In the evening.

Simon waited patiently for Janet to change into a more formal dress before the two left the villa.

The bodyguards had already prepared the car for the two of them in advance.

Simon came out with Janet and politely nodded to two middle-aged men in their forties named Neil Bennett and Ken Dixon, who felt a little strange in their hearts even though they had been very familiar with each other for so many days.

The two bodyguards were not hired by Simon from a security company, but borrowed by Janet from her own home.

Simon has never taken the initiative to ask about Janet's family history since they met, but the information in the newspaper during this time is enough for him to know too much.

Janet was born into the old Johnston family in Australia.

Although the family wealth is only about $2 billion, it is not conspicuous on the list of the world's richest people. However, the Johnston family has a very strong potential influence in Australia.

Eight years ago, Australia abruptly abolished the inheritance tax, becoming the first country in the developed countries of the West to abolish this tax, which caused a sensation in the world for a while. It is said that behind this incident, there was a strong push from the Johnston family.

Subsequently, Janet's grandfather, Nicholas Johnston, died in 1983, and the Johnston family inherited the wealth of the previous generation in its entirety due to the abolition of inheritance tax.

Today, with its multiple shareholding structure and the family's deep-rooted influence, the Johnston family, which has flourished for more than a century, still firmly controls the Johnston Holding Group, which is involved in multiple pillars of the Australian economy such as mining, animal husbandry and transportation.

The turmoil dissipated, and the paparazzi gradually realized that it was not easy to dig up news from a young director like Simon, who didn't go to nightclubs, took drugs, and didn't fight, so there were obviously fewer media people chasing Simon during this time.

Of course, this is only relative.

Simon's SUV left the Palisades mansion, and there were still a number of cars following him along the way. The agreed place to dine with Mike Meadowa was at a restaurant next to the Century City Ranch Park Golf Club.

Arriving at the destination, the two bodyguards skillfully escorted Simon and Janet from the paparazzi who wanted to squeeze forward. After entering the restaurant, Janet took Simon's arm, leaned over and whispered in his ear: "If you don't like it, when we have the money to hire our own bodyguards, we can send Neil and Ken back to Australia." ”

Simon said to the waiter who greeted him, followed the other side to the restaurant, and whispered to Janet in the same voice: "The two of them are very good, I just feel a little, well, weird." ”

These are Simon's heartfelt words.

As a profession closest to the employer, a capable and trustworthy bodyguard is also hard to find. Although they had only been together for a few weeks, Simon could feel that the professionalism of the two Neal was absolutely impeccable. As for the trust aspect, when it comes to Janet, the Johnston family is naturally even less likely to be sloppy in this regard.

Hearing Simon say this, Janet smiled softly and said no more.

After following the waiter for some distance, the two came to a seat, and Mike Medowa, the president of Orion Pictures, had already gotten up to greet Simon and Janet.

The three then took their seats.

After ordering a meal and greetings, the topic was unconsciously turned to the upcoming 59th Academy Awards by Mike Medowa.

This year's Oscars will be held on March 30, which is next Monday.

Orion is not only a box office hit at the moment, but this year's Oscars have won a total of 18 Oscar nominations for films such as "Field Platoon" and "Hannah Sisters".

As a result, there has been a clear wave of spirit in Mike Medowa's recent moves.

"That's right, Simon," said Mackówa, looking at the young man and woman sitting across from him, "Do you and Jenny want to attend next week's Oscars?"

Simon didn't expect Mike Medois to bring it up.

With the large number of nominations received this year, it is naturally easy for Orion to arrange one or two people for the Oscars on an ad hoc basis. Due to the box office success of "Lola Run", the Oscars will obviously not skimp on two additional invitations.

Moreover, attending the Oscars will definitely play a certain role in boosting the follow-up box office of "Lola Run".

It's just that.

With Mike Medowa's proposal, a word popped into Simon's mind.

Rub!

It's a shame.

So he immediately shook his head, and Simon said, "Mike, I'm not going." ”

Mike Medowa did not expect that this opportunity to be squeezed by many starlets was rejected by Simon without hesitation. A little stunned, he also looked at Janet beside Simon, hoping that she could say something. Women would love to be there.

However, Janet obviously looked like she hadn't heard, and was lowering her eyebrows to help her boyfriend arrange a napkin.

All right.

It's a very individual pair again.

Thinking so, Mike Medovar smiled casually and said, "Forget it, Simon." I'm inviting you tonight, I just wanted to ask, how are you thinking about the next movie?"

Simon knew that Mike Meadow's invitation to him tonight was mainly for this, and he did not hide it, saying: "I already have a complete idea, but the script will not be written until next month." Mike, you know how busy I've been lately. ”

"Of course, Orion is not in a hurry," said Mike Medowa, leaning forward slightly as he said, "then, Simon, tell me a little bit about it." ”

Simon sorted out his thoughts and said, "This is a B-grade crime drama film with a style of bias, consisting of six independent but interrelated short stories. Similar to Lola Run, I still wanted to tell the story in a unified way through an alternative non-linear narrative mode. ”

During this time, Simon has been thinking about his next film.

After "Lola Run", Simon's next film to direct will not have a difficult time to succeed commercially. But if Simon is to continue to maintain his popularity, his next film will have to be as refreshing as "Lola Run."

After much deliberation, Simon finally settled on Quentin's "Pulp Fiction".

"Pulp Fiction" also belongs to a non-linear narrative structure, and even goes a step further, pushing the non-linear narrative of the film to a more whimsical realm. After the film appeared, it not only caused a strong response in the year of its release, but even had a very profound impact on many directors in Hollywood, Britain and even across the ocean.