"Sigourney, how does it feel to be the number one actress in Hollywood?"
"Sigourney, does this movie make you the highest-paid actress?"
Most of the questions were for Sigourney, but as the newest thing in Hollywood, that was expected. James' fame was also not something to laugh at, though.
"James, is Sidney your date for the night?"
"How old are you James? It's reported that you are still very young?"
"When did you graduate from university?"
James avoided answering many questions, only occasionally saying hello to the reporters.
Sidney would stay behind to answer many of the reporters, probably being used their inquisitive (rude) nature.
James was not as used to it, and didn't feel like answering their questions that sounded like traps they could use as headlines. At least, that wasn't the plan for today.
James just wanted to relax and enjoy his hard work. Although going to a grand event like this one felt quite stuffy, James hasn't gotten to just sit down and enjoy a movie. He has been stuffed with work, trying to get his repertoire as full as possible ever since he transmigrated.
There were servers there to guide James and the rest of the celebrities to their seats.
James patiently waited as they sectioned him off with the rest of the cast of Aliens. Sigourney was supposed to be seated next to him, but as she was currently talking to reporters, it was empty.
Someone decided to take that opportunity to talk to James by sitting in Sigourney's seat.
"James, hi, how's it going?"
"I'm doing well. What have you been up to?"
"Same old, same old, actually I have a suggestion, or rather an idea that I've been contemplating. It's a movie about a woman named Silkwood, she's a whistle-blower and labor union activist. She just recently stumbled upon a wrong-doing covered up by The Kerr-McGee Corporation..."
"Yes, yes, I understand. I'm interested, here's my card, I'll talk to you later. Thank you."
"What? No, I mean, it's based on a novel called-"
"Yes. I'll contact you later, I promise. I really do promise, I'm actually a fan of your work, I'll contact you later."
"Oh, okay, thank you."
James just met a woman named Nora Ephron and she was a pretty amazing screenwriter during the 1980s. Making popular works like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. Although it would be much later in her career when she made these iconic romance movies, James did want to establish a connection with her.
It's just he didn't want to establish it right now. Right now all he wanted to do was sit down and enjoy his movie. He was going to try his best to not interact with any of the stars here, no matter how much they wanted to talk to him.
Many would come up to him to try and start up a conversation, similar to what Norah did, but he would shoot them down every time.
"You busy?"
James looked over his shoulder to see a familiar voice.
"Sigourney, you have no idea the pain you've put me through."
"Aww, poor baby can't handle being alone?"
"It's annoying when so many people come up to you."
"Well, I'd say it's a blessing, it means there is more work to do and more importantly that people want to work with you."
"That's true."
"Hopefully they get started soon though."
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The movie would start 20 minutes later. The lights would dim and everyone would go quiet. The movie would start just as James directed it, with Sigourney coming out of cryo-sleep.
All of the layers of conflict would unfold and everyone seemed to be engrossed in this new type of sci-fi film. Everything seemed to blend smoothly. In other sci-fi films, the alien would stick out unnaturally and would take away from the plot of the movie.
In James' film, everything worked together to prop up the setting and make the movie better.
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When the movie ended, everyone gave the standard applause. Many would hype the movie up with cheers and whistles, maybe hoping to please the cast or because of genuine appreciation.
Nonetheless, the cast seemed to be receptive to the cheers, making James happy to see that. He was also happy to see Sigourney be appreciated for her performance.
He and Sigourney would say their thanks, shortly exiting the theatre.
James again would not answer any questions. He would just hop in his automobile and wait for Sigourney.
Sigourney would join him shortly afterward, seemingly not wanting to make James wait for too long as she answered questions.
They would go home together and enjoy a good rest.
Their schedules would be very busy from now on with interviews, photoshoots, and award preparations.
Sigourney would no doubt get nominated for her role as Ripley and get many calls for different roles, increasing her overall salary by a large margin.
James might get nominated for his role as director-screenwriter, but probably would lose out to more veteran directors. Hollywood politics would play a large role in that, but his overall value would increase significantly because of the quality of his work and the idea that he was a box office pull.
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Dan and James would meet up for drinks two days later. James would go over to Dan's place. It was in a decent neighborhood.
Dan had a two-story ranch house, with a large front yard and backyard, removed from most of LA. It must have been an expensive purchase, but no doubt this place would be worth quite a fortune in the future.
"Have we gotten any nominations?" Dan asked.
"Not yet, but probably soon we will be getting invited to some award shows," James replied.
"What about interviews? Did you get invited to Letterman's?"
"Me?-No, but Sigourney did."
"Good for her," Dan replied, somewhat grumpily.
"You?"
"Oh, c'mon! Who would invite ME on a talk show?!"
James and Dan would banter throughout the day before James had to head home.