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

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Lucasfilm vs Ainsworth Legal Battle Aftermath & Update: Andrew Ainsworth Owes Lawyers £3.5 Million

Following the UK Supreme Court ruling well over a year ago, legal website The Lawyer today reports that Andrew Ainsworth owes the legal firm that represented him in his dispute with Lucasfilm about £3.5 million.  Per the report, “[t]he case was brought on a conditional fee arrangement (CFA), and usually the court will order the losing side to cover the other’s costs”.  Since one issue was decided in favor of Ainsworth, and the other in favor of Lucasfilm, Ainsworth was never awarded a costs order, thus sticking him with a legal bill well into millions of dollars.  Ainsworth is quoted in the article noting that his legal team “gained a lot of kudos” for their apparently free (at this point) legal defense, though it will be interesting to continue to follow to see if his lawyers believe that they received £3.5 million pounds worth of kudos. [Read more…]

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Dan Levin of Premiere Props Appears on Access Hollywood to Discuss Their “Hollywood Auction Extravaganza V”

Dan Levin from Premiere Props appeared on Access Hollywood today to talk about this weekend’s Hollywood Auction Extravaganza V sale event.  Items discussed in the segment include pieces attributed to Madonna, Liberace, and Michael Jackson.   Strangely, not only do the hosts/talent handle the auction items, one is “almost” sold during the segment, and many of the wardrobe pieces are worn by the hosts as well as they close out the episode.

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Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Auction Extravaganza V’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event March 24th-25th

The online catalog for the Premiere Props “Hollywood Auction Extravaganza V”, scheduled for March 24-25, is now listed via online bidding partner iCollector as well as a traditional-style catalog in PDF format from their own website. The two-day auction includes over 1,000 lots from various film and television productions. [Read more…]

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Congratulations to Tom Spina Designs on ‘The Dog Strikes Back’ 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial (Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina Creatures)

I just wanted to give a public congratulations to my friend Tom Spina and all his cohorts over at Tom Spina Designs for their outstanding work on the new Star Wars themed commercial produced for the Superbowl this month.  The ad, “The Dog Strikes Back: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial” features a cut to a stunning recreation of the A New Hope Mos Eisley Cantina, with creature masks, prosthetics, and some costumes made by the Tom Spina Designs team (10 aliens in total).  Incredible. [Read more…]

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Tour of ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’, Steve Sansweet’s Star Wars Memorabilia Collection and Museum, Part 2 of 2

This is a continuation of my article about a visit to Mr. Steve Sansweet’s ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’ museum in Sonoma County.  This second part includes additional photos from my visit yesterday – click here for Part 1. [Read more…]

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Tour of ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’, Steve Sansweet’s Star Wars Memorabilia Collection and Museum, Part 1 of 2

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to spend some times with friends and Mr. Steve Sansweet at his ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’ museum in Sonoma County. Mr. Sansweet is famous worldwide for his incredible collection of Star Wars artifacts and memorabilia, having written and published many books, as well as having worked for Lucasfilm for over 15 years as Director of Content Management and Head of Fan Relations.  His museum holds over 200,000 Star Wars items and spans over 9,000 square feet, and being able to view his diverse and comprehensive collection is truly amazing.  Please note this is being broken into two parts due to the large number of photos – click here for Part 2. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm vs Ainsworth UK Supreme Court Ruling: The Mainstream Media Interviews Andrew Ainsworth

Having followed the news reported by the mainstream media following Wednesday’s UK Supreme Court decision, there have been some interesting accounts coming from the Ainsworth camp yesterday and today, including a very simplistic characterization of how the helmet and armor made their way from two to three dimensions (completely leaving out the sculpture contributions by Ms. Liz Moore and Mr. Brian Muir).  It will be interesting to see how this saga will continue to play out following the ruling in England. [Read more…]

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UK Supreme Court Rules in Lucasfilm vs Ainsworth Star Wars “Stormtrooper Helmet” Copyright Legal Battle

Since 2007, the Original Prop Blog has been covering the legal battle between Lucasfilm Limited and Andrew Ainsworth of Shepperton Design Studios over the sale of unlicensed replica Star Wars props and costumes.  The UK Supreme Court is today published their ruling on the two issues presented to them.  Of the two, the most critical came down to whether the stormtrooper helmets themselves constituted “sculptures” in a way consistent with UK law.  The court ruled that they do not, and thus delivered a victory to Ainsworth, which also leaves those following the case wondering about the ramifications to copyrights and copyright law and the consequences of the decision.  The second question before them was decided in favor to Lucasfilm, which involves IP holders and their rights to pursue copyright claims in those cases where such laws are violated in other jurisdictions. [Read more…]