As was the case in previous years (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial review of my personal views with regards to the hobby, looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2009. As always, there were a lot of interesting developments and events, and quite a bit to review and consider.
What follows are my personal opinions, observations, and a subjective analysis of top news stories, developments, and trends from 2009. While numbered 1-10, I can’t say that they are in any particular order of importance or ranking…
10. Online Bidding Matures
The online bidding options available to collectors for live auction events have generally been lacking with most dealers and auction houses. In my experience, the software client is usually lagging the real time action, buggy, unreliable, and makes the participant feel as though they are bidding “blind’, by not being able to see and hear the live action in the room. Having said that, there have been exceptions.
Online auction giant eBay long had a stranglehold on this space, with their eBay Live Auctions, which was a poor service up until its demise one year ago (see eBay Live Auctions: RIP).
eBay-endorsed heir apparent Live Auctioneers was really no better when the baton was passed to them, and iCollector was equally lacking, as implemented by Premiere Props earlier in the year (see “Underworld” Live Auction: Impressions of The Event, Premiere Props, & The iCollector Service).
New entrant to the entertainment memorabilia space Auction Network, as implemented by PropWorx, in my opinion blew the competition out of the water (see Battlestar Galactica Live Auction Day One: Impressions of The Event, Propworx, & The Auction Network Service). Not just static video, but multiple cameras, high quality audio and video, and commentary and interviews accompanying the auction floor action – really nothing being done by LiveAuctioneers or iCollector at that time could compete. Unfortunately, it seems that Auction Network has since stopped serving the entertainment memorabilia auction houses.
As the year wore on, it seems the trend has been moving toward iCollector, with Profiles in History, Premiere Props, and other companies using the service. Also, the software seems to have improved comparing auctions at the start of the year to those toward the end (see Impressions: Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 37″ Event & iCollector Video Feature Shows Improvement With Latest Premiere Props Live Auction).
So at least progress is being made in this area, with a true benchmark set by the Auction Network-PropWorx combination, which will serve both collectors and the auction houses. It is surprising that such an obvious tool has so long been underdeveloped, but in talking with companies, it seems to be understood that it is important that it be improved. Other developments in this space include Julien’s Auctions following Heritage Auction Galleries, Christie’s, and others in developing their own in-house solutions (see Julien’s Auctions Launches “Julien’s Live” Online Bidding Service).
9. Superman Costumes: Confirmed Authentic vs “Super Hollywood”
In the ongoing “Market Watch” coverage of Superman costumes and costume components offered for sale publicly in the marketplace attributed to use in the Superman films of the 70s-80s starring Christopher Reeve and characterized as “original” and “authentic”, 2009 saw the investigation pass over 100 articles published on the Original Prop Blog in total.
In addition, an opportunity became available to compare “hands on” multiple examples each of confirmed authentic Superman costumes from multiple Christopher Reeve films with others that have the “Super Hollywood”/Armando Alvarez/Ana Mungia lineage and provenance.
As revealed in the articles based on this research, the differences between the two are both consistent and striking:
8. Top Genuine Pieces Sold Into Marketplace: King Kong, Seventh Seal Chess Pieces, Blade Runner Pistol
2009 proved to be a great year for new discoveries of important pop culture artifacts being offered for public sale in the marketplace.
While there were many examples worth citing, three of my favorites include:
Blade Runner “Deckard” Hero Pistol
The Spring event for Profiles in History and their “Hollywood Auction 36” featured the hero pistol used by Harrison Ford as Decard in Ridley Scott’s classic 80s sci-fi film, Blade Runner (1982). This piece sold for $265,500 at auction (including buyer’s premium).
King Kong Stop Motion Armature Model
Christie’s November auction event in South Kensington featured one of the original stop-motion armatures from the classic film, King Kong (1933). The King Kong armature sold for $200,305 (including buyer’s premium).
- Christie’s Publishes “eVanity” Online Catalog for Original Movie Prop “King Kong” Stop-Motion Armature
- Christie’s November 2009 Entertainment Memorabilia Auction to Feature Original Prop “King Kong” Stop-Motion Armature
- Christie’s Original Prop “King Kong” Stop-Motion Armature – High Resolution Photography
Chess Pieces from The Seventh Seal
Swedish auction house Bukowskis offered for auction the original chess pieces used in the Ingmar Bergman classic, The Seventh Seal (1957). A truly remarkable find from Bergman’s estate, I was able to screen-match many of the pieces up to those used in the film, using Criterion’s Blu-Ray Disc release of the film. The set made international news, realizing about $144,000 at auction.
