Advertisements

Tag Archive: Hollywood Treasure


Streaming now–Mark Hamill hosts new pop culture series

Filed under: Con Culture, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
November 16, 2016

pop-culture-quest

Mark Hamill.  Jedi, Joker, and Trickster.  He’s my favorite genre celebrity, and in his first episode of his new pop culture collectibles series, Pop Culture Quest, Hamill hosts popular DC Comics artist and exec Jim Lee.  Pop Culture Quest is a new series on the pay network Comic-Con HQ, but you can watch the entire first episode below.

Pop Culture Quest is a load of fun, and is similar to past pop culture collecting shows reviewed here at borg.com like Travel Channel’s Toy Hunter, and Syfy Channel’s Hollywood Treasure.  This new series may top those series simply because of the access to Mark Hamill.  Hamill–who we all know as Luke Skywalker, the voice of the animated Batman series’ Joker, and both the classic and current The Flash TV series’ villain The Trickster–hosts the show with a sidekick Muppet fellow named Pop.  Hamill has a good sense of humor and proves to be not only every nerd’s idol, but a card-carrying nerd himself.  Hamill knows his pop culture, as highlighted by his detailed knowledge of the history of DC Comics as he browses the West Coast DC headquarters.  He’s also a solid interviewer, and reminded me of the poise in interviewing guests that William Shatner exhibited on his short-lived interview series Shatner’s Raw Nerve.

cj-bunce-as-luke-trooper

Photo of your humble borg.com Editor.  What does it mean when you start to look like your idol?

Episode 1 follows Hamill as he tours the DC offices and talks shop with Jim Lee.  Lee and Hamill agree to swap Hamill a sketch of The Joker in exchange for a voice message by Hamill that we get to watch performed during the coda for the episode.  It’s good stuff all around.

Check out this first episode of Pop Culture Quest:

Continue reading →

Advertisements
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Toy Hunter–a fun exception to the reality series formula

Filed under: Con Culture, Retro Fix, TV — Leave a comment
June 20, 2013

Hembrough goes through a Star Wars cache

Winding down its second season on the Travel Channel, the reality series Toy Hunter is the exception to the rule when it comes to a TV series focusing on nostalgia.  Exciting in the same way fans of Antiques Roadshow hang onto to every word as someone from Albuquerque brings in that old chair they found in a trash heap for appraisal, Toy Hunter edges out comparable series when it comes to discovering why humans are so fascinated with nostalgia and popular culture.

It’s all thanks to the very likeable host, Jordan Hembrough, a toy collector and toy seller whose love for toys from the 1970s and 1980s is infectious.  His sincerity and honest brokering in working deals with folks who have contacted him across the country to pick through and make offers on their own toy hoards, often haggling over items as low as five dollars to items to thousands of dollars.  When you watch comparable fun series like the Syfy Channel’s Hollywood Treasure, you look past the staged bartering, and efforts to sucker some seller into selling an item for far less than Profiles in History would sell something at auction, and enjoy the wow factor of the screen-used props and costumes that are the targets of the purchase.  There is no awkwardness to look past on Toy Hunter, as Hembrough often will increase the amount he is paying to a buyer when the buyer’s offer is unfairly low, and Hembrough will flatly tell the seller upfront how much of a profit he expects to gain in his sale down the line.

Toy Hunter Jordan and USS Flagg

Another comparable series subject-wise is Comic Book Men, which Toy Hunter easily surpasses for the wow factor and fun factor.  The reality TV mean spiritedness and staged antics that often accompanies Comic Book Men is not needed with Toy Hunter.  Toy Hunter is closer to Antiques Roadshow in that regard–a completely fun, exciting and nostalgic show that can appeal to anyone whether you saved toys from being a kid, wish you had, or are a buyer or seller yourself.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Syfy Channel special celebrates 20 years on TV

Filed under: Con Culture, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, TV — Leave a comment
December 11, 2012

Syfy New logo

Last night the Syfy Channel premiered a new show documenting its 20 years of bringing science fiction and related programming to cable TV.  The Syfy Channel 20th Anniversary Special chronicles the key landmarks of the channel going back to its inception in 1992 as a network of mostly reruns of classic sci-fi series like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and the original Star Trek, as well as collecting and expanding upon series that didn’t make it on other networks, like Sliders and Andromeda.  The 2-hour show is a great way to reminisce about all the good–and bad–TV that has sucked you in, featuring commentary by series creators and cast, and narrated by Lois and Clark star Dean Cain.

