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

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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Today Christie’s has withdrawn Lot 136 from their upcoming Sale #5446, a prop attributed to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and described as a “prototype Imperial Stormtrooper’s helmet“.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  In the auction description, Andrew Ainsworth was named as the source of provenance for the prop withdrawn from the current Christie’s sale.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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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: 1931 Dracula Poster Lawsuits & Default Judgments – Profiles in History vs. Thomas Rega / Thomas Rega vs. Studio Conservation

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One of the most significant scandals to hit Hollywood memorabilia collecting in the past decade was a series of discoveries in the poster community relating to purported fraudulent movie posters and one sheets.  A new update was published yesterday on the MoPo Mailing List at FilmFan.com by Dianne Jeffrey, President and CEO of Studio Conservation Inc.   Ms. Jeffrey was the professional who did some of the restoration work (in good faith) on the Dracula poster consigned to a Profiles in History auction in which it was featured on the cover of their “Hollywood Auction 37” sale event in 2009. Ms. Jeffrey has stated on MoPo that she received notice of a default judgment against her from Thomas Rega “in the amount of $263,312.50, plus attorney fees of $18,134.80”; she is a resident of California and the lawsuit was filed against her in New Jersey and she did not represent herself and/or her business in court.  Interestingly, Profiles in History was previously awarded a default judgment against Thomas Rega in their own lawsuit filed against him in California. [Read more…]

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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: Judge Sentences Kerry Haggard to over 6 years in Federal Prison and Orders to Pay $1,380,000 in Restitution to Victims

This is an update to the ongoing series of articles into various claims and charges of fraud in the posters, one sheets, and lobby cards art market that have rocked the collectibles industry over the past two and a half years. Today, per reports from Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Athens Banner-Herald, and other mainstream media sources, Kerry Haggard was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon to six years and six months in federal prison.  The court also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.38 million dollars. [Read more…]

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Editorial: December Entertainment Memorabilia Pop Culture Auction Review and “The Bubble”

Now that I am back in the States, I thought I would take the time to review the results of the overwhelming number entertainment memorabilia auctions that took place throughout the month of December.  Interestingly, while I personally met with a number of participants in our field while traveling in England and France this month, the one unsolicited and seemingly universal topic brought up by all was the question of “the Bubble”.  Is there a bubble?  If so, what are the contributing factors, and when and how will it burst?  And what would the consequences be on our art market?  Since the results of these high profile auctions speak to these notions and related speculation, I thought it would make sense to frame my results analysis in this discussion. [Read more…]

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Hobbyist Collector Launches “PROPbay” Online Museum and Marketplace to Auction, Buy, Sell, & Trade TV and Movie Props and Costumes

Fellow hobbyist Alex Tutusaus has this week launched a new service for television and movie prop collectors called “PROPbay”.  The online service and website was created to offer collectors an opportunity to share photos and information about pieces in their collection, as well as interact with one another to discuss trading, buying, and selling such material.  The site is dedicated to original production material (not replicas). [Read more…]

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EU Court of Justice Rules eBay May Be Held Liable in Sale of Trademark Infringing and Counterfeit Goods

As part of an ongoing series of legal disputes that have challenged the manner in which eBay operates its auction business and website, today the European Union Court of Justice provided clarification on questions pertaining to a case before the High Court in the United Kingdom over a dispute brought by L’Oréal against the global auction giant.  The Court of Justice ruled that eBay may be liable for the sale of counterfeit and trademark-infringing goods, based on the circumstances and what kind of “active role” it plays in the sale of the goods.   [Read more…]

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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Reports NY Federal Prosecutors Seek New Arrest Warrant

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today published an update to one of several scandals that rocked the collectible poster collecting field in 2009 and 2010.  The news report states that “Federal prosecutors in New York are asking a judge to jail a Georgia man who is accused of selling fake vintage horror movie posters over the Internet”. [Read more…]

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The Original Prop Blog 2010 Year in Review: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original Movie Props and Memorabilia

As was the case in previous years (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations with regards to the hobby – looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2010. As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby.  [Read more…]