1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 175



Only Noblemtl

175. I’d Do Anything For You (7)

As time passed and the accumulated snow completely melted, the castle revealed an even more hideous appearance.

He hired a famous gardener from Milwaukee’s wealthy neighborhoods and began to reorganize the area around the castle in earnest. He removed the ivy that had withered and rotted from the walls, pulled out the dead trees in the garden, removed all the weeds that had grown so high that it could no longer be called a lawn, and dug up all the withered flower beds.

The workers sweated bullets and removed all the cobwebs and dust inside and outside the castle. During the day, they took all the furniture out of the castle and let it soak up the sun.

As each day passed, I began to hear more and more different types of bird sounds.

He also did not slack off in going to see Mr. Gerard. In front of the hospital, on Lake Michigan, swans leisurely frolicked, and a flock of ducks busily moved here and there, pecking at the water.

Spring was finally coming.

The gardener began planting flowers in earnest. He planted a variety of new plants, including buckthorn, Negundo maples, Solanum dulcamara, Monarda fistulosa, poppies, bottlebrush, and purple crucifers, whose names he had never heard before.

As the temperature gradually rose, flowers began to bloom in competition with each other. White, pink, purple, orange, and yellow flowers, combined with green leaves, were a delight to the eyes of those who saw them.

And the most important part.

“Here it is. I planted the earliest blooming species, so this area will soon be filled with red roses. Fortunately, the spring sunshine is unusually warm this year, haha.”

The gardener described dozens of different types of roses.

The temperature was gradually rising and the flowers were beginning to give off their fragrance. The castle was slowly regaining its former beauty.

* * *

“Ready, action!”

Sunny weather, birds singing, fields of bright red roses, and the breathtaking scent of roses filling the place.

Belle is tying her rich brown hair tightly with a sky-blue handkerchief and smelling the scent of flowers. White and yellow butterflies dance around her like fairies. When you carefully put your hand on them, they dodge here and there, almost touching but not touching. Belle smiles brightly as she looks at the butterflies.

And then she walks through the rose garden, arms outstretched, spinning around and laughing heartily.

There was someone watching them from a hidden position, he had a lion-like face, large horns on his head, sad eyes, and a mouth with prominent fangs that smiled.

He was busy drawing something on the canvas, holding a brush in his large, thick, sharp-clawed forepaw. As he concentrated on the painting, a smile naturally spread across his face.

While I was absorbed in the painting for a long time.

“Are you drawing that?”

At Belle’s bright voice, the Beast is startled and turns his head, hiding the picture.

“Look at me. Does that look like me?”

“······.”

The beast starts to run away in a hurry. Not even realizing that he dropped the painting, he quickly walks somewhere. His legs are shaking, so his gait is quite funny.

Belle picks up the painting and follows him.

“Cut! Alright.”

Yes, I changed the original Beauty and the Beast story. I added Mr. Gerard’s story.

The story I ended up making is this.

It’s the same as the original story, with Belle coming to the castle to rescue her father. However, the Beast does not boldly propose to her, but rather timidly hides and watches her.

When spring comes and flowers bloom, the Beast watches her playing in the rose garden, trying to preserve her image by drawing it. While concentrating on the drawing, Belle discovers his identity and runs away.

The Beast shows his hideous face to Belle, who has followed him to the castle entrance. She is surprised, but does not judge the Beast based solely on his appearance. As they spend time together in the castle, they gradually come to know each other’s feelings, and the Beast comes to realize what true love is.

Finally, on the night the Beast proposes to Belle, he waltzes with her and his appearance returns to that of a handsome prince.

And the ending was no different from any other fairy tale, just like the anime said.

They lived happily ever after.

I got permission from the nursing home to bring Mr. Gerard to the filming location with the medical staff. I was in charge of his wheelchair myself.

He laughed and cried repeatedly throughout the filming. He laughed at the memories of his precious wife, and cried as he thought of his wife whom he missed.

“Sob sob······ Thank you so much, James. I have no regrets even if I die now······.”

“What are you talking about, old man? You are still so healthy. You should live a long and healthy life.”

The word “correct” was not an empty word. When people get sick and lose strength, their voices become weak. However, Mr. Gerard had a strong voice and a clear mind. And his happiness hormones must have been rising as he recalled happy memories from the filming set.

“You should also record a storybook with us in the future. Your voice will remain with us for a lifetime and will take children to a world of fantasy every night.”

“I also felt like I was a child again after reading a fairy tale for the first time in a long time. Annie, Angela, James. I strangely feel more energetic after meeting you all. I walked for more than 10 minutes yesterday, hahaha.”

“Of course. You should get healthier in the future and come back to the castle without a wheelchair.”

So we filmed additional cookie footage to be included after the ending.

The prince and Belle get married and have two sons. Now a mother, Belle spends sunny spring days running around the garden with her children, reading to them, and playing in the fountain.

The prince and the children fight with toy swords on the castle walls. The older and younger brothers fight over who will ring the bell.

The child actors were Noah and George, two of Angela’s younger brothers at Holy Hill Cathedral.

“Our Glenn and Austin were also so cheerful······. But that kid Noah doesn’t look like our Glenn at all. Our Glenn is just like me, hahaha.”

Seeing Mr. Gerard happy made me happy too.

Elders, I think your sons will think the same thing when they see this video.

“Grandpa! Take this!”

