New York, in an apartment in the Dakota Tower.

At Carpenter's house, Alex is drawing on paper. He used a black pencil to draw the images in his head onto paper. One by one, his painting skills are already very skillful. He learned this a few years ago from a teacher who taught drawing, and at that time he also went to learn how to draw a screenplay.

"Brother, what are you drawing?" Richard noticed Alex's drawing, he leaned over to look at it, and said, "Why is it so rough, and the people on it are not as beautiful as in the comic books." ”

Alex replied, "It's storyboarding, it doesn't have to be so detailed." ”

After hearing this, Richard was confused: "Storyboard? What is that? A genre of comics? ”

"Don't mention your comics, hurry up and have breakfast and go to school." Angel interrupted their conversation and said to Richard.

Alex put down the pen in his hand, packed up the sketches, and ate with his family. He had decided that whether Chuck had found the author of the biography or not, he would make the film, and it would be a big deal to change the names of the characters in it. It may take a few years, as long as he has a chance before the original work is released.

When Alex had almost finished drawing all the storyboards, Chuck's lawyer finally got back. By this time, more than a month had passed, and Morris had almost made two films.

"Oh? Did you find her? Alex said overjoyed.

Chuck said on the phone: "Yes, she's touring all over the U.S. right now. We're in the wrong place, boss. ”

Alex told them that the author might still be in Europe, so Chuck and the others turned their attention to the Old World. What I didn't expect was that people had been in the United States for many years.

"So did you raise the copyright issue with her?" Alex asked.

Chuck said with some distress, "She said she wouldn't talk until she saw you, and we haven't even opened a mouth." ”

Alex hurriedly asked, "Then does she have time to meet with me?" ”

Chuck paused, and he replied, "No problem, she said yes as soon as she heard that you were Alex Carpenter." She said, she's your fan. ”

"Great! I'll go see her now. ”

"No, you don't! She said she would come to New York in a few days and meet you to talk. ”

A week later, at an opera house in New York, Alex met Maria von Trapp. The prototype of the heroine of the movie "The Sound of Music".

Maria is completely different from the actress Julie Andrews in the movie, at least her hair is not blonde. She had a pair of piercing eyes, large and bright, as if she could read through people's hearts. The bridge of the nose is high, and the face is like a knife, and it looks a little boyish.

Alex didn't care to look closely, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Hello, I'm Alex." ”

"Ahh I know you, I know you. You're the older brother of the Carpenter brothers! Mary cried out excitedly.

Mary's voice was so loud that many people heard it. In particular, a few young men and women not far away immediately gathered around and asked, "Brother Carpenter?" ”

"Is that the Carpenter brothers who sing?"

"Oh, it's really him. Alex Carpenter, he's in our band. ”

"What! Alex came, hurry, and asked him for an autograph. ”

Out of nowhere, a large number of people rushed out and surrounded Alex. Some people even reached for Alex's clothes and hair, which bothered Alex very much. He didn't expect to meet so many fans here.

Maria got angry and cried out, "Children! All give me quiet and don't disturb our guests. ”

Just as Alex was dazed, he was dragged into a small house by Maria and the others. Here, after there was no more noise, Alex came to his senses.

"I'm sorry, Alex. They're all kids of the choir! They love listening to your songs the most. Mary said apologetically.

"No, it doesn't matter. I'm here this time mainly to discuss something with you. Alex calmed down and told Maria of his intentions.

Maria looked taken aback and said, "You want to make a movie about our story?" ”

"Yes, Lady Mary." Alex nodded. Immediately afterward, Alex suggested, "I think you'd better write this wonderful story into a book." ”

Mary laughed at Haruha and said, "Yes, someone told me that a few years ago." I've written a book, but it doesn't seem to sell much. ”

Alex was a little stunned, he didn't expect that Mary would have written and published it. He was about to get a copy and read it carefully. The book is still very different from the plot of the movie he remembers, but it does not prevent him from making a movie.

"Can you sell me the rights to this book?" Alex said earnestly.

Maria hesitated, but she quickly said, "Yes, but I'll have to ask a lawyer first." ”

Alex also knew that he couldn't be too anxious about this matter, so he talked to Maria about other things. Through understanding, he learned that Maria really wanted to study as a nun in the convent, but in the end she chose to marry Colonel von Trapp.

