America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 517: Catch them alive
Irvine, Orange County, California.

After lunch, Andy Weir came to the office window and looked into the distance to relax his eyes.

In the small square in front of the office building, the orc wolf rider statue holds his battle axe high, while the Lich King on the other side points his sword into the distance.

Andy Weir lowered his head and took out a card with the phone number of a publishing house that had contacted him. The other party wanted to promote the publication of "The Martian", which he was serializing part-time.

That was his most precious child, and he poured countless efforts into him.

Andy Weir stared at the statue of the Lich King and murmured, "My child, I wish the day you were born, the whole of America would pronounce your name..."

The wish is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

Andy Weir took out his cell phone and called the publishing company, but there was a busy tone.

After waiting for a while, I called again, but the tone was still busy.

Andy Weir had a bad association that the publisher might have rejected his work.

He was given hope, and then it was gone, and he was in a state of confusion.

Before going to work in the afternoon, Andy Weir called the number for the last time, but still couldn't get through.

Just as I was about to put down my phone, it vibrated and the caller ID showed a strange number.

Andy answered: "This is Andy Weir."

The voice on the other end was also unfamiliar: "Hello, Mr. Will, I am Thomas Lane, Martin Davis' agent. I am here on behalf of Martin to discuss matters related to The Martian with you."

Andy was stunned: "Martin Davis? Martin from Hollywood?"

"Yes, the Martin you know, the American national hero Martin." The man on the other end asked, "Do you have time now? Let's find a place to talk."

When hope was shattered, a greater hope popped up. Andy said without even thinking, "Okay, okay, I'll go ask for leave now."

Andy put work aside, asked for leave from his supervisor, and drove to the agreed place.

He thought of one thing, that "Wanted" and "Limitless" starring Martin Davis were both adapted from literary works.

The unknown Gillian Flynn became a New York bestseller because Martin and David Fincher wanted to adapt her novel "Gone Girl".

You can be a programmer for your whole life or become famous with one book. There is no need to choose.

When the car stopped outside the agreed coffee shop, Andy did not go in immediately. After the initial excitement, he calmed down a little, took out his mobile phone and searched for Martin's agent.

There are many pictures of Martin with his agent on the Internet.

Andy remembered the person's appearance, got off the car and walked into the coffee shop. At first glance, he found an identical face.

However, his hair seems to be less than that on the Internet. On the Internet, he still had hair on his forehead, but now he is bald.

Thomas also saw Andy, stood up and shook hands with him, invited him to sit down, and got straight to the point: "When Martin was in Washington, he saw the serialization of The Martian on your personal blog. He was very interested in it and wanted to promote the publication of the book and the film adaptation."

Andy asked eagerly, "Is Martin going to play the leading role?"

Thomas had received a definite answer from Martin, and responded, "Yes, that is 100% certain."

Andy knew that the opportunity to change his fate was right in front of him. He forgot about the publisher who had contacted him but lost contact with him: "I am willing to cooperate with Martin!"

Only he himself knows how much he put into writing "The Martian".

In order to write this novel, Andy taught himself orbital dynamics, botany, the history of space development, an overview of Mars, etc.

"A wise decision." Thomas said with a smile, "You can ask your agent to come over and we can discuss the copyright authorization together."

Andy smiled helplessly: "I don't have an agent."

Thomas followed the formal procedures to avoid subsequent disputes: "A lawyer can also do that."

Blizzard has a professional copyright lawyer, and Andy immediately called for help and began formal licensing negotiations with Thomas the next day.

…………

Astra Studios, Morocco.

While the crew was taking a break, Martin quietly entered the studio where the centrifuge was installed.

Nolan, who was originally listless, immediately perked up when he saw Martin. He quickly went up to him and gave Martin a bear hug with open arms: "I've been waiting for you to come back!"

Martin smiled and said, "As soon as I finished my work in Washington, I rushed back immediately."

Mene and Ellen Page both ran over at this time to congratulate Martin on receiving the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Nolan was about to wave when he found his assistant standing behind him with a pen and a notebook.

"Write it down." Nolan said directly: "During the filming, Martin Davis received the US Medal of Freedom in Washington. After returning to the crew, the crew held a grand celebration ceremony for him."

While the assistant was taking notes quickly, he looked to the other side of the studio and saw some British actors, led by Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, who clearly had no intention of congratulating Martin.

Nolan paused for a moment, thinking of an extremely important tidbit that could be used as publicity, and then said: "Maria, the daughter of the sea, took advantage of the summer vacation to come to the crew for holiday practice..."

