A stunt blaster prop attributed to use by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back failed to attract any bids at it’s hopeful $200,000 starting price in the most recent Nate D. Sanders auction last week. Though featuring an interesting history and a prior sale at Sotheby’s, as well as a lot of mainstream media attention leading up to the auction (see CNBC, CBS, Reuters, MSN, EW, Daily Mail, NBC, etc.), the “jackpot” reserve strategy employed by Hollywood memorabilia auction houses that I’ve frequently written about seemed to be the barrier to sale. [Read more…]
Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Extravaganza XL’ Auction Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event December 12th
Premiere Props have listed their next auction as part of their “Hollywood Extravaganza XL”. The one-day auction is scheduled for December 12th, marketing 500 lots. As with past auctions, the sale includes a mix of original props, costumes, and other film and television artifacts, as well as general Hollywood Memorabilia and a lot of replicas/reproductions/toys. [Read more…]
ScreenUsed Live and Online Back To The Future 30th Anniversary Celebration Auction Coming October 24th & 31st
ScreenUsed, an online dealer who built some of their initial inventory back in the day on incredible material from the Back To The Future film franchise, will be holding two auctions this month in conjunction with the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the first movie. In partnership with BackToTheFuture.com and WereGoingBack.com, they will have a live auction in Los Angeles on October 24th and an online-only auction concluding a week later on October 31st. The live auction will take place at the Hollywood United Methodist Church gym, the filming location of the famous “Enchantment Under The Sea” dance in the original film. [Read more…]
Prop Store Catalog Now Available for Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction on September 23rd
The print and online catalogs are now available for Prop Store’s second annual Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction. It will be held at the Odeon BFI IMAX in Waterloo, London on September 23rd. The live event features more than 450 lots of props, costumes and other film and television memorabilia. [Read more…]
Bill Mastro of Mastro Auctions Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Shill Bidding & Fraud
The New York Daily News continues to take the lead in the mainstream media on the story about “disgraced sports memorabilia pioneer” Bill Mastro, Founder and CEO of Mastro Auctions, which shut down in 2009 during the FBI investigation. In the ongoing saga, he plead guilty to shill bidding and mail fraud and admitted to trimming/altering a high value trading card to increase it’s value. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman sentenced Mastro to 20 months in prison; NY Daily News reports the judge was “troubled by the fact that Mastro had destroyed bidding records after learning the FBI had launched an investigation into fraud…“. [Read more…]
Prop Store Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction September 23rd, Catalog Coming Next Week, Photo Preview
Prop Store’s second annual Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction will be held at the Odeon BFI IMAX in Waterloo, London on September 23rd. The live event will feature more than 450 lots of props, costumes and other film and television memorabilia. The catalog is due out on September 26th, and there will be a two week long exhibition leading up to the auction. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic-Con 2015: Prop Store Exhibit of TV and Movie Props, Costumes, Models, Memorabilia (#SDCC)
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2015. Prop Store has an excellent exhibition this year, featuring a preview of material from their second annual live auction coming to London later this year. Heavy on action and sci-fi, it drew a constant crowd of Comic Con attendees, many of which are fans of these genre films. As with Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, Prop Store continue to find new and exciting Star Wars material, such as the stormtrooper helmet – the first time being offered to the public. [Read more…]
San Diego Comic-Con 2015: Profiles in History & McCune Masterworks Exhibit of Movie Props and Models (#SDCC)
“Cocksucker”… “Motherfucker”… “Asshole”… Just a few of the expletives shouted at me by Joe Maddalena, President of Profiles in History, on the floor of the main exhibit hall at Comic Con yesterday. I was in the midst of a friendly conversation with Brian Chanes and his 9 year old son, with my own 14 year old nephew standing behind me when Mr. Maddalena approached me and interrupted us, attacking me with “R-Rated” language in front of a crowd of onlookers. As registered press with Comic Con International, I had additionally been personally invited via e-mail by Profiles in History’s own public relations agent to do my annual report on their exhibit this year – “[w]e would appreciate your coverage” – so I have no idea what prompted the very public barrage of insults and being told “get out!” and “leave!”. He even shouted “you can quote me on that!” following some of the expletives. Regardless, their overall exhibit is probably the best it has ever looked, with fewer items, some nicely showcased in well-lit closed displays and larger ones in open air, with room to walk about and explore the collection of material associated with McCune Masterworks, who are co-branded with this year’s exhibition. The key piece on display was the fantastic screen-used Blockade Runner from the original Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope. [Read more…]








