Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

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Update: Additional Images of Christie’s Withdrawn “Prototype” Star Wars Stormtrooper Helmet

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This is an update to the article published on Monday (see “Christie’s Withdraws “Prototype” Star Wars Stormtrooper Prop Helmet with Andrew Ainsworth Provenance from Upcoming Auction“).  As mentioned in that prior article, unfortunately, no images were provided of the sides and back of the helmet.  A friend in the UK previewed the upcoming Christie’s auction, and took photos of the “prototype” Storwtrooper prop helmet, which has since been withdrawn from their sale (#5446).  These additional images are important, in that the single image provided in the online lot description/catalog only included one “straight on” style image which did not show whether the lower, back side of the helmet had the “ribbed” decoration (a detail that most other “prototypes” have shared). [Read more…]

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Christie’s Withdraws “Prototype” Star Wars Stormtrooper Prop Helmet with Andrew Ainsworth Provenance from Upcoming Auction

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Today Christie’s has withdrawn Lot 136 from their upcoming Sale #5446, a prop attributed to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and described as a “prototype Imperial Stormtrooper’s helmet“.   There has been ongoing public debate and controversy over movie prop Stormtrooper helmets trading for sale in the marketplace for years, and some of this debate and discussion intersected the legal battles between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth.  In the auction description, Andrew Ainsworth was named as the source of provenance for the prop withdrawn from the current Christie’s sale. [Read more…]

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Christie’s “Pop Culture” Live Auction June 20th in London, eCatalogue and PDF Catalog Online

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Christie’s “Pop Culture” catalog (Sale 5446) is now available online in a downloadable PDF format as well as an online eCatalogue. The entertainment memorabilia sale includes 144 lots of film, television, and music-related material. [Read more…]

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Facebook Hosts Ongoing Public Debate Over Original Sculptor Credit for Star Wars Stormtrooper (Andrew Ainsworth or Liz Moore & Brian Muir)

Amid the topics of copyright ownership, enforcement of a U.S. judgment in the UK, determination of “works of art”, and other issues as featured in mainstream media reports about the ongoing legal battle between Lucasfilm LTD (LFL) and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios (SDS), what has not garnered as much focus is the debate over which artist originally sculpted the iconic stormtrooper helmet design that was adopted for use in Star Wars: A New Hope and the films that followed.  [Read more…]

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Shepperton Design Studios Expands Line of “Post Lawsuit” Unlicensed Replica Star Wars Props

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Following legal battles in both the United States and the United Kingdom over the sale unlicensed Stormtrooper helmets – which resulted in both Andrew Ainsworth’s Shepperton Design Studios and George Lucas’ Lucasfilm Ltd. claiming victory – Ainsworth’s SDS today announced the sale of “E11 Blasters”, that boast “all the features of the most complicated blaster used in ANH“. [Read more…]

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Cross-Hobby Buzz & Questions About Unfinished/Incomplete Stormtrooper Helmet

In October, there was a significant amount of buzz, discussion, and questions about a Stormtrooper helmet presented to hobbyists publicly and described as original and attributed to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.  These debates resulted from the owner of the helmet, “JoeR”, initiating discussions about the newly acquired piece on several original and replica prop hobby discussion forums.  [Read more…]

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Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets Update: High Court Ruling Excerpts on LFL v. SDS Case

Given the British High Court ruling on the case of Lucasfilm vs. Andrew Ainsworth (see Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice), and the additional information available from the court documents, I thought it would be a good opportunity to build on the prior OPB article exploring the “prototype” Stormtrooper helmets (see Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets) trading in the marketplace as original and authentic precursors to the helmets used on set and filmed in Star Wars: A New Hope. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice


“Exoray” from the RPF is hosting a full HTML version of the High Court ruling on the case between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth in the legal dispute over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope.  I have not had time to review the full ruling in detail, but thought readers would be interested in reviewing it first hand: [Read more…]