The assistant feels that, so far, Martin's winning of the Medal of Freedom and the participation of his daughter in the sea-watching crew in the practice are the most eye-catching.

"That's all for now." The daughter of the sea came to the crew for practice and was able to write dozens of different tidbits and news. Nolan felt that Martin, who didn't cause trouble, could also create an eye-catching effect, which made him feel at ease. Recently, Nolan even considered personally joining Martin to create some news and highlights.

But he was also worried that if he really made Martin angry, he might become the next Bale.

After the studio was quiet for a while, Nolan found Martin again and said, "The crew has had good news recently. You received the Medal of Freedom, and Professor Mordechai won the Moroccan National Physics Award."

These can all be used in promotional marketing.

"Where's the professor?" Martin didn't see Mordecai. "I want to congratulate him."

Nolan looked around and pointed behind the centrifuge: "Over there." He added: "The professor can't stay on the set for too long. He will go to Tehran for academic exchanges soon."

Tehran? When Martin looked over there, he saw Mordechai coming out with the pretty woman named Giselle.

Mordecai also saw Martin and walked over: "Congratulations."

Not only did he say congratulations, he also took out a small box from his pocket: "This is for you."

Martin continued: "Professor, I also want to congratulate you on winning the award."

When Bruce saw Mordecai take out the gift box, he opened his bag, took out the Coke Cult version of the Joker gift box, and walked over quickly.

After Martin finished congratulating him, Bruce, who had cooperated well with him, had already handed the gift box to him. He gave it to Mordecai and said, "My family carved it by hand."

Mordecai smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite."

After he took it, he handed it to Giselle who was standing next to him.

After a break, the crew was almost ready, and Nolan raised the loudspeaker to notify the actors to get ready.

In the action scenes to be filmed next, Mene will be the absolute protagonist.

Several actors all entered the revolving corridor.

Martin's scene was not rehearsed today. Martin came behind the director's monitor and quietly watched Nolan direct the entire crew.

The director is the overall commander on the set. Even the producer will mainly follow the director's opinions on the set.

After a period of training, Mene was able to handle the action scenes in the rotating corridor.

However, Nolan designed hundreds of shots for this scene, and other actors, including Martin, had to cooperate with Menet.

Martin watched for a while through the director's monitor and found that Mene did a very good job in both action scenes and wirework scenes.

During the break in filming, Gisele went to help Mordecai make coffee.

Another plain-looking female assistant came over and asked in French, "How is the progress?"

Gisele also said in French: "He trusts me now. I will try again."

The man glanced outside and said, "The intelligence we got from above is correct. Mordecai has made a breakthrough in some areas. We have received instructions from above that we should take him out. He is valuable to us. If that doesn't work, we should try to capture him alive."

She stressed: "He will go to Tehran for academic exchanges next month, and we don't have much time left."

There were footsteps outside. Gisele nodded slightly and walked away with the brewed coffee.

At lunch time, she went to the restaurant to get the food, brought it to Mordecai's office, and ate together.

During the days that Martin was away, Giselle and Mordecai's relationship progressed rapidly, and they were like a couple.

"We'll be able to finish filming the centrifuge scene in ten days at most." Gisele said as she ate, "You said last time that you would take me to the Mediterranean after filming..."

Mordechai scratched his head and said apologetically, "I probably can't go. I have to go to Tehran for academic exchanges."

Giselle was very surprised, but she didn't show it on her face: "Going to Tehran?"

"We were originally going to go there next month," Mordechai explained, "but after consultation between the University of Casablanca and the University of Tehran, we changed our schedule and some things need to be dealt with two weeks in advance."

Giselle's face flashed with disappointment: "Is that so..."

Mordechai is a famous physicist in Morocco and has extensive research on centrifuges, which is why the crew invited him over.

Gisele was worried that some centrifuges could be used in special industries.

Mordecai added: "When we return from the academic exchange, I will take you to travel around Europe."

Giselle couldn't possibly object, so she agreed first: "Okay."

After lunch, when Gisele went to throw away the garbage, she met the unremarkable female assistant again.

"Reported?" asked the female assistant.

"The situation has changed." Giselle lowered her voice and said quickly, "Mordechai is going to Tehran ahead of time. He may have something very important to deal with."

Hearing this, the female assistant hesitated for a moment and made up her mind: "We can't wait any longer. We'll find a chance to do it tonight."

Giselle said, "You better have a plan."

The female assistant nodded and said, "I will go back to the hotel in advance and think of a way to prevent Mordechai from returning to Casablanca."

(End of this chapter)