Internal Screening

Once he was dressed, Kevin left the hotel and headed for New Line Cinema.

As for Salma Hayek, she had left the hotel early that morning. She had drawn a very clear line between their relationship: they were temporary partners in the flesh.

Kevin understood that as well. He was pleased, yet also somewhat regretful.

But the moment he arrived at New Line Cinema, he cast all such thoughts aside.

Everything he had came from his identity as a genius director.

Once that halo shattered, he believed Salma Hayek would abandon him just as quickly.

But as long as his halo remained intact, a steady stream of beautiful women would come looking for him on their own.

Instead, he needed to resist those temptations. He had no desire to become the star of some celebrity nude-photo scandal.

Led by Dean, he took all the film reels straight into New Line Cinema's editing room.

Inside was a tall, skinny white man. His hollow cheeks made him look rather unsettling.

Perhaps it was because of his appearance that he had chosen a profession like editing, one that did not require him to deal with too many people.

The only information Kevin had obtained was that he was quite a capable editor and that his name was Tyn.

They chatted briefly, but Tyn clearly had no desire to talk.

Kevin consequently lost interest in talking as well.

He handed all the reels to Tyn, who selected the individual shots for Kevin to review and choose from.

Kevin had originally expected fierce arguments to break out between himself and Tyn. After all, in an editing room, the editor had the final say. Yet Tyn proved remarkably cooperative.

Throughout their discussions, he never questioned a single one of Kevin's ideas, which left Kevin very satisfied.

Kevin already had a clear vision of what Saw was supposed to look like. He had never wanted anyone questioning him; they only needed to edit it according to his requirements.

The first day, the second day... all the way to the eighth day. Kevin finally emerged from the editing room looking disheveled.

The editing room was one of the few places in New Line Cinema that had beds.

For the past few days, Kevin had eaten food provided by New Line Cinema and slept in the editing room.

He made small adjustments based on what Saw was originally supposed to be, as well as some of the complaints audiences had raised most often.

At last, after eight days, Kevin had completed his first work.

A low-budget horror film titled Saw, made with an investment of 1.3 million dollars.

As soon as the film was finished, Kevin rushed out of the editing room, found a nearby hotel, ate a proper meal, and got a full day of rest.

The next day, carrying the film with him, Kevin entered New Line Cinema with Dean.

The person receiving them was Shaye, New Line Cinema's owner and president.

Shaye had the typical features of a Jewish white man. His complexion was slightly darker than that of most white people, and he had a high-bridged nose. At the moment, he approached them with an exceptionally friendly smile.

But Kevin knew that if Saw lost money at the box office, this man would probably turn on him immediately.

America's capitalist society did not have China's strong culture of personal connections and favors.

Once he lost his value as a director, he would naturally be treated like trash and tossed into the garbage heap.

"Kevin, I've heard Dean praising you for a long time. He said it had been ages since he'd seen a genius director as gifted as you."

"So when I heard your film had finished editing, I came over right away."

As he spoke, Shaye led Dean, Kevin, and the late-arriving Dawson toward New Line Cinema's internal screening room.

It was a small movie theater intended for the company's internal staff to establish the tone—or rather, the rating—of an unreleased film.

That would determine how much money they invested in its subsequent publicity and distribution, as well as how extensive the promotional campaign would be.

Under Shaye's guidance, they entered the room and took their seats. Several people were already seated inside.

Looking at Kevin, Shaye explained, "These are our company's internal film evaluators. They all have unique perspectives and can analyze your film from different angles to determine whether it is worth releasing in theaters."

Kevin nodded. These people were the foundation of any medium-sized or larger film company.

It was precisely because they existed that film companies could discover one good movie after another and launch promotions at the appropriate scale for those films.

In the future, these people would make tremendous contributions to New Line Cinema's success.

Unfortunately, film companies were still too poor at withstanding risk. A single big-budget flop could be enough to kill them.

In the future, The Lord of the Rings would cause the company to develop an almost superstitious faith in fantasy films.

Then The Golden Compass would make them completely lose their independent capital and be fully absorbed into Warner.

Pushing aside his thoughts about New Line Cinema's future, Kevin handed the film reels to the projectionist.

Then he took his seat.

The projectionist turned off the lights, and the film began.

At the beginning, the male lead Adam woke up in a bathtub. Everywhere he looked was a scene of decay. From the look of it, the place was an underground basement.

His foot was chained to a rusted water pipe. Another person was chained up across from him, while a corpse lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the room initially drew their attention.

But before long, their attention shifted elsewhere.

Who had kidnapped them? What was the purpose? Money, or something else?

The two men were utterly confused.

Dean and Shaye nodded. As film company executives, they naturally possessed a certain degree of appreciation for cinema.

This opening immediately stirred the audience's curiosity.

It made them want to keep watching what came next.

Judging from this opening, Steve Kevin was not a director with an undeserved reputation.

Driven by curiosity over why Adam had been kidnapped, they continued watching.

Under the killer's orders, they had no choice but to choose between their own lives, their families' lives, and Adam, a complete stranger.

In the end, driven mad by agitation and despair, Gordon sawed off his own foot and crawled out while dragging his severed leg behind him.

Then Adam, who had remained inside, suddenly discovered that the corpse on the floor had slowly risen.

Adam launched a counterattack against Jigsaw, but Jigsaw used a device he had prepared beforehand to electrocute him unconscious.

In the end.

Jigsaw left the room with a single sentence: "People often live without knowing gratitude, but you won't."

The screen went dark. Adam screamed in the darkness, and then the movie ended.

"Oh, my God, is he a god?"

One of the evaluators cried out. He had been completely captivated by Jigsaw's charisma.

As a man, he acted in place of God, punishing those who did not cherish life.

In all his years in the industry, this was the first time he had seen such a charismatic villain in a movie.

Moreover, some of the ideas carried religious undertones, adding a divine radiance to the villain.

"The camerawork is excellent. There are no problems with it, and it flows very smoothly."

"The plot has a few minor flaws, but Jigsaw's personal charisma makes up for all of them. Director Kevin, where did you find this actor? There is always a calmness and a smile on his face that do not fit a killer's identity, yet when paired with his actions of exercising divine authority on God's behalf, it all becomes perfectly reasonable..."

The evaluators all praised Kevin for creating such a classic film. Yes, they unanimously believed that Saw would become a landmark among horror films.