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Chapter 141: Saw Negotiations
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 09:00:15 +0000 UTC"Hello, is this Norton's Eye?" Jack Wilson poked his head in through the door, repeating his earlier greeting.
Jimmy stood up to greet him. "Hello, may I help you with something?"
At this time, the receptionist had already gone off duty, leaving only the so-called judges still battling with the pile of scripts.
"Jack Wilson. I'm a producer from Australia."
"Jimmy."
"Nice to meet you." After a brief exchange, Jack Wilson walked into the lobby and sat down on the sofa.
When he noticed the towering stack of scripts on the table, his mouth fell open in surprise.
"My goodness!"
"And this is just part of it. We're still in the initial screening stage." Jimmy handed him a glass of water as he sat down across from him. "So, are you here to submit a script?"
"That's right." Jack Wilson retrieved a few scripts from his briefcase and handed them to Jimmy. "I've got a few scripts here that I'd like to submit to see if they're suitable for production. I read about your script competition, where the gold and silver winners receive production contracts. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The competition, organized by Ethan, had four awards: Gold Script Award (1 winner), Silver Script Award (1 winner), Bronze Script Award (1 winner), and Special Script Awards (5 winners).
The prizes varied significantly. The Special Script Award winners received $2,000 each, the Bronze winner received $3,000, the Silver winner received $5,000, and the Gold winner received $10,000.
In addition to the monetary awards, the Gold and Silver winners were guaranteed production contracts, while the Bronze winner had an optional contract that would depend on the writer's decision.
Hearing this confirmation, Jack Wilson felt reassured. He opened his briefcase, took out several scripts, and handed them to Jimmy.
"Please fill out this form," Jimmy said, handing him a piece of paper instead of reviewing the scripts immediately.
"No problem," Jack said as he began filling in his details.
While Jack concentrated on the form, Jimmy crossed his legs and glanced at the scripts: Horror Cinema, Zombie Jack, and Non-Physiological Terror.
After scanning a few, Jimmy lost interest. All of them were horror scripts, and he believed horror scripts were often hit-or-miss, mostly the latter. Up to now, he hadn't seen one that truly gave him chills.
So, he stacked the scripts back on the table and left them there.
Jack spent half an hour filling out the form. By the time he was done, Greta and the others had already left, leaving only Jimmy in the office.
"I'll be leaving now. Oh, one more thing," Jack said as he stood up. "If I submit my script here, am I still allowed to submit it to other companies?"
"Of course. That's your choice," Jimmy said with a smile. "However, until the awards are announced, you cannot sign a production contract with anyone else."
"I understand." Jack nodded and left the building.
For the past few weeks, he'd been making the rounds in Los Angeles without much luck. Now that he was in New York, he figured he'd also check out opportunities with other film companies.
Two days later, at MGM United Artists, the script acquisition director, Marty, was carefully reading through a script at his desk.
"What do you think of this script?" asked his assistant, Maxon, who was responsible for managing incoming scripts and passing noteworthy ones to Marty for final approval.
"It's interesting. We could consider purchasing it. The company is currently short on horror scripts," Marty said.
"What about the contract terms?"
"Let's use the C-tier package. We recently canceled a few projects, so this low-budget film could fit in nicely."
"Could we move it to B-tier?"
"Unfortunately, no."
The C-tier was the company's lowest budget category, offering limited resources and payment.
Maxon, who had been in his position for five years, had developed a keen eye for scripts. He thought Jack Wilson's submission had a unique premise that could stand out among the typical gore-heavy horror films.
But Marty didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, viewing it as just another low-budget thriller. He believed audiences preferred big-budget gore films.
"Understood," Maxon said reluctantly.
Later, in the conference room, Jack Wilson waited anxiously as Maxon entered with a contract in hand.
"We're interested in purchasing your script," Maxon announced.
"That's fantastic!" Jack was thrilled. This script had been gathering dust for two years, and now it finally had a chance.
"We can start production immediately after signing. Why not sign the contract now?" Maxon offered, placing a pen beside the contract.
"Uh…" Jack hesitated after reading the terms.
"Is there a problem? The upfront payment might not be high, but the box office revenue split is industry standard. If this film hits a million-dollar gross, everyone stands to profit," Maxon assured him.
But Jack's hesitation wasn't due to the payment. He remembered the Norton's Eye competition. His script was still in the running, with results due in a week. Signing with MGM now would disqualify him from the competition.
"I need to discuss this with the writer," Jack said, hoping to delay.
"Sure, but I recommend deciding quickly," Maxon advised. "By next week, we might have a full slate, and your project could be delayed until next year."
Jack nodded and left, determined to wait for the competition results.
Meanwhile, Ethan reviewed the latest batch of scripts approved by the judges—over 20 in total.
He wasn't interested in reading all of them. Instead, he scanned the titles, searching for one script in particular.
Suddenly, he stopped, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"There it is," he murmured, spotting a black folder labeled with three hastily scrawled letters: SAW.
It was none other than the legendary Saw.
Though its original title simply meant "saw," the translated name Saw: The Game of Survival perfectly captured its essence.
More importantly, Ethan had struck gold amid the pile of submissions.
After confirming the script's authenticity, Ethan asked Jimmy to contact the producer immediately.
Jack Wilson was surprised to be back at Norton's Eye so soon. This time, he was meeting Ethan, the decision-maker himself.
"Ethan. Just call me Ethan," he introduced himself, pouring Jack a cup of tea.
"Ethan, I saw you at the Oscars! Best Cinematography! Oh, and this—what is this? It looks so cool," Jack said, curious about the tea ceremony.
"It's tea, a traditional preparation. I hope you like it," Ethan replied.
Jack took a sip and smacked his lips. "I've had tea before, but this is better—not as bitter."
"Of course, it's white tea," Ethan explained briefly before getting to the point.
"I've read your script, and after unanimous approval from the judges and myself, we believe Saw has the potential to win the Gold Script Award. I'd like to discuss the contract with you in advance."
"Alright, but I have a few questions first," Jack said.
He asked about the timeline, budget, and director.
"If it wins, production will begin immediately. The Gold winner's budget is capped at $3 million, while the Silver is capped at $2 million. As for the director, that'll be me," Ethan said.
Jack was surprised that an Oscar-winning cinematographer would direct, but it made sense given the higher ceiling for directors.
Moreover, Ethan's proposed budget far exceeded MGM's $1.5 million offer, leaving Jack deeply impressed.