Actors Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Michael Shanks discuss the first big hit for the network originally called the Sci Fi Channel: the Stargate franchise, including Stargate SG-1, and spinoffs Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, as well as the made-for-TV movies.

Then there were early series that didn’t last long, like USA Network series that moved to Sci Fi, like Good vs. Evil, The Invisible Man, Welcome to Paradox, and Mission Genesis.

Ben Browder and Claudia Black chat about the four seasons of the Australian production, Farscape, the next big series for the Sci Fi Channel.  The renaissance of science fiction fans fighting for a series to return occurred with Farscape, resulting in Brian Henson bring a 4-hour mini-series event to round out and tie up the loose ends of the series.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Auction features Star Wars, Superman, X-Men, and original Battlestar Galactica costumes

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — 1 Comment
June 30, 2012

Earlier this season Hollywood Treasure, Syfy Channel’s “reality” series about auction house Profiles in History, featured the Dreier family collection of screenused props, costumes and nostalgic toys.  Now the auction house has announced the first part of the Dreier collection will be auctioned off, scheduled for July 28, 2012.

Chad Dreier and son Doug amassed a broad collection of costumes and props after Chad’s company Ryland Homes was successfully turned into a multi-billion dollar enterprise.  The collection itself covers a lot of bases of primarily movies from 2000 onward, with some key pieces from the 1970s and 1980s.  There is not a lot of focus to the collection–the Dreiers seemed to acquire several mid-range pieces from movies as opposed to going for the key hero piece from any particular film.  For whatever reason they stopped midstream, and the result is that many buyers will be able to fill in their collections from a wide range of productions.

The key pieces?

First off there is an exquisite original Chewbacca head/mask from the original Star Wars.  I could be wrong but it looks just like one that circulated the Planet Hollywood theme restaurant chain before they went bankrupt and sold off their collection via Profiles and other outlets.  It has an auction estimate of $60,000 to $80,000 and I expect this will sell for at least triple that.  Profiles calls this “the finest screen-correct Chewbacca costume head from the Star Wars trilogy known to exist.”  I’d guess George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch has one or two just as nice, but the statement is probably not far from the truth.  For everyone’s favorite lovable Star Wars hero, some folks with big pockets will duke it out for this crown jewel.  Some background original series weapons and prequel lightsabers are up for auction, too.

The Dreiers appeared to purchase everything they could get their hands on related to Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory from 1971.  Their collection includes Wilder’s key outfit and hat and a bunch of lesser known but recognizable props and production ephemera.  Annoyingly his hat and costume are being auctioned separately; the hat is expected to fetch between $20,000 and $30,000 and the costume $60,000 to $80,000.  An Oompa Loompa costume has an estimate of $6,000 to $8,000.

A Bob Keeshan costume from the 1960s has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.  If you’re like me you grew up with Keeshan in his nearly 40 year run as Captain Kangaroo.  No Mr. Green Jeans?

An easily identifiable jacket of the type worn by Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller carries an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

The Dreiers were also fans of Christopher Reeve’s Superman from 1978.  More interesting than one of the hero Reeves suits expected to sell between $60,000 to $80,000 is the rarer costume worn by his father Jor-El, played by the great Marlon Brando.

