Chapter 16: Chapter 16

"Today we have a special guest with us here today, please welcome Raven Studio's owner and executive producer Alex Scott!" A woman said with long curly black hair. She had full red lips and long eyelashes that complimented her red dress.

I walked from backstage smiling and waving towards the cameras. As nervous as I was about being here, I was also extremely excited. It's not everyday a person is invited to join Oprah Winfrey on her talk show. 

"Thank you, thank you." I said as the audience clapped for me. "And thank you for having me today." I told Oprah.

"Honestly, I've been wanting you on the show but you've been so busy lately that it seemed you would never appear. Now, why don't you tell everyone here who you are for those that don't know."

I smiled. "That's no problem, but there's not much to tell. I'm the owner of Raven Studio's and Raven Gaming, both of which are located in Michigan." I said without telling too much. There was not tell about me in my eyes.

Oprah smiled and laughed. "Come on now, there's no need to be so modest. If you won't say it then I will, you're 27 and own two companies. One of which I heard is creating a game based on the fantasy series called Malazan Book of the Fallen. Not only that, but your studio is slated to release three movies featuring black superheroes. If that wasn't enough, you've been working to better your community by giving back in ways many wouldn't. Need I say more?" Orpah grabbed a book off the table next to her that held a lap.

"I've read this book, or at least tried to and it's a difficult read. Care to tell me why you chose it to make a game out of? Did the author come to you or is there some sort of plan behind this?" She asked me.

"No, no, no. There's no plan at all, it was brought up to me by one of my employees. After giving it a read of my own I reached out to Steven Erikson about developing a game based off the world he created. For me personally I love it all, from the magic system to the politics down to the characters. You can go from laughing one second to crying two pages later. That's how good it is and I would like to bring this to the attention of others." I said.

Oprah opened the book to a page that was bookmarked. "I know exactly what you're saying, and the characterization is beyond anything I've read up till this point. Even if I don't fully know what's going on plot wise. But given the depth of this universe why a game? Why not a film or even a television series?"

"Well, my studio is already in the process of making three films. We are already creating an epic saga that the fans can fall in love with, there's just no time to add in another project."

"That's understandable and while we are on the topic what are these other films? I'd rather hear it directly from you."

"There's Icon, Rocket, and Static. All three are heroes from the Dakotaverse that Milestone Media invented. These three live different lives in the same city, but their stories are so different. At Raven Studio's we are not trying to make constant repeats with the same storyline over and over. We are pushing the universe forward."

"Is that you talking about any film specifically?" She asked me.

I was but that was not something I planned on saying. So I simply told her no.

"You said in a comment before to a reporter that your company is creating a universe, what does that mean?"

"Exactly that. We are bringing the Dakotaverse to the big screen. There are three movies slated to be released but that does not mean that's the end to it. This will be an epic saga where the fans can follow the characters through their journey. It's exciting, saddening, and funny at times. But it's all about the ride."

"What makes this storyline so special? What's different about it than all the others?" Oprah asked me.

I could tell her the characters, the plot, or something else but I wanted to be honest. I always tried to be honest with people.

"Truth be told, as I grew up there were not many shows with people of color. If there were, they rarely played a lead role. When children look at these films or even TV shows, they aspire to be like those characters in some form or fashion. They can relate to the characters. For me, that wasn't the case and it might be the same for others just like me. I want the future generation to see that there are people of color out there capable of playing these lead roles, seeing that they are going through a similar situation. It'll give them hope, and I'm not speaking about black people only. There are Mexicans and Asians that also play key roles in these films and will do so in future ones as well. That's why I chose to make a film based off this universe because the people behind the comics wanted the same thing I did."

"That's admirable and I truly believe that what you've said is true. There should be more representation in all forms of media. It's nice to see someone is taking a step in the right direction."

I smiled at those words. She sounded very genuine.

"Now, what's this I hear about Michael Jai White playing Icon? It's been on the rumor mill for a while now but there hasn't been any confirmation."

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"Before I answer that,, I want to know if I can give you a gift."

Oprah looked surprised which she should be as this was not in the script. She thought it over for a second and agreed.

"I'd appreciate one but it's not necessary."

"Please, let me." I said as I turned my head. As if right on cue a white screen slowly slid down behind us.

After it was fully extended a trailer started to play. Everyone was silent, and watched intently. The trailer lasted one minute but showed footage from my upcoming film.

"The first trailer of my upcoming movie Icon. What do you think?" I asked.

The audience started to clap and cheer and I could see that Oprah was shocked.

My crew worked hard on this film and the cinematic visuals were stunning. This was partially due to the software engineers I hired that helped pushed the graphics forward.

"I'm speechless. I think this is a first. I have to say, it looks visually stunning."

"And it answers your question as well." I mentioned.

"It does." Oprah fanned her face as her cheeks were turning a bit pinkish. 

Oprah and I talked for a few minutes longer before her show ended. It was a pleasure speaking with this woman, and even appearing on her show.

After it was over with I left after taking pictures with some of the audience members. I appeared on a radio show last month but this was my first talk show. I hoped I got through it alright.

As I opened the door to my challenger my phone started to buzz. I opened it and saw I got a message. 'Are we still on tonight?'

I swiftly sent a reply back saying yes and headed to my hotel. I'm glad we stuck to only certain topics, as I did not really want to speak on my wealth. After I decided to invest my money last year a lot has changed. One of the biggest changes was me finding a partner. She was a young twenty year old Romanian model. I liked her, but lately she's been asking me for a role in the movies I'm producing.

Honestly I liked it better when people did not know me. Now it felt like everyone wanted something from me. And to think, the fame I have today only got to this point because of one video. I decided to do something good for my community and someone posted it online to YouTube when it released. Since then I've been rising in the spotlight as more reporters come by to ask questions.

I just want today to be over with. No more meetings, just me sitting in my chair managing my companies. I'd even enjoy going to Dakota to watch them film.

But sadly that wasn't the case. I had to attend a board meeting. Invest in FaceBook they said, invest in YouTube they said. Well, I did just that and in the process I ended up buying a large amount of shares for YouTube.

The same could be said for Facebook but I only invested 100 million dollars into that platform. I did not like social media much, but I knew that's where the world was headed. Since I was among the first investors that put in a ton of money, I obtained a large amount of shares. Enough to give me a seat at the table.

YouTube was another story. I liked the video platform so much that I went a bit overboard with investing. Now I owned thirty-five percent of the shares and had to attend these dumb meetings.

Evidently today was a big day for the company. I wondered what was on the agenda as YouTube popularity was skyrocketing.

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