Chapter 3

Since they had come to the famous metropolis of London, it was only natural that they would tour the city. Big Ben, the Thames, Victoria Tower, and Westminster Palace all bore the footprints of Ryan and Nicole.

However, the place Ryan most wanted to go was another one. After much pestering, Nicole finally took him to King's Cross Station.

This was the most famous station of his previous life, the starting point of the magical journey of the little wizard.

Indeed, the increasingly unscrupulous Ryan set his next target on Harry Potter. Originally, this series was not in his plan. Such a novel filled with British charm would be hard to write without living in Britain, and he did not want to invite trouble for himself.

Who would have thought that plans could never keep up with changes? Not only did he encounter Nicole Kidman, whose fate was different, but he also followed her to London, where he would live for the next two years. It would be a waste not to incorporate this franchise, which had created billions of dollars in value in his previous life, into his own.

As for whether Aunt Rowling would commit suicide due to poverty and hunger in the future, that was not within his consideration. After all, she was not Nicole Kidman, and she had no connection to him, not even a cent.

Besides, what did the lives of the British have to do with him!

In the following year and a few months, Nicole devoted herself to stage plays. Ryan went to watch a few times and found that Nicole Kidman's acting was far better than when she entered Hollywood in his previous life.

As for himself, his life was dull and boring. He spent his class time writing, exercised after school, and learned various knowledge that would greatly benefit his future.

To break the bad habits he had formed in the orphanage in both lives, he asked Nicole to hire a strict British etiquette teacher. He trained for a whole year in his spare time, forming a certain habit of etiquette.

As long as he wanted, he could be a standard little gentleman.

He had already written and revised the first three parts of Harry Potter. After entering 1988, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was officially published and released, but it did not cause a sensation, just like in his previous life.

In addition, he wrote several short stories, some original and some plagiarized. The publisher simply combined them with the previously published short stories and prepared to publish a "Ryan Story Collection."

As winter approached, London began a continuous period of rainy weather. Ryan had not seen the sun for half a month. Because he had beaten up a few black kids who were causing trouble at school, Nicole was repeatedly called to the principal's office, and he was placed under house arrest.

Sitting in the room, twirling a colored pencil, he suddenly heard Nicole and a man arguing downstairs. Ryan put down his sketch and quietly walked out of the room.

"Why are you terminating the contract? And why are you turning down the invitation from the Royal Shakespeare Company? That's a theater company supported by the royal family." The man's attitude was very bad, and he was questioning Nicole.

Ryan recognized the man speaking; he was Nicole's agent... no, her former agent. He had heard Nicole say that their contract had expired, and she did not plan to renew it.

"I've been performing in stage plays for over a year, and I don't want to continue. I want to return to the big screen," Nicole explained calmly.

"Return to the big screen?" The man's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"That's it, Mr. Henry. Don't forget, our contract has expired." With Nicole's cold and proud personality, she would not give him a good face, and she directly asked him to leave.

"Hah..." The man laughed sarcastically. "I know you've always wanted to go to Hollywood, but you're too naive. Do you really think there are opportunities everywhere there... Perhaps with your beauty, you can exchange..."

"Whoosh~"

A colored pencil flew down the stairs.

"Ouch~"

The man clutched his forehead and let out a cry of pain.

Ryan's face was dark as he ran down the stairs and sternly said, "Next time you're rude to a lady, it won't be a pencil, but a shot put that comes down."

"Hey! You little brat!" The man rubbed his forehead and stood up, looking like he wanted to attack.

Nicole quickly stepped in front of Ryan, determined not to let anyone harm her most important person. "Henry, please leave, or I'll call the police."

They say it's better to part on good terms, but this man's character was really not good. Ryan remembered clearly that if it weren't for Nicole's quick thinking, she might have been sold a few times.

"Dear, you were too rash," Nicole said, hugging Ryan when they were alone in the living room.

"Nicole, do you want to go to Hollywood now?"

"That's my dream," Nicole said softly, ruffling Ryan's hair. "Why am I telling this to a little brat like you? Oh, right, Ryan, I'm going back to Australia soon. You must not cause trouble in London."

"Back to Australia?" Ryan was puzzled.

"A production company has invited me. Yes... 'Beyond the Horizon'!"

Hollywood! Back in his room, Ryan wrote this down heavily on his sketch.

