Marvel Salted Fish Kryptonian

"Just getting everyone together and willing to hand over their paintings wasn't easy. After all, this included formal institutions like museums. It wasn't until the middle of this year that this appraisal meeting was finally possible.

"We all invited trusted authentication experts to the scene, more than ten in total, to conduct the appraisal. In the end, the conclusion reached by all the experts was indeed the closest to the original condition of the painting you pointed out."

Henry was surprised by the result and said, "'Closest to the original'! What kind of statement is that?"

Rachel Lambert said helplessly: "The rampant counterfeiting is beyond your imagination. Even museum collections are often forged. Sometimes the artist even draws multiple copies of the same work.

"Unless there are clear records, how can future generations judge? So, in many cases, as long as there are no obvious flaws, the evaluation is about who best reflects the characteristics of that era."

"This is really a headache," Henry sighed.

"Yes." Rachel Lambert took a cloth bag from her attendant and opened it. Inside was the world-famous Leonardo da Vinci painting, "Lady with an Ermine." Ms. Lambert handed it over.

Henry didn't take it rashly, puzzled. "What is this?"

Rachel Lambert explained: "We have donated the original to the National Museum of Washington. Exhibits loaned to other museums have also been returned in accordance with the contract.

"But it's a private collection, and they didn't want to take the fake back, so they left it in our hands. This appraisal meeting was initiated because of you, and it's fortunate that you were here. Otherwise, the original would be on the wall of fakes in my house, not well preserved.

"That's why I discussed with my husband and decided to give you one of these paintings. Although it's not an original, don't underestimate it. According to experts, it's most likely a replica from the 17th or 18th century. It's an antique painting in its own right."

Taking this antique-level fake painting, Henry said in surprise: "Can I really accept it?"

Paul Mellon said, "Of course. Because of your reminder, we have avoided doing a stupid thing. But I hope you won't use this reward to do something bad."

"Don't worry, Mr. Mellon. I will cherish and keep such a collection."

It means that by saying these things in public, Henry will not be able to fool other fools and sell this painting as an authentic one. But he will not sell this painting either.

Chapter 399: Old Money’s Gift

The Mellons' gift of a Leonardo da Vinci replica to the CEO of Stark Pictures didn't stay in the news for long, but in some circles it was a matter of great importance.

Take the person closest to him, Tony Stark, for example, and he’s not jealous at all!

He simply listed down the three great masters of the Renaissance, and then criticized everything from medieval religious art to Picasso's abstract art, as if the entire history of art was trash.

He's a science and engineering guy anyway. If someone built a life-size, 11-meter-long Gundam model, he might even raise an eyelid.

But is this all good?

Not really.

Henry later learned that the appraisal meeting held by the Mellons had caused a sensation in the art world.

When it comes to art and antiques, it's all about the seller's integrity and the buyer's discernment. If someone gets scammed, they'll likely deny their debt once the payment is made.

However, in this world where fakes are rampant, all those who claim to own authentic works, including museums, are gathered together, and then, like a competition, experts are asked to judge the authenticity of each piece.

This behavior is no less than buying a bunch of sports cars from different brands, but instead of letting them compete on the track, they collide with each other to test which one is more rigid.

Once a work is authenticated as fake, won't the original seller, claiming it's authentic, be blamed by the original owner? Regardless of whether the original seller was intentionally deceiving or simply lacked discernment, they were still deceived. Once this reputation spreads, will business still flourish?

Those notorious counterfeiters can only fool outsiders on a daily basis. No insider would want to do business with them.

But when it comes to really big transactions, it’s still the kind of transactions that claim to be genuine goods.

Because for counterfeiters, if the price is too high, it will scare off those who want to pay tuition. And the amount of their transaction is not even a hair on the head for the insiders.

Therefore, those art dealers who are truly doing insider business care very much about their reputation.

Selling fakes and not having good eyesight are fatal to art dealers, no matter what kind of evaluation they receive.

This is also why the appraisal association set up by the Mellons is hated.

These two elderly men, in their octogenarian years, certainly wouldn't mind such a minor grudge, but breaking the rules still caused them some inconvenience.

Both of them were passionate about collecting art, even overseeing the creation of a museum. Even if such resentment wasn't overt, receiving news later than others, or being prioritized in negotiations later than others, was a nuisance to them.

But if they could divert this resentment away, wouldn't they be able to return to the top of the art trade?

This was accomplished by giving away a replica of an oil painting.

Why hold an appraisal meeting? Because someone said the original is here. That person is this guy.

It was some time later that Henry learned about this matter.

And it wasn't really any clear guidance from anyone. They just dropped hints, and Henry followed them, figuring out the truth in his own mind.

