Inspiration from the Rodney King Incident

After finalizing all the partnerships, Kevin left immediately, claiming he needed to prepare for a new project.

Dawson continued running around for Kevin's old classmates, as well as several newly signed actors.

After the Saw crew disbanded, they all signed with CAA and were assigned plenty of work, honing their abilities while waiting for Kevin to call on them again.

Naturally, the biggest name among them was Gregg, who played Jigsaw. Offers kept pouring in for him.

But none of that had much to do with Kevin. After finding time to meet with Robert Downey Jr., he hurried back to the hotel in Beverly Hills.

Come to think of it, ever since he had transmigrated here, he had always lived in hotels. It felt a little lonely.

After all, he had no family. He was an orphan.

Fortunately, beautiful women had always been by his side, so the feeling was never too overwhelming.

Angelina Jolie had gone nowhere and simply waited for him in the room. Compared to her modeling career, Kevin was undoubtedly far more important.

So she decisively took a long leave and prepared to stay at the hotel to keep Kevin company.

Even if she ultimately failed to become Kevin's wife, she had watched Kevin's new projects from the sidelines and could at least land an important role.

That was far better than wandering around and struggling on her own.

After enjoying a fine meal at the hotel, Jolie returned to the room, turned on the television, and settled in to enjoy the leisurely time.

When Kevin opened the door, he saw the beauty lying messily dressed on the sofa, looking especially tempting. His little Kevin immediately sprang to life.

Just as Kevin was about to step forward and fool around with Jolie, the news playing on the television instantly caught his attention.

"ABC! Bringing you the fastest and best news!"

It was the promotional slogan for the station's news program, followed immediately by the report.

"Reporter Devon now brings you the latest developments in the Rodney King incident. Since the videotape of Rodney King being beaten by police after a drunk-driving arrest on March 3 was released, the public has unanimously believed that the police used excessive violence."

"The four officers seen in the footage remain in custody and will soon stand trial..."

Watching the report, Kevin sat beside Jolie and stared at the television in thought.

Jolie merely propped up her chin with one hand and carefully watched the man before her. A serious man looked especially handsome—and wealthy.

The television report awakened Kevin's memories. The aftermath of the Rodney King incident had surpassed everyone's expectations.

On April 29 of next year, the four police officers who beat Rodney King would be acquitted, and the consequence of it all would be the arrival of the Los Angeles Riots.

Even in Kevin's memories, this riot had been the largest in the United States since the twentieth century. It lasted four days, and the casualties and economic losses were beyond measure.

Of course, although Kevin was now an American, he did not care about whether those people lived or died. What he cared about was what he could gain from the riot.

At its core, the riot was simply Black people expressing their dissatisfaction with their status in the United States and taking the opportunity to vent.

But Kevin could fully capitalize on that sentiment and make a film that allowed Black people to vent their emotions.

Only Kevin knew how much power these Black moviegoers would unleash in theaters in the future. Black Panther and the Academy Awards were the best proof.

Taking this opportunity, Kevin could even brand himself as an equality advocate. It was practically an invincible label.

Thinking of that, Kevin recalled a joke: in the future, a disabled Black transgender gay animal-rights activist and environmentalist could swagger anywhere in the United States.

In the future, political correctness would reach an obsessive, even twisted level. Getting such a label early seemed like a good choice.

With that thought, the film he had originally planned to make was instantly discarded and replaced by another.

[Get Out]

The plot of Get Out was simple. In a small town, the residents possessed a special ability that allowed them to seize Black people's bodies, granting the townspeople eternal life.

The white woman Ruth was the bait used to lure physically strong Black men into the town.

The protagonist, Chris, a Black man, accidentally discovered the conspiracy and escaped from the deadly town.

The story was simple, but it exaggerated the ways white people harmed Black people to an unimaginably science-fiction-like degree.

Of course, to Kevin, its greatest significance was that the movie could stimulate Black audiences to the fullest.

Anyone could see that, with the right promotion, it would thoroughly ignite Black audiences' enthusiasm and bring in explosive box office results.

It could even contend for awards.

That was right. This was also why Kevin had chosen the film.

Timing, location, and public sentiment were all in his hands. With the right public relations campaign, winning an Academy Award was not impossible.

Of course, it might not be for Best Director.

But Best Picture had a very strong chance. At such a special moment, Hollywood would have to do something to soothe Black people's anger...

With that, Kevin finally settled on his next film.

"Jolie!"

Jolie raised her head, confused by Kevin's sudden call. The next moment, Kevin sealed her lips with his own.

Jolie cooperated eagerly, and the two soon became intimate.

A few days later, Kevin arrived at New Line Cinema with the follow-up Saw script, including detailed storyboarding instructions.

The two sides reached a deal over the rights.

Then, the income of thirty-one million dollars was transferred into his account. After deducting CAA's one million five hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the one hundred thousand dollars Kevin had drawn in advance, a massive sum of more than twenty-nine million dollars entered his account.

"Kevin, don't forget to pay your taxes. In the United States, only death and taxes are unavoidable."

Dean joked while offering a reminder.

"Of course. Or I could just spend it early."

Kevin nodded.

He knew American taxes very well.

In theory, if he did not use the money before April 15 of next year, losing sixty percent to various taxes would not be excessive at all.

The reason the United States and other developed countries had such high welfare benefits was naturally inseparable from their high taxes.

Of course, tax avoidance was also an eternal topic among America's wealthy.