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

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Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation (California Assembly Bill AB 1570) Now Law

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Back in January, I wrote about Mark Hamill & Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang’s efforts to pass autograph anti-fraud legislation in California in the form of Assembly Bill AB 1570.  California Governor Jerry Brown signed this into law last month.  While I applauded the intention and efforts behind the proposed law back in January, I outlined a series of issues with it.  Apparently, I am not alone with my concerns, as Brian Doherty’s piece on Reason.com also lists some problems with this new law as written. [Read more…]

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Mark Hamill & Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang Working on Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation (California Assembly Bill AB 1570)

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Following Mark Hamill‘s “hands on” approach to combating autograph fraud last month (see Revenge of the Jedi: Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) Uses Twitter To Strike Down Memorabilia Fraud), the actor has now teamed up with California Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar), who had already begun work on AB 1570, which would require certificates of authenticity (COAs) for autographed memorabilia sold in California and/or to Californians.  I’m particularly interested in these developments as I’ve been writing about the mechanics about COAs and issues regarding guarantees and warranties as well, and of course the rampant fraud in the marketplace as a result of criminals using worthless COAs as a tool to sell fraudulent memorabilia. [Read more…]

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The 9th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2015: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

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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), 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 2015.  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: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, A Problematic Film That Could Never Live Up To The Hype

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I didn’t plan on seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening day, let alone write a review about it afterwards, so this is a bit off topic.  I couldn’t find a critical review searching Google, so I wonder if I maybe saw an alternate cut of the film (some hailing it as the best or near best Star Wars film ever)?  As readers of the Original Prop Blog know, I am a huge Star Wars fan, and seeing the original in 1977 at 4 years old was a life-changing event.  Collectively, the first three films (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) are my favorite films of all-time.  Didn’t care for much in the Prequels (loved the Maul lightsaber scenes the best).  So how does the J.J. Abrams/Disney relaunch/update/merchandising empire measure up?  It’s a mixed bag, honestly, and as the hours passed from seeing it unfold on screen (about 12 hours ago), it’s the negatives that stick with me most, though I mostly enjoyed it while it was happening, if that makes sense.  I can’t say it’s a complete disappointment, since I went into it with low expectations; there are some excellent elements within the work (I’m also an Abrams fan).  But overall, there are some serious flaws that leave me feeling a bit down on it, because they transcend this film and the characters work against the characters I have grown up to know and love to make them worse.  I kept waiting for that rush of adrenaline to run down my spine, but it never came.  Out of context from the original films, it’s a well-made, entertaining film.  But context is everything.  Search “disappoint” and #starwarstheforceawakens on Twitter, and “does not” or “doesn’t” always precedes “disappoint”, so maybe it is just me, or maybe people just went in willing it to be what they wanted.  [Read more…]

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Official Pix Offers First Autograph & Signing/Sketch/Artwork Opportunity With Colin Cantwell, “Star Wars: A New Hope” Prototype Model Builder

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Official Pix is offering their first signing opportunity to get autographs and personalized sketches from Colin Cantwell.  At 82 years old today, Colin Cantwell famously made the first prototype models for the first Star Wars films for George Lucas back in 1974/1975; the first realizations for the X-Wing Fighter, the Y-Wing Fighter, the Tie Fighter, the Star Destroyer, the Death Star, the Landspeeder, the Sandcrawler, and the Millennium Falcon, as well as the T-16 Skyhopper that Mark Hamill is seen using in the final cut of the film.  Prior to building these prototype models, Colin created original full color artwork as well as sketches based on his discussions with George Lucas in 1974, and was one of the very first artists to work on Star Wars.  I worked with Mr. Cantwell in 2014, helping him to bring some rare memorabilia to auction with Julien’s Auctions as well as recording a number of video interview with him about his work in and out of the film and television industries (see all Original Prop Blog articles about Colin Cantwell here: LINK). [Read more…]

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Jason DeBord of Original Prop Blog Featured as Memorabilia Expert Authenticator on Latest “Pawn Stars” Episode (“Rick’s Roulette”) for Flash Gordon Prop Rocketship

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I am featured in the History Channel’s popular cable reality series, Pawn Stars, in the latest episode debuting this week, “Rick’s Roulette” (Season 2015, Episode 27).  I served as the Hollywood memorabilia expert and authenticator for one of the segments of this episode, taking a look at a prop model attributed to the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s.  This was filmed in December 2014 at Julien’s Auctions, when I was in town helping Colin Cantwell bring his Star Wars original artwork from 1974/1975 and other movie and television memorabilia to auction.  I wanted to share some thoughts about the Flash Gordon prop rocketship model and appearing on the show in general. [Read more…]

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The 8th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2014: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

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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), 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 – looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2014. 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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The Colin Cantwell Collection: The Julien’s Auctions Experience, New “Star Wars” Discoveries, Meeting Fans, etc.

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So I was very busy last week with activities and events related to Colin Cantwell, who I helped to consign his memorabilia collection to Julien’s Auctions.  I attended the VIP preview last Wednesday night, organized a meet and greet Friday, and was present to watch the auction unfold first thing Saturday morning.  I thought I would share some thoughts about this experience, as well as some photos I took last week.  And, as I expected, with the rare memorabilia becoming public (including the never before seen concept artwork and my interviews with Mr. Cantwell over the summer), so new information came as a result of work from other fans (all exclusively from Star Wars).  Colin Cantwell famously made the first prototype models for George Lucas back in 1974/1975; the first realizations for the X-Wing Fighter, the Y-Wing Fighter, the Tie Fighter, the Star Destroyer, the Death Star, the Landspeeder, the Sandcrawler, and the Millennium Falcon, as well as the T-16 Skyhopper. [Read more…]