Chapter 560: Counterfeit banknotes that are more real than real banknotes
The movie "Wushuang" has a lot of metaphors and foreshadowings. If you don't observe carefully when you first watch the movie, you will ignore them or think that it is a logical error in the movie.
But when the truth is reversed at the end, the audience will suddenly realize what is going on.
Pang Yidian himself has a certain prejudice against "Wushuang", so that his attitude is more critical than that of ordinary film critics.
He wanted to find out the errors and omissions in "Wushuang" and then show them in the [Pangpangkan Movies] account fairly and selflessly.
Maybe it won't pose any threat to the movie's box office and reputation, but it will make him angry.
Therefore, Pang Yidian took out his mobile phone and opened the memo and recorder in the background, ready to record various important plots in the movie so that he could "play" it after he returned.
Returning to the plot of "Wushuang", after a slightly boring first 30 minutes, we finally reached the first climax of the movie: Making Counterfeit Dollar Bills.
However, U.S. bills are not that easy to counterfeit.
Having Li Wen make an electronic board by copying the U.S. dollar bill pattern from the original model was only one of the difficulties. There are many more problems in addition.
First, color-changing ink.
This is a special ink that can change color according to light. The formula is generally in the hands of the government and is extremely difficult for outsiders to obtain.
Second, acid-free paper.
Special paper for printing U.S. banknotes. When checking counterfeit money, the anti-counterfeiting pen will turn purple due to chemical reaction when writing on ordinary paper, while the anti-counterfeiting pen will turn yellow when writing on acid-free paper.
Like color-changing ink, acid-free paper is strictly controlled in various countries, and ordinary people cannot get it at all.
However, you can make your own paper, but the cost of making acid-free paper is too high, which compresses profit margins, and the artist disagrees.
Third, watermark.
The portrait in the new version of the US dollar bill uses watermark technology, which is also an important anti-counterfeiting mark of this version of the US dollar bill.
Therefore, if you want to create high-quality counterfeit banknotes, the problem of watermarks must be solved.
The watermark is pressed using the fibers in the paper, which is almost impossible to achieve without making paper.
But the painter didn't agree with papermaking, so he could only resort to technical research. This was also the purpose of the painter coming to Li Wen.
In addition, there is a gravure printing machine.
Generally, printing machines are convex plate machines. Only when printing banknotes, concave plate machines are used. They are also something that can only be owned by the state.
But the painter has already figured it out and is following up on it, so there’s no need to worry too much.
The problem is laid out, the audience knows the situation, and the rest is to solve the problem one by one.
The next scene is accompanied by an inspirational BGM, and Li Wen and his team begin to develop U.S. dollar bills.
Seeing Li Wen and Uncle Li draw all the details of the U.S. dollar bills with machine-like accuracy, the audience felt their scalps go numb and called them "professional". The obsessive-compulsive disorder was even more satisfying.
It has to be said that the charm of banknotes is so great that it can be clearly felt that the audience's emotions are constantly rising as the plot transitions.
It was obviously a crime scene, but I felt a burning and inspiring feeling...
However, from the perspective of knowledgeable Pang Yidian, what is more noteworthy is the art team of "Wushuang". In this plot alone, many things were drawn by hand.
The actors are definitely not good themselves, and most likely they are on the art team. Maybe the money-making process was jointly created by the art team and the props team. It's like a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger.
If an insider knew Pang Yidian's thoughts, they would definitely make fun of him for not watching the news.
The media previously exposed the news that in order to make the counterfeit banknotes look more real, the crew of "Wu Shuang" invited several experts to work on the production.
It even alerted the Xiangjiang police, and the producer almost didn't hurry up and went to work.
Although they later cleared the police, the crew of "Wushuang" was also strictly ordered that all counterfeit banknotes must be one size smaller than the original ones to distinguish between genuine and fake ones.
Therefore, the combined dollar bill props that appear in the movie are all one size smaller, while the normal-sized dollar bills are all real bills.
Although this news is a bit funny, it also proves the high level of counterfeit money props in "Wushuang" from another perspective.
………
Returning to the plot, after a series of transitions, the copying of U.S. dollar bills is basically completed, and only the watermark problem remains to be solved.
On this day, while the team was having dinner, Uncle Li and others were betting on the authenticity of an antique painting.