"God showed me another way, and I followed God's instructions to get here." As she spoke, Mary folded her hands and prayed silently for a while.

As for the colonel, he died back in 1947. They bought a large farm in the Vermont countryside, which was close to the scenery of Salzburg, Austria, which they missed. The colonel was buried in the backyard of the house on this farm, where there was a family cemetery.

"Actually, when I learned about your story, I was very moved. I think that by filming your story, everyone can understand the great love between you and the Colonel, and the warmth of family. Alex went out of his way to persuade Maria.

Maria was so moved that she touched the tears in the corners of her eyes and nodded in agreement with Alex's request.

In order to make a living, they run around and sing everywhere to make money. The family went on tour non-stop, and the growing children had to put their lives on hold in order to put the family first. Maria insisted that the whole family should be together at all times, even the children who were already married.

Whenever she arrived at a new place, Mary always asked her family to visit at least one monastery. She always seems to be unable to choose between the obsession that God has given her and what she herself considers important, which also makes her often angry with her children.

"I believe you are sent by God. In fact, before this, I had been praying to God for another revelation. As a result, you came, and the moment I saw you, I felt that you were different from everyone else. As she spoke, tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.

This made Alex a little flustered, he had never seen anything like it before. He was most afraid that the woman would cry, so he reached out and took Mary's hand. At this moment, he felt that Mary's whole body was trembling with excitement. He realized how fierce her heart was beneath her seemingly unfazed exterior.

Mary wiped her eyes away and smiled at Alex, "My heart is so weak that I feel lost in the face of God's trials. But after seeing you, I knew that I had finally passed. ”

Alex couldn't say anything, he really didn't know what to say. He, an atheist, did not change his opinion even after being born again.

Eventually, he said, "If you don't have any opinions, I'll arrange for a lawyer to come and sign a contract with you." As for the copyright fees, I think I can advance a part of them to you. ”

Mary nodded, saying no more.

After the two of them came out, Maria became the same as usual, and her eyes were still resolute. It was not the same as the woman who was trembling and weeping, as if the weak Mary had long since been cast aside, and the rest was a staunch believer in Christ.

When Chuck saw Alex, he hurriedly came up and asked, "How is it?" ”

Alex nodded at him and said nothing.

At this time, the people in the singing group all gathered around. Alex looked at them closely, several of them were more than a decade older than him, and some of them were younger. There are quite a lot of people, there are eight or nine like this. They were supposed to be the sons and daughters of the Colonel, and several of them were born to the Colonel's ex-wife, and two of them were born to Mary. However, in Maria's eyes, these people were her children.

"Alex, sign me."

"Yes, sign it."

"I want it too!"

These people, big and small, all wanted Alex's signature. As a last resort, Alex had no choice but to sign a message to everyone present.

A few days later, in the presence of his lawyer, Alex signed a contract with Maria. Under the contract, Alex paid $10,000 for all the rights to the book "The Singers of the Von Trapp Family" and paid 5% of the book's royalty to Maria each year. This clause was proposed by Alex on his own initiative. He felt that some money should not be overgained. In Li Ka-shing's words, don't make the last copper plate to make money.

As soon as the contract was signed, Alex taught Maria a check for $10,000. With this money, Mary and the others should be able to live a little better.

As for the $10,000 that Alex spent, he got it from Chuck. At this time, Chuck had already achieved fame, and released more than a dozen records, each of which sold well. Alex himself has a lot of money, but that money is still in the hands of his parents, and he is still underage and has no way to use it.

After they left the law firm, Chuck shook his skinny head and said, "Boss, how much is this book worth?" It cost $10,000! It's just to write her own story, and she can get $10,000? ”

Alex smiled and said, "A touching story is priceless! Besides, now that I have this book in my hand, I can make hundreds of millions of dollars back. ”

Chuck's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost, and he couldn't believe that the book would make Alex so much.

This contract is equivalent to Maria selling all the ownership of the book to Alex, and as for the income from the book in the future, Maria will only get 5%. This already made Alex very satisfied.

After Alex got the copyright, he thought to himself, "Okay, the first step has been completed, and the next step is to see if we can get the funds and manpower." ”