Chapter 3 - Kathryn's Recommedation

After more than seven hours of travel, the bus finally arrived in Los Angeles that evening.

After getting off the bus, Simon stood on the sidewalk and looked around. Although he had never personally been here, thanks to the memories he had inherited, he recognized the surrounding area as Burbank in the San Fernando Valley located in the northwestern part of Los Angeles County.

'On the other side of the mountain should be the iconic Hollywood sign,' he thought.

During the 1980s, although many film studios had begun to move to Burbank, most film production, distribution, and brokerage companies were still located in downtown Hollywood.

Kathryn got out of the bus after Simon. She also stood on the sidewalk and looked around. Her friend who was supposed to pick her up had not yet arrived, so she looked at Simon standing beside her.

A journey that should have been very boring became very interesting, instead, thanks to this young man. Other than reading each other's scripts, the two had talked about a lot of things with relish during the remainder of the journey.

Although Simon was much younger than her, there had been a few instances when she felt like an inexperienced little girl in front of him.

It was hard to imagine how this young man had managed to accumulate such a wealth of knowledge. Whether it was about film, music or, even, painting, which was her former profession, he was able to talk on length about them all. In fact, the few hours that she spent with him had allowed her to learn a lot.

Having reached the end of their journey, Kathryn suddenly realized that, apart from his name and that he came to Hollywood to become a screenwriter, she knew almost nothing about Simon. Meanwhile, she had told him many things about herself such as her childhood in San Francisco, the fact that she was returning from seeing her parents, her life in Soho, Manhattan, why she was interested in films and her reasons for wanting to be a film director.

Simon looked at the surrounding area before turning back to look at Kathryn. Seeing that she was also looking at him, he smiled at her.

During the journey, Simon had realized that there was a very strong contrast between Kathryn's own personality and her film style. The characters in her films often unscrupulously committed crimes and swore frequently, but Kathryn herself was very quiet, spoke softly, and even acted a bit reserved in front of strangers.

Of course, Simon did not find this to be too strange. Having such a deep contrast between themselves and their work - almost to the point of being completely opposite - was very common among artists.

Thinking about this, Simon asked, "Kathryn, is no one coming to pick you up?"

"My friend was supposed to come but she seems to be running late." Kathryn shook her head when she heard Simon query and asked, "What about you?"

Simon shrugged, "I was thinking that we could carpool together."

"I live in Malibu, not here." Kathryn raised her hand and pointed towards the west and said, "If you ever come there, I could show you around."

"Malibu? I've heard that's a nice city." Simon smiled and jokingly said, "Why don't you consider taking me in? I can cook for you, wash your clothes, and even clean your house. You just need to take care of my food and shelter."

Kathryn looked at Simon with mock contempt after he expressed his desire to live as a henpecked man before explaining seriously, "I'm actually living at my friend's house, so I'm afraid that's not possible."

Simon smiled and waved his hand before stating that he had just been joking. Even if Kathryn really offered to take him in, he would decline.

It was not because he was ashamed to be supported by a woman, but because he had a deep-rooted aversion to living in other people's homes. He felt more at ease when living in his own house.

Of course, he may not be able to afford his own house until a few years later.

However, when Kathryn said that she was living at her friend's house, Simon suddenly had a thought.

'Friend? Is it James Cameron?'

During his former life, Kathryn and James Cameron had been married for a few years until 1991. During the 2010 Oscars, the media had pushed their previous relationship into the limelight when Kathryn's The Hurt Locker and Cameron's Avatar competed for the Oscar for Best Picture. The media portrayed it as a battle between ex-wife and ex-husband.

After sorting through the information in his memories, Simon quickly rejected this thought.

James Cameron’s current wife should still be Gale Anne Hurd, the producer of The Terminator. In fact, the two had gotten married just last year. Although James Cameron was not a man that could remain faithful to a single woman, the two should still remain together for another two to three years.

Kathryn naturally had no idea that Simon was thinking about her love life. She was busy in her thoughts for a few minutes before she said, "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 with that."

Although Simon had some plans of his own, when he heard Kathryn's words, he didn't refuse and said, "Sure, I mean, if it’s not too much trouble?"

"It's no trouble," Catherine shook her head and said, "But I can only get you an introduction. Whether or not you can persuade him to sign with you depends on you."

"You must've heard of William Morris Agency (WMA), right? It's the largest talent agency in Hollywood."

---

Naturally, Simon had heard of William Morris Agency. It was established at the end of the nineteenth century and was currently the largest talent agency in Hollywood and, possibly, even the entire world.

