The value some people put in memorabilia is interesting. Sure, I like a good signed poster or what-have-you, but I would never spend $500,000 on something due to it possibly having collector’s potential, even if they were bottles of wine from Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection. Well, that is what billionaire Bill Koch did, and he spent twice as much to investigate whether the bottles were authentic or not. This is the kind of bullshit rich people do…
Matthew McConaughey is attached to star in The Billionaire’s Vinegar, which will be written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (3:10 to Yuma, Wanted). There seems to be no stopping McConaughey with his role choices, and good for him. He’s earned the right to do whatever he wants. I just wish this project sounded more appealing than it does. Here’s the plot:
Benjamin Wallace‘s “The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery Of The World’s Most Expensive Bottle Of Wine” starts in 1985, when a Forbes family member paid $156,000 at auction for a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux, which Christie’s of London billed as part of a Jefferson cache discovered in France. The wine was supplied by Hardy Rodenstock, a music manager-turned-wine dealer who somehow unearthed several bottles of old wine. After paying $500,000 for the Jefferson bottles, billionaire Bill Koch paid twice that for an investigation to confirm their origins and then sued Rodenstock. The title comes from the peculiar fact that collectors spend tons of money for wine they will never drink or even open.
[amz asin=”0307338789″ size=”small”]I recently re-watched Orson Welles’ phenomenal F for Fake, which sort of disparages the notion of authenticity (or at least questions its importance), so this feverish debate that will be in this movie will probably seem pointless to a lot of people. If done right, it could be interesting. Anything can be interesting if done right. But this could easily turn into rich people complaining about nonsense problems, and that sounds horrible.
Original report from Deadline.
