The restaurant they attended was filled with some of the most prestigious people from the ga. Billy noticed a few politis taking their seats, and amidst the jungle of faces, the surprise of seeing Mariah Carey with Tommy Motto caught his attention. The women in the room simply adored Mariah—it was always a wele curiosity to see her. Among the guests were also some notable businessmen and basketball pyers, who added to the lively atmosphere of the cocktail event.

  -Have you decided on any major roles for the uping months? - Billy asked Winona as they ate. Their table had a stunning view of Los Angeles, overlooking the tall buildings, and was apanied by the rich sound of a piano, which provided the perfect backdrop for the evening.

  -I don’t have mu mind. Any reendations? - she responded.

  Billy shook his head. He knew Winona's taste for roles leaorojects with long speeches, romantients, or heartwarming stories. He uood this from the way she chose her scripts, and as a point of reference, he couldn’t deny that this was what she sought for her career as an actress.

  -Billy helped me get a role in the movie Anada. I think this will be the first time I’m doing a leading role of this kind, and I still feel how difficult it is to prepare for a lead role, - Monica said, both amazed and happy, her heart rag not from fame but from sheer excitement.

  -That souly like something Billy would do, - Winona replied, her gaze drifting as a familiar figure caught her eye. It was Johnny Depp, walking hand-in-hand with a woman who was slim and simply stunning—Vanessa Paradis. Vanessa was slender but inspiringly captivating, her eyes drawing attention like moths to a fme.

  The two were the ter of attention, their charisma undeniable as they greeted others and made their presenown in the room.

  -I heard you’ve written a new book, - Winona said, trying to swallow her disfort, clearly uneasy with Johnny’s arrival, a man whose preseill uled her deeply.

  -I have, and it’s set to be published month. I think people will find the way this new saga brings together cyberpunk and epitasy to be quite fasating,- Billy expined.

  Winona’s eyes widened as she saw Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis approag. The greeting was brief, but to the women’s surprise, Billy exged a polite handshake with Johnny, keeping things cordial. Both men theuro their respective seats.

  -We haven’t had the pleasure of a formal introdu, - Johnny said, his greeting short but polite.

  -Unfortunately, no, but I suppose you received my produ pany’s invitation? - Billy asked, already guessing the reason behind Johnny’s presend the offer for him to star in Donnie Brasco.

  -Yes, I did, I did… Good evening, Winona, my angel. Every day I see you, you grow more beautiful, - Johnny added with galntry. Winona blushed, her eyes flig toward Vanessa, who remained unbothered by the exge. After introdus were made, things returo normal. Both women g to each other for support, their emotions running high.

  -The meal was wonderful, but I think it’s time for us to leave,- Monica said.

  ***

  Gee Lucas was, notoriously, one of the most obsessive figures iertai industry—especially when it came to Star Wars. Though he was already pnning and filming a trilogy of movies, he was als on the idea of produg a Star Wars series for the hree films. However, today he visited Pixar to see how the team was handling the produ of the new animated series. It sisted of 46 episodes for the first season, split into two parts, each with scripts written by Lucas himself. The series would explore the years before the e Wars, fog on Anakin’s time as a Padawan.

  Not tent with just the series, Gee had already tacted Billy ba November 1995 to enhahe produ system and pave the way for a ar Wars video game. After all, Darth Vader had already beeured in Super Smash Lux, the multipyer fighting game set in a virtual world.

  -We’re currently w on the enviros, thanks to a new Pixar program developed specifically for this series. It creates characters through Massive, and this software gees movement for each character based on a set of algorithms and ands, - expined Michael Graham, the head of the animation project. He was in charge of direg the series, with guidance from both Gee Lucas and Billy Carson. Ohe initial set-ups and finer details were pleted, a director would be brought on to oversee the final product.

  Watg the demonstration of how the characters moved using Pixar’s teology, Lucas’s eyes widened in amazement, impressed by the project’s scope.

  -The characters are very well done, - Lucas ented, examining the high-quality animation. Billy, who had worked with the final visual references in mind, didn’t ge much beyond adding intricate details and poputing the universe with thousands of characters. The world-building was intense, bringing the vast Star Wars universe to life with incredible precision.

  -That’s just for the first season. We’re still ironing out some issues with recreating the lightsabers, but we’ll work through them as time goes on, - Michael added.

  -Very well, now show me the enviros you’re w on, - Lucas said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

  ***

  Ksky Csupo was one of the panies colborating with Billy, receiving iments while the creative process fell squarely on their shoulders. They were w at a steady pace, though not quite at Billy’s level of iy. Having pleted the first season of Hey Arnold! and tinuing work on a sports-themed series, they had gained signifit reition. Nickelodeon had deepes retionship with the animation studio, sealing a deal for five more series over the few years and renewing lising agreements, even hinting at the possibility of a buyout. This strengtheheir e and built a closer partnership between their produs.

  Initially, the responsibility for managing this retionship shouldn’t have fallen on Rachel, who already had a full workload, but her work ethic was unmatched. For this reason and others, she tio oversee the colboratioween the different animation studios.

  -We’re trying to handle everything with grace, given the scope of what we’ve been assigned, - Terry Thoren, one of the project leads w under Lux Animation, said awkwardly. Lux Animation had emerged as Nickelodeon’s stro petitor, surpassing even Disney and Cartoowork to bee the heavyweight in childreertai. Lux’s rating streak was s, with even R-rated shows like Trigun attrag young viewers aged 9 to 12 due to its exceptional quality.

  -I don’t know much about animation... but I like how you’re delivering the episodes. I’ll leave it to the experts. I’m here because I believe your work deserves reition. The pilots you’ve submitted, along with the final series, are appealing—at least to me,- Rachel said, nodding internally.

  The proje room was small, the s a simple image cast onto a white wall. Yet Rachel could already tell that much of Ksky’s work aligned with Anne’s vision—to maintain a spirit of cooperatioweeudios.

  -So…, - Terry hesitated.

  -We’ll issue payment for the sed part of the tract this week, aruly appreciate your colboration. You have a remarkable talent for turning these cepts into something of real substance, - Rachel said, brushing aside thoughts of potential buyouts.

  -Well, I’m gd you feel that way, - Terry replied, relieved. When she mentioned leaving it to the experts, he had feared the worst. He was somewhat insecure about his work.

  -Even though I find it fantasti expert will e to evaluate the tent in more depth,- Rachel added, finishing the versation.

  -Of course, - Terry said, much more at ease now that the tract was still intact, viewing this as a step toward avoiding failure.

  ...