Heritage Auction Galleries is hosting their “Heritage for the Holidays” catalog on their HA.com website. Among “holy grail” of offerings – including stamps, comic books, sports memorabilia, art, book first editions, currency, historical artifacts, – are a handful of movie-related memorabilia pieces. Included is an F-16 Fighting Falcon attributed to X-Men 2 and Independence Day. [Read more…]
Two recent public auctions have featured original James Bond memorabilia, realizing prices that continue to mark the 007 franchise as one of the most sought out and valued by collectors. [Read more…]
This is a review of Bond on Set – Filming Quantum of Solace (published October 20, 2008). As was the case with the Filming of Casino Royale book that was published two years ago (see Book Review), it is a great example of what it has set out to be – a (nearly) all photographic coffee table book. [Read more…]
This is a review of Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis. This is hands down one of the most impressive books in my library of works related to original props and costumes. [Read more…]
This is a review of Hollywood and History, Costume Design in Film. This book is an excellent resource made up of a series of essays and photos outlining the comprehensive history of wardrobe design in film. [Read more…]
As reported in past articles, Julien’s held their “Entertainment Sale Hollywood Memorabilia” auction at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on June 21 (LINK). One of the items featured prominently in their marketing raised some questions on the Movie Prop Forum, with Rick Spector of Stairway to the Stars questioning the date on the clapboard (or clapperboard) attributed to use in The Godfather, as well as the “I” in the film title. I’ve since picked up a copy of The Godfather Legacy by Harlan Lebo which seems to raise further questions about the markings on this piece that realized $4,500.00 at auction (plus 25%-27.5% Buyer’s Premium). [Read more…]
This is a review of The Complete Making of Indiana Jones (published May 20, 2008). This is “the” must have book for any fan of the Indiana Jones films – if you are only interested in one book on the property, this is it.
This work delves into every facet that would interest readers, including the origins of the films, interviews of all the key principals, “making of” segments, a focus on each of the four films, and tons of photos and images. Like “The Making of Star Wars” (see OPB Book Review) which was published about a year ago and by the same author – J.W. Rinzler – this is a true archive of information and visuals and should be particularly valuable to original prop collectors. [Read more…]
This is a little “off topic” from movie props, but thought this would make a nice companion article to the one published a few days ago, “The Side Arms of James Bond, 007: From The Walther PPK to the P99“.
I came across an interesting article from 1962 written by Ian Fleming about the guns used by James Bond in the novels (the first Bond film, Dr. No, was released that same year). The article is framed by the actual correspondence between Fleming and a fan of the novels (Geoffrey Boothroyd) with real world firearms expertise, showcasing his recommendations for the character and rationale for certain side arm choices, and other related exchanges and anecdotes.
The March 19, 1962 article – “The Guns of James Bond” By Ian Fleming – is available to read at the Sports Illustrated website, SI.com, with scans of the actual magazine available as well in the “SI Vault”. [Read more…]