As the director of a blockbuster hit, Kevin received a warm welcome the moment he arrived at New Line Cinema.
He was immediately escorted to a luxuriously decorated reception room, where Dawson and a CAA attorney were already waiting.
After a short wait and some light refreshments, Dean hurried into the room.
“Kevin, been enjoying yourself these past few days?”
“It’s been great.
Lately, I’ve only had one thought on my mind: it’s good to be rich!”
Kevin deliberately played up his newfound lavish lifestyle.
Every word implied he was fully prepared to walk away with a massive payout today.
Dean flashed a bitter smile and stopped beating around the bush.
Seeing the lawyer in the room, he knew there was no point in playing games; Kevin was clearly here to sell the Saw sequel rights for top dollar.
“Kevin, what’s your number for the remaining Saw rights?”
Kevin didn’t say a word.
He simply raised his hand and slowly held up three fingers.
Dean let out a breath and chuckled, visibly relieved.
“Three million?
Yeah, I think we can make that work.
That’s a very reasonable—”
“Thirty million,” Kevin corrected, his tone deadpan.
Dean’s smile instantly vanished, his face falling completely.
“Thirty million dollars?
Impossible!”
The asking price was undeniably exorbitant.
“Relax.
Saw alone is projected to bring New Line nearly a hundred million dollars in total revenue.
That’s a given, right?”
Between the box office and ancillary markets, even after deducting profit shares and promotional expenses, the current trajectory guaranteed New Line Cinema nearly a hundred million in pure profit—and that wasn’t even counting its lucrative franchise potential.
However, with Kevin holding a percentage of the rights, New Line’s slice of that pie would undoubtedly shrink.
By offering to package and sell all sequel rights and future revenues directly to the studio, Kevin was handing them full control.
While thirty million dollars was a steep upfront cost, it wouldn’t put them in the red.
It just meant a tighter profit margin in the short term.
Dean’s expression softened slightly at the reminder.
But Kevin beat him to the punch.
“I’ll throw in two scripts for future Saw sequels.
I will take an executive producer credit, and I will fully cooperate with all your promotional campaigns.”
For low-budget horror films, the script is everything; the entire genre hinges on telling a good story.
Two scripts expanding the Saw universe, combined with the ability to market the films under Kevin’s name, maximized the box office potential for the next two installments.
Barring any unforeseen disasters, that thirty million dollar investment was virtually guaranteed to be recouped.
Of course, under this deal, Kevin would only receive a fixed upfront salary as a writer and producer; he wouldn’t see a single cent of backend profit on the sequels.
“This…” Dean hesitated.
“Give me a moment.
I need to step out.”
Kevin nodded.
Clearly, Dean was going to find someone with the authority to make the final call.
…
“Kevin, will they really pay thirty million?” Dawson asked, unable to hold back the second the door clicked shut behind Dean.
While he knew the asking price was going to be high, Dawson had assumed ten million was their absolute ceiling.
He never expected Kevin to casually triple that number and demand thirty million.
Even as a seasoned Hollywood agent, he was stunned—but he desperately hoped the deal would go through.
CAA took a 5% commission from Kevin’s earnings, the standard rate for an A-list client.
As his representing agent, Dawson would pocket 1.5% of that cut, with the rest split between the agency and Kevin’s broader CAA support team.
In other words, if this single deal closed, Dawson’s personal cut would easily clear hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For the first time, Dawson truly realized the sheer earning power of representing a top-tier client like Kevin.
He couldn’t help but mentally pat himself on the back for his sharp eye—spotting the young director early, locking him down, and keeping their working relationship so smooth.
Kevin had no issue with the agency taking their cut.
After all, CAA’s influence was incredibly useful to him.
Without their backing, his start in Hollywood would never have been this smooth.
If he had been forced to peddle his project proposals around town on his own, he would have faced countless rejections and likely never secured that initial investment.
Kevin was a firm believer in mutually beneficial cooperation.
CAA’s resources were well worth the commission they charged.
“Trust me, they will.
I’ve run the numbers,” Kevin replied.
“Aside from the time it takes to break even, this deal is almost pure profit for them.
“At the Beverly Hills party last night, Warner Bros.
President Jeff Robinov was extremely interested in taking the IP off my hands…” Kevin spoke slowly, his tone brimming with absolute confidence.
To put it bluntly, Shay chose to make the big money over the long term rather than quick money right now.
“Who said anything about letting Saw go to anyone else?” Shay boomed, walking into the room just in time to catch Kevin’s words.
“It’s just thirty million dollars.
New Line Cinema will buy it!”
With Kevin’s guarantee and two scripts laying the foundation for the sequels, Shay had carefully weighed the options and decided to buy the Saw rights outright for thirty million.
To put it bluntly, Shay chose long-term wealth over quick money right now.
Kevin’s face broke into a satisfied smile.
“Deal.”
With the agreement settled, the atmosphere in the room instantly became warm and harmonious.
Riding the wave of good spirits, Shay took the opportunity to broach the topic of Kevin’s next project.
“Kevin, let New Line fully finance and distribute your next film.
Trust me, New Line Cinema will always have your back.”
“You will have absolute creative control.
No one will interfere.
The studio producer will only manage the finances and nothing else.
You will have final say on all casting decisions!”
This was the ultimate level of directorial authority.
Of course, the primary reason Shay was willing to offer such terms was because Kevin’s second film would still be a low-budget production.
If the film budget was in the tens of millions, even Steven Spielberg wouldn’t be granted that much unchecked power.
“Theoretically, I have no problem with that,” Kevin replied seriously.
“But to secure better release slots and maximize our theater count, I suggest bringing in another capable studio to share a piece of the pie.”
For Kevin, this strategy was simply the best way to maximize his own interests and benefits.
Shay only had to ponder the idea for a moment before immediately agreeing.
The explosive success of Saw had already made countless rival film companies intensely envious.
If New Line tried to monopolize Kevin’s next film entirely, they could easily face industry pushback regarding theater counts, marketing campaigns, and prime release windows.
Saw had utterly dominated the Halloween box office, drawing plenty of animosity from competitors while New Line made a killing.
If they didn’t offer up a cut of the profits as “protection money,” they would be targeted by the major studios in a heartbeat.
After all, New Line Cinema wasn’t one of Hollywood’s Big Five just yet.