Two big stories have been making news in the mainstream media in recent days, with regards to two different pairs of original ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – one purchased for the ‘in the works’ Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences “Academy Museum of Motion Pictures”; the other going off display at the Smithsonian for conservation and an eventual “American Stories” exhibit at their “National Museum of American History”.
Los Angeles based auction house Nate D Sanders is this month offering for sale an extraordinary number of Academy Awards as part of their monthly auction. The rare and highly coveted Oscar statue awards (in part due to the fact that AMPAS retain right of first refusal to buy back those awarded after 1950 – see past related story), seldom have come up for auction and it is very unusual to see so many offered in a single sale. [Read more…]
This morning the Gilt Group has opened its sale of original props from the Woody Allen film ‘Midnight in Paris’ on it’s website. The site states that all net proceeds from the sale of this original memorabilia from the Academy Award nominated film will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. [Read more…]
Friend of the Original Prop Blog – David Oliver of Propmasters – has provided some photos to share with readers of his recent visit to The National Motor Museum in the United Kingdom. The museum is currently featuring a year long exhibition of the world’s largest collection of vehicles used in James Bond films, as reported last month.
Bonhams is holding a special auction of property from Serendipity Books in both Los Angeles and San Francisco tomorrow. Among the material are some interesting original screenplays/scripts/manuscripts from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick, W.C. Fields, Alfred Hitchcock, Universal Studios, and more.
Below is the latest updated list of 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.
[Read more…]
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…]
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…]