Since they had come to London, this famous metropolis, it was only natural to take a tour. Big Ben, the Thames River, the Victoria Tower, and the Palace of Westminster had all seen the footprints of Ryan and Nicole.
However, the place Ryan most wanted to visit was somewhere else. After his persistent pestering, Nicole finally took him to King's Cross Station.
This was the most famous train station from his previous life, the starting point of a magical journey for a little wizard.
That's right, the increasingly shameless Ryan had set his next target on Harry Potter. Originally, this series wasn't in his plan. A novel so full of British charm would be hard to write without having lived in the UK, and he didn't want to invite trouble for himself.
But who would've thought that plans could never keep up with the speed of change? Not only had he met the fate-altering Nicole Kidman, but he had also followed her to London, where they would be living for the next two years. If he didn't incorporate this franchise, which in his previous life had created an industry chain worth tens of billions of dollars, into his plans, it would be a huge waste of that fateful encounter with Nicole on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
As for whether Aunt Rowling in the future would end up committing suicide due to cold and hunger—well, that wasn't his concern. After all, she wasn't Nicole Kidman; she had done him no favors and had no connection to him, not even a single cent.
Besides, what did the lives of the Brits have to do with him?
Over the next year or so, Nicole threw herself into stage plays. Ryan had gone to watch her a few times and discovered that Nicole Kidman's acting skills were far better than when she first entered Hollywood in his previous life.
As for himself, life was dull and uneventful. He devoted his classroom time to writing, and after school, he exercised and studied all kinds of knowledge that would benefit him greatly in the future.
To get rid of the habits he had developed in the orphanage over his two lifetimes, he even asked Nicole to hire a strict British etiquette teacher. He spent a whole year using his free time to train, and the etiquette had already become part of his daily behavior.
As long as he wanted to, he could be a proper little gentleman.
He had already written and revised the first three Harry Potter books. In 1988, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was officially published. Just like in his previous life, it didn't cause much of a stir at first.
In addition, he had written several short and medium-length stories, some original, some plagiarized. The publisher decided to compile them together with his previously published stories and prepare a Ryan Story Collection for publication.
As early winter set in, London entered a spell of continuous rain. Ryan hadn't seen the sun for half a month. Because he had beaten up a few black kids who were picking on him at school, Nicole had been summoned by the principal several times. As a result, he was grounded.
Sitting in his room, spinning a colored pencil, he suddenly heard Nicole arguing with a man downstairs. Ryan put down his sketch and quietly left the room.
"Why are you terminating the contract? And why did you turn down the invitation from the Royal Shakespeare Company? That's a troupe supported by the royal family!" The man's tone was extremely unpleasant as he questioned Nicole.
Ryan recognized the man—it was Nicole's agent… or rather, her former agent. Nicole had told him that their contract had expired, and she had no intention of renewing it.
"I've acted in stage plays for over a year. I don't want to continue. I want to return to the big screen," Nicole calmly explained.
"Back to the big screen?" The man sneered.
"That's it, Mr. Henry. Don't forget, our contract has already expired," said Nicole coldly, showing him the door as expected of her proud personality.
"Hah…" The man let out a mocking laugh. "I know you've always wanted to go to Hollywood. But you're too naive. You really think there are opportunities everywhere over there? Ah… maybe with your looks, you could trade for a—"
Whoosh~
A colored pencil flew down from the stairs.
"Ahhh~"
The man clutched his forehead and screamed.
Ryan came stomping down the stairs, face dark, and said sternly, "Next time you're rude to a lady, what comes flying down won't be a pencil, it'll be a shot put."
"Hey! You little brat!" The man stood up, rubbing his forehead, seemingly ready to lash out.
Nicole quickly stepped in front of Ryan. No matter what, she would never let anyone hurt the most important person in her life. "Henry, please leave. Otherwise, I'll call the police."
As the saying goes, part as friends, not enemies—but this man's character was truly rotten. Ryan remembered clearly that, on several occasions, if not for Nicole's quick thinking, she might've already been sold out by him.
"Darling, you were too reckless." When they were alone in the living room, Nicole pulled Ryan into her arms.
"Nicole, are you planning to go to Hollywood?"
"That's my dream," Nicole said softly, rubbing Ryan's head. "Why am I talking to a kid like you about this? Oh right, Ryan, I'll be returning to Australia soon. Don't cause any trouble while you're in London."
