This post has spoilers for Sunset Boulevard musical. Not immediately but eventually I will delve into that. If proceeding, please be aware of the warning. Do not desire anyone to be caught by surprise.
Good morning, my friend, my dear reader of this post! How are you, today? How have the week been so far? As for me, I am okay. One step at a time... If I am realist, the past three days or so have not been so bad. Yesterday was to the point of being productive, though not immediately. But in the end I did a drawing and managed to get some new ebooks to read. I have been meaning to read some more, I am a bit stuck in this one book about the Trivium. It is not bad, I like and am interested, but being more of a introduction piece, it can be dry at times, uninspiring to read. Someday I should indeed finish it, and when I do I have so many others to read. I also talked to some online friends, that is always a welcome thing. Unfortunately my dear friend Alex sent me a package this December but it never got delivered, maybe some word in the address got lost in translation. Fortunately it was given back to him by the mailing company. I wish I could have received it but it is what it is...
I feel bad for not writing as much the past few days, it is hard to juggle between my free time hobbies, alongside with college and the daily lamentations. I have some stuff to say, true, but can't seem to feel motivated enough to put them to words on the screen. I don't know exactly what to mention or where to start, if at all. I should mention, for example, that I, with the help of AI, have devised an alternative ending to the Sunset Boulevard musical, you know, the psychological thriller. Gutted as I am by its original ending, I can't bear to listen to the otherwise outstanding music of the show. That hurts me, I want to listen to it, still, but I can't control everything I'm feeling. So, yea, and with Spoiler alert, I should mention a bit of it.
I mean, at the core, I wanted an ending where Joe and Betty get a happy ending. Funnily enough, this is not the first tine I recur to my resources to devise happy endings to stories that do not have closure. My grandma, dear grandma Anne, used to tell me a story of a bug that wanted to get married, and being scared away by abrupt noises, she decided to get engaged with a baritone doormat, of pleasant voice. Well, preparations and expectations on and off, the marriage never happens, the doormat ends up falling accidentally in a very hot stew and is cooked away. Poor little bug is left at the altar in shambles, and returns to her lonely life, sobbing away. Well, I as a kid could not have it, so I asked grandma to change the ending where the doormat avoids the tragic fate and they get married in the end, with a happy party and now the stew is served in a good occasion. Closure. So, for Joe and Betty, what I changed was: while Betty runs away and is still deeply wounded by Joe's actions with Norma, and while Joe still confronts Norma about his regrets on working with her, the true villain of the story, Max, is the one that pulls the trigger of the gun, because Joe, even if hurt deeply and even angry, is much more gentle in his approach to her, because he still cares for Norma. But Max intervenes in the story and well, in the end Joe gets shot. He does not die, but is gravely hurt and taken by the hospital. Max runs away from the house in fear shortly after, while Norma is left entirely perplex and alone ar her mansion on the Sunset Boulevard, in a state of shock, just mumbling to herself "but I was ready for my close up...".
Betty, as much as she is hurt, when hears of Joe's wound, finds out in the worst of ways that she can't bear to carry on without Joe, their experience with the screenplay, the way he encouraged her, supported her... She is just too far gone in her feelings for him, to escape. She rushes to the hospital and wait days to see him, while he is at a limbo and cannot receive guests.
Days later, and Betty was there for most of them, she being in shambles entirely, she is finally admitted at the hospital room, he is ready for guests. Joe's near death experience also makes him realize he loves Betty in a way that frightens him. She is the one person that saw his potential and through is attitude and moody, badboy behavior. And he realizes he is disgusted by just allowing himself to trick and be tricked by Norma Desmond. They look at each other, and now their situation is harsh, but... Man, they just love so much each other. So, they both sob a lot and in the end Joe begs for a second chance, and says that he is ready to go the distance to prove himself to her, that he is willing to become better. He has no other path. Betty, also in shambles, knows she is in no better situation, she also is "trapped in love" so to speak. She decides to forgive him, despite the fact she is still deeply wounded. She does tell him, though, that they need to go much slower in the relationship.
After months of recovery and healing on Joe's end, of redemption, and Betty's seeing his progress, as he becomes less brash and more tender, more moral, more mature, they end up fully returning to their love relationship, as lovers and partners in life and in their creative endeavors. They share a love for storytelling and the silver screen, as well as having pass through so much together. They end up starting to build a life together, having a suburban house where they can raise their kids when time comes.
I decided I would not have any other way. I explored many different scenarios with GPT and Grok, and they helped ne realize indeed I just could not bear to see the story ending any other way. Ah, I am a hopeless romantic, and it seems I always have been. Probably always will be, God willing. It is not entirely happy, because it is not official, it will never be, but well... I suppose I am one of the writers in the industry portrayed in the show, this beautiful mess that waa Hollywood, this raw, terrible meat grinder that we all love, and would not have any other way. They were giants. I am not, but I can still write, for what is worth.
So, yea, this is what I had to share today. I apologize for the longer post. But also, I kind of owned you a bigger one, since I have been out for a week. Ah... and wrapping things up, when should I return? As soon as possible, I sure hope. Maybe for an Easter post, a wonderful season that deserves to be celebrated. Anyway... I hope you may have good days ahead, I really hope I can be back soon! Thank you ever so much, dear friend, for the kind support! See you again real soon!!!! Farewell for now.
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