[Chapter 103: Start a Side Job]
After Matt Damon and Ben Affleck left, Link and Sofia Coppola returned to the company to discuss some work.
"What? You want me to direct this movie?" Sofia exclaimed, her surprise evident.
"Yes, I have other commitments and no time to go with you to Illinois for filming, but I've prepared the script and the storyboards. Just follow the storyboard, and you shouldn't go wrong," Link responded, pulling out the meticulously crafted film script.
The script included the shot design for every scene, dialogue, acting methods, set designs, filming techniques, lighting, makeup, and character placements. It visually presented the entire plot of the film.
With this script in hand, any moderately skilled director could make it work. Sofia had studied photography and had interned with Coppola as a director; the documentary-style filmmaking wouldn't pose much of a challenge for her.
As she flipped through the thick script, her astonishment grew. This script was even more detailed than the ones her father had drafted. Shooting according to the script was almost like copying homework -- there was nearly no difficulty involved.
"But I'm not ready to be a director yet," Sofia hesitantly said.
The reason she joined Link's crew was to learn from him, to see how he transformed a low-budget film into a box-office hit that everyone loved. While she had considered being a director, it wasn't supposed to happen now. It felt too sudden.
"Don't worry. Danny DeVito will act as the executive producer and oversee every aspect of production. Guess Pictures will assign two assistant directors to support you. Once I finish my current work, I'll come to the set as a producer to help you out. You can treat this movie as a practice piece, just like I did. Don't burden yourself with too much pressure. If you're worried about negative criticism once the film is done, you can choose not to take credit," Link reassured her.
"That sounds great, but you're the director. The Blair Witch Project is your film. Isn't there something more important than directing going on right now? You're not trying to pick up girls, are you? The news said that you and Jennifer Connelly were also having an affair. Is that true?"
"Don't spread rumors. Jennifer and I share the same agent; it's normal for us to hang out frequently. The work that's consuming my time right now is this," Link said, handing her a beautifully packaged book.
"What is it?" Sofia asked, glancing at the cover that read Interstellar, featuring an astronaut floating in the dark void of space amidst a flurry of data.
Link's name was printed on the cover as the author.
"You wrote this?"
"Just some sci-fi stories I wrote when I had free time, submitted them to Tor Books, and they said they liked them well enough to publish. Interstellar has had a good run since its release, and I'm being invited to signings across the country. I can't decline those invitations, so I'm leaving the crew in your hands to focus on this for now."
"You're quite the versatile man. Gift me this book; I want to see how well you write," Sofia said, taking the book.
...
When Sophia got to the parking lot, she didn't rush to drive away. She opened Interstellar and laid her head on the steering wheel.
Initially, she only wanted to read a little to gauge the book's quality. However, she ended up reading all night, completely absorbed in the story. The more she read, the more she wanted to keep going, even as her eyes grew weary and the words became blurry.
When she lifted her head, the sky outside was dark.
Sofia hurried home, barely stopping for a meal, and dashed into her bedroom to continue reading.
Interstellar had over 1,030 pages and 533,000 words, divided into eight stories -- three novellas and five short tales, which included titles like Interstellar, The Martian, The Man from Earth, Gravity, Source Code, and Edge of Tomorrow.
Each story was gripping.
These sci-fi tales delved into various aspects of future worlds, including interstellar orbits, self-driving cars, streets lined with charging stations, electric tanks, nuclear-powered airplanes, drones, Starlink satellites, and recovery systems for rockets using electromagnetic nets.
There were also touch-screen phones, touch-screen computers, livestreaming, implanted communication devices measured in the human cortex, implanted photographic technology in the corners of the eyes, and smart robots with internet AI.
Topics ranged from Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon to black hole theories, space jumps, contact with aliens, and interstellar wars.
Although elements of these ideas had appeared in past science fiction novels, none had been presented with such detail, realism, and clarity as Interstellar. The writing felt so compelling that Sofia couldn't put it down.
She finally finished a rough read in the early hours of the morning.
When she woke up around noon, her hair was a mess, and she stumbled out of her room looking for food, only to be met with some teasing.
...
"Sofia, what were you doing last night? Why did you sleep until noon?"
"Reading," she replied.
"Reading? You read the entire night? Was it any good?"
"Definitely! It's a sci-fi novel," Sofia said, waving Interstellar at her mom.
"Sofia, when did you get interested in sci-fi? You used to prefer those mindless romance novels," her brother teased.
"Ugh, I don't have time for you. Dad, have you checked out the new sci-fi novel that just hit the shelves?" Sofia asked as she sat down at the table.
"No, what novel?"
"Here, I'll lend you this for a while. Just make sure you return it quickly; I want to read it again."
Sofia handed the book to Coppola.
Coppola took a glance and asked, "Link? Is that the director Link?"
"Yes," Sofia confirmed.
"He writes too?"
Seeing Link's name deterred Coppola's interest. While Link was good at screenwriting, he doubted a screenwriter could produce a captivating novel.
"Just read it before jumping to conclusions," Sofia retorted.
...
Given her insistence, Coppola reluctantly flipped through the novel, prepared to point out flaws to Sofia and suggest that she not place Link on too high of a pedestal -- after all, he still had a long way to go compared to him.
However, after reading the first story, The Martian, Coppola couldn't help but smack his lips, returning to read it thoroughly again.
He was astonished to discover this sci-fi piece was genuinely impressive. The story design and descriptions were intricately detailed, showcasing not only future technologies but also how technology changed human lifestyles, along with the ethical dilemmas that arose from advancements.
This mix of hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi -- essentially two sub-genres colliding -- worked exceptionally well, resulting in a refreshingly authentic piece of science fiction.
It was one of the few recent works that catered to his taste.
Coppola kept flipping pages and moved onto the second and third stories.
...
"Dad, have you finished? I want to read it too." Sofia chimed in after breakfast.
Coppola waved her off, retreating to his study with the book.
Sofia rolled her eyes, knowing he often said one thing but meant another.
With the book still unread, she decided to drive to Beverly Boulevard bookshop and buy all sixteen remaining copies to keep one for herself and give the others as gifts to those around her.
*****
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