Rebirth in America

When Morris came to the Carpenter house again, he felt a little strange. He was called over by Bart. It was said that there was a movie that he wanted to direct.

"Bart, my old friend! Hello!" Morris gave Bart a hug as soon as he entered the door. At this time, he discovered that the entire Carpenter family was there.

"Hello, Mr. Morris!" Alex quickly came up to say hello.

Morris greeted them respectively. He was already familiar with the Carpenter family and everyone was like family.

Angel was busy preparing coffee and tea for them, Richard was sitting on the sofa reading a book, and little sister Karen was drawing intently. Alex and Bart sat down in front of Morris, ready to talk about filming the movie.

Alex picked up a book from the table and said to Morris: "Have you read the book "The Von Trapp Singers"?"

Morris shook his head and said, "I haven't read it. Who wrote it?"

So Alex told the love story between Maria and Colonel von Trapp, and he particularly emphasized what happened between Maria and the colonel's child.

Morris said somewhat clearly: "Do you want me to adapt this book into a movie?"

Alex smiled and said, "Don't bother me. I've already written the movie script for this story and drawn the scenes. You'll understand after reading it."

With that said, he handed Morris the script and scene drawings.

Morris looked through it in surprise. He had made movies for many years, so of course he knew what these things meant. He never thought that Alex could do this. He has these things that not even many experienced directors or screenwriters can do. It’s not just a question of the ability to describe things in words or the level of painting skills, it’s that ordinary people don’t have a strong sense of pictures, let alone draw them after watching movies like Alex.

"This, this is simply amazing." Morris raised his head and looked at Bart and Alex. He sees very quickly, and just through these things, he can have a feeling like watching a movie in his mind.

"Do you think a movie can be made with these things?" Bart asked with concern.

Morris was so excited that he was trembling all over. He said in a trembling voice: "Not only can it be shot, as long as anyone who has just graduated from the film school can get this script and footage, he can make an excellent movie."

Alex said with a smile: "Then can you be the director of this movie?"

Morris looked at them strangely and said, "Me? Haven't you already done most of the directing and editing? After having Alex and these things, you shouldn't need me anymore."

Angel came from the side with coffee and milk tea and said, "Let's have a cup of coffee and milk tea first."

Bart and Maurice ordered a cup of coffee, and Alex got a cup of milk tea. They thanked Angel.

"As you know, we are all outsiders in the film industry, and we only know you as a director. With such a large investment, we don't feel safe finding anyone else." Bart explained while drinking coffee.

Morris quickly estimated the cost of filming this film in his mind. He nodded and said, "Yes, it will cost about three to four million."

Alex shook his head and said aside: "We plan to invest US$8 million, or even US$10 million is possible."

Morris was shocked speechless by their generosity. After a while, he said: "It doesn't cost that much. It's just the cost of the initial aerial photography and renting the manor scene, and the cost of the final wedding ceremony. It will cost a lot." Some, you can’t spend much money elsewhere.”

Bart didn't know much about this aspect of the matter. He looked at Alex and wanted his son to explain the problem.

Alex smiled and said: "You have to be used to making low-budget movies, so you will think like this. My idea is to go to Austria to shoot on location, use color film, invite famous Hollywood actors, and promote it after the shooting. Fees and so on, these all cost money.”

Morris spread his hands and said: "If you want to do this, I can't help it. I can only make judgments based on my usual experience. To be honest, since you have such detailed plans, why do you need to hire someone? You want to be a director? If the director doesn't shoot according to your vision, wouldn't it cause a lot of conflicts?"

Bart and Alex both laughed, and Bart said: "What you said is very good, that's why I asked you to come here. We have known each other for so long, and we have also made a movie together. Who would I ask if I didn't ask you? ah."

Only then did Morris realize that the Carpenters had asked him to be the director because they wanted him to assist in the filming, which was not what he thought at all. He knew that a film shot under such circumstances would largely fail to reflect his own vision. At most, it helps Alex pick up the slack. Being a nanny-type director will be very hard.

"Of course, you will still be the director of this film. It's just that you can try your best to shoot the movie I imagined." Alex noticed Morris's hesitation and said quickly.

Giving Morris the title of director is just reputational compensation, but actually does not have the power of a director. What Alex hopes is that all the shots can be perfectly restored according to his memory of "The Sound of Music".

"One million dollars!" Morris held out a finger and said, "I want a director's fee of one million dollars."

Alex didn't expect that Morris would really dare to ask for a price of $1 million. Even top Hollywood directors couldn't afford such a high fee. The movie hasn't even been made yet, and already $1 million is gone. He originally thought that Morris would help Bart to repay the favor for helping him so many times.

"At least you have to be subtle. It's so tacky to talk about money right away!" Alex muttered in his heart.

Bart didn't think Morris wanted the $1 million, and he immediately said, "Okay, no problem. One million is one million. As long as you help Alex make the movie he wants, it's worth it." "

Americans are straightforward when talking about things and are not shy about talking about money issues at all.

Alex stretched out his hand and said to Morris: "I wish us a happy cooperation!"

Morris held Alex's hand and said with a smile, "Happy cooperation!"

