Home Alone

The next day, Tom Kalinske, who was full of energy, grabbed Bernard, the marketing director in charge of Hollywood affairs at his company, and the three of them flew straight to Los Angeles.

It's only an hour's flight from Redwood City to Hollywood.

But for Kalinske, that hour felt like an eternity.

He was rubbing his hands together and muttering to himself the whole time, as if he could already see Sega game consoles appearing on the big screens of every movie theater in the United States.

Bernard was a little nervous. Although he often dealt with Hollywood, he mostly talked about routine game adaptation licenses. This was the first time he had ever been led by the North America president and the head office executives to a top production company.

Especially the executive director Nakayama Takuya, who, despite his young age, always gave him a sense of unfathomable depth.

In the afternoon, the group drove to the 20th Century Fox film set.

In the producer's office, a middle-aged man with slicked-back brown hair, wearing glasses, who looked somewhat tired but whose eyes were still sharp, greeted them.

"John Hughes," he extended his hand, "Thank goodness you called yesterday, or I would have gone to Chicago a day later."

The new film is waiting to start shooting.

John Hughes is a top Hollywood screenwriter, director, and producer, especially known for his comedies aimed at teenagers.

After exchanging pleasantries, John Hughes began to introduce his upcoming new project.

"The script is called ' Home Alone,' and it tells the story of an eight-year-old boy, Kevin, who is accidentally left at home by his family and has to fight off two bumbling thieves all by himself."

He spoke very quickly, clearly knowing the story by heart.

After he finished speaking, Kalinske couldn't wait to say, "John, we'd like to get a Sega Drive for Kevin's house."

Game console. Also, Kevin can take our GamePocket handheld console with him.

John Hughes raised an eyebrow; this guy's here to deliver money.

"Therefore," Kalinske said, holding up three fingers in a loud voice, "Sega is willing to pay US dollar 300,000 for the implantation."

There was a moment of silence in the office.

This price is quite generous for a simple scene prop placement.

Just as John Hughes was about to nod, Kalinske dropped another bombshell.

"If Kevin has a scene where he's playing the MD alone, it doesn't need to be long, just a few seconds, Sega will pay him one million US dollar."

"Furthermore, if he manages to pull out his GamePocket and play for a short while while evading thieves, such as when he's hiding in a closet, Sega will pay him another million US dollar."

John Hughes's weariness vanished, and he looked at Kalinske as if he were a nouveau riche who had just emerged from a Middle East oil field.

He was aware of the predicament his film was in.

Because of budget overruns, Warner Bros.., the original investor, had already absconded, and it was only with great difficulty that 20th Century Fox was brought in to take over.

However, there are still a lot of special effects and mechanisms to be done later, so every penny has to be spent in twos.

Now, the money Sega sent is like a godsend.

"Deal!" John Hughes slammed his hand on the table, decisive and efficient. "Don't worry, I guarantee the shots will be plentiful, and absolutely seamless, with no trace of product placement!"

"We'll discuss the specifics of the contract with our legal team when I get back from Chicago!"

After saying goodbye to the in high spirits John Hughes, the three of them rushed to Universal Pictures.

Here, they met a man wearing a baseball cap and black-rimmed glasses, with a full beard.

Steven Spielberg.

"Bernard," Spielberg, clearly an old acquaintance of the marketing director, patted Bernard on the shoulder, his gaze then falling on Kalinske and Takuya, "Regarding the game adaptation of ' Hook,' with Sega's capabilities, sending you alone would have been enough. Why did you also invite the president and this gentleman?"

Bernard quickly introduced them, "Mr. Spielberg, this is our North America President Tom Kalinske, and this is our Headquarters Operations Manager, Mr. Nakayama Takuya."

"Hello, Stephen." Takuya smiled and extended his hand.

After shaking hands, Kalinske got straight to the point. "Stephen, we certainly want Hook. But today, we also want the game adaptation rights to another project."

Spielberg was somewhat puzzled. "Another project? I don't have any other new projects in the works right now."

Takuya looked at him and said softly, "Mr. Michael Crichton, that novel that hasn't been published yet."

Spielberg's expression froze instantly.

He suddenly looked at Takuya, his eyes filled with surprise.

He had just obtained the manuscript of that dinosaur novel through connections and was preparing to contact the author Michael Crichton.

Negotiating film copyrights.

This matter is absolutely top secret in Hollywood.

How did this Japan know?

How could you—

"We have our own information channels." Takuya smiled calmly, offering no further explanation. "We believe that story has unlimited potential. Not only as a movie, but also as a game, it will undoubtedly be a groundbreaking work."

Spielberg was silent for a moment as he sized up the young man before him.

He had met many executives from game companies, but most of them were pure businessmen, reeking of money.

But the man before me, Nakayama Takuya, possessed a similar aura. It was the keen insight and foresight of a creator.

"That requires Michael's consent," Spielberg said, his tone softening.

"Of course," Takuya nodded, "But I believe no one can do it better than Sega. Bernard, show Mr. Spielberg the list of games I've made."

When Bernard read out a long list of names like Fatal Fury Pokémon, Golden Sun, and DDR, and pointed out that the core of the planning for these games was Nakayama Takuya, Spielberg's eyes widened.

He had played all of these games to varying degrees, and some of them he was quite addicted to.

He had always assumed these masterpieces were the work of a top-notch, experienced team, but he never imagined that the key figure was this young man who looked to be no more than twenty years old!

"My God!" Spielberg's gaze towards Takuya completely changed, shifting from scrutiny to admiration, even a hint of respect. "Mr. Nakayama, you are a true master of game development. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Mr. Spielberg," Takuya laughed. "I believe that in the future, the sparks that will fly between games and movies will far exceed our current imagination."

"I have no doubt about it." Spielberg nodded solemnly.

He even offered to act as a go-between, arranging for Takuya and Michael Clayton to meet.

In one afternoon, he secured deals with two of Hollywood's biggest names and finalized three major projects, leaving Kalinske so excited on the way home that he practically jumped for joy, almost lifting the roof off the car.