Colin Cantwell is a dreamer. However, he’s is one of those rare individuals who is not content to merely dream, but to imagine how to make dreams a reality, and takes action to make things happen. And if the tool or method that he requires does not exist, he will invent it. He is about thinking up possibilities that others would find… impossible. He is also quite modest, regardless of his incredible accomplishments across a broad spectrum of disciplines. He seems to be entirely self-motivated and has an internal engine driving him to achieve the results that bring his dreams to life. My other observation, through my conversations with him at his home in Colorado some months ago, is that he is not only brilliant, but he is unrestrained by the divisions and categorizations that frame the lives of most of the rest of us. Like the great Leonardo da Vinci, Colin Cantwell is gifted with a great diversity of talents, as a scientist, inventor, artist, special and computer effects wizard, architect, engineer, and I’m sure a number of other abilities. In my opinion, he is one of our great national treasures that “we” didn’t know about. He played a significant role in Star Wars: A New Hope, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Omnimax/IMAX, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and WarGames, working with some of our greatest film auteurs like George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, and Steven Spielberg. He worked with NASA and CBS on the Apollo XI moon landing mission. He even won over “the greatest architect of all-time”, Frank Lloyd Wright. And at 82 years of age, he continues to work on his life achievements; with his concept of Cosmic Biodesics, only now is the rest of the world catching up to his ideas. [Read more…]
Video Interview: Joe Maddalena and Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 37”, Disney/ABC’s “LOST” Auction Update
I spent part of the day yesterday at Profiles in History with President & CEO Joe Maddalena, who gave a personal tour and preview of some of the items offered for sale in their upcoming “Hollywood Auction 37” event, to be held at Calabasas Hills, California on October 8th & 9th. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic Con 2009: Short Video Interview with Mark Hamill (Return of the Jedi Lightsaber, “Lost” Tatooine Cave Scene)
While attending San Diego Comic Con, I had an opportunity to meet and chat with Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. Based on an article written last week (see Revisting the Elstree Props “Return of the Jedi” Star Wars Lightsabers: The $50,000 Question (Original or Replica?)), and a series of articles published in 2007 (see Market Watch | Elstree Props | Return of the Jedi), I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask Mr. Hamill a few questions about the original lightsaber props he used in Return of the Jedi, as well as address the long-running controversy as to whether he filmed a scene in which he portrayed his character building his new lightsaber. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic Con 2009: Video Interview with Joe Maddalena, Profiles in History (ABC’s “LOST” Auction)
I spent some time at the Profiles in History exhibit at San Diego Comic Con, and was especially interested to learn more details about the recently announced LOST auction, an event planned to coincide with the conclusion of the popular series in May 2010. The following video interview with Joe Maddalena, President of Profiles in History, offers some great information about the LOST auction, the overall auction schedule of the company over the next year, and other items of interest to hobbyists. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic Con 2009: Video Interview with Alec Peters, PropWorx
I had an opportunity to meet and chat with Alec Peters, CEO of PropWorx, while attending San Diego Comic Con. The video interview includes a recap of the Battlestar Galactica auction (past and future), a “state of the hobby” review, talk about competition among other dealers/resellers and auction houses, a discussion of issues in the hobby, and news about the future of PropWorx. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic Con 2009: Video Interview with The Prop Store of London (Stephen Lane, Brandon Alinger, Tim Lawes, Dan Hill)
I had an opportunity to meet and chat with Stephen Lane, Tim Lawes, Brandon Alinger, and Dan Hill of The Prop Store of London while at San Diego Comic Con. The video interview includes an introduction of the group, a review of the original props and costumes on display at the show, and a discussion of their experience at the convention this year. [Read more…]
Featured Audio Interview: Alec Peters, Propworx (Battlestar Galactica Auctions)
I spent some time today talking with Alec Peters, CEO of newly created Propworx, about the upcoming events promoting the final Battlestar Galactica episodes and the auction of original prop and costume assets from the show, in conjunction with NBC Universal Television (see Press Release). In order to share a great deal of information about these topics, I conducted a taped interview which can be heard using the MP3 player below (Adobe Flash required): [Read more…]
Comic-Con 2008: James Duval “Reunited” Video Interview – Behind the Mask (Frank the Bunny & Donnie Darko)
I will open this feature with a disclosure – the original “Frank” the bunny mask original prop from Donnie Darko featured in the Profiles in History auction next week was consigned from my personal collection. I knew it was going to be on display at Comic-Con, but I never imagined it would lead to my meeting the actor who actually wore the mask in the film as “Frank”, Mr. James “Jimmy” Duval. [Read more…]