Courteney watched the boy leave with great curiosity, and only when she heard Jonathan Friedland call her name did she rush to the agent's office.
Jonathan, however, only gestured for her to sit down first, then began to whisper something to Owen Wright, who had been called in with her.
She could only continue to wait patiently, not daring to show any dissatisfaction, but she secretly envied the boy who had just left. To receive such a solemn reception from Jonathan, could he be from a powerful Hollywood family?
This thought had just arisen when she dismissed it; the other party's attire certainly didn't look like that of a rich person.
Although she pretended to be nonchalant, she still clearly heard Jonathan telling Owen to prepare a contract based on his memo and to make copies of a script, which was clearly related to the boy from earlier.
What a lucky guy. Fortunately, he's a boy, so he won't compete with her, but Pasdar and the other guys will have a rival now.
Thinking this, a small sense of schadenfreude welled up in her heart.
After Owen left, Jonathan finally brought up her matters.
NBC had finally cancelled 'Misfits of Science' her first starring role in a TV series. She wasn't too disappointed, though; she still wanted to be a movie star, and acting in TV shows was just to gain experience.
Jonathan had recently been promoted to Vice President of WMA. Although it was easy for agents with big-name clients to get a Vice President position in a talent agency, being a WMA Vice President should still bring her more opportunities.
Her agent did not disappoint her.
Warner Bros. was preparing a fantasy comedy called 'Beetlejuice' with a budget of $15 million. This was a big production; the production cost of 'Top Gun' had also been $15 million. Jonathan had already secured her an audition for a very important supporting role in 'Beetlejuice'. In addition, there was an audition for the lead female role in an MGM TV movie, both scheduled for next week.
After discussing everything, she left happily with two sets of audition materials.
She picked up her car in the parking lot and turned onto Camino Street. After some thought, she decided to head south on Olympic Boulevard to return to Santa Monica. It was rush hour, and Wilshire Boulevard to the north would definitely be gridlocked.
The traffic on Olympic Boulevard was indeed sparser. She drove for two or three minutes, just about to leave the Century City area, when she unexpectedly spotted a figure not far ahead: a cheap black T-shirt, faded jeans, and a light grey canvas backpack. It was clearly that guy from earlier.
Moreover, his shabby and unkempt appearance, walking by the bustling city road in the setting sun, actually gave off a feeling of aimlessly wandering the world, like a lonely wandering poet.
Her gaze was drawn, and she unconsciously slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.
Hmm, this guy's physique is really great.
Thinking this vaguely in her mind, she rolled down the car window and greeted the figure by the roadside, "Hi".
A while earlier…
After leaving the WMA headquarters, Simon used the contact information Catherine had provided him yesterday to call the woman from a phone booth on the street, wanting to tell her that he had confirmed signing with Jonathan Friedland.
The call, however, went unanswered, so Simon could only leave a message.
He then started planning his arrangements for his accommodation.
Renting a place was definitely not possible for now, so he could only stay in a hotel.
If only price was considered, there were naturally many options.
However, in Los Angeles, safety was an issue that had to be treated with great care. Moreover, he didn't have a car, so he couldn't stay too far from WMA headquarters.
After deliberating between Hollywood to the north and Santa Monica to the east, Simon decided to go to Santa Monica. He remembered there were many cheap motels on both sides of the 405 Freeway, which runs between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.
Having made up his mind, Simon began walking south along Camino Street, then turned onto Olympic Boulevard. Downtown Santa Monica was about six or seven kilometres from there, a walk of at most an hour, and Simon wasn't in a hurry.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Simon felt a white car slowly approaching him. Just as he was wondering what the driver intended, a girl's voice greeting him came from the lowered window.
The driver's seat was on the left. Simon looked down into the car and saw it was Courteney Cox, whom he had just met at WMA.
Entering Hollywood and signing with a giant agency like WMA, Simon knew he would definitely encounter many faces he had only seen on the big screen before. Therefore, he didn't feel there was anything particularly special about coincidentally meeting 'Monica' from 'Friends' just now.
At this moment, seeing Courteney Cox take the initiative to greet him, Simon was a little surprised, but still politely replied, "Hello".
Courteney Cox saw the boy outside the car window looking at her with bright eyes, raised her hand and made a random gesture, then said, "Um, we just met in Jonathan's office. I live in Santa Monica. Do you want a ride?"
"Sure, thank you".
Simon smiled and nodded. The curb under his feet was painted a striking red, a no-parking sign, so he didn't hesitate and reached out to open the car door.
