Chapter 96

After shooting the family scenes with James Franco playing Dr. Gordon at the Stanton Studio, Murphy led the crew back to the warehouse set in Venice to continue shooting the remaining scenes. Although he noticed a subtle relationship between James Franco and Lily Collins, he didn't say much. James Franco himself was also very cautious, rarely showing any intimacy between them in public.

As for whether there would be any more intimate contact between the two, with the shooting nearing its end and both Lily Collins' and James Franco's scenes completed, Murphy no longer cared about it.

He was already busy with his own work and had no time to worry about James Franco's peculiar preferences.

Carey Mulligan had also left the crew to return to school to handle her withdrawal. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen, who could sense some signs, were more interested in the spectacle and wouldn't expose this subtle relationship.

In the warehouse set, Murphy and the crew entered the final set-up scene. He stood behind the director's monitor, with the editor Jody Griffith beside him, reviewing the recently shot footage.

This situation was not only common in Murphy's crew but also a norm in Hollywood.

"During post-editing, just cut out the previous segment of Jigsaw..." Jody Griffith pressed the pause button, pointing at the monitor, and said, "Suddenly inserting his appearance will create a shocking effect."

Murphy crossed his arms, replaying Jody Griffith's suggestion in his mind, and nodded slightly, "Let's go with this take."

Jody Griffith left, and Murphy looked up to see the assistant director Paul Wilson giving him an 'OK' sign. He shouted loudly, "Attention, everyone, clear the set, shooting continues."

The people on the set quickly moved out, and Philippe Lacheau sat behind the camera on the dolly. Murphy took the handheld camera from the camera assistant and walked to the pre-set position to prepare for the close-up shots.

The boom microphone slowly descended from above, and an Asian, an African American, and a white actor were ready.

With Murphy's command, the shooting resumed. The three actors, playing police officers, confronted Rabin Bell, with the prop technician Beck Klebert tied to the joint-twisting device behind them.

Beck Klebert's limbs and head were fixed to a steel frame. Once the timer started, the machine would twist his limbs 360 degrees and finally break his neck, causing a gruesome death.

Murphy used the handheld camera to capture Rabin Bell, while Philippe Lacheau's camera panned between the four of them.

How could Jigsaw submit to three police officers? He pressed the remote control, activating the joint-twisting device. The boom microphone was perfectly positioned above the killing machine, accurately recording the sound of the device turning and Beck Klebert's screams of terror.

After more than three weeks of shooting, Murphy's crew had developed a certain level of默契 (rapport).

The African American officer sent the two other officers to rescue Beck Klebert, while he kept an eye on Jigsaw. Behind the joint-twisting device was a large bunch of keys. The white officer picked them up and tried to unlock it, but the lock was connected to a hidden shotgun. As soon as the key was inserted, the hidden shotgun behind Beck Klebert fired...

A gunshot rang out, and the white officer fell to the ground. The African American and the Asian officer were distracted, and Jigsaw took the opportunity to stab the African American and escape...

Murphy called for a cut, and the crew reset the set. The actor playing the white officer needed makeup for a close-up to show his gruesome death, which would be edited together with the previously shot footage.

Beck Klebert also got off the joint-twisting device and directed his assistants and two interns to bind a carefully crafted dummy to it.

This killing machine was not just a prop; it could actually be activated. While it might be difficult to twist human bones, it had no problem crushing a resin dummy.

The shooting resumed. The Asian officer left the dummy and went to check on the African American officer, who was no longer concerned about the victim behind him and told the Asian officer to chase Jigsaw. As the Asian officer left, the machine activated, and the dummy's limbs were twisted one by one. The sound of bones breaking and Beck Klebert's simulated screams of agony were heard. The African American officer, with one hand covering his neck wound, raised his gun with the other...

"Cut!" Murphy put down the handheld camera, "This take is good! Move to the next scene."

The crew began the transition, and he returned to the monitor to review the recently shot footage.

Many of these scenes would need to be edited carefully, especially if the film was to be shown in theaters. If not, it would definitely be rated NC-17.

Without a doubt, the joint-twisting device was inspired by designs from later films and was more brutal and cruel than the previous traps. Murphy had considered whether this was appropriate, but with the film's future uncertain, he had no time to think about sequels.

Even if there were sequels, that would be after this film's success.

There was only one scene left, where the Asian officer pursued Jigsaw, fired a shot thinking he had hit him, and was then caught in a trap, meeting a tragic end.

Murphy made changes here as well. Instead of the shotgun trap used earlier, he used a giant spike board. The Asian officer didn't step on a thin wire that could be jumped over but a trapdoor spanning the entire corridor.

In short, even if the officer used a hurdle jump, he couldn't avoid the trapdoor and would be crushed by the giant spike board falling from above.

He was one of the few minorities to die in the film, and he died while diligently pursuing Jigsaw.

Murphy was very careful when selecting actors. All those who were judged and killed by Jigsaw shared a common trait: they were pure white, middle-class, or relatively wealthy...

These seemingly bright but morally corrupt individuals, not a single one of them was black or from any minority group.

Although he wasn't sure if the film would make it to theaters, Murphy still followed some general rules of theatrical films. These rules were lessons learned from countless flops, and avoiding them always had some benefits.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the situation in North American society, but uniting minorities was always a political correctness in Hollywood films.

The transition work was quickly completed, and Murphy began shooting the final scene. The Asian officer pursued Jigsaw and met a tragic end, with blood flowing down the corridor. The main camera gave Jigsaw's back a final close-up, and all the shooting work was officially completed.