Lord of Entertainment

Chapter 13: Theme

It was late at night, long after everyone had gone home, I found myself alone in the studio.

The quiet was almost eerie after the constant chaos of filming. I queued up the footage we'd shot so far, settling in for a private viewing party.

As Rocky's gravelly voice filled the room - "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" - I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. It was surreal, hearing those iconic words in our demon-infested version of the classic.

Watching the scenes unfold, a wild idea started to take shape. We needed music - a theme that could capture the essence of our demon mob epic. And who better to compose it than yours truly?

Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly a musical prodigy in this life or my last. But I remembered enough of the Godfather theme to replicate it. All I needed was a group of musicians crazy enough to bring my half-baked ideas to life.

I grabbed a piece of paper, scribbling down notes and humming to myself. It was probably a good thing no one was around to hear my tone-deaf attempts at composition.

***

The next day, I roped in my crew to help track down a music group willing to bring my demonic symphony to life. And by "willing," I mean "cheap enough that we could afford them without selling our souls." Well, what's left of our souls, anyway.

"Alright, folks," I announced, waving my scribbled composition like a battle flag. "We need musicians. Preferably ones who won't laugh us out of the room when they see this."

George squinted at my chicken scratch. "Boss, are you sure that's music and not a summoning spell gone wrong?"

I chose to ignore that. "Look, we're not aiming for the demon philharmonic here. Just find me a group that can play more than two notes without setting something on fire."

As the crew scattered to scour the underbelly of Ferland City's music scene, I couldn't help but wince at our financial situation. We'd already burned through 29 thousand dollars on location rentals, filming permits, and extras for scenes like the wedding.

And that's not even counting the 40 thousand we'd dropped on feeding and paying our ragtag cast and crew.

I glanced at our dwindling funds. Out of our original 200k, we were down to 131 thousand. It was like watching sand slip through an hourglass, if the sand was money and the hourglass was our increasingly precarious budget.

Thank hell I'd managed to sweet-talk the crew into taking a cut of the box office instead of their full salary. Of course, that was assuming we'd have a box office to cut. But hey, optimism is free, right?

"At least they're not complaining," I muttered to myself, watching the crew bustling around.

They seemed content with the three square meals a day and the promise of "experience." Part of me felt guilty, but another part - the part that was quickly learning the cutthroat nature of demon show business - knew this was how dreams got made. On empty stomachs and even emptier wallets.

Rocky sidled up to me, eyeing the budget sheet I was scowling at. "You know, kid, in my day, we didn't need fancy music or color cameras to tell a story."

I raised an eyebrow. "In your day, was that before or after the invention of fire?"

He chuckled, a sound like gravel in a blender. "All I'm saying is, don't lose sight of what's important. The story, the performances. That's what people will remember."

I nodded, feeling a mix of gratitude and determination. "Thanks, Rocky. But trust me, once they hear this theme, they'll never forget the Demonfather."

As if on cue, George burst back into the studio, out of breath and grinning like he'd just won the demon lottery. "Boss! You're not gonna believe this, but I found a group of banshee sisters who owe me a favor. They're willing to do it for free!" I showed off my music composition sheet.

I blinked. "Banshees?"

George nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! They've been trying to break into the music scene for ages. Figure this is their big break."

I looked down at my composition, then back at George's eager face. What the hell, right? "Book 'em," I said, grinning despite myself. "Let's see if they can sing or play instruments."

George chuckled, puffing up with pride. "Oh, they definitely can. I've seen them play before. Their fee's usually pretty steep, but when I mentioned it was for a movie soundtrack and called in that favor they owed me, they agreed to do it for free."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, I guess the idiot ones are always favored by luck," I quipped, clearly referring to George's unexpected stroke of good fortune.

But George, bless his heart, completely missed the jab. "Boss Arthur, don't look down on yourself like that. You're just lucky to have me, but you're not an idiot."

The crew and Rocky, who'd been eavesdropping, burst into laughter. Talk about a backfire.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Well, just go and call the banshee sisters."

George nodded and scurried off, still beaming with misplaced pride.

Before long, our studio was invaded by the Banshee Sisters. They swept in like a storm, all flowing dark hair and piercing eyes, lugging instruments that looked like they'd been salvaged from a gothic orchestra's garage sale.

Despite being demons, they were human-like, save for their slightly blue-tinged skin and the fact that their hair seemed to move of its own accord. Each sister was breathtakingly beautiful in a way that made you wonder if you'd survive getting close enough for a better look.

"Ladies," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt, "welcome to Hellfire Studios. Ready to make some music soundtrack for my movie?"

The eldest sister, or at least the one who radiated the most "don't mess with me" energy, stepped forward. "We hear you have a composition for us?"

I handed over my scribbled mess of a score, trying not to wince as she scrutinized it. "It's, uh, a work in progress," I mumbled.

To my surprise, her eyes lit up. "This... this is intriguing. Sisters, positions!"

What happened next can only be described as musical magic. The banshees took their places, instruments at the ready. As they began to play, the studio filled with a sound that was hauntingly familiar yet utterly unique.

The melody of the Godfather theme emerged, but it was transformed. The banshees' voices provided an otherworldly choir, their instruments adding layers of depth I hadn't even imagined. It was beautiful, it was terrifying, it was perfect.

As the last note faded, I realized I'd been holding my breath. "That was... wow," I managed, eloquent as ever.

The lead sister smiled, a sight both thrilling and slightly terrifying. "We made some slight adjustments. Hope you don't mind."

I shook my head, still in awe. "Mind? That was incredible. You just gave our movie its soul."

As the crew erupted in applause and the banshees preened, I caught Rocky's eye. He gave me a subtle nod, a rare smile playing at his lips.

I grinned back. We'd done it. We had our cast, our footage, and now, a soundtrack that could raise the dead - or at least give them a good reason to dance elegantly.