Although the estimate for the silver blingy Brando costume is the same as for Reeve’s supersuit, if legend status is any indication, expect the Brando to go the way of contemporary Marilyn Monroe’s costumes last summer.  Despite some four-figure estimates, expect some Christopher Reeve Clark Kent suits and kryptonite to reach five figures–screen-matched kryptonite doesn’t come up for auction every day.

The cover piece is an original set of cylon armor from Battlestar Galactica.  Whether or not you liked the original series, you cannot deny how neat the original cylons looked in 1979.  The suit carries an auction estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.  Equally cool, and a nice jewel for some sci-fi TV fan, will be the Colonial Warrior costume from that series.

In particular, the helmet is a great looking piece, and if you watch the TV series Psych, you’ll have seen a colonial helmet as a story element in the entertainment memorabilia episode starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s real-life hubby Freddie Prinz, Jr. as a mega-sci-fi collector.

Iconic for sure.  The lot carries an estimate of $12,000 to $15,000.  (Profiles is also auctioning off a Geordi LaForge visor from Star Trek: The Next Generation!).

Many of the items are familiar, having sold in other recent Profiles auctions.  Look for a quarter scale Batmobile from Batman Returns as well as a deteriorating Batsuit worn by Michael Keaton. The auction includes several X-Men outfits and props, including Wolverine and his claws, Magneto, Cyclops, Storm, and Rogue.  For recent films they carry pretty hefty five-figure estimates (except Rogue), but I’d expect the Wolverine to sell for a high amount as the standout of the franchise.  Other costumes and props have been seen recently at auction but may be interesting to some bidders (and are certainly just fun to browse through in the catalog), including pieces from Star Trek, such as familar borgs Seven of Nine, Data in First Contact-style uniform, and a Next Generation member of The Borg as well as a Klingon warrior, also pieces from the Indiana Jones movies, Austin Powers, The Hunt for Red October, G.I. Joe, Gladiator and Dances with Wolves.

One sleeper item of note is the original comic art for the Battlestar Galactica oversized comic book.  With an estimate at only $2,000 to $3,000, expect this full color beauty to easily exceed $10,000.  This comic book is likely to tug at the nostalgia of many a kid from the 1970s.  Every other kid I knew had this comic book–it was published and reprinted several times–and who wouldn’t want to own the original cover art now?

For those with smaller budgets, some great toy lots from Star Wars, Pez, and G.I. Joe are being auctioned, too.

Happy bidding!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Entertainment memorabilia show Hollywood Treasure returns to Syfy Channel

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Con Culture, Movies, TV — Leave a comment
May 25, 2012

Most reality TV and competition shows aren’t worth watching when compared to all the great TV writing available these days.  Two weeks ago in our Spring TV Wrap-up, we discussed the best of this past season, and you’ll notice there are no reality shows listed there.  Why?  The reality TV formula got old fast as the past decade moved along, as did competition shows generally.  Sure, American Idol and Top Chef still get big viewership numbers, and we drift back for an episode of Iron Chef once in a while, but at some point even their fans will dwindle.  Let’s face it, there’s something for everyone and we won’t knock it (it’s why having several hundred channels to choose from seems to be a very “American” thing) and fans of reality shows probably aren’t also watching our sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre programming.

That said, one of the more fun reality-esque shows because if its unique subject matter is starting its second season this week: the Syfy Channel’s Hollywood Treasure, which airs on Tuesday nights.  I was impressed that they changed up the show a bit for the season two premiere, and offered a lot of content anyone can enjoy.  Three key things make the series work.  First, although Hollywood Treasure has the obligatory formula for reality shows, including the repeated scenes that straddle each commercial break and make you race for the fast forward on the remote, the plain coolness of the subject matter of the show outweighs any reality show annoyance factor.  Second, the show focuses on the guys who run Profiles in History, consistently the entertainment memorabilia auction house that pulls in the highest sales of any auction house in the world, and items they sold at auction in the past year.  These guys run into all sorts of neat props and costumes from Hollywood and occasionally an actor or show creator.  Third, the guys who run the auctions and are featured in the show, Joe Maddalena, Jon Mankuta, Brian Chanes, and Fong Sam, are actually fans of genre films and comic books as much as they are businessmen.  I’d dealt with these guys in the past and they are always great to work with.  Some of the scenes are formulaic and more than a bit contrived, but their passion and excitement for memorabilia always shines through.