Is it authentic? Henry couldn't guarantee it. But one thing was certain: Lao Qian's gift was not so easy to accept.

Anyway, he wasn't in the art world, and his wealth didn't qualify him to enter. So he just accepted it, and Henry didn't care. He had just gotten a high-quality imitation antique for nothing.

The other was related to my area of ​​responsibility, digital imaging. Assisting Mrs. Rachel Lambert Mellon with the restoration of old photographs and films was like a major advertisement for Stark Films.

I heard that the lady now takes out digitally restored color photos of herself from her youth and tells stories to everyone she meets. Even the home at Oak Springs Farm is filled with enlarged photos of the couple from their youth.

This kind of word-of-mouth publicity is incredibly powerful in the circle that the Mellons are in!

Henry was forced to set up a separate digital restoration department within Stark Films to handle the old money's business. Otherwise, he would be annoyed by the ulterior motives of these wealthy people.

Since this business is still unique, some colleagues in other information industries have also started digital restoration businesses.

However, because Stark Films' latest cutting-edge technology had not yet been made public, the poor results produced by these people almost led them to be sued by the greedy old money.

In short, the profits of this unique business are astonishing, and the group that can afford it are the elite who are not short of money. In addition, Henry never thought of setting a low price so that everyone can afford it.

The newly established digital restoration department is almost becoming the new revenue pillar of Stark Films.

So in this round of competition with the Mellons, it is difficult to say whether we made a profit or a loss.

With Lao Qian leading the charge, Stark Films' movie-grade digital imaging technology will naturally enter the field of vision of more people.

Although UHD technology, which is comparable to 35mm film, is limited by hardware limitations and has not yet been popularized, digital imaging equipment with better resolution than television has also been accepted by more directors and producers, especially those production teams that want to save costs.

In addition to these two new businesses, Stark Films has also continued to digitally restore classic films in its film library.

Henry even asked the distribution department to find an old cinema to cooperate with and fund the renovation of its projection equipment. The old films that Stark Films had digitally restored would be played in rotation in that cinema.

This kind of classic review has indeed attracted many old fans to reminisce about the past; it has also attracted some young people who are interested in movies to appreciate the classics of the past on the big screen.

Just by selling nostalgia and showing in only one theater, it actually earned good box office revenue. At least there were always empty seats in every show.

Although this amount of box office revenue cannot cover the cost of digital restoration, such a move is more like a display of firepower for Stark Films.

Even among movie fans, there are demands that other film companies also digitally restore classic films in their copyright film libraries.

Of course, the eight major Hollywood studios approached Stark Films for negotiations, but once the accounts and profits were laid out, everyone agreed with Henry's statement that the time was not right yet.

We have to wait until home video equipment is upgraded, or to put it more bluntly, until BD and HD TV are born, and the results of digital restoration can be sold as discs, and only then will this work be profitable.

Nowadays, people who digitally restore classic films, even if they show them in a theater, really can't do it without a little bit of sentimentality in it, because the losses are huge.

Even if other film companies wanted to force Stark Films to release the relevant technology, nine out of ten would back down after seeing the supercomputer used as a platform.

The remaining one was frightened and gave up immediately after asking about the cost of building and maintaining the supercomputer.

Only Stark Industries, headed by the young and inexperienced Tony Stark, is crazy enough to allow Stark Films to do such a thing.

In fact, a strategic intention that outsiders rarely noticed was that Tony Stark also intended to use the high-end demand of Stark Films to strongly promote the technology of Stark Industries.

It was like the second round of his battle with Henry Brown after they built their supercomputer. Whoever couldn't keep up with the other's moves first would be the loser.

That damn Moore's Law was kicked directly into the trash by Tony Stark.

Chapter 400: Film Prospects

Charlize Theron already had two films scheduled for release in 96.

One is Tom Hanks's directorial debut, the musical comedy "Unstoppable," which is scheduled to be released in October.

The other is "The Rock," a project directed by renowned producer Bruckheimer, which is scheduled to be released in June.

In an alternate universe, Charlize Theron wasn't in this movie. It's Henry's butterfly effect.

However, The Rock is a male-dominated film, and Charlize Theron plays Sean Connery's daughter. She has few scenes, but she does have lines.

In contrast, in "Unstoppable Miracles," although Charlize also plays a supporting role, she has a larger role. However, the production quality and box office revenue of the two films are incomparable.

But in early 96, when both films had not yet been released, everything was still uncertain.

Who knows if the producer will just slash the scissors and cut out all of someone's scenes? This kind of thing is nothing new in Hollywood.

Or the box office may simply be turned upside down, with unsuccessful films becoming box office hits and box office hits becoming unsuccessful.