Of course, according to the information in Simon's memory, the current situation of WMA was definitely not great, but it was still influential enough to crush most small-to-medium talent agencies. If he had to choose between signing with WMA and any other talent agency, with the exception of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Simon would not hesitate in the slightest before choosing WMA.

Many Hollywood celebrities often claim that they chanced upon a talent agent while out shopping or eating before suddenly being cast in a blockbuster film and becoming famous overnight.

However, these claims couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, on any certain star's IMDB page, one could see exactly how many years they spent between their first role to the role that turned them into a star. That alone was enough to show how tortuous the path to fame is.

---

Although Simon had unrivaled knowledge about the future, he knew that it would still take him at least three to five years before being able to make a name for himself. He was willing to wait since as an 18-year-old young man, he was not short on time.

Of course, if Kathryn could provide him with some help to ease his future, Simon wouldn't refuse her.

The two walked to a nearby phone booth. Kathryn found a phone book from her bag and flipped through it before dialing a number.

Simon stood by and waited patiently.

Kathryn talked on the phone for a while, then turned to Simon and asked softly, "Simon, how do you spell your last name?"

Simon immediately spelled his last name, "W-E-S-T-E-R-O-S."

Kathryn turned back and talked for less than a minute before hanging up.

"Fortunately, Mr. Friedman was still in his office. Normally, he would've left by now, but the situation at WMA has been a bit messy lately, so it’s not surprising that he's working overtime." Kathryn said and quickly wrote something in her phone book, then tore it off and handed it to Simon, and continued, "Your appointment is for four o'clock tomorrow at WMA's office. You must not be late. When you get there, tell the front desk that you have an appointment with Mr. Friedman and someone will come to escort you to his office. If no one comes, you can call this number."

Simon nodded and looked at the note.

At the top, a name was written - Jonathan Friedman - who was obviously the "Mr. Friedman" that Kathryn just spoke about. In the middle, WMA's office address - 150 Camino Street, Beverly Hills - was written. Finally, at the bottom, there was a phone number.

Putting the note carefully in his wallet, Simon suddenly recalled something and said, "Kathryn, what about you? I mean, if I end up starving to death on the street and need help, how will I contact you?"

Kathryn heard Simon's overly-dramatic statement, rolled her eyes at him, took out her phone book again and began writing. While writing, she jokingly said, "If you have hands and feet and still end up starving to death on the street, I won't care to help you.”

The two were talking when suddenly a loud car horn sounded and a burgundy Ford sedan sped towards them before stopping nearby. The woman in the driver’s seat was obviously too impatient to get out of the car before speaking, so she craned her neck out of the car's window before yelling towards them, "Kate, I caught you! Hey, little boy, get inside the car! Don't just start talking to a stranger on the road or you will get dragged into an alley and be eaten!"

Kathryn handed over her contact information to Simon and helplessly said to the woman in the car, "Jenny, you are late again."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come. I must have disturbed you, right?" The woman pushed the car door open, sashayed over with a grin on her face, and stretched out her hand towards Simon, "Janet Johnston, little boy, what is your name?"

Simon looked at the woman dressed in a pink, tight-fitting T-shirt and high-waisted jeans with fluffy blonde hair. Although not as tall as Catherine, but thanks to her high heels, her figure looked quite tall and graceful with a well-maintained appearance that made it impossible to guess her age.

However, Simon obviously felt that this woman had a bit of a crazy personality. If not, why would she drive with high heels on?

Despite thinking so, Simon still politely shook her hand and introduced himself, "Simon Westeros."

"Strange last name," Janet Johnston muttered and looked Simon up and down, once more, before she turned to Kathryn and said, "Kate, let's take him home!"

Kathryn put her luggage in the trunk of the car before she walked over and said, "Jenny, stop kidding. Let's go."

Janet obviously didn't intend to leave that easily. She reached out and held Kathryn's arm to prevent her from leaving, but stared at Simon and curiously asked, "Little boy, it seems that you've just arrived in Los Angeles on the same bus as Kate, huh? If I had to guess, your family must also live in San Francisco, right? Which city are you from? I'm asking in Kate's stead."

Simon saw that Kathryn also looked over with some curiosity, thought about it, and said, "Probably, San Jose. "

Janet gave Simon a very dissatisfied look, snorted and said, "'Probably'?"

Simon shrugged and spoke casually, "I don't have a home. I just grew up in San Jose."

"How could anyone not have a home?" Janet ignored Kathryn's gesture of pulling on her arm, obviously not intending to let Simon off, and asked, once again, "Where did you live before you came to Los Angeles?"

Simon curled up his lips, revealing a harmless smile and innocently said, "Watsonville Mental Hospital."