Annie and Angela brought a bouquet of roses. Mr. Gerard, with his lion-like face, took a deep breath of the roses’ fragrant scent and smiled brightly like a flower.

“Cut! Okay. That’s the end of filming for today.”

Now all that was left was to film the long-awaited ending scene.

* * *

Large buses and trucks gathered in a vacant lot not far from the castle. Specially hired parking attendants guided the constantly incoming vehicles into neatly parked vehicles.

“I’m sorry, but due to filming, you will have to walk from here. It will only take about 5 minutes.”

People gladly walked to the filming location to breathe in the fresh mountain air. What was unusual was the way people were dressed. If it were a normal wedding, they would usually wear formal attire, but everyone was wearing clothes that commoners in the Middle Ages would wear.

Because the invitation stated a dress code. It wasn’t anything fancy, even if it was medieval. Men just had to wear plain cotton trousers and a shirt, and women just had to wear a plain skirt and blouse.

And just in case, director Robert Smith rented over a hundred costumes from Hollywood. We were able to change into clothes that fit our size at a tent in front of the parking lot.

“Michael Lang, John Shea. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

The middle-aged man who recognized them was none other than Michael Wynn, the director of KMTV. He had already changed into a warm medieval man’s uniform and waved.

“Here we go again. James, the more I see you, the more interesting it gets. You’re doing such a big thing for your brother’s wedding.”

Michael Lang was dressed like a hippie. He picked out some appropriate clothes and talked to Michael Wynn about the current state of KMTV. He and John Scher were thinking of creating a music station in the East Coast. The idea was not to try something new, but to benchmark KMTV.

“Then I have company, so I’ll go to the filming location first. See you later.”

Michael Wynn left the tent first with his companions.

“Oh, he’s a great gentleman. He might inherit the Kings Group later, so we have to stay on good terms with him no matter what.”

“Of course. Well, we all have different paths, so it’s not like we’re all people who make music.”

Michael Lang and John Scher said this outwardly, but deep down, they were burning with competition.

They walked to the filming location, mingling with other invited people and taking in the phytoncides.

“The air is really amazing.”

“That’s right. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the forest.”

As we arrived at the filming location, the breathtaking scenery that left everyone speechless captured our attention. It was as if we had gone back in time to the Middle Ages.

The great gate was wide open, and the garden was picturesquely spread out with well-trimmed shrubs and flowerbeds planted with a harmony of colors. The white statues showed off their majestic appearance in the spring sun, and the water from the fountain sparkled and broke dazzlingly.

The chorus of birds chirping in the trees and the white butterflies fluttering over the flower fields were beautiful, as if they had been sprinkled with pollen.

A red carpet was spread from the main gate to the stage, and on both sides of the path, trumpeters dressed in medieval military band uniforms and flag bearers were lined up. Behind the stage, a 120-member orchestra was divided into left and right positions, and among them, a conductor wearing a white wig was holding a baton.

There was a stage to the conductor’s right where the band could stand. Sparkling Ripple stood there, fully prepared. They were all dressed in medieval military band attire.

And between the orchestra members, a black and white grand piano stood facing each other, and Angela and Christine, both dressed in pretty dresses, were sitting in their respective seats.

“Sister Maria, I see Angela over there, haha.”

“Our Angela looks so pretty in that dress, Father.”

The Holy Hill Church family waved flags and cheered on Angela.

“Quincy, James is really doing a great job. I wish I had a brother like that. I’m jealous, really.”

“That’s right. I haven’t even started yet, and it already feels like I’m dreaming.”

Diana Ross and Quincy Jones were also amazed the whole time they were watching. Then Michael Jackson next to her gently pulled Diana’s collar and said,

“Diana, here I am. I will throw you a spectacular event like this.”

“Yeah, Michael, hahaha. I have our Michael.”

Diana Ross patted Michael Jackson’s head.

“Austin, these people are seriously out of their minds. They restored the castle to its original state just to film a music video? This is ridiculous······.”

“Brother, doesn’t it remind you of the old days when you see a well-kept garden after such a long time? It probably wasn’t like this when Mom and Dad got married, but they must have received blessings from many people at the castle.”

It was an ironic situation for Gerard William’s two sons to be invited as guests to their childhood home, but they were overcome with emotion when they actually arrived.

Although he knew his children were coming, Gerard William watched the magnificent spectacle from the safety of a distance.

“Sir, did you really get married like that?”

The accompanying caregiver asked.

“Hey, man. It wasn’t like this, haha. But still, many villagers came to congratulate us on our wedding.”

Gerard’s heart began to race as he recalled the time when he married Helen.

“Okay, I think most of the people who were supposed to come have arrived. From now on, please follow my instructions so that we can film smoothly.”

Director Robert Smith grabbed the microphone and began to control the scene. Since everyone was invited, they followed the director’s orders well.

“Today is the last day of filming, and the ending scene of the music video. The music will be loud. This is the chorus of the song, so please just follow these lyrics. Then, Annie, I’ll ask you to do it.”

Annie grabbed the microphone and turned to the crowd.

“Guys, the lyrics are really easy. It’s just the same words over and over again, with only the beginning part being slightly different. I’ll sing it first, so everyone, please follow along!”

The guests all answered with a resounding ‘Yes!’

– I would do anything for you!

(I would do anything for you!)

-And I would do anything for you!

(And I will do anything for you!)

– Oh, I would do anything for you!

(Oh, really, I would do anything for you!)