By Jason DeBord
I know it’s only been a few days since my last update of the HD format war between Blu-Ray Disc and HD DVD, but there are more articles and developments on the tech sites (Engadget: “Toshiba gearing up to drop HD DVD?“; Home Media Magazine: “HD DVD Format on Death Watch“; Gizmodo: “Toshiba Finally Taking HD DVD Off Life Support“; The Hollywood Reporter: “Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say“.
All articles report that sources claim Toshiba will drop the format in the coming weeks. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
According to multiple news/media reports (The Dallas Morning News: “Dallas’ Heritage Auction sues Hollywood memorabilia dealers“; The Houston Chronicle: “Auction house files lawsuit over alleged bogus memorabilia“; The Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Dallas auction house says it was conned into selling fakes“; and story originator WFAA-TV: “Dallas auction house claims multi-million dollar reputation damaged“), Heritage Auction Galleries filed suit on Wednesday in Dallas County District Court against Mississippi-based L.A. Prop & Wardrobe Co. and its owners, John Tarter and Billie Null.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the lawsuit filed yesterday “alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract”. The Chronicle story also claims that “a listing could not be found for L.A. Prop” and that “[m]essages left with the L.A. Prop officials listed in the lawsuit were not immediately returned Thursday.” [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
There is quite an interesting find of vintage movie theater memorabilia being auctioned this weekend at the Keith Albee Theater in Downtown Huntington, WV. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
The three month long writers’ strike that has paralyzed the entertainment industry is over.
There are countless analytical articles on the web going into the details of “who won?” and “was it worth it?”.
Also, there does seem to be a consensus that the strike will lead to other changes in the industry that were not a part of any deal, but a consequence of it.
In any event, I am personally happy to see that those in the industry having an opportunity to get back to work, as I know it has been a challenge and struggle for many. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
As reported previously (see “HD Format War Developments“, “More HD War Developments Out of CES“, “HD Format War – More Bad News for HD DVD“), Toshiba’s HD DVD format has suffered some severe blows of late, particularly since the start of the new year.
As a quick update, the latest two unfavorable developments for the format come from Best Buy and Netflix. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
As reported in late December (see “eBay Auction: Greatest American Hero Costume“), there was an eBay listing for an “original” William Katt Greatest American Hero costume (eBay Item #220184242364) which raised concerns as to authenticity, and was determined to have been a replica by an expert on these wardrobe pieces.
As explained previously, because an original suit was purportedly copied many years ago, replica suits were introduced into the marketplace as “original”, making authentication of these suits highly problematic. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
LucasFilm LTD filed suit against Gen Con LLC for “breach of contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment” in regards to the Star Wars Celebration IV convention held in Los Angeles in May 2007.
According to the suit, LFL provided rare Star Wars memorabilia from the Archive to be auctioned (via a live auction and a silent auction) at the Celebration fan convention, with the net proceeds of the charity intended for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Per the suit, the auction events raised “at least $150,000 from the sale of LFL’s archive items”. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
A second report was broadcast by WFAA TV’s Channel 8, based on David Schechter’s investigation into items consigned by L.A. Prop and Wardrobe Company and sold by Heritage Auction Galleries (see Heritage Auction Galleries & L.A. Prop & Wardrobe Company, WFAA Television News Report…, More on Heritage Auction Galleries, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe).
In this update, Mr. Schechter reports that Heritage Auction Galleries will “sue L.A. Prop for knowingly providing bogus items for sale and damaging the auction house’s reputation”.
Here is a link to the full video report at WFAA.com: [Read more…]