After they settled down, they quickly talked about some details of the movie. Alex has always emphasized that the coloring should be based on the scripts and shots he wrote, and even the roles should be chosen by him.

"I want to play the eldest son Ferric!" Alex said first.

"I want to play Kurt, I want to play Kurt!" Richard also shouted.

Karen looked at her brothers. She hesitated and said, "I want to play Gethel!"

Morris, who took the money, of course tried his best to help Alex with the planning. In his opinion, this was Bart's payment to cultivate Alex's directorial ability. He flipped through the script written by Alex again, looked at the character information in it, and said, "You are a little younger than the characters you chose. Do you plan to film again in a few years?"

Alex shook his head and said: "It's best not to exceed 3 years. We have to shoot this movie within 3 years."

Morris looked at the heights of Alex and others, nodded and said: "It doesn't take 3 years, just 2 years is enough. Alex is already taller than ordinary children. In one or two years, he will be taller than ordinary children." You all have just reached the age where the movie characters are set. When the time comes, we will rush to film it."

Alex will be 12 years old in two years, and the character he chooses, Ferric, is 14 in the movie. Richard was 10 years old at the time, and the character he chose to play in the movie, Kurt, was 11 years old. Karen is exactly the same age as the character she chose, Gethel, who is both 5 years old.

Bart and Angel both looked at the children with smiles on their faces, feeling very proud in their hearts. At this time, Morris looked at them with a half-smile and said, "Don't you also choose a role to play?"

Bart immediately shook his head and said, "Forget it, Angel and I don't have this kind of acting talent."

Angel also smiled and said: "Yeah, it's better to let the children do this kind of thing. We don't dare to be embarrassed on camera."

Morris laughed loudly and said: "You can learn if you don't know how to perform. There are still two years to prepare. You have enough time to learn."

"We are very busy now. There are so many things in the company, so how can we have time to learn acting?" Bart said.

No matter what Morris said, the Carpenters were still unwilling. On the one hand, they really didn't understand acting, and on the other hand, they were really busy at work. They were willing to let Alex do the work because they wanted to keep the children busy. Especially after having a common goal, it can enhance family feelings.

Seeing Morris trying so hard to persuade his parents to star in this movie, Alex felt a little unhappy. He reminded: "Mr. Morris, although you are the director, I have to choose the actors."

Everyone laughed when they saw Alex looking so anxious. Morris even said: "Okay, okay! You are the boss, you make the decision."

With Morris on board, preparations for the film began in earnest. He asked Alex if there were any candidates for the actress for the heroine.

Alex immediately named the actress who played the heroine in the original movie. He had a deep memory of the actress Maria in the original movie and thought that the movie would be inferior without such an actor.

"Julie Andrews? Who is she?" Morris had no impression of this actor. He thought the person Alex proposed was a famous actor, but who knew it turned out to be an unknown actor.

When Alex saw Morris's expression, he knew something was bad. He had forgotten that this movie was shot in 1965. They were more than ten years in advance. At this time, we still don't know whether Julie Andrews has made her debut. It is more likely that the other party is still a little girl.

"Ah, I just heard someone say that this actor fits the temperament I want, so I asked if there really is such a person." Alex quickly covered it up.

Morris looked at Alex strangely. He originally had great confidence in Alex. Alex left a deep impression on him while filming "Little Fugitive." Morris was particularly inspired by his suggestions for film shooting techniques and musical sequences. If he hadn't had such a cooperation experience, Morris would never have been a nanny director for a teenage child.

"Then you have to find the actor you want quickly. Maybe I can provide you with some information about the actor?" Morris suggested.

What else could Alex say, of course he said it repeatedly. With Morris's help, Alex learned a lot about how to prepare for a movie. These things are not unknown to those who have done them. At Morris's suggestion, he first went to the Screen Actors Guild for a trip.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United States was established very early, UU Reading www.uukanshu.net already existed in 1933. It is the largest actors union in the United States, with more than 10,000 members. In addition, there is another actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA). These two unions own almost all actors in the United States.

The Actors Guild is supposed to seek the interests and rights of its members, such as introducing job opportunities to actors, safeguarding their rights and interests, and being responsible for labor contract negotiations with the Producers Association, etc. However, today’s unions are not as strong as they were a few decades ago. This is still a time when film companies have great power and “hidden rules” are rampant everywhere.

Many actors who want to become famous have to succumb to this environment, unless they are very famous actors. In order to be independent, Chaplin set up his own film company, invested his own money, wrote, directed and acted.

What Alex came here to find was not the heroine, but the hero and other supporting characters. Morris also came together, and they asked the union's receptionist for a form. After filling it out, it could be recorded. If there are qualified actors, they will proactively notify them.

"What about the actress? You don't have a choice yet," he asked immediately after Morris came out.

Alex shook his head unexpectedly and smiled: "No, I have already thought about it. Since the United States does not have the actor I want, I will go to Europe to find him."

Europe? Morris thought quickly in his mind. He was most familiar with European actors. He spent almost half a year in the Old Continent. But after thinking about it for a long time, I still didn't expect anyone to meet Alex's conditions.