After more than seven hours of travel, the bus finally arrived at the terminal of the trip in the evening.
After Simon got off the car, he stood on the street and looked around. Although he had never been here himself, based on the information in his mind, he quickly determined that this should be the urban area of Burbank in the San Fernando Valley in the northwest of Los Angeles County, not far from him. The ideal destination also involves climbing over the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.
On the other side of the mountain is Hollywood, the real geographical Hollywood.
In the 1980s, although many Hollywood film studios had begun to move to surrounding areas, more production companies, distribution companies, brokerage companies, etc. related to the film industry still gathered in the world-famous streets in downtown Hollywood. on the street.
Catherine got out of the car after Simon, and also stood on the side of the road looking around. The friend who had agreed to pick her up hadn't arrived yet, so she looked at Simon next to her.
What was originally thought to be a very boring trip became very fulfilling due to the appearance of this big boy. After exchanging scripts, the two of them talked about many topics with great interest during the rest of the trip.
Although she was much younger than him, Catherine would even feel at certain moments that she was just a fledgling little girl in front of him.
It's really hard to imagine how this big boy has accumulated such a wealth of knowledge. Whether it's movies, music, even her professional painting, or many other topics, he can talk freely about it in just a few hours. Getting along with her even made her feel like she had benefited a lot.
About to leave, Catherine suddenly realized that she knew almost nothing about Simon except his name and that he probably wanted to become a screenwriter when he came to Los Angeles. However, she was unknowingly attracted by him. The guide revealed a lot of things, such as how she grew up in San Francisco, why she went back this time to visit her parents, how she lived in Soho, Manhattan, why she was interested in movies and wanted to be a director, and so on.
If he did it on purpose, that's abominable.
However, thinking about it carefully, she didn't seem to ask these questions. She was already overwhelmed by many of his topics.
After Simon took stock of the surrounding situation, he turned to look at Catherine. Seeing that the woman was looking at him, he nodded and smiled at her.
Along the way, Simon discovered a very strong contrast between Catherine's own personality and the style of her films. Characters in women's images often kill, set fires, and swear without any scruples, and live unscrupulously. However, in real life, Catherine has a very quiet personality, speaks softly to others, and even appears to be very shy.
Of course, Simon didn’t find it too strange. This kind of strong personality conflict between real life and personal works, which is almost schizophrenic, is very common among various types of artist groups.
With this in mind, Simon asked the woman, "Catherine, isn't anyone coming to pick you up?"
"Yes, but I haven't come here yet." Before Catherine could think of what she wanted to say, she heard Simon speak first, so she had to shake her head and asked, "What about you?"
Simon shrugged: "I thought we could share a car and pay AA for the fare."
"I live in Malibu," Catherine raised her hand and pointed to the west and said, "Where are you going? If you are on your way, I can take you there later."
"Malibu, that's a nice city," Simon said with a smile on his lips, "How about you consider taking me in. I can cook, wash clothes, and clean. I can do all these things. I just need to take care of food and housing."
Catherine glared at Simon lightly, expressing contempt for his behavior of wanting to eat soft food, but then she explained seriously: "I am also staying with a friend, but I have no right to take you in."
Simon smiled. Of course he was just joking. Even if Catherine really agreed, he would decline.
It's not that he can't take Catherine's "soft rice", but that he has a deep-rooted resistance to living in other people's homes. He is more accustomed to living in his own house.
Of course, this may not happen for a long time to come.
However, when Catherine said that she was staying at a friend's house, Simon suddenly remembered.
friend
Could it be James Cameron
In the original time and space, Catherine and Cameron were once husband and wife. This matter was still very popular in the year when "The Hurt Locker" won the Oscar. "The Hurt Locker" VS "Avatar", ex-wife VS ex-husband .
After searching through the information in his mind, Simon quickly rejected this guess.
Cameron's current wife is Gale Anne Hurd, the producer of "Terminator" and also considered Cameron's boss. The two just got married last year. Although Cameron is not a stable man, they should not divorce until three or four years later.
Catherine naturally didn't know what Simon was thinking. After explaining, she added: "Simon, since you don't know anyone in Los Angeles and you plan to become a screenwriter, you should need an agent, right? Maybe I can help."
Although Simon had some plans of his own, he still became serious when he heard Catherine's words and said, "Is it okay? I mean, if it's not troublesome?"
"Of course it's not troublesome," Catherine shook her head and said, "However, I can only help you make an introduction. You still need to work hard to convince the other person to become your agent. WMA, do you know? That is a very big company. A good agency.”
WMA (William-Morris-Agency), William Morris Agency, Simon naturally knows that this talent agency established at the end of the 19th century is still the largest agency in Hollywood.
