This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. In my 2015 feature on Marvel Entertainment, I opened by noting that “they elected to not have much of a presence or major announcements at Comic Con this time around” and compared their display of one Ant-Man costume to that of historic competitor DC Comics and their more impressive display of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman costumes as well as television costumes, all in stand alone displays that allow fans to get up close to check them out. The divide between the lackluster and the impressive was widened further this year, as Disney-owned Marvel seems to have lost any sense of self awareness and their 2016 Comic Con presentation felt like it was invented by a hype machine-driven PR company. Trying to get a glimpse of what was going on with Marvel this year had all the charm of a clumsy Target clerk trying to pressure you into signing up for one of their Target-branded credit cards (“make mine Marvel” is becoming “make mine MasterCard”). They did put a few things from upcoming movies on display on their stage, but with overflowing crowds they would take it away and hide it before you could even snap a poor photo by trying to hold your camera over the heads of the crowd. I guess the upside is, I can’t imagine a worse showing next year, so it leaves tons of room for improvement. But 2016 seemed crafted for generating hype among those who weren’t there rather than those who were, as reading Twitter paints an entirely different picture (see #MarvelSDCC). [Read more…]
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015: Photos of Movie Props, Costumes, and Models from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
In terms of excitement generated from Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim, I would say the second development right behind the JJ Abrams/Kathleen Kennedy panel the opening morning and release of the new trailer for The Force Awakens is the exhibition of props, costumes, and models from the all-new film installment to the franchise. On the upper floor of the Anaheim Convention Center is space dedication to the display of artifacts from the upcoming Episode VII, due in December 2015. This feature includes about 130 quality photos from this exhibit. [Read more…]
Revisiting TV Prop Studio Sanctioned Auctions: Descriptions, Research, Production Made, Multiples, Back-Ups, “Use” on Screen (ScreenBid/Breaking Bad, Profiles in History/LOST, Christie’s/Star Trek)
An issue that seems to come up with every official studio auction of original props and costumes from popular television shows is that of buyers feeling mislead by descriptions of auction houses, particularly use. We saw this with Christie’s and their official “40 years of Star Trek” auction, with Profiles in History and their sale of material from ABC’s LOST, and based on a reader comment today on my article about newcomer ScreenBid and their Breaking Bad auction, it would seem that the same issue is in play with this latest sale as well. Since people likely don’t check my articles for comments after reading it, I thought it might be worthwhile and productive to highlight that comment and my response in a new article, as it is an issue that seems to occur with each of these official studio sales, particularly because it brings in participants who have not participated in such sales before, and perhaps have not purchased or collected original props, costumes, and other artifacts from film and television. [Read more…]
Newcomer ScreenBid Brings Meth To The Highest Bidder With “Breaking Bad” Online TV Prop & Costume Auction
On the heels of the one-day notice, in person only sale of some original props, costumes, and set pieces from Breaking Bad that happened last weekend at Albuquerque Goodwill, newly launched online auctioneer ScreenBid has launched an extensive auction with hundreds of key props, costumes, and other assets from the popular AMC series, which comes to an end this month. Items have been listed on their new website, which is scheduled to run from 9/29 to 10/8. [Read more…]
Albuquerque Goodwill To Hold “Breaking Bad” Original TV Prop, Costume, and Other Asset Charity Auction Tomorrow 9/14
News broke across the mainstream press today following a report by the Albuquerque Journal that original memorabilia, costumes, props, set pieces, and other assets from the production of Breaking Bad will be sold at auction by Goodwill Industries of New Mexico. With just a handful of episodes left in this final season of the popular Emmy Award-winning AMC show, the production has donated a trailer of material that was used on the show telling the story of Walter White, as portrayed by Bryan Cranston, as a high school chemistry teacher turned crime figure. [Read more…]
“The Making of The Empire Strikes Back” Video Trailer Promotes Book to be Released October 12th
One of my all-time favorite books is The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (as reviewed upon release in April 2007) by J.W. Rinzler. Consequently, I’ve been very excited since I heard the news of the follow-up, The Making of the Empire Strikes Back, now slated for an October 12, 2010 release. This week the publisher released a video trailer for the work, which can be viewed below: [Read more…]