"Back to Australia?" Ryan asked, confused.
"A production crew has invited me… it's Bangkok Hilton!"
Hollywood! Back in his room, Ryan wrote this word heavily across his sketchpad.
Having experienced the information explosion of his previous life, he knew clearly that the glamorous industry wasn't as wonderful as it seemed on the surface. It was a male-dominated world, and without any connections, it would be extremely hard for Nicole to land major roles. Was she going to end up in Tom Cruise's arms again? He absolutely wouldn't allow that to happen.
Alright then! For the sake of our shared dream, I should start preparing seriously!
With Nicole back in Australia, Ryan had the housekeeper pretend to be Nicole and call the school to request an extended leave. The task ahead was extremely important for both of their futures.
Until now, Ryan had only written novels. Now, he was going to start working on a screenplay. Because of his previous life's profession, he had read quite a few screenplays and had some idea of how they were written.
But when it came time to actually do it, he realized how much he lacked the right knowledge. Even with his extraordinary talent, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he knew it all. He began making frequent trips to bookstores and libraries, collecting piles of books on screenwriting and filmmaking.
The most important thing was to find the right movie—a film that both he and Nicole could star in together, to commemorate their special bond.
Movies are deeply influenced by the social environment, and bringing some classics from his past life into the current era would most likely result in a flop. Among all genres, the ones least constrained by time are horror thrillers and fantastical sci-fi films.
He ruled out sci-fi. He didn't mind it, but Nicole, already strikingly beautiful, would be reduced to a mere eye-candy in such roles. That wasn't the right path for her to enter Hollywood.
In the end, Ryan chose a thriller: The Sixth Sense. It was a classic film released in 1999 in his previous life—both a critical and commercial success, with multiple Oscar nominations. Importantly, the film's time setting was vague and its themes—family, affection, communication—reflected dominant values since the 1980s.
Also, the relationship between the young boy and his single mother was very much like his and Nicole's sister-mother dynamic, making it easier for them to emotionally connect to the roles.
Turning the visuals in his head into screenplay text wasn't easy for a beginner. He revised it over and over, even putting Harry Potter aside. Fortunately, he was gifted enough that, at least in screenwriting, he wouldn't be worse than that chubby guy who used to sell videotapes.
"Scene One, Act One. Evening. A dimly lit basement.
Anna walks down the stairs, arrives in front of the wine rack, and selects a bottle of red wine..."
Ryan flipped through the script. After three whole months, he had finally completed the first draft. He was confident about the scene and character descriptions, but the camera directions still had plenty of flaws.
That was the best he could do for now. He sighed. Over the past three months, Nicole had returned several times, but hadn't realized he was writing a screenplay. Ryan didn't plan to tell her either—he'd wait until they were back in Los Angeles.
Although he had the script, the problem remained: he wasn't naïve enough to think he could just mail it to a studio and they'd come running to him. That was a fantasy.
What is the foundation of a film? Many would say the script. But apart from a few top-tier screenwriters, the average screenwriter's status in the industry was shockingly low.
In fact, in 1988, Hollywood saw a major writers' strike. Although their conditions improved afterward, Ryan knew they'd soon be back in the gutter.
It was well known that breaking into Hollywood as a newcomer was incredibly difficult—especially as a screenwriter. Without connections or intermediaries, getting a production company to invest in your script…
Clearly, Ryan fell into that category. But he had a plan: script bombardment. With one script under his belt, his writing speed would improve. If the first didn't get a response, he'd send a second, a third—even ten if needed.
Moreover, he had a heavyweight secret weapon: Jurassic Park!
That book had hit the top of the U.S. bestseller list in '87 and stayed there for over thirty weeks. If this young author stepped into the spotlight, the reaction would be explosive.
Since he had chosen screenwriting as his path into the industry, he didn't want to remain an ordinary writer. In Hollywood, any job at the top of its field brings power.
Ryan wasn't content with just that. While continuously revising The Sixth Sense, he also began outlining and documenting other classic films from his memory. This was to prevent forgetting them—though many scenes were etched into his brain, it never hurt to be prepared.
By the early summer of 1989, just as Ryan was about to make a dozen copies of the screenplay and mail them to major Hollywood studios, Nicole Kidman returned to London from her busy filming in Australia for Bangkok Hilton, bringing along her new agent.