Chapter 7: The Disney Deal

Chapter 7: The Disney Deal

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Nancy froze for a second, then, with a smirk, pinched Martin's cheeks, tugging them gently.

"You little rascal, what did you just say?"

Martin looked over at his mom for help, but Linda only laughed, clearly amused and making no effort to rescue him from his aunt's grasp.

"Oh, my dearest Aunt Nancy, I said I'm more than willing to give you the rights to this screenplay for free. I'm also thrilled to play the twin roles myself. And, of course, I'll happily be the bargaining chip to help you negotiate with Disney for the producer and director roles."

"Because you're my absolute favorite Aunt Nancy!"

"That's better!" Nancy released him, but then she paused, eyebrows raised. "Hold on—how did you know I wanted to pitch this to Disney?"

Martin rubbed his cheeks with a grin. "That's easy to guess! Disney's the best at producing family-friendly movies, and you have an established relationship with their Touchstone Pictures division. You know some of Disney's higher-ups quite well."

"Considering all that, if you weren't planning to take this script to Disney, I'd have to seriously question your professional judgment."

Nancy couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Where did you learn all this?"

She glanced over at Grant, who just shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't teach him any of it."

"Well, you're right on target, Martin. Disney is exactly where I'm headed. In fact, I've already sent a copy of the screenplay to their script review office, along with my recommendation."

"Of course, with Nancy's endorsement, it's bound to pass the review in no time," Martin said, not missing a beat as he lightly patted her shoulder, mimicking his father's casual shrug with an air of innocence and charm.

Nancy's eyes sparkled. That gesture, she thought, would be perfect for the movie.

"Oh, and one more thing, Aunt Nancy. Don't you think an 11-year-old who wrote his own screenplay is a great publicity hook? Plus, we could tie the film's release to my upcoming book launch. Imagine the impact if both the movie and the book were revealed simultaneously. I think we could even work with Random House to keep my age a secret until just before the premiere. A dual launch would create a one-plus-one-is-greater-than-two effect…"

Nancy left that day filled with satisfaction—and a touch of awe. Martin had given her so many surprises that she felt almost overwhelmed. Who would have thought Grant and Linda's mischievous little boy had grown into such a sharp, mature young man?

As Nancy reviewed the details of The Parent Trap for production, her admiration grew. Martin's storyboards, carefully illustrated, gave a clear vision of each scene and were a filmmaker's dream. This must be Linda's influence, she thought, remembering that her sister-in-law taught film studies. Having such a visual outline would allow the movie to come together quickly.

And Martin's promotional ideas? Practical, compelling, and already showing the potential to turn the film into a major success.

Nancy's professional excitement grew. I need to go to Disney in person tomorrow and make sure this project gets greenlit.

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The next morning, Nancy reviewed her documents one last time in the elevator, ensuring everything was in order. When the doors opened, she stepped out to find a tall, blond man in his thirties waiting for her at reception. He waved, smiling warmly.

"Good morning, Nancy."

"Good morning, George."

The man was George Brown, president of Touchstone Pictures and one of Nancy's close friends.

"Come on, let's head to the conference room. Eisner will be here shortly."

At precisely 10:00 a.m., the conference room door opened, and Michael Eisner, the CEO and chairman of Disney Entertainment, strode in. Tall and dignified, Eisner commanded attention with his presence.

"Nancy! Long time no see. How have you been?"

Nancy greeted him with a professional smile. "Quite well, thank you."

"Glad to hear it. Let's get started. George, why don't you begin? You've reviewed the screenplay, correct?"

George cleared his throat, exchanging a glance with Nancy before speaking.

"Mr. Eisner, our team at Touchstone has thoroughly reviewed the screenplay, and we're all in agreement. We believe this is a strong investment that aligns perfectly with Disney's brand. The story's themes—family, children, comedy, and a heartwarming ending—are exactly what our audience loves. This film is an ideal match for Disney."

George handed Eisner a document. "Here's my report, with a detailed analysis of the film's potential."

Eisner took the report but didn't immediately open it. Instead, he gestured toward Nancy. "Nancy, your thoughts?"

"Mr. Eisner, George has covered the main points. I'd like to share some ideas on how we could market this film."

Nancy paused to make her point clear. "What you may not know is that this screenplay was written by my nephew—who's only eleven years old."

Eisner's eyes lit up with interest. "Can you guarantee he wrote it himself?"

Nancy nodded with confidence. "I give you my word."

She continued, "And he didn't just write this screenplay—he's also written a children's book, which Random House is set to publish in two months. I think this movie could benefit from a joint marketing campaign with Random House. Imagine the publicity: an 11-year-old 'prodigy' with a published book and a Disney screenplay. It's a unique angle that I'm sure will intrigue parents and families alike, drawing them into theaters."

"Additionally, my nephew could even play the role of the twins in the movie. It's rare to find an opportunity like this—'young author stars in his own film'—a fantastic marketing point…"

Nancy spoke with enthusiasm, and Eisner listened thoughtfully, nodding as he took in her vision.

When she finished, Eisner raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your nephew… would he be Grant's son?"

Nancy nodded. "Yes."

"I think his name is… Martin, right? I met him at a party once. Very handsome young man. But are you sure Grant would allow his son to become an actor?"

Nancy smiled. "Leave that to me. If I can take on the roles of producer and director, I'll handle getting Grant on board."

"Producer is fine; I trust your capabilities. But director? Nancy, you're still a newcomer to directing!"

"Grant's prepared to fund half of the film's production."

"Then that settles it."

"One more thing, Mr. Eisner," Nancy added, "regarding my nephew's acting fee, I'd like…"

When the meeting concluded, both Michael Eisner and Nancy Meyers left feeling completely satisfied with their plans.

[•———•———•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