The highlight of episode one of this new season, and what will certainly keep watchers coming back for more if they can keep bringing in similar guests, is a segment where actor Sean Astin discussed movie props he owns (and used to own) from Rudy, Goonies and The Lord of the Rings.  Astin always has such an aura of authenticity that you can ignore all the theatrics and just enjoy seeing this guy simply talk about making movies.  The personal items he retained from playing Samwise Gamgee are certainly treasures any LOTR fan would love to get his hands on.

Astin kept his screenused backpack and pans, his Elvin pin, his bread pouch, and leather wineskin from The Lord of the Rings films.

Other sequences in this episode were an attempt to auction one of the four original sets of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz for $2 million, which Profiles was only able to sell after the fact by direct sale, still attaining the $2 million the owner wanted as a minimum reserve price.  In this sequence Profiles also revealed that they actively solicit buyers after sales for items that don’t meet the minimum reserve price–buyers that kick themselves later for not bidding, thinking the sell price will be out of their range.  In reviewing the slippers they got to visit what seemed like a private collector’s own Fort Knox lockdown facility.  Another segment featured Joe Maddalena buying a Jim Carrey hat and cane from Batman Forever, then trying to flip them at auction for profit.  And Maddalena also visited the Dreier collection of costumes and props, which is being auctioned off over a few years.

Profiles in History is the same auction house we discussed here last year that made all sorts of records selling off the Debbie Reynolds movie costume and prop collection, including the famed Marilyn Monroe Seven Year Itch subway vent scene dress and an Audrey Hepburn My Fair Lady dress, among millions of dollars in other sales, and the Captain America auction last month.  And these are the guys we caught up with last year at Comic-Con showing the Back to the Future III DeLorean.  Their auction website is www.profilesinhistory.com.  We hope they can keep up the momentum started in their first episode of season two all season long.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Profiles in History Captain America auction surpasses all expectations

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Movies, Superheroes — Leave a comment
April 18, 2012

Last month we previewed the Captain America: The First Avenger auction to be conducted by Marvel Studios and auction house Profiles in History.  The auction was held April 14, 2012 at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo with incredible results proving that Marvel Comics fans are as rabid as any genre collecting group.  Details of the full prices realized can be found via links at Profiles in History’s company website.  Featuring primarily props, costumes, and set pieces from the 2011 release Captain America: The First Avenger, the auction also featured a few lots from Iron Man 2 and Thor.  The auction included four recognizable Captain America supersuits, as well as several other costumes worn by actor Chris Evans, and 11 iconic shield variants.

Supersuits

The key item up for bid was Lot 154, the Steve Rogers Captain America hero costume and shield worn by Chris Evans in the movie, which served as his final superhero suit in the film and is the suit used in all the Marvel posters and marketing.  It carried an auction estimate of $20,000-$30,000.  The final price including the auction house premium?  A stunning $233,700!   That’s right–nearly a quarter of a million dollars.  You’ll be hard pressed to come up with any genre costume from any character of any series, sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero movie, that has ever sold at auction for so much.  Clearly a landmark price for a neat character costume.

