Chapter 97: Joint Rack

After filming the family scenes of James Franco's character, Dr. Gordon, at Stanton Studios, Murphy led the crew back to the Venice warehouse set to continue shooting the few remaining scenes. Although he noticed the subtle relationship between James Franco and Lily Collins, he didn't comment on it. Franco himself was careful, rarely showing their closeness in front of others.

Whether there were any further intimate interactions between them didn't concern Murphy anymore. As filming was nearing its end, both Franco and Collins had finished their scenes, leaving Murphy with no time to worry about Franco's peculiarities.

Carey Mulligan had also left the crew to handle her withdrawal from school. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen, who sensed some hints of the situation, were more interested in the spectacle than in exposing the delicate relationship.

Inside the warehouse set, Murphy and the crew were setting up the final scene. He stood behind the director's monitor with editor Jodie Griffiths, reviewing the recently shot footage.

This sort of review was common in Murphy's crew and Hollywood at large.

"In post-production, we can create a shock effect by cutting the part before the saw and suddenly inserting his appearance," Jodie Griffiths said, pausing the footage and pointing at the monitor.

Murphy crossed his arms, mentally replaying the scene as described by Griffiths. He nodded slightly, "Let's go with this one."

As Jodie Griffiths moved away, Murphy looked up to see assistant director Paul Wilson give him an 'OK' signal. Murphy called out, "Attention, everyone. Clear the set. We're resuming shooting."

The crew quickly vacated the set. Philip Lascelle positioned himself behind the camera mounted on the dolly track, while Murphy took the handheld camera brought by the assistant, moving to a preset position for close-up shots.

The boom mic descended slowly, and an Asian actor, an African-American actor, and a white actor got into position.

At Murphy's command, filming began again. The three actors, playing cops, confronted Robin Bell, while behind them, props master Baker Kleibert was tied to the joint rack prop.

His limbs and head were secured to a metal frame. Once the timer started, the machine would twist his limbs 360 degrees before snapping his neck, causing a gruesome death.

Murphy used the handheld camera to capture close-ups of Robin Bell, while Philip Lascelle's camera panned between the four actors.

Faced with the three cops, Jigsaw was not going to surrender easily. He pressed a remote, activating the joint rack. The boom mic captured the sound of the rack's mechanisms and Kleibert's terrified screams perfectly.

After more than three weeks of shooting, Murphy's crew had developed a good rhythm.

The African-American cop ordered the other two to rescue Kleibert. He kept an eye on Jigsaw. Behind the joint rack was a bunch of keys. The white cop picked them up and attempted to unlock the shackles. However, the lock was connected to a hidden shotgun. As soon as the key was inserted, the shotgun, hidden behind Kleibert, fired...

With a gunshot, the white cop fell. The African-American and Asian cops were distracted, giving Jigsaw a chance to stab the African-American cop and escape...

Murphy called cut, and the crew began resetting the scene. The white cop actor needed makeup for a close-up shot of his gruesome death to match the earlier footage.

Kleibert also got off the joint rack, directing his assistants and two interns to tie a meticulously crafted dummy onto it.

The killing machine was not just a prop; it could actually operate. While it would struggle to break human bones, it could easily crush the resin-made dummy.

Filming resumed. The Asian cop left the dummy to check on the African-American cop. Ignoring the victim behind him, the African-American cop ordered him to chase Jigsaw. After the Asian cop left, the machine started turning, breaking the dummy's limbs one by one. The sound of cracking bones and Kleibert's simulated screams filled the air. The African-American cop clutched his wounded neck with one hand and raised his gun with the other...

"Cut!" Murphy lowered the handheld camera. "That's a wrap! Move to the next scene."

The crew began preparing for the next shot while Murphy returned to the monitor to review the footage.

Many of these shots would require careful editing, especially if the film were to be shown in theaters. Choosing wisely was crucial to avoid an NC-17 rating.

The joint rack came from the later designs, more brutal than previous traps. Murphy considered whether it was appropriate, but with the film's future uncertain, he didn't have the luxury to think about sequels.

If sequels were to come, it would be after this film's success.

The next scene was the last: the Asian cop chasing Jigsaw, thinking he shot him, only to fall into a trap and die a horrible death.

Murphy made changes here too. Instead of using the already seen shotgun trap, he opted for a giant spiked bat. The trap wasn't a tripwire but a flip board spanning the entire hallway.

Even with a hurdling move, the cop couldn't escape the flip board, which would unleash a row of giant spikes from above, crushing him.

He was one of the few non-white characters to die, and he did so while diligently pursuing Jigsaw.

Murphy was careful in casting. All the victims judged by Jigsaw shared a common trait: they were purely white, middle-class, or relatively wealthy...

These outwardly bright but inwardly corrupt individuals were all white. There wasn't a single minority among them.

Even though he couldn't guarantee the film's theatrical release, Murphy adhered to some general industry guidelines. These lessons, learned from countless box office flops, were beneficial to follow.

Murphy, as an outsider, didn't fully grasp the nuances of North American society, but he knew that Hollywood films often embraced minority solidarity as a political correctness.

The scene change was quickly completed, and Murphy began shooting the final shot: the Asian cop's grisly demise, blood filling the hallway, with a final close-up of Jigsaw's back. The filming was officially completed.

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