Advance Screening

He pulled himself away from the crowd of strippers and went over to Kevin, who was sitting in a booth.

"Kevin, what's wrong? Don't like places like this?"

As an actor, Donnie had his own understanding of expressions.

Kevin's furrowed brow showed that he was not particularly fond of this sort of place.

Donnie immediately asked.

Kevin shook his head, then smiled.

"I came to tell you that my first movie is about to be released."

"So soon?"

Donnie was somewhat taken aback. He knew that the young man he regarded as a little brother was talented, but securing investment and making a movie before even graduating was far too fast.

He had even planned to take Kevin to meet his father after graduation, let his father assess him, and then introduce him to some director as an assistant director.

Who would have thought?

But...

Kevin's first movie being a massive success was something he did not believe in at all.

Of course.

His father had won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 47th Oscars and had also contributed to classics such as The Godfather and Mission: Impossible. He was fairly well-established within the industry.

Even if Kevin failed, as long as Donnie asked his father, he could still get Kevin one or two opportunities.

"That's right, Donnie. I'm going to make you a huge star!"

Kevin said with a smile.

"Is that so? Then I'll be waiting."

Donnie smiled as well.

"But you have to promise me one thing."

Kevin's smile faded as he spoke seriously.

"?"

Donnie was a little confused.

"Don't touch anything addictive."

"What are you talking about? Come on, Kevin, I'll introduce you to a few hot girls."

Donnie immediately gave an awkward laugh and changed the subject.

Kevin could only sigh.

Using that stuff was practically a family tradition for him. From the moment Donnie accepted the first one his father handed him at seven years old, he had never been able to stay away from it.

Since Kevin could not talk him out of it now, he no longer had the heart to keep trying.

Only after Donnie hit rock bottom would he probably truly consider quitting. All Kevin could do was give him a better chance to make a comeback.

Led along by Donnie, Kevin gradually relaxed as well.

He entered the midst of a group of scantily clad hot girls.

Kevin's youthful yet slightly mature face was already enough to attract them, and after Donnie's words, they became even more frenzied.

"My little brother Kevin is a genius director. His first movie is about to hit theaters. You know what that means."

"Wow!!!"

The hot girls cried out in surprise. They longed for the profession of director.

A director was paired with stars.

A director's films could cultivate one superstar after another. Who would not want to live a glamorous life beneath the spotlights?

At Donnie's words, Kevin was instantly submerged beneath an ocean of breasts, arms, and long legs...

The next day, Kevin woke up in an enormous suite and freed himself from the limbs tangled around him.

Kevin could not help feeling that he had fallen too far.

"I can't blame myself. Capitalism's power to corrode one's will is just too strong. A fine young man like me has been corrupted like this."

Kevin muttered to himself, then headed without the slightest reluctance toward the hotel where he had originally been staying.

There was still a great beauty waiting for him there.

After running himself ragged for two or three days, Kevin emerged from that den of pleasure full of energy and arrived at New Line Cinema.

As the owner and president, Shaye paid no attention to his status as he stood at the entrance welcoming one print media outlet after another, along with several well-known film critics.

At the end of the day, money was what mattered. Being a little nicer to these print media people and critics cost him nothing.

On the contrary, if they could say a few good words, their impact on the box office would be enormous.

Still, their glory would only last through this era.

Kevin entered from the side with a fake smile, silently thinking to himself.

With the arrival of the internet age, these people would sooner or later be swept into the trash heap. To put it plainly, whether a movie was good or not was for the audience to decide.

Who the hell did film critics think they were?

Of course, that was all in the future. At least for now, these critics still wielded considerable influence.

Perhaps Shaye had done enough work behind the scenes, because every one of the critics was extremely friendly, completely unlike the sharp-tongued faces Kevin had seen in newspapers.

Shaye, meanwhile, looked utterly calm. The more than twenty renowned film critics had collectively received over three hundred thousand dollars from him, and together with the print media, he had spent five hundred thousand dollars on public relations.

Even throwing that money into water would make a splash, let alone paying people who spoke for money.

Today's advance screening was ultimately just a formality.

After watching it, they would praise Saw from their own perspectives and draw the first wave of viewers into theaters.

After that, based on their internal projections, word of mouth would build up to a certain extent.

They could not say how exaggerated the results would be, but after deducting all investments, New Line Cinema would definitely make a huge profit.

One by one, everyone finally arrived. Naturally, no one would deliberately miss an opportunity to collect money.

Inside the large screening room on the fifth floor, more than twenty film critics and over ten print media representatives took their seats.

Roger Ebert was one of the more famous critics. Generally speaking, if a film was not of sufficient quality, studios would often avoid inviting him to an advance screening.

Naturally, they would not short him on payment.

They wanted to keep him from casually tearing them apart.

The world was simply that realistic. Once someone's status was high enough, people were willing to pay a huge price just to keep his mouth shut.

Roger Ebert smiled faintly. No matter what the others thought of the film, he would only speak according to his own judgment.

That was the principle he had always upheld.

They had invited him, but if the movie was poor and insulted his eyes, they would have to endure his negative review.

Otherwise, they should not have invited him so casually.

Of course, if the movie could truly move him, Roger Ebert would not mind using his reputation to give it a proper wave of publicity.

The theater lights suddenly went out, leaving only several small lamps casting a faint yellow glow.

New Line Cinema's name suddenly appeared on the screen, followed closely by the names of the director, actors, and crew scrolling past in rapid succession.

The screen flashed in the next instant.

The movie began.

As the film progressed, Kevin quietly observed the facial reactions of the critics and print media representatives.

Contempt, mockery, appreciation—every sort of expression was on display. Clearly, Saw had not satisfied everyone, but Kevin could still tell that they all wanted to know who Jigsaw really was.