- Chess Pieces from Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” Sold by Bukowskis in Sweden for $144,000 Today
7. Dealer Entrances, Exits, Transitions, Turmoil
There were a number of developments this year concerning those in the business of selling original television and movie props, costumes, and other memorabilia. Also of interest have been developments with auction houses outside of the hobby.
Propworx came on the scene with its official studio sale of assets from Battlestar Galactica, on behalf of NBC Universal. With two live auctions and a large supply of eBay auctions, the market was flooded with memorabilia from the cable sci-fi television series. Though there were some customer service issues concerning shipping and fulfillment with the first live event (see Propworx/Battlestar Galactica: Post Auction Event Update), they seemed to have been resolved quickly and overall, it marked a strong showing for a new entrant to the studio reseller space.
It’s A Wrap has recently begun to sell material from the J.J. Abrams relaunch of the Star Trek franchise via eBay (see ‘It’s A Wrap!’ Lists Original Movie Props from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek for Auction on eBay). Earlier this year, they essentially pulled the rug out from under their ongoing sale of assets that remained following the Christie’s auction in 2006. Reportedly, the last of the pieces were sold off in bulk to a collector from Germany, to the dismay of collectors at large who anticipated continuing sales to the public.
Rainmaker’s Hollywood Vault appears to have either gone dormant or shut down altogether (see Studio Reseller Hollywood Vault (”Rainmakers”): Current & Future Status?). I did receive communication from a former employee in recent months who had some interesting stories to share and speculated the same.
Several auction houses, in and out of the hobby, have had struggles this year, with Kruse International appearing in many mainstream media articles with stories about poor customer service (see Classic Car Auction Company Kruse International Rates “F” with Better Business Bureau Leading Into Labor Day Event) as well as undergoing an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service for fraud (see external story by Fort Wayne Channel 15, “Auctioneer Kruse investigated for fraud“).
Sports memorabilia auction house Mastro Auctions was shut down following an investigation by the FBI (see Mastro Auctions Closes In Midst Of FBI Investigation Into Shill Bidding & Fraud Allegations). Mastro executives launched a new company, Legendary Auctions, but there were reportedly some issues with consignors to the last Mastro auction getting their consignment checks for the sale of their goods.
Premiere Props has managed to host significantly more live auction events this year compared with the past, sans the “Hollywood Roadshow” branding. Also of note was the practice of taking consignments from non-studio/principal sources, given that they are widely viewed and understood to be a “studio reseller”.
Conversely, Profiles in History has shown a strong trend toward selling more and more assets directly on behalf of the studio and other principals this year – from the two Transformers films, to Rick Baker and more Stand Winston props, to G.I. Joe and Friday the 13th, to their announced sale of literally everything from LOST for 2010 (see Profiles in History coverage).
While not a dealer, the closure of prop rental house 20th Century Props made a splash in print, online, and televised mainstream media reports, though the actual liquidation of related assets has proven to be a huge challenge, turning from auction house to auction house with multiple live auctions and even eBay in an attempt to sell everything in one lot (see 20th Century Props coverage).
6. “Planet of the Apes” Statue of Liberty (Made For And Used In “The Terminal” Starring Tom Hanks)
Following a two year Original Prop Blog investigation, the 15 foot tall Statue of Liberty head that has appeared and reappeared for sale in multiple venues attributed to the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes, was proved to have been falsely attributed to the film.
Mr. Daren R. Dochterman, who was employed as Conceptual Artist for Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal (see credits, IMDb), identified the piece as having been made for the Tom Hanks film. In addition to his own production photos and artwork of the same, I found several scenes in which the piece can be seen in the background.
5. The Economy
One question posed at the end of 2008 was, given the ongoing struggles of both individuals and companies, how this will impact the marketplace for original props and wardrobe, and those that collect and preserve these pieces of movie and television memorabilia?
Having watched the key auction events of the past year, for the most part, I believe the struggling economy did have an impact on the marketplace. While some events and specific pieces may have bucked the overall trend, it would seem that money is tighter and there was less demand for pieces at the lower end of the value scale. And in some cases, truly great pieces sold for amounts much lower than anticipated.
Outside of entertainment memorabilia, auction events were canceled, and within, our biggest auction house specializing in this space, Profiles in History, had one less auction than is typical (though the last one was much bigger than the usual regularly scheduled auctions).
