Chapter 6: The Screenplay Surprise

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Grant had only intended to playfully scare his son, but he was taken aback to find that Martin truly had been up to something else behind his back.

"Did you say you wrote a screenplay and sent it to your Aunt Nancy?"

"Yes, Dad. By now, she should have received it and might even be reading it right now." Martin grinned mischievously.

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Meanwhile, in a cozy villa.

Nancy Meyers opened the thick envelope her nephew had sent, wondering what on earth little Martin had mailed her.

"The Parent Trap? A screenplay?" Nancy's eyes widened as she saw the title and author: Martin Myers. Did this kid actually write a screenplay?

For a moment, Nancy thought it might be a prank, something filled with childish nonsense. But as she turned the first page, she realized it was indeed a complete screenplay—complete with illustrated storyboards, drawn with surprising skill and professionalism.

In no time, she found herself captivated by the story…

The screenplay told the tale of a married couple who separated due to a misunderstanding. They had twin sons, with Mike growing up with his father in California and Beck living with his mother in London. Eleven years later, by sheer coincidence, each parent decided to send their son to the same summer camp…

During an activity at a camp in Maine, eleven-year-old Mike Parker encountered Beck James. Despite their uncanny resemblance, they were sworn enemies at first.

Mike found Beck irritating, and Beck felt the same about Mike. But they shared a few quirks: both were allergic to strawberries, skilled at card games, and masters of pranks.

While bickering, they each mentioned their single parents—a father for Mike, a mother for Beck—and began to realize there was more to their connection. After comparing family photos, they put together torn halves to create a full picture, and the shocking truth hit them—they were long-lost twin brothers.

Nancy was completely absorbed; the heartwarming, romantic story touched her deeply.

Of course, it would.

Martin had chosen to "create" (copy) this screenplay for Nancy because she had actually written it herself in 1997! No wonder it resonated with her—she was essentially reliving her own work.

(Note: The original screenplay was adapted from German writer Erich Kästner's Lottie and Lisa. For the story's purpose here, we'll treat it as Martin's "original" creation.)

Martin had thought of adapting The Parent Trap partly because of his Aunt Nancy and partly due to his friend, Lindsay Lohan.

Lindsay had starred in the original The Parent Trap movie, which launched her Hollywood career as a child star in 1998.

In the original, the twins were girls, with Lindsay brilliantly playing both roles, showcasing acting skills far beyond her years.

However, Martin, even with Lindsay as a good friend and admirer, didn't hesitate to make the main characters twin boys. He had his reasons—he saw this movie as his springboard into stardom.

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Ring, ring…

"Hello, Myers residence. Who's calling?"

"Oh, Ms. Nancy! Are you looking for Mr. Grant? One moment, please!"

"Hello, Nancy."

"Grant, did you know that little Martin sent me a screenplay?"

"Yes, yes, I just found out."

"You did? Well, it doesn't surprise me. But the screenplay is fantastic! Be honest—did he have help, or…"

"No, Nancy. I assure you, no ghostwriters, no help from anyone. Martin wrote this completely on his own."

"My goodness, it's true. Martin is simply extraordinary. He's only eleven, and he wrote this?"

"Indeed. You're not the first to say that today. And actually, Martin also wrote a children's book. Random House is already preparing to publish it."

"My word, Grant! You're the luckiest man alive, having a son who's a prodigy! Put Martin on the phone—I need to talk to him right away."

"Sorry, Nancy. We're just heading out for dinner. How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Fine. I'll call him tomorrow… No, wait! I'll come over tomorrow. It's the weekend, so make sure Martin's home!"

---

Late that night.

It was almost midnight, but Linda couldn't sleep.

"Grant, are you awake?"

"Yes."

"I can't fall asleep."

"Neither can I."

"Grant, do you think our little Martin is really a prodigy?"

The events of the day felt so surreal that, now that Linda had time to process, she found herself both thrilled and anxious.

"Don't worry, Linda. Martin's a genius—at least in writing. The fact that both Benjamin and Nancy are in awe of his work proves it, doesn't it?"

"I know… It's just so hard to believe, like I'm dreaming. I actually gave birth to a little prodigy!" Linda broke into a proud smile.

"No, we gave birth to a little prodigy," Grant emphasized.

---

The next morning.

True to her word, Nancy arrived bright and early.

The moment she stepped inside, she wrapped Martin in a bear hug, ruffling his hair affectionately until his fair face turned pink. Not from blushing—he could hardly breathe!

"Aunt Nancy, maybe we could… discuss the screenplay instead?" Martin, who had held his own in front of Benjamin, was completely at a loss under his aunt's smothering embrace.

"Don't worry about the details. I'll talk those over with Grant. I just want to ask you one thing—would you like to star in this movie?"

"You do, don't you?"

"The eleven-year-old twin brothers—they're meant for you, right?"

"Martin, do you want to be a star?"

"In that case, let's just say you're giving me the screenplay rights for free, and I'll negotiate a good actor's fee for you with the studio."

Martin was stunned. Wait… this is my Aunt Nancy? You've said everything already—what am I supposed to say?

Unable to hold back, he muttered, "Aunt Nancy, do you know what an 'iron rooster' is?"

Before Nancy could respond, Martin imitated her quick tone and explained, "It's an Asian expression. It means 'someone who doesn't give up a single feather,' basically describing a miser, a Scrooge, a true penny-pincher."

"So, I give you the screenplay rights for free, the studio pays me an acting fee, and meanwhile, you get both producer and director credits, meaning you're double-dipping!"

Nancy looked at Martin in surprise. How could this little guy connect all these dots from a single comment?

She glanced at Grant, who gave her a proud, knowing look, as if to say, Yep, that's my son—sharp as a tack!

[•———•———•———•]

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