As for Conan the Destroyer, this fantasy action film, it was difficult for Ethan to judge its quality objectively because he was familiar with the highly advanced movies of the future.
However, he did have some recollection of the Conan IP.
In the future, there seemed to be a developer called Funcom that had adapted the original Conan the Barbarian into a multiplayer online survival game.
Unfortunately, the development team hadn't put much care into it, resulting in a game that received rather mediocre reviews.
Beside him, Sam was watching with great enthusiasm. This kind of subject matter was right up his alley.
When Conan wielded his sword and effortlessly cut down the charging cavalry as if slicing vegetables, Sam couldn't help clenching his fist and silently cheering.
As for Ethan, his attention had been completely drawn to the youthful image of the future Arnold on the screen, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
The end credits began to roll.
Sam shot to his feet before anyone else and applauded excitedly.
His conspicuous behavior naturally attracted the attention of everyone around him, including Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, who was seated in the front row.
Having just completed his transition from Mr. Olympia to movie star, the man was currently surrounded by reporters, producers, and admirers.
Ethan barely managed to squeeze to the edge of the crowd. The invitation he'd paid for wasn't enough to earn him a genuine one on one conversation with Schwarzenegger.
After waiting for quite a while, he and Sam finally managed to push their way into the inner circle.
Taking advantage of a brief pause in the conversation, Ethan cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Mr. Schwarzenegger, congratulations on your film's release! Your performance was even better than in Conan the Barbarian!"
"Thank you."
Schwarzenegger glanced at Ethan and Sam before returning a polite smile.
"Mr. Schwarzenegger, I'm a game developer, and we're looking for an outstanding tough guy voice for our game. Would you be interested in hearing more about it?"
Hearing Ethan's words, Schwarzenegger, who had been about to look away, paused. One eyebrow lifted slightly, revealing a hint of interest.
"A game? What kind of game?"
Ethan quickly opened his briefcase and pulled out several concept illustrations depicting two rugged soldiers fighting side by side.
But before he could begin introducing them, a meticulously groomed middle aged man suddenly stepped between them like a wall.
The name badge on his chest identified him.
Manager Dave.
"I'm sorry, young man." His voice was gentle but carried an unmistakable firmness.
"Arnold is at a critical stage in his career. Every commercial opportunity must be approached with the utmost caution."
Dave looked Ethan up and down. Though he said nothing directly, Ethan could clearly sense the distrust stemming because of his age.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Video games? With all due respect, if you've paid any attention to the news, you should know exactly what state the video game industry is in right now."
"Atari buried millions of game cartridges in a landfill in New Mexico."
"You want Arnold's name associated with those soon to be obsolete plastic boxes? That would do nothing good for his career."
"Does anyone else have any questions?"
His words were harsh, but they weren't unreasonable.
From the perspective of someone living in an era where the mainstream consensus was that "video games are dead," endorsing a video game was practically a career ending move.
It was the last meal before execution, a path only faded celebrities on the verge of leaving the industry would choose.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The onlookers wore expressions ranging from surprise to mockery.
Before Ethan could respond, Sam was the first to lose his temper.
He didn't care how influential Dave was. If anyone dared insult video games in front of him, he'd argue back even if he had no ground to stand on.
"We're not Atari! Tetris has been selling all over California's arcades. Are all those players fake or something?!"
"I'm sorry, we..."
The manager was about to continue when a powerful hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Arnold's gaze rested on Ethan. He had keenly caught the key point in what the young man had said.
"A game with a tough guy hero? What kind of game is it?"
"A soldier saving the world, Mr. Schwarzenegger." Ethan smiled. "Like the character Rambo played by Mr. Stallone."
"Rambo..."
Arnold repeated the word.
As a fellow movie star, he naturally knew of the remarkable Sylvester Stallone.
It was no exaggeration to say that Stallone was the very symbol of 1980s action films.
He was also exactly what Arnold, who had only just begun making a name for himself, aspired to become.
The manager frowned. He sensed that Arnold's attitude had begun to soften, and that was not a good sign.
As his manager, he had no desire to see Arnold involve himself with a video game industry that was hanging by a thread.
"Young man, video games aren't movies. With visuals that crude, there's simply no comparison to what films can achieve."
He struck directly at the greatest weakness of video games in that era.
"You call him a tough guy, but once he's in the game, won't he just be a bunch of moving pixels?"
Hearing that, Ethan and Sam exchanged a glance, both barely suppressing their laughter.
Sam had already played the game demo that Ethan had spent countless hours developing. He knew exactly what kind of "monster" it was.
Ethan reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a strange circuit board densely packed with electronic components.
"Mr. Schwarzenegger, if we can find a display, you can try it out for yourself right now."
Arnold looked at Ethan's confident expression in surprise.
For some reason, his instincts told him this might be a worthwhile opportunity.
After a moment's thought, he simply pointed toward the screen behind him.
"A display? This projection screen should be big enough, shouldn't it?"
The professional theater they were in was already equipped with a large video projector. Besides projecting film reels, it naturally supported standard composite video input as well.
Everyone present looked at one another in astonishment. None of them had expected Arnold to actually be interested in the proposal.
"Arnold, later you still have that meeting with Fox..."
The manager was visibly anxious and accidentally let today's schedule slip.
"Dave, just give me ten minutes." His tone left no room for argument as he nodded toward Ethan.
"We'll do it right here."
Ten minutes was time he could spare.
More importantly, when it came to something unfamiliar, even if he ultimately chose not to cooperate, taking the time to understand it wasn't a bad idea.
...
Ethan handed the prototype's control panel to Arnold and connected the video cable to the projector.
The screen flickered a few times.
A stylized title appeared in the center.
CONTRA.