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Christmas of 1995 was Henry's first Christmas and New Year holiday since joining Stark Pictures.
As if celebrating a resounding victory, the head of the Stark Group himself—Tony Stark—hosted a uniquely extravagant Christmas banquet.
As the CEO of Stark Pictures, Henry should have been one of the stars of the evening. But as a high-level salaried employee, he was naturally no match for Tony Stark's brilliance.
On this rare occasion, the young master—usually surrounded by beautiful women—had rendered the invited actresses little more than spectators standing on the periphery, sighing in resignation.
Yet Tony showed no impatience at being encircled by a group of balding old men instead of beauties. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying it immensely, basking in their flattery.
Henry's companion that evening was Charlize Theron, who normally wouldn't have qualified to attend an event of this caliber.
The actresses invited were either the biggest stars of the era or highly anticipated rising talents:
Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan… and many others.
It could be said that anyone who received an invitation from Stark Pictures showed up—after all, Tony Stark's name was on it.
The same went for the male stars, only in even greater numbers. Some had even flown back from overseas vacations just to attend.
Beyond actors, famous directors, producers, and agents were all gathered here as well. Charlize Theron owed her presence entirely to Henry.
Even so, these A-list stars and top directors still weren't qualified to approach Tony Stark directly.
Because standing beside him were the CEOs and presidents of Hollywood's Big Eight studios—and even board members from their parent corporations. These were the true top figures of the industry, at least on the surface.
With Tony present, Henry didn't even count as a backup option. The crowd formed concentric circles around Tony Stark, all waiting for a chance to speak to him.
Reduced to a nobody, Henry was more than happy to linger on the edge of the banquet. Charlize, meanwhile, took a lap with her agent, J.J. Harris, then came back to catch her breath.
Smiling, Henry gestured toward the core of the crowd and asked,
"Doesn't that look like a kid proudly showing off to a bunch of adults? And everyone else is just nodding along obediently."
Charlize looked a little awkward. "Um… do you really have to put it that way?"
"I just find it funny," Henry replied. "The real old-money families didn't show up, so Tony can only flaunt his presence in front of this second-tier crowd. So childish—tsk, tsk."
In front of true old money, Hollywood's big shots were little more than stewards and servants. The Big Eight studios, for instance, almost all had parent companies or conglomerates behind them.
The people who truly matched those old-money families in status would be someone like Henry Brown, CEO of Stark Pictures. Tony Stark stepping in personally was nothing less than dimensionality reduction.
So Henry wasn't surprised at all to find himself marginalized, given his lack of connections at the very top.
And he didn't mind it either. It let him observe the various states of this elite circle at leisure, which he found endlessly entertaining.
Tony Stark, meanwhile, was flamboyantly displaying his frivolity and self-satisfaction. He even rejected others' attempts to approach him in openly rude ways.
With that very attitude, Tony created apparent weaknesses in others' eyes—while simultaneously protecting himself.
…Or perhaps this was simply who he really was. To Henry, it didn't look like an act at all.
Had he completely let himself go?
Charlize Theron, however, didn't share Henry's relaxed mood. She'd barely caught her breath when J.J. Harris, ever the dutiful agent, was already pulling her back into the crowd to meet important people.
"Oh, Henry, you're free too? Perfect—come with me," J.J. Harris said, drafting him without ceremony.
Henry pointed at himself in surprise. "Me too? Are you sure?"
J.J. Harris replied,
"You control Stark Pictures' investment projects, don't you? To those big-name directors, that makes you exactly the person they want to curry favor with.
"Come along—this is helping your girl. Don't expect me to play the role of an old nanny, managing everything for you two while you do nothing."
At that point, Henry had no choice but to comply. "Alright, alright, I'm coming."
But before he could follow, a Stark Pictures staff member approached and said,
"Mr. Brown, we need to start preparing for the presentation."
"Already?" Henry said in surprise, glancing at his watch.
Charlize shot a pleading look at her agent. J.J. Harris immediately understood and said,
"Go take care of your work, Mr. Brown. That's more important. Leave your girl to me."
Henry wasn't the type to dump trouble on others lightly. He said solemnly,
"I'll leave everything to you, ma'am,"
before following the staff member away.
When Henry reappeared in the hotel banquet hall, he was accompanied by a large group of Stark Pictures engineers.
They set up a projector and a large screen in an open area of the hall, then wheeled in a computer about the size of a small refrigerator, connecting it to the projector.
Aside from the screen, none of the equipment was commercially available. Most of the components were supplied by Stark Industries and assembled into experimental units by Stark Pictures' engineers.
Henry supervised the entire process, ensuring nothing went wrong. Once everything was ready, a black-and-white film appeared on the screen.
A Bill of Divorcement—the 1932 film starring John Barrymore and Katharine Hepburn.
This was the first film Katharine Hepburn had made in collaboration with Stark Pictures. Its success led to a long-term contract with her and marked the beginning of her complicated entanglement with Howard Stark.
In that era, actors weren't freelancers as they are today—they were more like studio employees, assigned roles by the company.
As the saying goes, insiders watch the craft, outsiders watch the spectacle.
Most people present were naturally familiar with the film. What Henry projected were Katharine Hepburn's highlight scenes. Even those who hadn't seen the movie at least recognized the actress.
At first glance, it looked like Stark Pictures was simply showcasing a prized work from its own catalog at the banquet.
But for those most concerned with film technology—directors, producers, and the like—something immediately felt… off.
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