Chapter 50: The Underdog

Simon nudged the copy of "The Hollywood Reporter" towards Catherine, laughing as he commented, "Some genius actually thought it would be a great idea to pair Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in a romantic comedy."

Hearing Simon's tone of playful mockery and imagining a romantic scene between Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, Catherine also found the idea somewhat amusing.

Curious, Catherine pulled the newspaper to her side and noticed that Simon had been reading an article about Paramount Pictures' upcoming release of the videotape for the movie "Heartfire."

"Heartfire," a romantic comedy starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, had been released during the summer season. The film, which had a $20 million budget, earned only $25 million at the box office. To recoup funds more quickly, Paramount planned to release the video tape at the end of November.

The article in "The Hollywood Reporter," after a brief review of "Heartfire," mainly discussed the industry's concern about the movie's window period—the time between a movie's theater release and its home video release.

After reading the article, Catherine noticed that Simon had only marked a name mentioned in passing: Nora Ephron, the screenwriter of "Heartfire."

Looking up again, Catherine asked, curious, "What about Nora Ephron, Simon?"

Finishing his milk, Simon put down the glass and explained, "I read a review of 'Heartfire' a few months ago and found the plot very interesting. So, if the opportunity arises, I might consider collaborating with her."

Not many might be familiar with Nora Ephron, but if one mentioned "Sleepless in Seattle," recognition would likely be immediate—Nora Ephron was the director and screenwriter of that movie.

Of course, that film hadn't been made yet. And among Nora Ephron's works, Simon's favorite wasn't "Sleepless in Seattle" but another, slightly less famous film, "When Harry Met Sally," which he considered the pinnacle of Ephron's romantic movies.

Incidentally, "When Harry Met Sally" was due to be released in the coming years, and Simon had just been contemplating whether he could somehow get involved with that project, hence the mark next to Nora Ephron's name.

However, this was not something he could easily explain to Catherine, so he made a light joke about it.

After all, casting Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in a romantic film did seem a bit of a stretch.

Observing the cast list, it was apparent that this was yet another package deal orchestrated by CAA.

Catherine sensed Simon was holding back, but she didn't press further. She somewhat agreed with Janet's view that the young man before her held many secrets in his mind.

Thinking of Janet and the conversation they had in the bedroom the night before, Catherine glanced at Simon, who had just finished his breakfast. Her thoughts momentarily scattered, she quickly looked down, pretending to busy herself with a piece of fried egg.

As Simon started clearing the table, he said to the woman still looking down, "Catherine, take your time with your breakfast. I'm heading to Fox Studios now."

Catherine murmured an acknowledgment, and noticing Simon's actions added, "Let me clean up later, Simon. After all, there's also Janet's."

Simon smiled and nodded, "Sure."

Saying this, Simon still carried his dishes to the kitchen sink before leaving the dining room.

Catherine watched Simon leave, thought for a moment, then set down her fork and followed him out.

It was November, and even in the perennially mild Los Angeles, the weather carried a hint of chill.

Simon took his coat from the rack, and Catherine naturally helped him into it, adjusting the collar before he picked up his bag. Looking at Catherine, dressed in a wine-red turtleneck, he said, "Well then, goodbye."

Feeling Simon's tentative hopeful gaze, Catherine's mind flashed with the image of Janet's sparkling eyes. She stepped back slightly, pretending to check Simon's outfit for any issues, and casually smiled, "Goodbye."

Simon didn't insist, nodded, and left the house.

In order to ensure ample time for post-production, Simon's work schedule over the past month had been relentless: shooting the film during weekdays, editing rough cuts on weekends, planning shooting schedules in the evenings, and even composing some music when he found a moment.

"Run Lola Run" was two-thirds complete, with all scenes up to Lola's first run finished. Simon's focus for the past few weekends had been on editing the first running sequence.

Film editing has evolved from a 'non-linear' to a 'linear' process and back to 'non-linear' again. In the early days, film editing involved direct manipulation of the film itself, allowing editors to cut, shorten, and replace footage at will, thus belonging to non-linear editing. However, this primitive form of non-linear editing was incredibly labor-intensive.

With the advent of linear

 editing, editors were freed from handling miles of film. Linear editing involved transferring film footage to tape, then arranging these taped materials in sequence onto another tape. This method greatly reduced workload and was visual and straightforward, allowing immediate monitoring of the editing process. However, linear editing also had its limitations as it restricted editors to working in a fixed sequence.

After linear editing, more advanced non-linear editing emerged in the late 1980s. By digitizing film footage, editors could manipulate images on editing software similar to the original manual editing process.

In 1986, the era of digital non-linear editing was just dawning, and the technology was far from mature. Simon, having no prior experience with linear editing but possessing memories of such processes, hired an assistant to familiarize himself with the linear editing machines at Fox Studios, where he then worked alone on weekends.

No matter the era, film editing has always been a solitary and patience-testing job.

Rushing to Fox Studios and settling in front of the editing console, surrounded by two old CRT monitors, Simon was so engrossed in his work that he almost forgot about his appointment with a journalist from the "Los Angeles Times."

Hurriedly meeting Peter Butler at the entrance of Fox Studios, Simon apologized for the wait and chose a nearby restaurant for their interview instead of bringing him inside.

After ordering lunch, Peter turned on a recorder and placed it on the table, his tone casual yet familiar, "So, working on the weekend?"

"Yes," Simon nodded, "Aren't you?"

Peter smiled, "Looks like we have something in common, that's good."

Simon returned the smile, "Speaking of which, Peter, why are you interested in me? Compared to 'The Los Angeles Times,' I'm just a small fry, aren't I?"

Peter shrugged, "In the newsroom of 'The Los Angeles Times,' I'm a small fry too. Interviewing Spielberg is certainly out of my league."

"I understand, another thing we have in common."

"If only we had some wine, we could toast to that," Peter chuckled and continued, "But seriously, Simon, I don't think you're just a small fry."

Simon just smiled.

Peter went on, "I did some background check on you. You arrived in Los Angeles in June, and as a newcomer, you were unexpectedly signed by Jonathan Friedman, the Vice President of WMA, becoming his only screenwriter client. Then came the internal strife at WMA, which also involved you. Following that, the incident in Santa Monica at the end of July, although seldom mentioned in the papers, I know for a fact that 'The Los Angeles Times' suppressed two articles exploring that event. Plus, your $200,000 screenwriting contract with Fox, when the average annual salary of a Hollywood screenwriter, even those in the guild, is under $20,000. Then, less than half a year into Hollywood, you started directing your first movie, 'Run Lola Run.' What's more surprising is that Hollywood bigwigs like Brian De Palma, David Giler, and Robert Redford have all agreed to be executive producers for this film, which is very rare in Hollywood. So, Simon, from any angle, you can't be considered a small fry. Small fry don't manage to do things like that."