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

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Exclusive Details & Photos: Original Han Solo Blaster Movie Prop from Return of the Jedi to be Sold by Julien’s Auctions in June

Today, Julien’s Auctions has announced that an original Han Solo blaster movie prop used in Return of the Jedi will be in their upcoming Hollywood Legends auction at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on June 23rd.   The prop is one of the most exciting pieces to come to market from the original Star Wars trilogy in years, and it is a highlight of “The James L. Schoppe Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Production Archive”, with the entire collection coming directly from the Academy Award nominated Art Director who worked on the film.  The Original Prop Blog is pleased to present exclusive photos of the prop as well as some additional background about the collection from my having worked with Julien’s Auctions and Mr. Schoppe in preparing the collection for public exhibition and auction. [Read more…]

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The 11th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2017: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review, 2015 Year in Review, 2016 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts used in film and television productions. A look back at interesting trends, developments, and news stories from 2017. As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby and art market. [Read more…]

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Nice Denver Post Piece on Colin Cantwell, “He Kept His Star Wars Legacy a Secret… for Decades”

The Denver Post published a nice piece by John Wenzel about Colin Cantwell last week, going over his contributions to Star Wars: A New Hope and other accomplishments.  You can check it out on their official website: “He kept his Star Wars legacy a secret in Boulder for decades. At 85, the sci-fi pioneer is ready to step out.“ [Read more…]

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Prop Store Emerges as “Go To” Auction House for Modern Genre TV and Movie Props & Costumes?

Apologies for the late reporting on Prop Store’s monumental auction last month…  I was out of the country for a few weeks and then caught a nasty cold traveling back to the U.S.  In any event, in what for me is one of the biggest stories for 2017 is the success that Prop Store had with their latest annual live auction event, which concluded on September 26th.  Prop Store has a lot of fans – and real friends – among the prop collecting community, so when they first embarked on launching their live auction business in England in 2014, I know myself and many others were hopeful that they would find some success.  [Read more…]

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California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria Introduces AB 228 To Rectify California Assembly Bill AB 1570’s Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation

It was nearly a year ago to the day that I wrote about California Assemblymember Ling Ling Chang’s California Assembly Bill AB 1570, created as anti-fraud legislation.  At that time, I wrote a lengthy analysis of the bill, pointing out problematic facets of the then proposed legislation that Governor Jerry Brown signed into law last October.  Once law, other businesses and mainstream media outlets began to complain about key elements of the law that would appear to have some consequences not anticipated by those who create it and enacted it into law.  Ling Ling Chang lost her bid for a State Senate seat in November, so there was uncertainty as to who would take up the responsibility of fixing the problems with the law.  It would appear that Assemblymember Todd Gloria of the 78th District (serving Coronado, Del Mar, Imperial Beach, San Diego and Solana Beach) has come forward to attempt to create a follow-up bill to resolve some of the issues that critics have identified, in the form of Assembly Bill AB 228. [Read more…]

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The 10th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2016: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review, 2015 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts. A look back at interesting trends, developments, and news stories from 2016. 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…]

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(A Sort of) Movie Review: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

A year ago I received a lot of nasty hate mail over my “sort of” movie review for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  In short, I completely hated it (really even more than I let on in my review).  In addition to hating what they did with the classic characters, it kind of ruined the Original Trilogy, in that by Han and Leia having a child and doing such an awful job of raising him (along with Uncle Luke), they created a monster and basically undid all of what they accomplished in saving the universe in the original films.  So it kind of just made the entire Star Wars odyssey all pointless.  But there were plenty of other things wrong with it as well (in my subjective opinion), and you can read all about it in my full review of The Force Awakens.  But this review is different.  Finally, since 1983, there is a legitimate fourth Star Wars film.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  And I absolutely loved it. [Read more…]

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Los Angeles Times Article Picks Apart New Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation (California Assembly Bill AB 1570)

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As a follow-up to my prior articles on the topic of the new Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation (California Assembly Bill AB 1570) , Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times has published his own piece highlighting issues with the law and real world impacts on California businesses, independent bookstores in particular.  It is a great read and illustrates the disconnect between lawmakers and businesses in California, regardless of the pro-consumer intentions of the legislation. [Read more…]