Ewbank’s in the UK are holding their next Entertainment & Memorabilia auction now, with their online catalog publishing and bidding concluding on September 3rd. A mix of film, television, and rock and roll, though there are many lots, the original props and costumes from film and television are few and far between – much of the offerings can be classified as general collectibles. [Read more…]
As reported at the time, long time prop rental business 20th Century Props shut down and liquidated its inventory back in 2009 and 2010. Well, here we are in 2015 and the Los Angeles Times and others have reported that Harvey Schwartz has rebounded along with the film industry this year, and has relaunched his business. [Read more…]
Yesterday, Heritage Auctions announced their October sale event, “Stallone – The Collection”, which garnered a lot of mainstream media coverage and interest. Strangely, the main marketing piece published was a bizarre, low budget (no budget?) video, which entailed not much more than following Sylvester Stallone around with a video camera (or maybe mobile phone shooting video?) as he seemingly pulls items out of wooden crates at random. Accompanied by bad elevator music, there is no interview or narration or questions or presentation by anyone from Heritage, as they stand around watching him indiscriminately look for pieces to hold up for the camera and come up with anecdotes to fill the silence amid the unidentified, bored-looking spectators surrounding him. I guess some might categorize it as “better than nothing”, but it certainly doesn’t do justice to one of the biggest box office icons of all-time. [Read more…]
Below is the latest updated calendar for upcoming original movie and television prop, wardrobe, and memorabilia auction events. Please contact me if you are aware of any coming events of interest to collectors. Please also note that I update changes/additions to the calendar until the next update, in order to maintain as up to date as possible. [Read more…]
Official Pix is offering their first signing opportunity to get autographs and personalized sketches from Colin Cantwell. At 82 years old today, Colin Cantwell famously made the first prototype models for the first Star Wars films for George Lucas back in 1974/1975; the first realizations for the X-Wing Fighter, the Y-Wing Fighter, the Tie Fighter, the Star Destroyer, the Death Star, the Landspeeder, the Sandcrawler, and the Millennium Falcon, as well as the T-16 Skyhopper that Mark Hamill is seen using in the final cut of the film. Prior to building these prototype models, Colin created original full color artwork as well as sketches based on his discussions with George Lucas in 1974, and was one of the very first artists to work on Star Wars. I worked with Mr. Cantwell in 2014, helping him to bring some rare memorabilia to auction with Julien’s Auctions as well as recording a number of video interview with him about his work in and out of the film and television industries (see all Original Prop Blog articles about Colin Cantwell here: LINK). [Read more…]
I have been going to San Diego Comic Con (AKA Comic-Con International) since 1987, when I was 14 years old, but have until this year always stayed in Downtown San Diego apart from one time I stayed at Humphrey’s By The Bay on Shelter Island. Planning my travel and accommodations for 2015 was actually the first time that not only did I not get my first choice with the Travel Planners “lottery” style system for reservations and special rates for booking rooms, I did not get any room with them at all. As registered press, it has always been convenient for me to stay at the adjacent San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, which is where I’ve stayed in the previous four years. With not a lot of options, I ended up booking a room at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort on Coronado Island (see my review here). While I was disappointed with the service of the hotel, and the distance to Ferry Landing (which offers a short five minute boat ride directly from Coronado Island to the Convention Center), I did find that not only is staying on Coronado feasible, but there are some significant benefits as well. So I thought I would share my findings with those who might consider staying on Coronado in future years. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2015. As in past years, this is a photo journal showcasing photographs of the exhibit hall, around the convention center and the Gaslamp District, and some of the popular cosplay participants. Images are from Wednesday (Preview Night), Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2015. 2015 marks the second consecutive year that HBO is hosting a Game of Thrones exhibit. This year it is called, “Experience The Realm” (you can see my coverage of last year’s “Survive The Realm”). Again, it was held offsite at the Omni Hotel in the Gaslamp District, a short walk to the Convention Center. “Experience” is a good moniker, as they evolved more toward having a primary focus on popular and fun experiences. While there were some costumes on display again, it was a smaller grouping compared with last year. Also not making a return was the tattoo shop, though they still provided a free t-shirt to participants on the way out. [Read more…]