“Not to mention those found-footage films like The Blair Witch Project, which relied entirely on viral marketing to drive their box office.”
T/N: Since this story takes place in 1991, The Blair Witch Project (released in 1999) hasn’t actually been made yet!
Since Kevin is a transmigrator, he is referencing his future knowledge of how that movie’s marketing campaign played out.
As for why he didn’t choose to film something like The Blair Witch Project, the reason was simple.
From an insider’s perspective, that kind of movie was practically worthless to a director’s career.
Its box office success was entirely built on marketing hype and deception.
Such a film offered zero long-term benefits to its director.
Audiences would walk away feeling like they had been tricked, which would be incredibly detrimental to the director’s future projects.
In the end, only the film company profited.
Audiences would walk away feeling like they had been tricked, which would do irreparable damage to the director’s future projects.
In the end, only the studio would profit.
It was the kind of cheap gimmick that could completely destroy a filmmaker’s career.
Naturally, Kevin was never going to choose that type of project.
Of course, all of this merely illustrated just how critical marketing and promotion truly were.
At the same time, leveraging comparable films was a crucial promotional tactic in the industry; simply put, it was about piggybacking on popular trends.
However, successfully capitalizing on a trend required genuine skill.
The status of The Silence of the Lambs as a certified classic went without saying, and in Kevin’s eyes, Saw was certainly not inferior to it.
Since the phenomenal reputation of The Silence of the Lambs was already firmly established, piggybacking on its success would naturally attract the same audience.
Furthermore, as horror films, they drew from the same core fanbase.
As long as the quality of Saw was high enough, these viewers would naturally spread the word, creating a massive ripple effect.
Conversely, if Saw fell short, the backlash would be just as severe.
Those same fans would instantly become the film’s harshest critics.
However, Kevin had absolute confidence in Saw.
This was a movie of inherently high quality.
Free from any external interference, it had already proven its massive commercial success in Kevin’s previous life.
As long as the marketing kept pace, there was no reason for it to falter.
Salma Hayek looked at Kevin alluringly, leaning close to him as they read the morning newspaper together.
Seeing the pages plastered with high praise for Saw, Salma couldn’t help but beam with joy.
Although Jigsaw was undoubtedly the most charismatic character in the film, as the nominal female lead, she would still bask in a significant portion of the glory.
“Kevin, there isn’t a single negative review for Saw in this entire paper.
Are we really going to succeed?”
Kevin chuckled.
“Of course!
How could a genius director like me possibly fail?
Right, my leading lady?” Kevin teased.
“So, how exactly are you going to thank me?”
Beside him, Salma rolled her eyes playfully.
Over the past few days of living together, she had fallen entirely for Kevin.
The moment he spoke, she knew exactly what he was thinking.
…
Time flew by.
Soon, it was the day before Halloween.
The streets were already filled with people dressed as ghouls and monsters, and glowing jack-o’-lanterns decorated the local shopping malls and homes.
Kevin stood on a mall plaza stage, a modest outdoor venue that could accommodate a few hundred people.
At midnight tonight, Kevin’s Saw would officially hit theaters.
His purpose here was to build hype and ensure the local university students were fully aware of Saw’s midnight premiere.
There were approximately 2,500 universities in North America, and New Line Cinema’s strongest theater connections happened to be the cinemas directly adjacent to these campuses.
Because of this, they had successfully secured at least 800 screens for Saw.
This accounted for a full fifth of the entire university market share.
Of course, this contract was only locked in for the first three days.
After the opening weekend, the theater chains reserved the right to increase or decrease their screen counts based on Saw’s actual performance.
North American box office revenue sharing typically operated on a sliding scale.
During the first week, the production company could take 60% or even 70% of the ticket sales.
After that, the percentage would gradually decrease based on the film’s specific box office legs.
Generally speaking, the studio’s cut steadily shrank over time.
Therefore, the first week’s data was absolutely crucial.
It would dictate the theater chains’ entire attitude toward the film moving forward.
“Hey everyone!
I’m Steve Kevin—maybe you’ve heard of me?” Kevin shouted out to the crowd of students, many of whom were his fellow USC underclassmen.
Skillfully adhering to the requirements of a movie promotional tour, Kevin hyped up the film to the roaring crowd of students.
For a low-budget indie film, this kind of aggressive grassroots screening tour essentially served as its grand premiere.
A true, star-studded red-carpet event was simply beyond Kevin’s current means.
Through the recent media blitz, many horror enthusiasts had already been converted into potential ticket-buyers, and these university students were exactly the crowd Saw was aiming for.
Unsurprisingly, Saw was slapped with an R-rating, meaning anyone under 17 had to be accompanied by an adult.
After all, unless a film was intensely explicit or outright banned, the MPAA rarely handed out the dreaded NC-17.
Furthermore, because the gruesome deaths in Saw carried a deeper message about cherishing life—combined with New Line Cinema’s aggressive behind-the-scenes lobbying—the film safely secured that R-rating.
This was exactly why Kevin had always been determined to partner with an established studio.
Sure, outside investors might offer more cash upfront, but if the backing didn’t come from a major industry player, the film would face countless hurdles during its release.
From the MPAA rating to promotion and distribution, every single step would be a nightmare.
Hollywood was notoriously ruthless when it came to exploiting outside capital—a harsh reality that filmmakers from the Hong Kong entertainment industry understood better than anyone.
T/N: Ah, author, do you have to compare everything to China every single time?
Oh, right, sorry—silly me, I forgot I’m translating a Chinese web novel!
And if you’re wondering why there’s a sudden mention of the Hong Kong entertainment industry here, the author is referencing the real-life struggles of 1990s Hong Kong filmmakers and actors—like Jackie Chan or John Woo—who tried to break into Hollywood, only to be heavily exploited by the major studios.
….
Midnight.
Countless thrill-seekers dressed as monsters and ghosts flooded into movie theaters across the country.
“Kira, let’s go watch Saw.
I read that the critics gave it amazing reviews.”
Beside the speaker stood Kira, a blonde white girl dressed in an incredibly revealing costume.
Her outfit had her tall boyfriend eager to make a move, and he was clearly hoping to use the terrifying movie scenes to advance their physical relationship.
“I’m a little scared.
Maybe we shouldn’t…” Kira murmured, feigning a coy, hesitant tone.
The tall boy beside her immediately puffed up his chest, growing even more excited.
“With me here, you don’t need to be afraid.
I’ll protect you.”
Pretending to be convinced by his bravery, Kira allowed him to lead her into the dark cinema.
Clearly, watching the movie wasn’t their primary goal.
For today’s college students, fooling around in the back of a dark theater was a prime way to seek a thrill.
And for that purpose, an R-rated horror film was undoubtedly the perfect catalyst.