Internal Screening

It was still Kevin's familiar editor. The moment they met, there was no need for much talk; they quickly began the editing process.

After ten straight days of frenzied work living in the editing room, they finally produced the rough cut Kevin needed.

What followed was a series of complicated tasks: post-production audio correction, music selection, actor dubbing, and more.

Hollywood had a shared music library, and the major film companies likewise had their own music copyrights and reserves of musical talent.

With Warner Bros. generously providing them—or rather, with the price being so low there was no need to charge for it—Kevin decisively chose several tracks that retained the flavor of the original version. The rough cut was ultimately turned into the final cut.

The next step was naturally the screening.

On March 20, 1992, the internal screening for Get Out was officially held.

Outside New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov arrived at New Line Cinema right on time in his luxury Bentley.

Accompanying him were two Warner Bros. screening staff members responsible for film ratings. Notably, one of them was Black.

From this, it was clear that Kevin's previous proposal to draw Black audiences into theaters had moved Jeff Robinov.

That was why he had specifically brought along a Black screener this time to handle Get Out's specific rating.

"Kevin!"

Jeff Robinov warmly approached Kevin. A successful director was a highly sought-after and precious resource in Hollywood; unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to offend one.

Offending them meant letting a treasure trove slip right past you.

To become president, being smooth and tactful in every direction was a necessary quality for Jeff Robinov.

Kevin returned his smile. The president of Warner Bros. held a very high position in the industry. Generally speaking, a director like him would not receive such warmth from Jeff Robinov.

Unless...

He needed him badly.

It seemed Warner Bros. was not so harmonious internally either.

Kevin silently considered this. Yet in his memories, Jeff Robinov had remained president for more than a decade. It seemed that even without Kevin's support, Jeff Robinov still had other methods.

Jeff Robinov was so warm that Kevin naturally would not greet him with a cold face.

The two sides happily entered New Line Cinema's screening room.

Seven or eight people, Kevin included, watched the finished Get Out together.

Without further delay, once everyone had arrived, the film began playing immediately.

The enormous screen displayed the logos of Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and Dawnlight Films one after another. Then the names of the director, actors, and crew flashed rapidly across the screen.

The screen then went black, and the film officially began.

The opening was a short scene: a Black man had been summoned by phone to an eerie road, and he kept complaining about the strange atmosphere.

He kept searching for his destination.

Then a white car suddenly appeared and circled around him. A slightly lighthearted folk tune played amid the eerie mood, singing a song called "Run Rabbit Run."

It made the atmosphere especially unsettling.

The others were immediately drawn into the film by that scene.

Then an unidentified person suddenly emerged from the white vehicle, knocked the Black man unconscious, and dragged him into the trunk.

Next, night turned into day, and a mixed-race couple—a Black man and a white woman—appeared before everyone.

The young Black man cleaned himself up. His lean yet solid muscles showed that he was very strong, and he looked well matched with his beautiful girlfriend.

Seeing this, Shaye and Jeff Robinov both felt somewhat uncomfortable.

The history of this country was a history of conflict between Black people and white people. Even now, although the status of Black people had risen considerably, white people's discrimination against them still lingered silently in their hearts.

A couple made up of a Black man and a white woman immediately made them feel somewhat uneasy.

That feeling could be compared to how Chinese women marrying Black men felt to them: lacking self-respect and disregarding everything else.

As the film continued, Shaye and Jeff Robinov finally understood that it was different from what they had imagined.

The white woman sought out strong Black men in order to sell their bodies to the people in the town. He was nothing more than merchandise.

Just like Black slaves of the past...

The film quickly reached its climax. The Black protagonist slaughtered the white people who regarded him as slave merchandise, and it all felt immensely satisfying.

But if that was all there was to it, then while it was a good work, it seemed much weaker than Kevin's previous Saw.

Jeff Robinov was just about to ask a question when the Black screener he had brought suddenly shouted:

"Kill those damn white people! This is how unfairly they treat us Black people..."

After shouting those words in the heat of the moment, the Black screener came back to himself and could not help giving an awkward smile.

That outburst had definitely been inappropriate.

Yet Jeff Robinov noticed something different and directly asked:

"Jenofer, what do you think of this film?"

Jenofer immediately perked up and returned to her professional demeanor.

"From my perspective, and from the perspective of my race, this is the best work I have seen since I was born."

Jeff Robinov frowned.

"Such a high evaluation?"

Jenofer nodded and said seriously:

"Yes, that is exactly what I think. And if you let any Black person watch this film, they would feel the same way."

"If I had to rate it, I would absolutely give it the highest rating: an S-class perfect thriller."

Kevin smiled from the side.

The film's largest core audience was actually Black people. Every satisfying moment and every target in the story was aimed at them.

If films were graded S, A, B, C, and D, ordinary viewers would probably only give this film an A or B rating.

But for Black people, this film would only receive the highest S rating.

It perfectly portrayed white oppression of Black people, and in the end, the Black protagonist killed those damned white people who coveted his body.

Simply put, this was the ultimate crowd-pleasing film aimed at Black audiences.

Jeff Robinov also smiled. But one Black viewer did not seem obvious enough. He needed to hold another screening.

He would invite more Black people to watch the film and gather more detailed supporting data, so he could determine the exact number of screens to arrange.