Of course, according to the information Simon knows, the current situation of WMA is definitely not good, but a emaciated camel is bigger than a horse, not to mention that WMA, an elephant that is far from emaciated to death, has no problem crushing a large number of camels. If he could enter such a brokerage company, Simon would definitely be able to avoid a lot of detours.
After all, although many Hollywood stars always claim that they accidentally met an agent while shopping, eating and walking, it seems that they have prospered ever since.
But don’t doubt it, ninety-nine percent of these gossips are lies. If you don’t believe it, just open the IMDB page of a certain star at random and look at how many years that person has gone through from their first appearance in a work to their popular masterpiece, and you will know how tortuous their road to fame is.
Although he has opportunities and resources that are unmatched by others, Simon had originally planned to stay in Hollywood for three to five years. He is only 18 years old and has no shortage of time.
Of course, Catherine could give him some help at this time, and Simon would never be pretentious enough to refuse.
The two walked to a nearby coin-operated phone booth. Catherine found a phone book from her luggage and flipped through it for a while before dialing the number.
Simon stood waiting patiently.
Catherine chatted with the other person for a while, then turned around and asked softly, "Simon, how do you spell 'Westeros'?"
Simon immediately spelled his last name: "Westeros."
Catherine hummed, turned back, and talked for more than a minute before hanging up the phone.
"Fortunately, Mr. Friedman is still in the office. I forgot that I'm off work now, but WMA has been a bit chaotic recently, so it's not surprising to work overtime." Catherine said a little embarrassedly, found the pen stand and hurriedly dialed her phone He wrote something on the book, then tore it off and handed it to Simon, warning: "Tomorrow at four o'clock in the afternoon, William Morris Headquarters, you must not be late. Tell them at the front desk that you have made an appointment, and someone will be there I'll take you there, if you can't, you can still make this call."
Simon nodded, took the note and looked at it.
At the top was a name, Jonathan Friedman, apparently the Mr. Friedman that Catherine had just spoken of. Next is 150 Camino Street in Beverly Hills, which should be the address of the WMA headquarters. Finally there is a string of phone numbers.
Putting the note into his wallet and watching the woman lift her satchel, Simon suddenly thought of it again and said: "Catherine, what about you, I mean, if I don't do well, I will starve to death on the streets soon. Do you want to know how to find you for help?"
When Catherine heard what Simon said, she rolled her eyes at him, but took out the phone book again and started writing, while teasing: "If you can starve to death on the streets, I won't care."
While the two were talking, several loud car horns suddenly sounded on the side of the road. A burgundy Ford sedan stopped. The woman in the driver's seat obviously couldn't wait to stick her head out of the car window and said to the two: "Kate, I caught you. Hey, little boy, get in the car quickly, don't talk to the big sister on the roadside casually, you will be dragged into the alley and eaten."
Catherine handed the written contact information to Simon and said helplessly to the woman in the car: "Jenny, you are late again."
"Maybe I shouldn't have come, I must have disturbed you, right?" A woman named Jenny opened the car door, walked over with a smile, stretched out her hand to Simon and said: "Janet Johnston, little boy, you What is your name?"
Simon looked at the woman in front of him. She was wearing a pink tight T-shirt with a bunch of floral letters printed on it and high-waisted jeans. She had fluffy blond hair shawl. Although she was not as beautiful as Catherine, her figure looked quite tall and graceful after wearing high heels. Her well-maintained appearance also makes it difficult to tell her age.
However, Simon clearly felt that there was a bit of madness in this woman's character.
What’s more, is it really okay to wear high heels while driving
With this in mind, Simon shook hands with the other party politely and introduced himself: "Simon Westeros."
"Weird surname," Janet Johnston muttered, and looked Simon up and down again, with a very satisfied expression, then turned to Catherine and said: "Then, Kate, let's bring him back Come home!”
Catherine put her luggage in the back seat of the car on the roadside, came over and said, "Jenny, stop joking, let's go."
Janet obviously did not intend to let the two of them go easily. She reached out to hold Catherine's arm to prevent her from walking away, but stared at Simon and asked curiously: "Little boy, it seems that you have just arrived in Los Angeles and came with Kate? Hmm? , let me guess, your home is also in San Francisco, right? Which city is it from? I'm asking for Kate?"
Seeing Catherine looking over with some curiosity, Simon thought for a moment and then said: "Probably, San Jose."
Janet glanced at Simon with dissatisfaction and said in a drawled voice: "It's really interesting. It's not bad at all."
Simon shrugged and wrote lightly: "I don't have a home. I just grew up in San Jose."
"How could someone be without a home?" Janet said roughly without reacting for a moment. She ignored Catherine's little gesture of pulling her arm and asked, "Then where did you live before coming to Los Angeles?"
Simon curved his lips, showed a harmless smile, and said: "Watsonville Mental Hospital."