Dan Hill, special guest. This is the fifteenth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Dan Hill is Warehouse Manager for Prop Store, Los Angeles. This special edition of ‘Prop Talk’ was recorded on site at Comic Con 2011 in San Diego and reflects the spirit of fellow hobbyists getting together and having fun at the annual pop culture event.
Laura Woolley, special guest. This is the fourteenth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Ms. Laura Woolley is President of The Collector’s Lab, which provides “individualized, high-level professional and appraisal services to private collectors, institutions, insurance companies, museums, and wealth management professionals”. Ms. Woolley has extensive experience working for and with the premiere auction houses operating in the entertainment memorabilia field, and also serves as an appraiser to the Antiques Roadshow. Ms. Woolley is a Certified member of the Appraiser’s Association of America and has completed the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) examination.
Darren Julien, special guest. This is the thirteenth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Mr. Darren Julien is the President and CEO of Julien’s Auctions. Julien’s Auctions specializes in entertainment memorabilia and celebrity estate auctions, spanning movies, television, and popular music artists. This weekend, Julien’s Auctions sold their first piece for a price in excess of one million dollars – one of two jackets worn by Michael Jackson in the Thriller video produced for his milestone album by the same name.
On June 17th, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held a special event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark. They premiered a new digital restoration of the film, and also held a discussion panel with principal members of the crew that made the movie. [Read more…]
James Comisar, special guest. This is the twelfth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Mr. James Comisar is the curator of the most comprehensive collection of original television artifacts in the world – wardrobe, props, sets, set decoration, vehicles, and more, spanning 60 years of popular culture history. He is a principal expert in this field and specialist in authentication, preservation, investment, restoration, and other important aspects of pop culture memorabilia and ephemera collecting.
Brian Muir, special guest. This is the eleventh ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Mr. Brian Muir is a veteran in the film industry, working as a sculptor on an incredible number of movies, including Star Wars: A New Hope, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, numerous James Bond films, Harry Potter films, and more. Notably, Mr. Muir is credited as the sculptor of the iconic helmet for Darth Vader early in his career.
Back in June 2007, I published an article about Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5 “Freddy” gloves in the marketplace, and highlighted that reproductions (marketed as replicas) were being crafted by Mr. David B. Miller (see Original Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5 Freddy Gloves). Mr. Miller was kind enough to share supplemental information in his Reader Comment to the original article (see Update). I stumbled across a relevant discussion this week on a forum called Springwood Slasher with members raising concerns about a “Freddy” glove listed for public sale on eBay (see Is this really the screen used glove?). In discussing with other hobbyists and horror prop expert Mario Kirner, Mario shared an interesting observation based on a review of his archive of images of past examples of this specific prop offered for sale in the public marketplace. [Read more…]
Amid the topics of copyright ownership, enforcement of a U.S. judgment in the UK, determination of “works of art”, and other issues as featured in mainstream media reports about the ongoing legal battle between Lucasfilm LTD (LFL) and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios (SDS), what has not garnered as much focus is the debate over which artist originally sculpted the iconic stormtrooper helmet design that was adopted for use in Star Wars: A New Hope and the films that followed. [Read more…]