Rebirth in America

An apartment in the Dakota Towers, New York.

At Carpenter's house, Alex is drawing on paper. He used a black pencil to draw the images in his mind onto paper. One after another, his painting skills have become very skilled. He learned this from a painting teacher a few years ago. At that time, he also went to learn the painting method of script shots.

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

Alex replied: "This is drawing the shots, it doesn't need to be so detailed."

After hearing this, Richard was confused: "Shots? What is that? Is it a comic type?"

"Forget about your comics, hurry up and have breakfast and go to school." Angel on the side interrupted their conversation and said to Richard.

Alex put down his pen, packed up his drawings, and then ate with his family. He has decided that regardless of whether Chuck finds the author of the biography or not, he will make this movie, and at worst, change the names of the characters in it. It may take a few years, but as long as he gets it before the original film is released, he will have a chance.

When Alex had almost finished drawing all the shots, the lawyer Chuck was looking for finally heard back. More than a month had passed by this time, and Morris had shot almost two movies.

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

Chuck said on the phone, "Yeah, she's touring all over America right now. We're in the wrong place, boss."

Alex told them that the author might still be in Europe, so Chuck and others focused on the Old World. What I didn't expect was that they had already been in the United States for many years.

"So have you raised the copyright issue with her?" Alex asked.

Chuck said with some distress: "She said she would not talk until she met you, but we haven't even spoken yet."

Alex quickly asked: "Then does she have time to meet with me?"

Chuck paused and replied, "No problem. After she heard you were Alex Carpenter, she immediately agreed. She said she was your fan."

"Great! I'm going to see her now."

"No! She said she would come to New York in a few days and meet and talk to you by the way."

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

Maria is completely different from the actress Julie Andrews in the movie. Her hair was not blond to begin with. She has a pair of piercing eyes, big and bright, as if she can see through people's souls. The nose is high and the face is carved by a knife. At first glance, it looks a bit boyish.

Alex didn't care to look at it carefully, and quickly stepped forward and said: "Hello, I am Alex."

"Ah! I know, I recognize you. You are the older brother of the Carpenter brothers!" Maria shouted excitedly.

Mary spoke so loudly that many people heard her. Especially a few young men and women not far away. They immediately gathered around and asked all kinds of questions: "Brother Carpenter?"

"Is that the singing Carpenter brother?"

"Oh, it's really him. Alex Carpenter, he came to our singing group."

"What! Alex is here, come on, come on, come on, ask him for his autograph."

Out of nowhere, many people came out and surrounded Alex. Some people even reached out to touch Alex's clothes and hair, which troubled Alex very much. He didn't expect to meet so many fans here.

Maria got angry and shouted: "Children! Be quiet and don't disturb our guests."

Just when Alex was dizzy, he was pulled into a small house by Maria and others. Here, after there was no so much noise, Alex finally came back to his senses.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. They are all children in the singing group! They like to listen to your songs the most." Maria said apologetically.

"No, it's okay. I came here mainly to discuss something with you." After Alex calmed down, he told Maria his intention.

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

"Yes, Ms. Maria." Alex nodded. Immediately afterwards, Alex suggested: "I think it is best for you to write this wonderful story into a book."

Maria laughed loudly and said, "Yes, someone told me this a few years ago. I have written a book, but it doesn't seem to be selling very well."

Alex was a little stunned. He didn't expect that Maria had already written the book and published it. He will get a copy soon and read it carefully. This book is still very different from the plot of the movie in his memory, but it does not prevent him from making the movie.

"Then can you sell me the copyright of this book?" Alex said earnestly.

Maria hesitated, but she quickly said: "Okay, but I have to ask a lawyer first."

Alex also knew that this matter should not be too urgent, so he talked to Maria about other things. Through understanding, he learned that Maria did want to enter a monastery and become a nun, but in the end she chose to marry Colonel von Trapp.

"God showed me another way, so I followed God's instructions and came here." When Maria said, she clasped her hands and prayed silently for a while.

As for the colonel, he passed away as early as 1947. They bought a large farm in a rural area in Vermont, which was very similar to the scenery they missed in Salzburg, Austria. The Colonel died and was buried in the backyard of the farm house, where there is 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, as well as the warmth of family." Alex He tried his best to persuade Maria.

Maria was very moved after hearing this. She touched the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded in agreement with Alex's request.

In order to survive, they traveled around, singing and making money everywhere. The family was touring all over the place non-stop. In order to put their family first, the growing children had to put their lives on hold. Maria insisted that the whole family be together at all times, even the children who were married.

And whenever she arrived in a new place, Maria always made her family visit at least one monastery. She always seems to be unable to choose between what God has given her and what she considers important, which often makes her angry with her children.

"I believe you are sent by God. In fact, before this, I have been praying to God, hoping that God can give me another revelation. But you came, and the moment I saw you, I felt that you were different from everyone else ." Maria said, and as she spoke, tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.

This made Alex a little panicked. He had never seen anything like this before. He was most afraid of the woman crying, so he reached out and held Maria's hand. At this time, he felt Maria's whole body trembling with excitement. Only then did he understand how intense her heart was underneath her seemingly calm appearance.

Maria wiped away the water in her eyes and smiled at Alex: "My soul is so weak that I feel confused when facing God's test. But after seeing you, I knew that I finally passed."

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

Finally, he said: "If you have no objections, I will arrange for a lawyer to come over and sign a contract with you. As for the copyright fee, I think I can advance part of it to you."

Maria nodded and said nothing more.

After the two came out, Maria became her usual self again, her eyes still firm. She was completely different from the woman who was trembling and crying just now. It was as if the weak Mary had been thrown aside by her, and the one who remained was an extremely firm believer in Christ.

After Chuck saw Alex, he quickly came up and asked, "How's it going?"

Alex nodded at him and said nothing.

At this time, the people from the concert group gathered around. Alex looked at them carefully. Several were more than ten years older than him, and some were younger. There were quite a few people, eight or nine like this. They should be the colonel's children. Several of them were born to the colonel and his ex-wife, and two of them were born to Maria. However, in Maria's eyes, these people are all her children.

"Alex, sign your name for me."

"Yes, sign it."

"I also want!"

These people, big and small, all wanted Alex's autograph. As a last resort, Alex had to sign and leave messages to everyone present.

A few days later, Alex and Maria signed a contract under the witness of a lawyer. According to the contract, Alex spent US$10,000 to buy all the copyrights of the book "The Von Trapp Singers", UU Kanshu www.uukanshu.net, and will also receive 5% of the copyright tax from the book every year Leave it to Maria. This clause was proposed by Alex on his own initiative. He feels that it is better not to make too much money. In Li Ka-shing's words, don't make money by earning the last copper penny.

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

As for the $10,000 Alex spent, he got it from Chuck. At this time, Chuck had already become famous and had released more than ten records, each of which sold well. Alex himself has a lot of money, but the money is still in the hands of his parents. He is not yet a minor and cannot use it.

After they left the law firm, Chuck shook his thin head and said: "Boss, how much is this book worth? It costs 10,000 U.S. dollars! She just wrote her story, and she could actually get 10,000 U.S. dollars." Dollar?"

Alex said with a smile: "A touching story is priceless! Besides, with this book in hand, I can make hundreds of millions of dollars back."

Chuck looked at Alex with wide eyes, as if he had seen a ghost. He couldn't believe that this book could make Alex earn so much.

This contract is equivalent to Maria selling all the ownership of the book to Alex. As for the future income from this book, Maria can only get 5%. This made Alex very satisfied.

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