Why such a high hammer price, as compared with sales in past auctions of other hero costumes from other franchises?  Several factors created fertile turf for this monumental auction, including: (1) the movie itself received critical acclaim and approval of average movie-goers (I have met no one who saw this film and didn’t think it was very good), (2) the character is iconic–literally a hero suit (as opposed to a stunt suit) from an actual superhero, (3) it’s Captain America–there’s a lot of nationalistic pride behind this character and its historic place in both comicdom, World War II mythos, and Americana, (4) unlike all the Batman, Spider-man, and Superman suits on the market from several movies, this was the first big budget Captain America film, for a character who has been around and beloved by all ages for three generations, (5) the Avengers have never been bigger in the history of Marvel Comics than this month–with the release of Avengers vs. X-Men and the new Avengers film premiering everywhere in just days from now, (6) this was a rare occasion where a film costume didn’t match the classic costume and fans didn’t care because the new outfit was designed with cool results, (7) the auction was heavily publicized and was held in a venue with excited comic book fans, (8) the simple but nicely done catalog arrived early and gave interested bidders time to plan bidding strategies, (9) the auction house, Profiles in History, is simply getting more and more visible, especially with its SyFy Channel TV series Hollywood Treasure, and the recent record-setting movie costume sales from the Debbie Reynolds collection.

Chris Evans’ Captain America USO costume and shield had an estimate of $4,000-$6,000.  Final sale price?  $30,750.

The Captain America costume worn by Evans in the POW rescue scene had an auction estimate of $6,000-$8,000.  The lot included an early style Cap shield.  Final sale price?  $27,675—less than the distressed version–Evan’s Captain America distressed rescue suit also had an auction estimate of $6,000-$8,000, but sold for $30,750–still a low price considering it was seen so much in the film as compared to the primary hero outfit.

Shields

One early style Cap shield from the Hydra factory scene carried a $2,000-$3,000 estimate.  It sold for $13,530.  A separate shield of the same design was estimated to sell at $2,000-$3,000.  It sold for $14,760.  A similar shield with distress marks from the “Invaders” scene had the same auction estimate.  It sold for $17,220.

An unpainted silver prototype shield from Howard Stark’s laboratory carried an auction estimate of $3,000-$5,000.  It sold for $18,450.

One shield offered was the frozen in ice version, which had an auction estimate of $4,000-$6,000.   I think this was the coolest shield at the auction.  It sold for a cool $24,600.  Lot 177 was a classic, traditional Captain America shield, expected to sell for $4,000-$6,000.   It fetched $27,675.  Yet another battle damaged shield from the final showdown with Red Skull carried an auction estimate of $4,000-$6,000.   It sold for $27,675.

A distressed stunt shield of the same type from the show’s final showdown carried an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.  It sold for $20,910.

Motorcycles

The Steve Rogers’ hero modified Harley Davidson motorcycle had an auction estimate of $12,000-$15,000 and a second hero motorcycle from a different scene has an auction estimate of $10,000-$12,000.  They sold for $14,760 and $12,300, respectively.

Red Skull and Hydra

Hugo Weaving’s Johann Schmidt/Red Skull SS costumes were expected to fetch $6,000-$8,000 each.  They ranged from $19,680 to $20,910.   Weaving’s bright red “Red Skull” facial prosthetics—3 in all—were expected to sell for $2,000-$3,000.  They sold for $4,305 to $7,995. 

A Hydra non-functional mini-tank was expected to fetch $12,000-$15,000.   It was one of the rare key pieces that sold in its estimate range, for $14,760.  Various Hydra motorcycles carried an auction estimate ranging from $3,000-$6,000.   They sold between $4,920 and $18,450.  Several Hydra soldier uniforms had an auction estimate of $1,000-$1,500.  They sold well over that, from $6,765 for standard outfit to $15,990 for the hero outfit.

Iron Man

The original, incredibly detailed, full-scale Mark II silver Iron Man suit from Iron Man 2 had an auction estimate of $60,000-$80,000.  It sold for a whopping $135,300.

Thor

Finally, two stunt Thor Mjolnir war hammers were offered at the end of the auction from the Kenneth Branagh movie Thor, each expected to sell between $3,000-$6,000.  They each sold for $19,680 and $23,370, incredible for rubber stunt props of any film.