Courteney Cox put the audition materials she had just placed on the passenger seat into the back. Once Simon got in and settled, she immediately stepped on the accelerator.
After the car was moving steadily, Courteney looked at the boy beside her through the rearview mirror and said, "My name is Courteney Cox. What's yours?"
"Simon Westeros".
Simon replied, his gaze also looking at the girl beside him through the rearview mirror.
At this time, Courteney Cox was in her early twenties, with a tomboyish short haircut and a somewhat thin face, which made her eyes appear very large, giving her a vibrant look. Although she was beautiful, she couldn't hide her youthfulness and lacked some of the charm she would later have in 'Friends'.
"Oh" Courteney nodded, withdrawing her gaze from the boy beside her in the rearview mirror, and looked at the road ahead, searching for a topic: "So, are you very familiar with Jonathan?"
Simon shook his head and said, "No, a friend introduced me. Today is the first time we've met."
"Then you really are impressive, to be able to talk with Jonathan for over an hour on your first meeting. Did you just arrive in Los Angeles? Do you also plan to be an actor?"
"No, I'm a screenwriter".
Courteney turned to look at Simon in surprise, then quickly withdrew her gaze and said, "Then that's even more impressive."
After all, it was their first contact, so the two of them just chatted casually about various things.
A few minutes later, the car passed through the 405 Freeway and entered downtown Santa Monica. After driving for less than another kilometre, Simon signalled Courteney to stop and let him out.
After bidding farewell to the girl, Simon began to look for a place to stay in the streets of downtown Santa Monica.
Just as Simon remembered, there were indeed many motels nearby.
However, most hotels turned Simon away when they learned that he didn't have any type of bank card and wanted to stay long-term but couldn't afford to pay a sufficient deposit in advance.
After searching several blocks, Simon finally found a motel willing to accommodate him in an alley near the southern edge of the city centre.
The owner, who introduced himself as Diego Salgado, was a Spanish immigrant in his sixties and a first-generation immigrant. After listening to a few sentences of the owner's heavily accented English, Simon tentatively communicated with him in Spanish, and consequently they got along very well.
Finally, the owner agreed to rent Simon a single room on the second floor facing the street for $100 a week. Simon only needed to pay a $50 deposit upfront, and the rent could be paid weekly.
Clearly seeing Simon's financial straits, the owner kindly reminded him not to leave a tip for the room cleaner, as his wife did all the cleaning.
The entire process once again made Simon realize the truth of how important it is to master a foreign language.
The following day, the signing process at WMA took up the entire day.
To avoid any unexpected clauses, Simon meticulously reviewed the twenty plus page contract several times. Although he couldn't afford a lawyer at the moment, the relevant information in his memory was sufficient to understand the contract in depth. He even discussed and adjusted some details with Jonathan Friedland.
Having signed the agency contract, the next step was to wait.
Even if Jonathan Friedland was very optimistic about the script of 'The Butterfly Effect', script sales are definitely not something that can be completed overnight. Many scripts even remain with agents for several years, and Simon was mentally prepared for this possibility.
However, although he signed a three-year contract with Jonathan Friedland, Simon would not allow himself to be completely defenceless and as such he would not put all his eggs in the WMA basket.
The detailed contract also included a restrictive clause: if Jonathan Friedland failed to close a deal with a film company after Simon submitted three consecutive scripts, then Simon had the right to terminate the agency relationship with the other party three months after the third script was submitted and after the full contract period exceeded nine months.
With the WMA contract settled, Simon began to address his livelihood, he couldn't remain penniless while he awaited sale of his script.
In fact, Simon was clearly more adept at this than other matters.
In just two days, Simon found a job at a 7-Eleven convenience store in downtown Santa Monica.
When Roger Griffin, the middle-aged, chubby convenience store owner who interviewed Simon, saw this good-looking young man skilfully completing a series of tasks such as restocking, inventory, arranging goods, and even cashiering, he immediately felt that Simon had a promising future in his store and hired him readily.
However, regarding salary, perhaps because he identified Simon as a struggling Hollywood hopeful who wouldn't find many jobs, Roger Griffin was very stingy, only willing to pay the basic hourly wage of $3.50.
The only good thing was that the convenience store's wages were settled weekly, so Simon would receive $140 each week, which was just enough to cover his basic living expenses.
However, on his third day working at the convenience store, Simon had to face a somewhat tricky problem. When he checked into the motel a few days earlier, he had less than $100 left in his pocket, and he had paid a $50 deposit at that time.
Now, the time to settle the first week's rent had arrived, but the day the convenience store paid wages had not yet come.