Welcome to Interview Reenactment, where we recreate some of the greatest video game interviews of all time. Today's episode reenacts Next Generation magazine's 1997 interview with Jeremy Smith, the managing director at Core Development. This interview takes place just after the launch of Tomb Raider, at a time when Jeremy Smith was hard at work on the sequel. Nobody knew how big a star Lara Croft would eventually become. Not only did she spawn fifteen sequels and spin-offs, but Hollywood's most powerful actress, Angelina Jolie, brought the heroine to life in two big-budget movies. This interview takes place just as Jeremy is beginning to realize the popularity of Lara Croft.

CAST: Cyril Lachel as Next Generation, Justin Celani as Jeremy Smith



Jeremy was at the top of the world during this interview, and he would stay there for at two more installments. But then, as Next Generation astutely pointed out, something went wrong and people started to lose interest in Lara. Thankfully, that happened after Angelina Jolie starred in two blockbuster Hollywood movies. But after a few misfires, Eidos went back to the drawing board to reboot Tomb Raider ... without Jeremy Smith.

Even then, Lara wasn't the guaranteed star she once was. After several attempts, the developers tried yet another reboot, which proved to be her most popular outing in years. Nearly twenty years later, Lara seems to have finally found her second wind. There's still talk about a third Tomb Raider movie, which seems even more likely given that she's starring in not one, but two upcoming games.

SPECIAL THANKS: We would like to thank Next Generation magazine for not only running this interview, but also asking challenging questions. This episode would not have been possible without the editors at Next Generation, as well as Jeremy Smith. And don't forget to check out Justin Celani at Spawn First and RPGSite, as well as his YouTube channel at SlasherJPC.

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	Next Generation Interviews Sam Tramiel	Atari	Aaron B.	8:10
	Next Generation Interviews Howard Lincoln	Nintendo	Jeremy LaMont	12:02
	Next Generation Interviews David Perry	Shiny	Steve Jaworski	8:54
	Next Generation Interviews Sen. Joe Lieberman	Politics	Daniel Santos	16:07
	Next Generation Interviews Steve Race	Sony	Brad Gallaway	24:49
	Next Generation Interviews Jeremy Smith	Core	Justin Celani	20:10
	Next Generation Interviews Eugene Jarvis	Retro	Kevin Bailey	15:01
	Next Generation Interviews Sam Tramiel (Part 2)	Atari	Aaron B.	26:58