As with most Profiles in History auctions, the actual hammer prices (rimshot) generally far exceeded the auction estimates.  Movie studios are sure to take note of this quickly burgeoning source for revenues.   With strike prices this impressive, expect studios that haven’t paid much attention to the costumes and props that were once thrown out after production in the past to follow suit with future auctions.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment

Thousands attend Midwest’s annual “Planet Comicon” convention

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
March 27, 2012

By C.J. Bunce

One of the Midwest’s best pop culture and comic book conventions was this past weekend, Planet Comicon, which has been Kansas City’s largest fan convention for more than a dozen years.  The show seemed to be bursting from its seams this year with thousands of guests, and appears to be outgrowing its venue at the Overland Park International Trade Center.

The film and TV headliners for this year’s show included Edward James Olmos, best known to sci-fi fans for his role in Blade Runner and as Adama in the Battlestar Galactica reboot series.  He signed autographs and took photos with fans both days of the show.  Here he is with Erin Gray, who appeared with other actors from the 1979-1981 TV series Buck Rogers and the 25th Century: 

Gray also appeared on an episode of the Syfy Channel’s Hollywood Treasure last year.

The other featured major guest from film and TV was Billy Dee Williams, best known as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but also as Harvey Dent alongside Michael Keaton in the 1989 Batman film.  His current work includes a stint on USA’s White Collar.

Billy Dee also appeared at the show both days.  (I offered a woman in line $5 to say “Billy Dee, Billy Dee, Billy Dee!” when she finally met him but didn’t take me up on it.  And it’s OK if you don’t get that reference).

Early Saturday morning legendary comic book artist Michael Golden is getting fueled up before embarking on a sketch of Green Arrow:

Green Arrow by Michael Golden. How cool is that?

Michael is known for his work on such titles like Marvel Comics series The ‘Nam, GI Joe Yearbook, Star Wars, and Micronauts.  He is also the co-creator of the X-Men character Rogue.

I’ve been a fan of the different styles Mike Norton uses in his art for quite a while.  Here he is signing one of his comic pages for the Green Arrow/Black Canary series, where he did the pencil work and comic book legend Bill Sienkiewicz provided the ink work:

Mike is working on a creator-owned project currently and has previously worked on Runaways, Gravity, the Young Justice animated series comic book.  He was actively sketching pages for fans at the show and produced probably a dozen at least over the weekend, including this great image for me:

Unfortunately Bernie Wrightson wasn’t sketching at this year’s convention, but he was signing plenty of shirts and books for his Frankenstein book.  Wrightson’s horror artwork goes back several decades, with his first published comic work with House of Mystery in 1969.  He co-created Swamp Thing in 1971.  His work has appeared in Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, and Batman: The Cult.  Here Wrightson is at a signing table with Freddie Williams II and his wife Kiki:

Freddie is well known for his work on his Robin series, and is currently one of the DC Comics top artists.  We reviewed his and JT Krul’s Captain Atom series here at borg.com a few weeks ago.  Freddie was busy creating sketches for fans and speaking on panels at the show.

Currently working on projects for Dynamite Comics, Bionic Man writer Phil Hester and Lone Ranger writer Ande Parks had pages of original artwork as well as copies of their books new and old that they were signing for fans, including a lot of low-priced original art from their run on the DC Comics Green Arrow series:

It’s great that these guys have tackled both the writing and illustration sides of comic book creation.

I got to catch up again with a couple well known Kansas City authors.  Here, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore, two of the best known authors of Star Trek novels, talk with fans at the show.

The NBC TV series Heroes co-creator Tim Sale was signing books and art at his booth:

Sales’ past work includes art in Batman: Dark Victory, Batman: The Long Halloween, Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Grey, Spider-Man: Blue and Superman For All Seasons.  (What’s with these color titles, anyway?).  His unique stylized paintings on Heroes featured into the plot of the series.

