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

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Hollywood Reporter Feature: “A Marvel Heist and the Booming Business (and Seedy Underworld) of Movie Collectibles”

Writer Gary Baum has written an interesting primer on the art market for original production material from film and television for Hollywood Reporter, which was published today.  It takes a look at the market from several viewpoints – the increasing market and values, theft and fraud, some of the motivations behind collecting – and he interviewed principals in the industry such as Max Anderson of the Stan Lee Museum, Steve Sansweet of Rancho Obi-Wan, Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions, James Comisar of the Comisar Collection, Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History, collector David Mandel, Jeff Pirtle of NBCUniversal, Brandon Alinger of Prop Store, Catherin Williamson of Bonhams, Laura Woolley of The Collector’s Lab, Jacob McMurray of Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, Margaret Barrett of Heritage Auctions as well as law enforcement, and it also gives some history of the hobby (and business) of buying and selling high end memorabilia. [Read more…]

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Auction Buyer Files Lawsuit Against Profiles in History Over Tony Soprano Costume from Final Episode of “The Sopranos”

A customer of Profiles in History, Dwight Manley, has this week filed a lawsuit against the auction house in Los Angeles Superior Court.  Manley is suing over a costume worn by James Gandolfini in the final episode of The Sopranos, and has also named The Golden Closet as a Defendant as the company was the consignor of the item in question.  His complaint alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of express warranty.  [Read more…]

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12-Year Prison Sentence for $23 Million Sports Memorabilia Fraud Scheme

As reported in the Chicago Tribune (“Collector given 12 years in prison for selling phony sports memorabilia“), John Rogers of Arkansas received a long sentence following his 45-minute statement to the court asking for leniency, at one point stating “I don’t deserve a break, but I’m asking you for one”.  Rogers plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in March.  Judge Dirkin said his fraud scheme was “breathtaking” and that Rogers “literally told thousands of lies to honest people to have them part with their money”. [Read more…]

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KTNV13 Call For Action “Digging Into The Murky World of Memorabilia” Video Report

KTNV13 Call For Action broadcast this report on autographed and collectible memorabilia on their local ABC affiliate station in Las Vegas, and has also made the video available on their official website.  The story discusses autographs and collector Steve Comolli’s purchases of memorabilia from Antiquities International in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.  The report claims he purchased $20,000 worth of autographed memorabilia – “most” of it from Antiquities – and then tried to sell through Julien’s Auctions and Heritage Auction Galleries and that they “could not authenticate” what he wanted to sell through them. [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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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…]

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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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Former Mastro Auctions President Doug Allen Sentenced To 57 Months In Federal Prison

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As mentioned last week, Federal prosecutors were seeking a four year prison sentence for Doug Allen, the former President of disgraced sports memorabilia auction house Mastro Auctions.  U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman went further than that in the case of shill bidding and fake memorabilia, sentencing Doug Allen to 57 months, a much stiffer sentence than the 20 months co-defendant Bill Mastro is serving.  Allen attempted to obstruct the FBI investigation after learning of it, which would seem to have earned him a longer prison sentence. [Read more…]