After all, this is a world with mutants and superheroes, and scenes of violence are already common in daily life. In this situation, will anyone still go to the cinema for excitement?

There is no accurate mathematical formula to predict movie box office, and who knows what the situation in the universe will be like.

Charlize Theron didn't get carried away just because she had appeared in two movies, and both were supporting roles with lines.

The production budgets of her two films were 26 million and 75 million respectively, which were definitely big productions.

This result is much higher than Henry's previous performance. At most, he has only participated in a multi-million dollar production called "The Devil's War".

It means that the inflation in Hollywood has been quite high in recent years, and the cost of film production has skyrocketed like a rocket.

Charlize Theron has such a good opportunity, of course, thanks to her agent JJ ​​Harris. Without her information, even if Henry became the CEO of Stark Films, he would not know where to put his efforts.

Moreover, during the filming of "The Rock", Henry happened to be framed by the Skrulls.

I heard that the crew almost wanted to remove Charlize Theron from her supporting role. In the end, it was the father in the movie, Connery, who interceded for her, so that Charlize could continue to play this role which had a small part to begin with.

After Henry solved his own problems, he and Charlize Theron specially invited the old man to dinner. Only then did we understand why the old man would take special care of Charlize, a young actor who was just starting out.

Sean Connery had worked with Audrey Hepburn in the 76 film, Robin Hood and Marion. When Katharine Hepburn learned that Charlize was in the same crew with him, she called him and asked him to take care of the girl.

This kind of friendship among older filmmakers always plays a big role inadvertently.

Sean Connery is a military man who served as a seaman on an aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy before retiring due to health issues. Such a person is particularly good at keeping his promises.

Moreover, Henry's trouble was proved to be a misunderstanding, and the old man's protection saved the crew from the mistake of potentially making a grudge against Stark Films, which was equivalent to earning favors from both sides.

As a well-known producer, Bruckheimer is certainly qualified to ignore the opinions of Stark Films.

But movies are the product of collective effort, and no one would intentionally offend anyone. Who wants to have an enemy when they can have a friend with whom they don't have a commercial conflict?

The unexpected bonus of this little episode is that JJ Harris now has more topics to talk about when promoting Charlize Theron.

New actors are most afraid of not having something to talk about, whether it's good or bad. Although the focus of this episode was Henry Brown, it also affected Charlize Theron. In the end, it still had a happy ending, which is a happy ending for everyone.

Of course, it is impossible for Charlize to bump into a big senior like Sean Connery every time she goes out.

With JJ Harris, a seasoned agent, she struck the perfect balance, creating a deep impression without being annoying.

Relying on this tiny advantage, Charlize still followed JJ Harris to audition for various crews in order to strive for the next performance opportunity.

By the way, Charlize Theron has already received her performance fee, which has greatly reduced the pressure on her life.

It was just a minor supporting role, and he didn't get any share of the box office profits. Given Hollywood's protection of members of the Screen Actors Guild, getting paid wasn't a big problem.

Although I still can't escape the fate of working, at least I won't be forced to the point of almost suffocating like before.

Henry is actually interested in finding some good projects to help with.

But to be honest, most of the good projects are in the hands of the big film studios. Only those that they don't want will flow to the lower-level film studios.

Stark Films' current level in Hollywood is that of a second-rate film company.

Even though Henry asked the production department to put all the plans and scripts they received on his desk for a second screening, he, as the CEO, was unable to find any loopholes by relying on his memories before the time travel.

Even though he had a super brain to help him recall his memories before the time travel, Henry had to admit that although he had seen many popular movies, he was not yet a know-it-all in Hollywood.

Sometimes the planned title and the final film title are completely different, and the script is edited beyond recognition. Relying solely on these copywritings to predict the film's future success is as accurate as seeking divination from a temple.

At this point in time approaching the 21st century, the only reliable information Henry could remember was the huge ship that capsized everything, the Titanic.

Although this movie has not yet been officially filmed, the preliminary work began last year.

The film's success is inextricably linked to James Cameron, the studio's tyrant. Interfering with the film is practically impossible.

The only chance is probably when the crew runs out of funds and looks for additional investment. 20th Century Fox doesn't dare to continue to be the scapegoat, and Cameron has no choice but to look for funds outside.

At Stark Films' Christmas party, Henry had previously exchanged ideas with the renowned director through a demonstration of digital imaging technology. He had even hinted that if he was short on funds, he could come to him.

But how the ending will be is not something he, a Kryptonian, can decide.

The human heart can never be forced.

Chapter 401 Visitors from Bollywood

While Henry was busy directing a team of engineers at Stark Films, developing digital imaging technology for movies;