I spent time chatting with Rob B. Davis, currently providing illustrations for a Sherlock Holmes series and past artist for Malibu’s Deep Space Nine comic book series, writer Jai Nitz, who was juggling signing copies of his Kato and Tron: Betrayal series while moderating different comic book panels at the show, borg.com writer Art Schmidt, local writer Justin Cline manning the front of the convention, and Todd Aaron Smith, who sketched this great Black Canary image for me:

Smith had provided storyboards for Family Guy and other animation art for shows like South Park and various DC Comics and Marvel Comics TV series.  Current Marvel Comics lead writer Jason Aaron could be found with some good lines of fans waiting to get copies of his various Hulk, Wolverine and X-men series signed:

The facility was packed wall to wall with plenty of booths selling everything from graphic novels to collectible action figures, original comic book art, and comic book back issues.  Here, Elite Comics comic book store owner William Binderup appears to be raking in some cash from sales of comics at his booth:

Show producer Chris Jackson seemed pleased with the success of this year’s convention.

And of course there were plenty of cosplayers.  Here a few Batman characters huddled for a photo:

But I think the best was this “Hello Kitty meets Stormtrooper” mash-up:

No doubt it would have been a far different Star Wars had Luke showed up to rescue the princess with this outfit.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Profiles in History displays original Back to the Future car at Comic-Con

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Con Culture, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café — 2 Comments
July 29, 2011

A familiar group in the original costume and prop collecting arena attended Comic-Con again this year.  We ran into Jon Mankuta and Brian Chanes from Profiles in History on the convention floor Friday.  They also create the SyFy network show Hollywood Treasure, a show I regularly watch to see both the discoveries they find, the collectors of Hollywood memorabilia (like a guy that looks like Santa Claus who has a house full of rare costumes from movies like Elf and A Christmas Story), and, of course, the costumes and props themselves. 

Jon Mankuta from the auction house and TV show eyed our Alien Nation latex heads from across the main walkway in the heart of the convention floor and had a guy in the crowd snap this shot. 

 

Jon is one of those guys that when you see him you have this feeling like you’ve known him for years.   He was having fun at the Con like every other fanboy in the crowd, checking out the booths and sporting a Lost T-shirt.  Jon actually played one of The Others in the Lost TV series and among other acting gigs he performed in sketches during the 2002-2006 years of Saturday Night Live.  It was great meeting someone working at an auction house who gets as excited seeing artifacts from movies just as much as the rest of us.  Coincidentally, later in the day Brian Chanes grabbed us in the crowd for a similar photo.  Later in the weekend we met up with Brian again (below right) and Profiles president Joe Maddalena (below left): 

Profiles is a great resource for screen-used props and costumes of every price range–Profiles is the auction house we featured in earlier posts that sold that record breaking Marilyn Monroe dress from Seven Year Itch, among other pieces in the Debbie Reynolds Collection.  I have also had the pleasure of working with Fong Sam at the auction house, a great guy who coordinates prop and costume auctions and takes phone bids on auction day. 

In past years at Comic-Con, Profiles in History had featured an advance look at props from various movies and TV series that were to be featured in upcoming auctions.  This year they linked up with Desi DosSantos from Screenused.com who has a nice collection of Back to the Future costumes and props.  His crown jewel is one of the DeLorean Time Machine cars from the series (from the third movie in the franchise).   Profiles in History and Desi worked with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (TEAMFOX.org) this year to take photos of convention-goers sitting in the car for a $20 donation, raising more than $11,000 for the charity.  Nice job!  And if you missed seeing the Time Machine car at Comic-Con, the San Diego Air and Space Museum will have it on display through August 13, 2011.

Strangely enough, the Profiles in History booth did not have the only Back to the Future car at Comic-Con.  On the other side of the convention center a replica Time Machine was on display (a DeLorean updated with replica movie parts under the direction of the film’s director, Robert Zemeckis), creating a sort of deja vu for the crowd.  (The replica is pictured at the top of this post).

And if you need your own Back to the Future Time Machine DeLorean, keep an eye out for the December Profiles in History auction where the real car from the Profiles booth will be auctioned, along with part 2 of the Debbie Reynolds auction.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment
%d bloggers like this: