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

By

IfOnly & Lucasfilm Auction Off Screen-Used Star Wars Stormtrooper Helmets for Charity

IfOnly, the “marketplace for incredible experiences… that benefit worthy causes around the world” has put up quite an interesting set of auctions for fans of the newest Star Wars trilogy put out by Disney.  It’s very rare for any “screen-used” helmets from any Star Wars film to be released officially via LucasFilm, and this month with IfOnly there is not just one but two “screen-used First Order stormtrooper helmets from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi”.  Also up for sale is a Porg “limited-edition creature artist’s maquette”.  Proceeds from these auctions ending on February 22nd benefit Tipping Point’s Emergency Relief Fund.  Note that the terms explain that these pieces of memorabilia can never be resold by the winning bidders. [Read more…]

By

California Assembly Continues To Confuse and Confound Marketplace with New Legislative “Fixes” to Autograph Law

The Original Prop Blog is more confused than ever with the ever evolving and changing law in California pertaining to the sale and purchase of autographed memorabilia.  Governor Jerry Brown signed new changes into law in October, and rather than starting over with a new law that makes sense, they continue to tinker with the existing one which is just a terribly written (though well-intended) piece of legislation.  Honestly, it’s gotten to the point where reading these bills and referencing back to the previous laws that the new fixes are supposed to… fix…  just continue to make things more and more confusing.  Confusing isn’t a strong enough word.  Confounding?  [Read more…]

By

California Assembly & Senate Continue To Confuse Marketplace with New Legislative “Fixes” to Autograph Law

In early 2016, I wrote a lengthy critique of the then proposed new “autograph anti-fraud legislation” introduced to the California Assembly.  That bill was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, and sustained vocal opposition to the law continues, along with confusion in the marketplace in California.  Government being government, there are now two different legislative “fixes” in the works that don’t address the myriad of problems that the terrible law put into effect.  Additionally, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on behalf of Book Passage and Bill Petrocelli back in May, with the suit intended to challenge the “law that made the sale of autographed books unconscionably difficult”. [Read more…]

By

(A Sort of) Movie Review: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

A year ago I received a lot of nasty hate mail over my “sort of” movie review for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  In short, I completely hated it (really even more than I let on in my review).  In addition to hating what they did with the classic characters, it kind of ruined the Original Trilogy, in that by Han and Leia having a child and doing such an awful job of raising him (along with Uncle Luke), they created a monster and basically undid all of what they accomplished in saving the universe in the original films.  So it kind of just made the entire Star Wars odyssey all pointless.  But there were plenty of other things wrong with it as well (in my subjective opinion), and you can read all about it in my full review of The Force Awakens.  But this review is different.  Finally, since 1983, there is a legitimate fourth Star Wars film.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  And I absolutely loved it. [Read more…]

By

IfOnly Charity Auction: Harrison Ford’s “Han Solo” Leather Jacket from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Harrison-Ford-Han-Solo-The-Force-Awakens-Jacket-Movie-Worn-Charity-Auction-IfOnly-FI

Online auction company IfOnly has a special charity offering running for two weeks – one of the original “Han Solo” production jackets worn by Harrison Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, including a certificate of authenticity from Lucasfilm. Proceeds from the sale of the rare wardrobe piece will benefit NYU Langone Center and FACES (Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures). [Read more…]

By

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

Mark-Hamill-Ling-Ling-Chang-Autograph-Anti-Fraud-Legislation-California-Assembly-Bill-AB-1570

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…]

By

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

Original-Prop-Blog-2015-Year-In-Review-Editorial-Opinion-Jason-DeBord

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…]

By

Revenge of the Jedi: Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) Uses Twitter To Strike Down Memorabilia Fraud

Mark-Hamill-Autograph-Authentication-Signature-Real-Fake-Twitter

Following a wave of interest in Star Wars memorabilia with the release of the new film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mark Hamill has started using Twitter as an authentication tool in an effort to help prevent fans from being defrauded in purchasing autographed memorabilia.  I don’t recall an actor ever taking such a “hands on” approach to helping fans with authentication in such a manner, so it is a pretty interesting development. [Read more…]