Having experienced the information explosion of his previous life, he knew very well that the glamorous circle was not as beautiful as it seemed on the surface. Moreover, it was a male-dominated industry. Nicole had no support there, and it would be very difficult for her to get a major role. Did he want her to fall into Tom Cruise's arms again? He absolutely would not allow that to happen.

Alright! For our shared dream, I should start preparing seriously!

Nicole returned to Australia, and Ryan simply had the nanny pretend to be Nicole and called the school to take a long leave. The next thing to do was very important for their future.

All along, Ryan had been writing novels. Now he had to start preparing a screenplay. In his previous life, due to his profession, he had read many movie scripts and knew a bit about how to write them.

However, when it came to practical use, he regretted not having read more. Despite his remarkable talent, he was not arrogant enough to think he knew everything. He started frequenting bookstores and libraries, bringing back a large number of books about screenplays and movies.

The most important thing was to find a suitable movie, one that he and Nicole could act in together, to commemorate their special relationship!

Movies are deeply influenced by the social environment. Bringing some classic movies from his previous life to the present would most likely result in a failure. Among all movie genres, the ones least affected by the times were undoubtedly horror and thriller films and science fiction films that were detached from reality.

Science fiction was out of the question. He didn't mind, but Nicole was already beautiful to the point of being alluring. Using this type of movie to enter Hollywood would definitely make her a mere pretty face.

In fact, Ryan chose a thriller, "The Sixth Sense." This was a classic movie from 1999, which was a box office and critical success, and even received several Oscar nominations. Most importantly, the movie blurred the time setting, reflecting one of the mainstream values since the 1980s—family, kinship, and communication.

Moreover, the structure of the movie was unique, with a big twist at the beginning and the end. This kind of creativity had been overused in the new century, but in this era, it was a genuine new idea.

Also, the relationship between the little boy and the single mother in the movie was very similar to the sister-mother relationship between him and Nicole, making it easier for them to get into character.

Transforming the images in his mind into words on the script was not an easy task for a beginner. He revised it several times, even putting aside the Harry Potter project. Fortunately, his talent in this life was indeed outstanding, and at least in writing screenplays, he was not inferior to the fat man who sold video tapes.

"Scene 1, Act 1, Time: Night. Setting: Dimly lit basement.

Anna walks down the stairs and comes to the wine rack, selecting a bottle of red wine..."

Ryan flipped through the script. After three months, he finally completed the first draft. He believed there were no major issues with the scene and character descriptions, but there were many flaws in the shot divisions.

For now, that was the best he could do. He sighed. Nicole had returned several times in the past three months and had not discovered that he was writing a screenplay. Ryan did not plan to tell her, and everything would wait until they returned to Los Angeles.

Although he had the script, the problem was still very serious. He was not naive enough to think that if he mailed the script to a movie company, they would come running to him. That was just a fantasy.

What is the foundation of a movie? Many would choose the script, but except for a few top-tier screenwriters, the status of ordinary screenwriters in the industry was far lower than imagined.

In 1988, Hollywood experienced a major screenwriter strike, and their treatment improved afterward, but Ryan knew that in a few years, they would be back at the bottom.

As everyone knows, it is extremely difficult for newcomers to make a name in Hollywood, and it is even harder for new screenwriters. Without connections or intermediaries, it would be impossible to get a movie company to invest in your script.

Clearly, Ryan belonged to this category, but he had a strategy. That was the script sea tactic. With the experience of writing once, he would write faster the next time. If one script got no response, he would send the second, third, or even eighth and tenth.

Moreover, he had a heavy-hitting trump card in his hand— "Jurassic Park"!

After all, this book had topped the bestseller list in the United States since 1987 and stayed there for over thirty weeks. If he, a young author, stood in the spotlight, the reaction would be unimaginable.

Since he chose to use a script as a stepping stone, he naturally did not want to be just an ordinary screenwriter. In Hollywood, any profession, when you reach the top, would make you a powerful figure in the industry.

Ryan was not satisfied with this. While continuously revising "The Sixth Sense" script, he also wrote the outlines and settings of some classic movies from his memory. This was to prevent forgetting, even though those images had been etched in his mind for years. It was always better to be prepared.

By early summer of 1989, just as Ryan was about to make a dozen copies of the script and mail them to major Hollywood movie companies, Nicole Kidman, who had been busy with "Beyond the Horizon" in Australia, returned to London, bringing her new agent with her.

A woman who surprised Ryan greatly!