Of course, you can’t say that nobody wanted this beautiful dress. It looks like the gown of a medieval princess, and it should: Carrie Fisher wore it as Princess Leia in Star Wars: A New Hope. Designer John Mollo has been awarded the Oscar for this, among other things. It is, as far as is known, the only surviving Leia costume from the first film in the series.
For years it had lain in an attic in London, then the auction house Propstore had the dress restored for eight months – and expected a bid of up to two million dollars. But nothing came of it. The highest bid at last week’s Los Angeles auction was $975,000, just under the required reserve of $1 million. The same sum was offered for the Batman motorcycle from “The Dark Knight”. Also $ 25,000 below the minimum bid – and not enough to change the owner.
Such auctions are held again and again in Hollywood. But this was a special one, because some of the most legendary film devotionals were offered: There was an exhibition in the Peterson Museum, across from the Film Academy Museum, for four weeks, then there was a proper bidding and auction for three days until Friday evening – the clown doll from “Poltergeist” for example for $656,250 or the Spider Head Thing from “The Thing” for $587,500.
Some of the most exciting costumes: Russell Crowe’s from “Gladiator” ($125,000), Kate Winslet’s coat that she wore when the ship sank in “Titanic” ($137,500) or Michael Keaton’s Batman suit in “Batman Returns” ($137,500).
A few crazier things: the time-travelling DeLorean from “Back to the Future” ($250,000), Indiana Jones’ pistol in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ($137,500) or Jackie Treehorn’s cock drawing from “The Big Lebowski” ($40,625).
There were cheaper memorabilia, too, like the Foo Chow menu in Rush Hour for $375, a pair of Walter White gray pants in Breaking Bad ($625), or the Armageddon atomic bomb detonation code card ($875). An absolute treat for film fans in the medium collector’s price category: Al Pacino’s “Scarface” screenplay with his handwritten notes: $50,000.
Propstore now wants to accept direct bids for memorabilia that have not been auctioned, possibly including those below the minimum requirement at the Los Angeles auction. So for one of the first 500 Harry Potter books (reserve price at the auction: $100,000), Natalie Portman’s Thor Hammer from “Love and Thunder” ($60,000), Ewan McGregor’s lightsaber in the Star Wars episode “The Phantom Menace” ($30,000) – and of course the Batman motorcycle and Princess Leia’s silk evening dress.
2023-07-01 04:15:49
#Auction #Hollywood #Princess #Leias #dress
