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Boom! Boom boom boom!
All of North America was once again in an uproar, with every single media outlet, large and small, covering the event without exception.
In 2003, online media was slowly starting to rise, but traditional print media and television stations were still reigning supreme. News still primarily centered around newspapers, and their dominance remained unshaken.
On the North American continent, at the top of the media hierarchy, The New York Times held the highest seat of authority. Its credibility and influence were unquestionable. While papers like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times had their own advantages in specific sectors and readerships, no one could surpass The New York Times when it came to overall coverage.
Not only did the general public pay attention to The New York Times, but so did industry insiders.
Among journalism students, there was a running joke:
Journalists in the central U.S., when faced with a major event, didn't immediately seek out sources or gather information. Instead, their first reaction was to read The New York Times. Only after understanding its perspective would they begin forming their own.
Though it was a joke, there was a lot of truth in it.
Different camps, different positions, and different groups would all check The New York Times' viewpoint before making their own statements. Some might agree, others might oppose, some might revere it, while others scoffed—but they always read it first. This fact alone demonstrated the standing of The New York Times in North America.
Because of this, making the front page of The New York Times carried enormous weight, even on its website. Only the most significant events earned that honor.
And today!
The homepage of The New York Times website proudly featured Spider-Man 2.
Although it was only the website and not the print edition, it still swept across North America like a tidal wave.
Major news! Absolutely major!
The keywords—Spider-Man 2, Anson Wood, on-set accident—had already dominated the headlines, surpassing even the hottest summer blockbusters. Now, with The New York Times investigating and offering an in-depth analysis, the news reached unprecedented heights.
—"It wasn't a mere accident, but human error."
In the article, after conducting a thorough investigation, Nicholas concluded as much.
Of course, Nicholas couldn't make unfounded claims in a prestigious media outlet. Every detail had to be sourced and verified.
Nicholas conducted an exhaustive investigation into the film crew, peeling back the layers of the incident to reconstruct the full sequence of events from eyewitness accounts. He then examined the developments that unfolded after the accident, eventually focusing on TMZ's recently released photos of Spider-Man's costume.
According to testimony from the set, the scene and the angle in the photos pointed to only one possibility: they were taken the day Anson had the accident. That was the first and only time the crew had shot that scene.
From a professional standpoint, the lighting, angles, and composition all confirmed that the shutter was pressed right before Anson's tragic fall.
Everything matched the flash that witnesses had reported from the set.
In the end, Nicholas boldly and directly concluded:
"It was a human-caused accident."
And the culprit? A paparazzo who had sold the photos to TMZ. Further digging suggested that this paparazzo might be the same one who had dared to sneak into the hospital and attempt to photograph Anson again.
The truth, often harsh, was staggering.
Although everyone knew that this was an age of extreme celebrity culture, where paparazzi would go to any lengths for a story and society's moral compass had faltered, some actions still crossed the line.
Earlier, when reports surfaced about someone breaking into Anson's hospital room and disturbing his recovery, Lucas had offered a $100,000 reward for information on the intruder. Even though public opinion overwhelmingly supported Anson, there were still some cynics making dismissive comments.
Things like: "It's not like he's paralyzed, why can't they take photos?", "Would he be so angry if he were in a coma?", "Public figures should expect no privacy," or "His constant complaints about being a victim are getting tiresome."
But now, those voices had fallen silent.
It turned out the accident was caused by a paparazzo trying to get unauthorized photos of Anson, and that's why Anson's condition remained uncertain. The culprit, unrepentant, had even gone so far as to sneak into the hospital for more photos.
This had crossed a line.
Even public figures shouldn't have to endure such mistreatment.
What made matters worse was that Anson had not appeared in public since the incident. Although his spokesperson, Sony Columbia, and the crew all claimed he was resting, the situation didn't look promising.
A nightmare was slowly reawakening—
In 1997, Princess Diana had died in a car crash in Paris.
Conspiracy theories ran wild, but the public narrative blamed the paparazzi who had relentlessly pursued her, forcing her to try to escape, resulting in the fatal crash.
At the time, paparazzi faced widespread condemnation, and the "celebrity-obsessed" society became the target of countless discussions in the media.
Now, the same story was unfolding again—
All for the sake of an exclusive shot of Spider-Man's costume.
Absurd, ridiculous, laughable.
Back then, Princess Diana's crash had happened in the summer. Now, six years later, in another summer, Anson had become the paparazzi's new victim.
Who knows? Maybe Anson was clinging to life, which would explain his absence, Lucas's furious outburst, and the crew's complete refusal to speak to the press.
Fear was like a seed, falling into different minds, taking root in the soil of their thoughts, and growing into various stories—
And the panic was spreading.
Things had spiraled out of control.
The assistant, utterly shocked, was frozen in place, unable to believe what she was reading. Like a robot, she turned to Eve, "So, this is what you were waiting for?"
"You knew this would happen?" the assistant asked, swallowing hard.
Eve remained calm. "Of course. Why else would I leave so many breadcrumbs? What, did you think they'd all be carried away by ants? The only thing I couldn't be sure of was which media outlet would pick it up first."
"Turns out... The Los Angeles Times still couldn't pull it off," Eve remarked with a sigh.
The outside world was in chaos, yet Eve still had the presence of mind to make jokes.
The assistant asked, "So, is it time?"
Eve shook her head. "Not yet. Wait another 24 hours. This is just the signal."
The assistants exchanged confused glances.
Eve sighed, feeling a bit disappointed. If it were Anson or Edgar, they wouldn't need an explanation. But thinking about it, it made sense—
That's why they were just assistants, while Edgar was Edgar, and Anson was Anson.
Eve paused for a moment, realizing with a slight smile that her opinion of Anson had risen quite a bit.
And when had that happened?
It was a good question.