others weren't stupid either. In just a few short months, over three million consoles got sold, and it was constantly out of stock. With a ten million unit target in sight, why on earth mess with other platforms?
*****
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