"Ah—approaching us now is Rachel Bilson—one of the most promising actresses in Hollywood today, best known for the hit teen drama The O.C. She has now successfully made the leap to the big screen, and her film Jumper will arrive in theaters next February. Hi, Rachel~ Good afternoon! It's wonderful to see you. You look absolutely beautiful today, like a butterfly fluttering among flowers—"
"Oh~ Thank you, Samuel. Good afternoon. It's wonderful to see you too—"
"Really? Then can you tell us exactly how happy you are? And what has made you so happy?"
"I'm extremely, extremely happy. As for why? Obviously, it's because someone is using his public position for personal gain."
"What! Why?"
"Jumper may be my film, but it's also your film, isn't it, Samuel? So when you use Paramount's platform to introduce our movie to everyone under the guise of welcoming me—wow~ Isn't that rather exciting? If I had to describe how I feel right now, it's like—it's like—"
"Like you're having an affair behind your husband's back?"
"Oh—Samuel! You can't say things like that! I'm not married!"
"Hahahaha! But the feeling is similar, isn't it?"
"Hiss—if you insist on putting it that way—then all I can say is yes!"
"Okay! Okay! Welcome to the VGA! Please head inside!"
"Thank you."
"…"
"Okay! The next person approaching us is Zachary Levi! He's one of Hollywood's hottest leading men and the star of Chuck! Hi—Zachary—good afternoon!"
"Oh—hello, Samuel—"
"…"
"Zachary, I've heard you're a hardcore gamer and that you've followed the VGA since its earliest days?"
"Yeah—I'm a huge video game fan. Shooters are my favorite. Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Halo—I love them all! And, um—"
"…"
"And what?"
"I'm here at the VGA today because a game company has invited me to provide a voice for its new title."
"…"
"Oh—that's huge news! Can you tell us which company invited you?"
"Sorry, that's confidential."
"Then can you tell us which game you'll be voicing? Just give us a small clue, and we'll guess!"
"…"
"Uh—that would also involve confidential information—"
"Oh! Come on! Don't be so stingy! I'll pay the penalty for you!"
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"Oh, then all I can say is that the game takes place in the year 2077."
"Oh my God—Fallout, right? All right, you can go inside now—I'm not paying your confidentiality fine! You made that leak way too obvious—"
"Hahahaha—"
"…"
"…"
"Okay, okay. Next, we welcome Kristen Bell—"
"In 2004, she rose to fame as the star of Veronica Mars—"
"This year, Hannah Montana, which she helped produce, broke viewership records for a subscription television network—"
"And the romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Bell, will reach audiences next spring. According to insiders, the film may become another major romance hit following The Notebook—"
"Hi, Kristen! Welcome to the VGA awards ceremony!"
That's right~
That's right~
That's right~
The main reason the VGA was known as the Oscars of gaming was that its awards ceremony followed the Oscars' format. When celebrities from every corner of the entertainment industry appeared on its red carpet and the audience shone like a galaxy of stars, the VGA was no longer merely an awards show for gamers. Its target audience could even be described as the entire entertainment industry.
Once that happened—
The VGA's status within the gaming industry naturally became firmly established.
After all, aside from the VGA, there was not even a second serious awards ceremony in the gaming industry at the time.
When the VGA was the only one of its kind and modeled its entire process after the Oscars, the highest honor in North American entertainment, then regardless of how well or poorly it was organized, it was still the Oscars of gaming.
What?
Someone thought that logic was flawed?
Just because there were no tigers in the mountains did not mean a monkey could declare itself king?
Oh
No.
That was where you were wrong!
On the European and American continents, the comparative game of "winning studies" was played exactly like this: if you could not compare yourself to the true GOAT, then you became the permanent deputy GOAT!
If you had never won the World Cup, then whenever greatness was discussed, you compared total career goals instead!
If you could not repair the sewers, then you claimed that no matter how badly they leaked, they were still cleaner than the Ganges!
In short, no matter who I compared myself to, I had to win!
Even when facing physics itself, its definitions had to obey my will!
You disagree?
Guards! Nail Sir Isaac Newton's coffin shut for me!
Hehe~
"Oh! There wasn't anything wrong with what I said during the interview just now, was there?"
"I think I answered pretty well. Samuel L. Jackson's questions were also quite simple."
After finishing the red-carpet interview, Kristen Bell, dressed in a cocktail dress, entered the venue under the guidance of the staff. The moment her assistant appeared, she eagerly asked how she had performed.
Her assistant was a girl around the same age as her. Upon hearing her boss's question, the slightly baby-faced young woman immediately nodded and praised her. "Oh! Darling! You were fantastic!"
"You completed today's assignment perfectly! Now we only need to sit patiently in the guest section and wait for the ceremony to end! Of course, the cameras may occasionally cut to you, and you'll need to do some light socializing with colleagues and other guests, so you still can't let your attention wander!"
"Oh, right! You'll also be going onstage tonight! Once the ceremony hands things over to Ubisoft, you'll need to pay attention!"
"But you don't need to be nervous. I'll keep an eye on everything around us for you. An awards ceremony like this is only a minor occasion for you! You're a woman destined to attend the Oscars one day, aren't you?"
After saying this, the female assistant winked at Kristen Bell.
The playful teasing brought a smile to Kristen Bell's face.
As she sat in the seat arranged by the organizers—checking the nameplate on the chair first to confirm that her position had not been changed—she pouted and whispered to her assistant, "Oh, darling, some things are fine to say at home—but you really shouldn't say them in public!"
"Hehehe~"
The assistant nodded knowingly and sat beside her.
Then—
The assistant kept watch while her boss's mind wandered.
In truth, whether it was Kristen Bell, Rachel Bilson, or any of the other celebrities attending the VGA ceremony, none of them had much interest in the award itself.
This was not only because, regardless of how much the VGA dressed itself up, it remained merely a "grand event for the video game industry," somewhat removed from film and television. It was also because the entertainment industry was not an easy place to survive.
When there were only a handful of positions at the summit and everyone in the industry was ambitious, celebrities barely had enough time to fight over status and resources every day. How could they possibly have time to play video games? Only those who had truly transcended the competition, such as Steven Spielberg, could afford to enjoy life!
Under those circumstances, there were only two main reasons why these celebrities still accepted invitations from the VGA:
First, Paramount owned the VGA.
These people were not attending because they liked the VGA. They were there to curry favor and secure opportunities.
Second, aside from Paramount, the VGA ceremony also offered access to other resources within the entertainment industry.
The video game industry was the world's largest cash cow. When a successful game company possessed an extremely healthy cash flow, it—or rather, its executives—would naturally begin entertaining many other ideas.
Kristen Bell, for example, had been invited by Ubisoft today.
Ubisoft's new title, Assassin's Creed, had become a massive seller immediately after release.
Therefore, while launching plans for a sequel, the company also wanted to try something unusual for its marketing.
For example, producing a promotional short film specifically for the game?
Yes.
Blizzard was not the only company in the gaming industry that could be called a film studio.
Other game companies, such as Ubisoft, were also willing to spend generously.
And as for that—
"Oh! Darling! The Foo Fighters are here! You can go over and say hello!"
"…"
"Sweetheart! Look! That's Don King! He managed Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield! He's the most successful boxing promoter in the world! We should approach him when we get the chance!"
"…"
"Oh, oh, oh—that's Kurt Angle! Some people say he'll be the next Dwayne Johnson! So, shall we go?"
Kristen Bell had barely begun daydreaming before her scattered thoughts were interrupted by her assistant.
Following her assistant's reminders, she greeted various new acquaintances and old friends one by one.
That fragmented socializing—
Was simply part of everyday life in the world of fame and fortune.
Only when the lively, energetic opening music began did Kristen Bell finally breathe a sigh of relief and direct a relieved gaze toward the host onstage, Samuel L. Jackson—
That's right;
The bald director from Marvel, the one-eyed Nick Fury, was hosting today's ceremony;
"…"
He had also been the "war correspondent" conducting interviews on the red carpet;
Or rather, he had served as the host of the VGA awards ceremony for several years.
Only then did Kristen Bell finally regain her "freedom."
With nothing else to do, her mind began wandering again.
While Kristen Bell was lost in thought, the VGA proceeded in an orderly fashion:
Perhaps because so many entertainment-industry figures were present—
The first award presented by the VGA was Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show.
The nominated games were—
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, adapted from Masashi Kishimoto's manga Naruto.
Stranglehold, adapted from Hard Boiled, directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun-fat.
And The Simpsons Game, based on The Simpsons.
The final winner was—
"Congratulations to EA!"
"Congratulations to The Simpsons Game!"
"Clap, clap, clap, clap—"
As soon as the winners were announced, polite applause filled the venue.
EA's staff and the production team behind The Simpsons happily took the stage.
Under the gaze of their peers and the cameras, they began delivering their acceptance speech.
Although the standardized routine was rather dull, Kristen Bell still lifted her eyes slightly.
Leaning closer to her assistant, she asked, "Who owns the rights to The Simpsons now? Lionsgate?"
"No."
Her assistant paused before shaking her head. "The Simpsons belongs to Comcast now."
"What?"
Kristen Bell frowned slightly. "Wasn't The Simpsons owned by Fox?"
"It was a Fox project, but it didn't belong to 20th Century Fox. It belonged to the Fox Broadcasting Company, so—"
Her assistant drew out her words and glanced around before leaning close to her boss's ear. "When Fox was broken up, Comcast was the company that acquired the Fox Broadcasting Company. That meant The Simpsons entered Comcast along with it. And if the rights to The Simpsons hadn't belonged to Fox Broadcasting back then, they would have gone to Beaver Entertainment instead. As for why—"
"You know."
With that, her assistant closed her mouth.
Kristen Bell straightened in her seat and nodded slightly.
No wall was completely airtight.
Even though she was only a B-list actress, she had heard some of the industry's urban legends.
So, if the subject they were discussing might involve the most ruthless person in the industry, the one whose name could not be spoken aloud—
Then ending the conversation there was the wisest choice.
Honestly, Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show was not a minor award.
After all, any film or television property important enough to receive a video game adaptation was usually a major production.
Therefore, since every awards ceremony had to consider ratings, the pattern of "one major award, one minor award, one major award, one minor award," or "one major award, several minor awards, then another major award," had become standard practice.
As a result, after presenting Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show, the VGA moved on to categories such as Best Original Score, Best Soundtrack, Most Addictive Game, and Breakthrough Technology.
The ceremony also included awards for Best Multiplayer Game, Best Handheld Game, and Best Individual Sports Game.
But those—
Were not things anyone truly cared about.
It was like the line Feng Ji wrote in one of the chapter-transition animations for Black Myth: Wukong: "Without wearing these robes, how would all living beings know that I have severed my worldly ties and drained the golden sea?"
Best Multiplayer Game, Best Handheld Game, and Best Individual Sports Game were indeed major awards.
But only winning Game of the Year could prove that you stood above everyone else.
Therefore—
Minor awards truly could not get people excited.
Perhaps the organizers understood that.
So Paramount had also prepared numerous performances to accompany the awards.
Unfortunately—
Kristen Bell did not know whether anyone else was interested in the performances onstage.
But she knew she certainly was not.
Or rather, ever since the ceremony officially began, she had sat there with her attention drifting.
Only when Ubisoft took the stage did she begin taking the VGA seriously.
Because it was finally time for her appearance—
This year, Ubisoft won the award for Best Graphics with Crysis. While accepting the trophy, the company also used the advertising time it had purchased to introduce its future plans to everyone in the venue and watching from home. "Okay, everyone, Ubisoft has an extensive slate planned for the next two years—"
"We have decided to produce a short film for the sequel to Assassin's Creed—"
"It is currently titled Assassin's Creed: Lineage—"
"We have invited renowned Hollywood actress Kristen Bell to participate in its production—"
"And now, I would like to invite her onto the stage to share a few details about this mysterious, as-yet-unrevealed project—"
Ubisoft's invitation made Kristen Bell extremely happy.
Although the VGA's audience was smaller than that of the Golden Globes, it still reached ten million viewers.
Receiving prominent exposure on a platform like this would benefit her.
However, her happiness lasted for only thirty seconds.
Because her solo segment lasted only thirty seconds.
Advertising time during the VGA was extremely expensive!
Ubisoft had already spent heavily just to buy her thirty seconds of individual screen time!
Still—
Who in this world was not greedy?
As Kristen Bell left the stage, her heart was filled with regret and reflection.
The regret came from wanting to remain onstage longer.
The reflection came from realizing that attending the entire VGA merely to receive thirty seconds of exposure—
Did not seem like a particularly worthwhile trade.
After all, she had paid for the expensive dress herself!
However, she had barely stepped off the stage and had not yet returned to the guest section when an unexpected development swept away her complicated emotions.
As for the reason?
It was simple—
After introducing the project related to Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft's representative continued speaking into the microphone. "In addition to Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft will also launch a completely new and ambitious film project next year."
"It will be a film project based on Prince of Persia."
"The project will be produced in partnership with Disney and overseen by renowned Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose previous works include Top Gun, The Rock, and Pirates of the Caribbean."
"We will announce further details early next year. Anyone interested should keep an eye out."
"Ah—"
Everyone could naturally accept the news that Ubisoft was producing a short film for Assassin's Creed.
After all, producing a short film did not cost much.
It was also common in business for game companies to hire famous actors to make promotional shorts for their flagship titles.
But a game company producing a feature film based on its own IP was completely different.
That was not only because video game adaptations were treacherous territory—
So far, only two video game film franchises in the entire world had made money.
One was Resident Evil.
The other was Tomb Raider.
Every other one, without exception, had lost money.
More importantly, video game adaptations offered exceptional opportunities—
Although everyone knew that most of them failed, they also knew that game companies would pour enormous amounts of money into those projects!
Therefore, when the risk of failure in the film industry was already so high, it was better to die spectacularly than to achieve a modest victory through a minor production!
That's right.
In the film industry, if you failed in a major production, audiences would at least remember your name.
The idea of slowly climbing through small dramatic films was a scam!
So, under those circumstances, Ubisoft wanted to make a Prince of Persia film?
This—
This—
This—
"Oh! My! God! Ubisoft really is loaded!"
"As expected of a game company protected by France! A company backed by national capital really is fortunate!"
"So who gets a piece of this project? Is Jerry Bruckheimer the one deciding how the roles are distributed?"
"I think so! But—I don't know him!"
"…"
The moment the Prince of Persia film project was announced, countless discussions erupted across the enormous venue.
Many celebrities had attended the VGA specifically for moments like this, so—
Everyone wanted a piece of the project.
Kristen Bell was no different.
But when she returned to her seat and looked toward her assistant—
Her assistant immediately shook her head.
Leaning close, she whispered, "Darling, we won't be able to get into this project."
"There are two reasons."
"First, we've already been discussing a partnership with Ubisoft, yet they never mentioned Prince of Persia to us. That can only mean they never intended to invite us."
"Second, Ubisoft's partner is now Disney, and Disney—"
"Belongs to that mysterious person."
Her assistant's words made Kristen Bell purse her lips.
She understood what the other woman meant.
When everyone knew how frequently video game adaptations failed, yet Ubisoft still chose to partner with Disney—
Then Ubisoft's true target was probably that mysterious person who had never suffered a defeat.
Jerry Bruckheimer might merely be the employee working in public view.
And if the person Ubisoft truly wanted to work with was that mysterious figure—
Then powerless young actresses like them could abandon any hope of receiving a piece of the project.
After all, industry rumors claimed that the mysterious person only engaged in insider dealings. With Transformers, the person who received the project had been her assistant;
With God of Cookery, all the voice actors had been artists signed to her companies;
With Iron Man, although the project had held public auditions, everyone who actually received an audition opportunity had belonged to her circle;
And as for James Cameron's untitled project, everyone said Anne Hathaway had only secured the role because her mother had taken her to Britain to pay her respects and establish a connection;
So—
"Sigh—"
Kristen Bell silently sighed.
She stared blankly at the stage.
She was not daydreaming now. She simply felt regretful.
She regretted not being represented by The Marmot Agency.
She regretted being unable to establish a connection with the mysterious person.
She also wanted to become a major star!
But while lamenting her situation, she suddenly felt that something was not quite right.
As she recalled, had that mysterious person not acquired a video game company several months ago?
And had that game company, Take-Two, not also attended tonight's ceremony?
Therefore—
An opportunity?
The moment that thought appeared, Kristen Bell's eyes lit up!
Just as she began looking around the guest section for Take-Two's representatives, hoping to take an indirect route toward her goal, the bald director of S.H.I.E.L.D. announced the winner of the night's most important award in a passionate voice from the stage. "This year's nominees for Game of the Year are Microsoft Game Studios' Halo 3."
"…"
"EA's Mass Effect."
"Valve's The Orange Box."
"Take-Two's BioShock."
"And the winner of the VGA Game of the Year award is—"
"Take-Two's BioShock!"