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If this had merely been a routine technological iteration, or a minor technical upgrade in some small area, then once the new CEO demonstrated his competence, Stark Pictures from top to bottom might well have followed his lead.
After all, anyone capable of making money deserved respect—anywhere.
But what Henry had brought forward was technology that would impact the entire market, no less than a revolution in the film industry. That was not something people dared to follow blindly.
What if they backed the wrong horse? Would the entire Stark Pictures be dragged down with it?
So it didn't take long before what Henry presented was reported straight to Tony Stark.
Fortunately, this big shot had handed out far too many "special rewards" the night before and was still holed up at his Malibu beach house, not having flown back to the East Coast yet. That allowed him to show up at Stark Pictures in the shortest possible time.
When Tony arrived, he wasn't just yawning—Henry even caught a glimpse of him walking while holding his lower back. Yet the moment he saw a certain annoying someone, Tony Stark straightened up and walked normally again, as if nothing were wrong.
Truly a Stark through and through—stubbornness carved straight into the bones.
Henry was in the middle of discussing with the manufacturing engineers how the disassembled camera could be packaged—what parts could be omitted or shrunk, where space needed to be reserved.
When Tony Stark arrived with an entire entourage, he made a beeline for the studio at Stark Pictures, right to where Henry had set up his homemade equipment.
Happy Hogan stopped the department heads who had been calling and complaining from rushing forward immediately. Tony walked straight up to Henry, studying the hideously unattractive Frankenstein camera.
"What the hell did you make that scared those old guys so badly they acted like the apocalypse was coming and insisted I rush over here?"
"You came that obediently just because they called you?" Henry asked suspiciously. "Weren't you all fired up yesterday, inviting a bunch of girls back to your villa to hand out rewards?"
To Henry's surprise, Tony didn't deny it. Instead, he awkwardly rubbed his nose. "I just happened to want to come take a look too. Is that a problem?"
Henry suddenly thought of a possibility.
Could it be that the young master, who'd gone too long without action, had misjudged the demons' abilities, turned his lair into a spider's den, and was now on the verge of being drained dry—so he used Stark Pictures business as an excuse to escape?
Henry flashed a mischievous grin and glanced at Tony's waist. "Want me to recommend a few Eastern herbal prescriptions to strengthen your kidneys?"
"Fuck! Do I look like I came here for that kind of thing? I'm here for work—work!"
Tony gave up on Henry entirely and turned toward the anxious department heads being held back by Happy and the bodyguards. "You—come here. Explain what's going on."
With their employer calling, the group was naturally let through.
Fortunately, they didn't all start talking at once and testing Tony Stark's patience. Instead, they selected a clear-spoken representative to step forward.
"Mr. Stark, Mr. Brown has indeed brought new technology to Stark Pictures, and that's a good thing. However, we all feel that the impact of this technology is simply too great—it practically challenges the existing structure of film industry equipment.
"Not only competitors like Arri and Panavision—even Japanese companies like Sony could become obstacles to promoting this technology.
"And then there's Kodak and the entire chain of industries built around film stock. They will absolutely try to block our development. We would essentially be making enemies of the entire world. That brings no benefit to the company at all."
After hearing their concerns, Tony naturally didn't make a snap judgment. He turned his head and looked at Henry. "What's your take?"
Henry shrugged casually. "From silent films to talkies, from black-and-white to color, there have always been old-timers afraid of change, claiming the film industry was about to collapse.
"But I don't blame them. Back then, the one leading them was Howard Stark. Whether an innovation succeeded or failed, Old Man Stark took responsibility.
"As for me, I'm just a nobody. They don't dare cooperate—I'm not surprised at all. They just want a word from you. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. If things go wrong later, they won't be responsible."
Tony didn't answer right away. He just stared at the new equipment. "How does this thing perform? Can it actually be used right now?"
The engineers fiddling with the camera immediately jumped aside when Tony Stark spoke, making room for the genius boss to step closer.
Henry didn't let them off the hook, though. He had them step back in and operate the equipment themselves. Henry handled the explanations—talking to Tony while guiding the engineers' hands. They were a bit clumsy, but as fellow technical people, they didn't make any major mistakes.
When Tony saw the comparison between the digital camera footage and the 35mm film footage, he asked, "You're saying the resolution and color saturation can be improved further, enough to replace traditional film?"
"Technology always keeps advancing," Henry replied. "The difference is who completes it. And I think 'replace' is a bit exaggerated—it's really just giving users another option. Some old-school directors will probably insist on shooting on film no matter what."
Tony still didn't make a decision. He continued watching the demonstrations. But when he saw the Stark i486 struggling to run the editing software, his face twisted like he'd stepped in something foul.
"A four-year-old computer? Are you serious?"
"Don't you think the fact that a four-year-old computer can even run this software is impressive enough on its own? Besides, this is my personal machine—you're not planning to make me donate it, are you?"
"Donate it to a museum," Tony said with disdain. "That's where it belongs."
Henry suddenly asked, "Does Stark Industries still have a computer division?"
"Why do you ask?"
Henry explained, "I was thinking—on the way here, did you notice that people are still working primarily with pen and paper? There's no sign of digitization at all.
"Doesn't that obsolete look give you a sense of responsibility to fix it? After all, this place still carries the 'Stark' name. It's not one of those fake 'Stark' outfits out there.
"And developing a digital film system—computers are the most critical part. Even if you don't sponsor a batch of cutting-edge machines, you should at least sell some to us at cost.
"And beyond computers, we need more software and hardware engineering talent. Especially software. Unless someone taught themselves at home, I honestly don't see a single person in all of Stark Pictures who can handle that kind of work."
"This isn't that big a problem," Tony said with a crooked grin, suddenly looking like a plantation owner cracking a whip at his slave. "After all—you've got you."
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