Two days later, Steve Kevin finally stepped out of the school gate with his project proposal in hand.
Unlike the education system in China, American education was extremely relaxed.
Many subjects that Chinese middle or even high school students studied were not introduced until college in the United States.
Of course, Kevin knew that it was all an illusion, a deception to the lower class.
The middle-class families, who appeared to support a lenient education system, were secretly enrolling their children in all sorts of tutoring classes.
Their purpose was simple: to eliminate most of the competition for their own children.
From this perspective, those who could get into the University of Southern California were generally not from poor families.
As for orphans like Kevin, there was only one reason they could enter the school—academic excellence.
The logic behind it was quite easy to understand. Talented individuals like Kevin, who came from humble backgrounds, were the pride of the school.
They would admit a certain number of such students every year.
And the middle-class families formed the foundation of the school.
After putting a penny from his own pocket into the bus fare, Kevin silently arrived at a large building several kilometers away.
This was the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a company that may be unfamiliar to many.
However, it was renowned by another name—CAA, the world's top-ranking talent agency.
They represented big names such as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and other movie stars. They also represented music icons like Madonna, Beyoncé Knowles, Justin Timberlake, and many more.
Kevin came here to find his agent.
Yes, his body had already signed a contract with an agent from CAA long ago.
Entering the CAA building, he was greeted by a stunning receptionist.
"Hello, do you have an appointment?" she asked warmly.
Kevin nodded, "I have an appointment with my agent, Dawson..."
He glanced at his watch and continued, "It's scheduled for 10 o'clock."
The receptionist checked the registry and said, "Room 0306 on the third floor. Your agent is waiting for you."
As she spoke, the receptionist's face turned slightly red, as if she wanted to say something more.
"Thank you," Kevin replied, paying no attention to her expression. He couldn't wait to head towards the elevator on the third floor. His biggest task on this trip was to convince his agent.
Since 1980, CAA had grown year by year and had become a behemoth with annual revenues exceeding 100 million dollars. And what CAA needed most were talented directors like Kevin.
This was all due to CAA's unique model. CAA was devoted to a practice called project packaging, which revolved around the director as the core of collaboration. When a director proposed a film project, CAA would seek partnerships with major film companies. Due to CAA's scale, they could often bundle the project with actors, editors, lighting, and other logistical support.
In this model, CAA maximized the utilization of its resources. For directors, it was actually a good thing because they could focus on creating a great film while CAA took care of all the miscellaneous tasks.
The only potential obstacle would be the major film companies. However, with CAA's vast resources, as long as their directors had a successful track record, they rarely faced a lack of investment.
Therefore, CAA had become the dominant force.
"Kevin!"
As soon as he entered the room, his agent, Dawson, greeted him with a smile.
As a promising director in Southern California, Kevin was not to be underestimated until he truly failed, that is, until he made a film that flopped at the box office. Although the chances of success were not great, there was still an opportunity.
"Dawson," Kevin replied with a smile, taking a seat opposite him. Once settled, he continued, "I'm here today to discuss my film project."
While speaking, he handed over the project proposal in his hand.
Dawson nodded and accepted the project proposal. In fact, the reason he was able to sign a contract with Kevin, a renowned genius director, was because of the commitment he made to him. As long as Kevin could provide a genuine and viable film concept, Dawson would mobilize all his resources to push the project forward.
As a bottom-level agent at CAA, he also needed such an opportunity to climb up the ladder.
Of course, if Kevin failed, the consequences for him would be equally severe. However, after spending years at the bottom of CAA, he was no longer satisfied with his current position. But he lacked high-end clients to propel him forward.
That's why he went to great lengths and eventually signed with Kevin. If Kevin succeeded, he could make announcements and utilize CAA's packaging strategy to recommend potential roles to production teams. Of course, the precondition was signing with CAA.
Having a high-end director-client like Kevin had the potential to elevate him to the position of one of the five partners at CAA.
For that position, he was willing to take the risk.
However, everything depended on the viability of Kevin's project proposal.
With considerations for the project proposal in mind, Dawson carefully examined it.
"'Saw' project?" he read aloud, flipping open the proposal to the script.
Approaching it with caution, Dawson scrutinized it.
Setting aside the story for now, solely focusing on the script's standards, it was written in a style that fully adhered to Hollywood standards.
Although this may seem simple, many first-time screenwriters struggle to achieve this.
From this perspective, Kevin, at least, showed sufficient dedication to the project rather than just trying to fool others.
With the format confirmed, Dawson started delving into the content.
The script wasn't particularly long, consisting of only a few thin pages. With great attention, Dawson quickly finished reading it.
After reading it, he fell deep into contemplation.
A successful movie always has a few memorable characters. If, after watching a movie, the characters remain vividly etched in people's minds for years or even a decade, then that movie can be considered a classic.
In this script, Dawson undoubtedly saw that potential.
In the script, the character "Jigsaw," who orchestrates everything, doesn't kill without reason. Instead, he purposefully selects individuals whom he believes are guilty or do not value life and designs various tests for them.
All of his tests offer the subjects a way out, but they have to pay a certain price to survive. Many survivors find a new perspective on life, and some even feel gratitude towards Jigsaw. However, those who fail the tests have a piece of their skin cut off in a puzzle-like shape as Jigsaw's mark.