It will be interesting to see which way things trend in 2010 compared with 2008 and 2009 and the overall downward trending.
4. Fake Poster Controversy, Spotlight on Authentication
While a bit off-topic from the original prop hobby and subject of this website, the developments in the poster collecting hobby was of significant interest.
On the heels of learning about one type of fraudulent movie poster type that had infiltrated the marketplace, another of a different kind was unearthed, which happened to be a piece that was professionally authenticated by an expert and consigned to a Profiles in History auction (which also adorned the cover of the auction catalog).
The story definitely raises concerns about the sophistication of forgeries, efforts to sell such material for huge sums of money in high profile public events, and the process and qualifications of expert authentication.
Related stories can be found below:
3. eBay: More Fraud Than Ever
I’ve always held a highly unfavorable view of eBay as a marketplace for original television and movie props, costumes, and other assets. It is simply rife with fraud with no real oversight and too many barriers for those who offer up information to the company for free, for the good of the community, which falls on deaf ears regardless.
Over the years, it has generally gotten worse and worse, and I hold out no hope that trend will ever reverse. This is all the more unfortunate in that many collectors make their first purchases on eBay, and navigating that marketplace as a novice is a dangerous proposition and inherently problematic.
While there are some genuine pieces that are offered for sale on eBay, there are many negative trade-offs and I hold out little hope that eBay will ever truly police their marketplace to prevent fraud.
2. Lawsuits & Court Rulings
2009 was filled with a number of interesting stories related to various lawsuits that directly and indirectly impact the hobby.
MJJ Productions, Inc vs. Julien’s Auction House LLC
Prior to Michael Jackson’s death, there was a very interesting legal battle between Jackson and his MJJ Productions and Julien’s Auctions. Jackson filed a lawsuit against Julien’s Auctions for the return of personal property from the Neverland Ranch that was consigned to the auction house with a sale planned for April 22-April 25, 2009 in Beverly Hills. As with most things related to Jackson, it was filled with drama and controversy. Ultimately, it was settled out at the final hour, with the assets returned to Jackson for an undisclosed settlement amount.
Related articles can be found below:
Lucasfilm Ltd. vs. Andrew Ainsworth
This was a story that was on the 2008 list as well – the Lucasfilm legal dispute over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope. This ongoing legal battle, which began in the United States courts and subsequently moved to the UK, is between George Lucas and his Lucasfilm Ltd. production company and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios.
A few weeks ago, the High Court of Justice, Court of Appeal in England ruled in favor of Andrew Ainsworth in his breach of copyright legal battle with Lucasfilm over the sale of his unlicensed replica Star Wars props and costumes. With the Lucasfilm appeal of an earlier ruling, attorneys for the George Lucas company claimed that the Stormtrooper helmets were “sculptures” and therefore protected under British copyright law, though the three appeal judges upheld the earlier ruling that the props are not works of art. They also rejected the plea for enforcement of the $20 million dollar judgment awarded in U.S. courts.
Related articles can be found below:
Moustakis v Christie’s, Inc. (“The Star Trek Lawsuit”)
Also just a few weeks ago, two years after making the rounds as a lead story in the mainstream media, the Supreme Court of New York’s Appellate Division ruled that a Star Trek fan does not deserve $7 million dollars in damages as a result being displeased with one of the three items won at the “40 Years of Star Trek” auction held by Christie’s. The buyer claimed that one of the original props – a poker visor attributed to Brent Spiner’s “Data” character in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series – was not the one seen on screen in the final episode.
As I noted in my articles two years ago, the official Christie’s lot/description amendment sheet pertaining to the visor made available to live bidders at the event (the plaintiff, Moustakis, was also present at the event), which added a note to the description of the visor in question: “Please note this should read ‘made for’ and not worn by“, rendering the lawsuit frivolous.
1. Original Prop Blog: Behind The Scenes
In the ongoing publication of this website, some of the most interesting things that happened this year were “behind the scenes” and unreported on the website. From interesting stories shared in confidence, to working with news media and law enforcement on issues of fraud in the marketplace, to other revelations that must at this time remain unreported, one thing that I am confident of is that there is a lot more interesting material which will be reported on in the year and years to come.
I’d like to just take a moment to thank all of the hobbyists and friends who have supported and helped me and this website over the past year and since its inception in 2007. It is appreciated.
Jason De Bord