Among them, the housekeeper said that she had seen this painting in the private collection of a big boss and it must be a fake. However, Uncle Li said that this painting was sold at an auction last year.
Therefore, it is hard to say whether the painting in the hands of the housekeeper who knew the big boss is real or fake.
At this time, Li Wen, who has always been shy and timid, also joined the gamble. He believed that the big boss, the auction, and the painting in front of them were all real.
It turns out that in ancient times, there was a technique for mounting paintings, which could peel off the paintings layer by layer according to the thickness of the rice paper.
A skilled painter can draw through the back of the paper when painting. If the painting is powerful, the painting can be divided into three parts, but the color may be darker or lighter.
After the painter heard Li Wen's words, he immediately had an idea.
If you make a watermark in advance and then sandwich it with two pieces of paper, three into one, not only can you get the floating watermark, but you can also add security threads.
The idea excited everyone, but was easier said than done.
This idea proposed by the artist took Uncle Li and Li Wen more than two months and 17 versions before they finally completed an electrical board that was 1:1 with a U.S. dollar bill and had no moiré pattern.
After overcoming the difficulty, Li Wen felt much more relaxed. He chatted with Uncle Li about his daily life and asked the painter if it was true that he had been making banknotes for three generations without being caught.
Uncle Li replied in the affirmative. Because the painter abides by the rules and never uses counterfeit money made by himself, and the buyer is tight-lipped, they act as if they don't exist, so they will naturally not be caught by the police.
However, although they are not afraid of the police, it does not mean that they are absolutely safe. The painter's father was beaten to death while negotiating with others.
This plot may not seem very eye-catching, but in fact it has a great connection with the following chapters.
Ordinary viewers may not think so, but professional screenwriters and film critics like Pang Yidian are keenly aware that this so-called industry rule and the death of the painter's father are likely to be foreshadowing.
But he could only guess that it was foreshadowing, and he had no idea how the specific plot would unfold.
If he had written it himself, it is very likely that the protagonist accidentally broke the rules and was targeted by the police, or that the painter's gang encountered the painter's father and suffered heavy losses.
But Pang Yidian also knew how good his screenwriting skills were. Although he hated Zuo Le, he had to admit Zuo Le's screenwriting ability.
The follow-up plot of "Wushuang" should not be as ordinary as he thought.
…………
Li Wen and Uncle Li got the electric board, and the painter also got the gravure plate machine through channels.
It turned out that he didn't know where he got the news. A printing factory in an Eastern European country had a gravure machine that was originally used to print foreign exchange, but it was now scrapped.
But it was said to be scrapped, but in fact it could still be used after some repairs. The painter took the gravure machine and solved another problem.
Although the movie is talking about a certain Eastern European country, anyone who knows something about the international situation can easily figure out who this country is referring to.
Even if you think about it carefully, the painter said he had an idea before, but now it took him several months to finally get it. A really scrapped machine would not be so difficult.
Therefore, the so-called "scrap" of this gravure printing machine is very likely intentional. The artist was bribing relevant personnel of this country on Tuomen Road during this period.
It’s scary to think about it!
After the gravure printing machine is finished, all that's left are the color-changing ink and acid-free paper.
But when Li Wen was in trouble, the painter confidently told him that he had already mastered the acid-free paper.
It turns out that when the United States was printing money, it gave a large amount of useless acid-free paper to the Communications Bureau to make address books.
What's more coincidental is that the thickness of this address book is exactly 1/3 of a U.S. dollar bill, so two pieces of paper plus a watermark are exactly one U.S. dollar bill.
It's simply God helping them.
The painter brought Li Wen to the United States, purchased a large amount of acid-free paper, and then began to test print the first edition of U.S. dollars.
The U.S. dollar bills made by Li Wen and others are no different from real U.S. dollars in terms of details, as long as they get the color-changing ink and print a few logos at the end.
You’re done and can be shipped in batches...
However, the painters were not as lucky as the last two times and did not get color-changing ink from other places.
Seeing the last step, it is definitely impossible to give up, so we can only grab it forcefully.
The painter and his team planned a robbery in Canada and attacked an escort truck carrying discolored ink.
Printing money turned into armed robbery, which Li Wen, who thought he was a technician, couldn't accept.
What frightened Li Wen even more was that during this period, the painter was attacked by guards and killed seven escorts in anger. As a result, the team only managed to grab two barrels of ink.
