- Title: Dinosaurs, droids and Holy Hand Grenade up for grabs at auction
- Date: 18th September 2019
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DROID FROM "STAR WARS - ROGUE ONE" DRIVING AND BLEEPING VARIOUS OF ROBOT FROM "JUDGE DREDD" (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROP STORE CEO, STEPHEN LANE, ASKED ABOUT MEMORABILIA COLLECTORS, SAYING: "They're driven through the passion of nostalgia, if you like, as well. It's about that connection to an experience that a lot of people have had when they've been growing up. So a lot of people will buy from films that they've seen when they were in the theatre, in the cinema, with their mum and dad or their family or something like that, and had that sort of, that experience where they've just gone out and sort of want to come back and recapture that." T-REX SKULL FROM "JURASSIC PARK" VARIOUS OF JURASSIC PARK MEMORABILIA ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF LANE HOLDING STORMTOOPER HELMET FROM "STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE" (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROP STORE CEO, STEPHEN LANE, SAYING: "The stormtrooper helmets themselves are actually quite crudely built. You might be able to see that there's a number of paint runs on this and the way that is sort of chipped and dinked. And if you look inside is just a very, very basic padding and then just a very simplistic lens on the inside as well. And this actually has written on the inside of it, carved on the inside of here, the name of the actor who wore this, so it says 'Syd' on the inside of here as well." NAME "SYD" WRITTEN IN INTERIOR OF HELMET LANE PRESENTING ACTOR WHO WORE STORMTROOPER HELMET, SYD WRAGG, WITH HELMET / WRAGG PUTTING ON HELMET FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE "A NEW HOPE" WRAGG TAKING OFF HELMET, LOOKING AT HIS NAME WRITTEN INSIDE LANE TAKING "PIN" OUT OF "HOLY HAND GRENADE OF ANTIOCH" FROM "MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL" VARIOUS OF LANE HOLDING "HOLY HAND GRENADE OF ANTIOCH" (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROP STORE CEO, STEPHEN LANE, SAYING: "What's really special about this particular piece is the fact that in true Monty Python style, this is actually built from a ball cock from a toilet system. So low budget, very sort of insightful and clever way for the prop guys to build something with very little money to work with and that becomes the sacred relic." VARIOUS OF PROP STORE EMPLOYEES HANDLING JACK NICHOLSON'S AXE FROM "THE SHINING" (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROP STORE CEO, STEPHEN LANE, SAYING: "Well one of the artefacts that we've got in the sale is Jack Nicholson's axe from The Shining and that's actually a personal item of mine. This is something that I bought myself a number of years ago and this came to me from one of the plasterers who worked on The Shining back in the day. And when the film wrapped up, they actually have prop and costume sales, that's just, that was standard practice back in the filmmaking period of that time. He bought this axe - one of the Hero Axes from The Shining for five pounds and he bought it as a wood chopping axe and I got introduced him at Pinewood Studios a number of years ago he told me this story and I managed to pick that up from him." AXE BEING CHOPPED TOWARDS CAMERA NICHOLSON'S JOKER COSTUME FROM BATMAN ON DISPLAY NEAR MICHAEL KEATON'S BATMAN COSTUME AND JIM CARREY'S RIDDLER COSTUME VARIOUS OF NICHOLSON'S JOKER COSTUME VARIOUS OF RUSSELL CROWE'S ARMOUR FROM "GLADIATOR" PROPS AND MEMORABILIA ON DISPLAY
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2019 14:14
- Keywords: auction props memorabilia sale exhibition film movie
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA001AX6QWD5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ever fancied driving a droid? Or putting your head between the jaws of a T-Rex?
Movie fans who want to relive a slice the action from their favourite films will be able to bid on a treasure trove of memorabilia in an auction organisers expect to reach in excess of six million pounds (7.5 million USD).
One of the key pieces is a stormtrooper helmet from the original Star Wars film, 1977's A New Hope, expected to fetch up to 180,000 GBP (224000 USD).
Despite the thin padding and dodgy visor of the original costume, actor Syd Wragg looked delighted to be reunited with it on Wednesday (September 18) for the first time since he wore it on set. His name, still visible, is marked in pen on its interior.
Although there was no bang when the pin from the "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch" was removed, sellers hope for an explosion of interest in the "Monty Python" piece as the British comedy celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
"In true Monty Python style, this is actually built from a ball cock from a toilet system," CEO of Prop Store, Stephen Lane, said while holding the pseudo-relic.
Prop Store, who assembled the collection, have put around 250 of the 900 lots on display at an exhibition in London's BFI Imax.
Fans of the latest outing of Joker might be in for a surprise with the more jovial multi-coloured costume on display from Jack Nicholson's turn as the character in "Batman". The particular shade of purple was chosen by Nicholson himself to match that of the L.A. Lakers basketball team, Lane said.
The two-day live auction is set for September 30-October 1, with the public free to view the lots until then.
(Production: Alex Fraser, Tara Oakes) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None