Who'd Expect Me to Pay a Dime?

"Good evening, everyone watching at home. I'm Amy, host of FOX's entertainment channel."

"It's 5:15 p.m. local time in Los Angeles on July 1, 2002. For the next three hours, I'll be bringing you the latest updates from the premiere of the animated film Ice Age."

"Please don't go anywhere!"

The plaza in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center was blanketed in flowers and red carpet;

Hundreds of entertainment outlets from across the country lined both sides of the carpet, with more than 300 reporters on the scene;

"Even FOX is here, and they're broadcasting the whole thing live. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Murdoch's really going all out!"

"You can say that again!"

"Disney Animation, Pixar Animation, DreamWorks Animation, and Water World Animation. Pick any one of those four animation studios, and it's stronger than Blue Sky Studios. Any one of them is more famous, too!"

"If you ask me, Murdoch's trying to learn from Zucker Wald!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Heh, what makes me say that? Before Zucker Wald made a name for himself, how many of the big studio bosses like Murdoch and Redstone would show up on opening day? But after Zucker Wald became famous... now they're all eager to be there."

"Yeah. Ever since Zucker Wald plunged into Hollywood, he's changed the whole industry in all sorts of ways. There's no end to it."

The reporters at the scene chatted excitedly.

Of course, the two entertainment outlets Los Angeles Entertainment News and California Entertainment News were there, too.

Los Angeles Entertainment News editor-in-chief Andre spoke in a low voice. "Listen up, folks. Remember, our main target is Mr. Zucker Wald."

"Huh?"

Avril, the paper's star reporter and a newcomer who'd once interviewed Zucker, couldn't help asking, "Sir, are you sure Mr. Wald will be