He just wanted to make a fortune and did not want to involve human lives. The painter's move touched Li Wen's bottom line as a person.
But no matter what, after getting the color-changing ink, the artist finally made the ultimate version of the counterfeit banknote.
Even strictly speaking, this can no longer be regarded as counterfeit banknotes. Its craftsmanship, quality, and technology are no different from real banknotes.
The only difference is that it is not recognized by the Federal Reserve.
But it doesn't matter, the counterfeit banknotes are so fake that they can be mistaken for real ones. Even if they are placed next to the real banknotes with the same serial number, even ordinary bank personnel may not be able to tell the authenticity from the fake banknotes.
Being able to deceive 99.99% of the people in the world, to a certain extent, this is real money.
The audience was shocked by this plot setting, and even Pang Yidian couldn't help but wonder whether this counterfeit banknote was real banknote. If technology can realize it, then reality can be copied.
Produce a large amount of US dollars, directly disrupt the financial order of the United States, and directly bring down the beautiful country...
But this is just a thought. In the real world, the U.S. dollar has long been tied to the monetary system. The collapse of the U.S. dollar also means the collapse of the entire world's financial system.
The impact of this will be more severe than dozens of financial crises, and it may even trigger World War III.
This is really not an exaggeration. When internal conflicts cannot be resolved, creating external conflicts is the best solution.
The view that World War II was triggered by the global financial crisis has always been recognized by mainstream historians.
If the global monetary system really collapses, the possibility of World War III is extremely high.
In fact, regardless of the consequences, counterfeiting U.S. dollars is not that simple. The movie has made some simplifications. It is much more difficult to actually make counterfeit money than in the movie.
Moreover, with the development of science and technology nowadays, various countries will often change the version of their banknotes, and each change will add or delete the details of the old version.
Moreover, many of the details are not disclosed to the public. The counterfeit banknote group simply does not understand the entire production process of real banknotes. If they do not understand the process, it is impossible to create a 1:1 "real banknote".
Counterfeit banknotes currently on the market can basically be identified using technical means. Even if there are extremely high-quality banknotes, as long as the state reveals certain hidden details, the authenticity will be directly exposed.
Therefore, counterfeit banknotes will never reach the point where it is difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake banknotes as in the movie "Wushuang".
Art comes from life, but it is not necessarily close to life.
After watching the movie, the audience thought that they had found the password to wealth, and they were thinking blindly...
………
Back to the plot, after the counterfeit banknotes were made, the team was excited, but Li Wen was unhappy.
It turned out that the last robbery and murder of the painter had greatly stimulated him.
Because he knew that two barrels of color-changing ink would not last long and would be used up sooner or later. Would it be possible to continue robbing and killing people?
Li Wen had the idea of leaving for the first time.
However, he was afraid that the painter would object and even attack him in order to keep it secret, so he did not dare to propose it and could only keep his idea in his heart.
On the other side, seven security guards were killed, which attracted the attention of the Canadian police.
In the world, the only ones who can commit crimes with color-changing ink are counterfeit banknote groups.
Through investigation, the Canadian police zeroed in on the painter's gang and sent a counterfeit banknote expert, police officer Ah Wei, to Xiangjiang to investigate.
After Ah Wei arrived in Hong Kong, he contacted the Hong Kong police, pretended to be the leader of an organization in South Korea, and met with a team of painters on the pretext of wanting to buy goods.
However, the painter is very wary of this new person he bumped into. He has only made tentative contact and has not yet decided to cooperate.
After that, the first batch of goods was finally completed, and the painter team took the goods to trade all over the world, and the team members made a lot of money one after another.
The last batch of goods was for the general in the Golden Triangle. The painter and his party came to Siam and prepared to trade with the general.
While on the streets of Siam, Li Wen accidentally discovered a car whose paint changed with the light. The principle was very similar to color-changing ink. He hurriedly studied it with Uncle Li.
It turns out that the spray paint of this color-changing car uses the same formula as the US dollar's color-changing ink. More than ten years ago, the space agency used this ink to make color-changing glass and later sold it to a car repair shop.
The colors of the two inks are somewhat different, but they can be adjusted slowly and hopefully they can make the color-changing ink they need.
Li Wen was very happy. With the homemade color-changing ink, they no longer needed to rob and kill.
But obviously, he was happy too early. Not long after, Fa Ge, who was possessed by Brother Xiaoma, taught him another lesson...