Julien’s Auctions: Hollywood Legends
An original Tim Burton painting created in 1983 while in early development of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Images courtesy Julien’s Auctions.
by CHAD KENNERK
Film Review previously spoke with Jason DeBord in February about Julien’s Auctions Legends: Hollywood and Royalty where he shared, “It is exciting for us to live vicariously through the joy that our auctions bring to those who make dreams a reality by acquiring important pop culture relics.” Now, Julien’s Auctions and TCM return for another opportunity to own a piece of movie magic.
The top results from last February’s Legends: Hollywood and Royalty, included the sale of Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Holly Golightly’ Givenchy couture pink evening dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's ($444,500), a production-used Xenomorph head from Alien ($52,000), Robert Redford’s ‘Wonderboy’ baseball bat from The Natural ($39,000), and Judy Garland’s wedding dress from The Pirate ($38,100).
In their latest collaboration, Julien’s Auctions and TCM present Hollywood Legends, a three-auction event spanning four days from 14-17 December. The year-end auction event begins with Robots, Wizards, Heroes & Aliens, featuring props, costumes, models, and memorabilia from some of the most iconic film characters. Items celebrating 100 years of Warner Bros. include an original screen-matched, special effects headmaster's robe worn by Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as well as a newly restored Michael Keaton costume from Tim Burton’s Batman Returns.
The auction house will also pay homage to the cult-classic phenomenon The Big Lebowski (which is celebrating its 25th anniversary) in a special auction event featuring over 250 items from the film, including storyboards, costumes, and more. A portion of the proceeds from each lot will go to Share Our Strength’s ‘No Kid Hungry’, a national nonprofit campaign which is working to end childhood hunger in the United States. In addition to original production used items, Jeff Bridges also signed memorabilia and created unique doodles on bowling pins as part of the fundraiser.
The final day of the sale, Glamour, Grace & Greatness, is devoted to classic Hollywood. As with Julien’s previous auction, several iconic Audrey Hepburn pieces are coming to the memorabilia market. The iconic Givenchy marigold wool coat and cream wool Givenchy dress Audrey wore as Regina ‘Reggie’ Lampert in the Stanley Donen film Charade are in the sale, as well as other pieces personally worn by Hepburn. There’s also a black satin sleeveless gown worn by Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard and a cotton gingham pinafore worn by Margaret O'Brien as Tootie Smith in the Vincente Minnelli musical Meet Me in St. Louis. In advance of the massive four day event, Film Review chats with Executive Director Jason DeBord about some of the auction’s treasures, along with a few of his personal favourites.
In conversation with Jason DeBord, Executive Director, Julien's Auctions.
Film Review (FR): What production-used pieces stand out to you as particularly significant or special?
Jason DeBord (JD): Every production used piece in our auction has a story. As we seek out memorabilia to build auctions for our clients, we always have this at the forefront of our mission: what will capture the imagination of pop culture fans and help them spark that feeling of nostalgia—that chill down the spine that hit the first time they saw a favorite movie?
To name just a few favorites of this sale, we have Bruce Lee’s custom-made nunchaku screen-used by Lee in his 1972 masterpiece Fist of Fury. Lee’s second film was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film at the time with $100M worldwide (1,000 times it’s budget) and it led to a wave of martial arts films that had a huge impact on the culture around the world. The fact that these important and iconic nunchaku from this modest budget film have been preserved over the past 50 years is remarkable. Bruce Lee stands as one of cinema’s most important figures, so the importance of this prop cannot be overstated. It is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from nunchaku creator George Lee, with extensive details of the provenance.
Another cool and historic prop is the ‘Luna’ atomic spaceship model from the 1950 film Destination Moon. Over 70 years old, it is remarkable that this model was saved and preserved all these years. The film was forward-looking, as it contemplated practical concerns about the prospects of space travel and exploration of the moon almost 20 years before it actually happened with the Apollo 11 mission, which reflects how science fiction fuels the drive of mankind to advance and explore. With the spaceship at the center of the film, it went on to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was also nominated for Art Direction. Any artifacts from films from this era are exceedingly rare and this represents the centerpiece of a film that holds great importance on many levels.
(FR): In putting this sale together, what provenance or story about the history of an item is most memorable for you?
Screen-matched non-operational flintlock dueling pistols circa the 1740s, used by Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). Images courtesy Julien’s Auctions.
(JD): The set of pistols used and worn by Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides are definitely some of the coolest props we’ve had pass through our warehouse this year. Not only are the vintage flintlocks circa the 1740s, which hold some mysteries of their own, but you can literally screen-match them to a scene in the film as well as to promotional posters, which is exceedingly rare with props used in movies. They have so much character and Depp invested so much into the look, feel, and vibe of Jack Sparrow, that they are quite special. These were rented to the production and as far was we can tell, the only hero Jack Sparrow pistols ever to come to auction.
(FR): What was your biggest joy and biggest challenge in working on this particular auction?
(JD): The collection of storyboards from The Big Lebowski by artist J.Todd Anderson definitely stands apart in our current collection of auctions taking place this month. Almost a year in the works, he was a joy to work with every step of the way. He had tremendous attachment to these works of art and it means a lot to everyone at Julien’s that he’s entrusted us to help share these with the massive number of fans of the film around the world. J.Todd is filled with character and it was so much fun to discuss the making of the film with him and learn more about the process of the Coen brothers from the unique perspective of someone who was there discussing every shot of the movie with them and interpreting their vision in this unique form of artwork – all before anything was filmed.
In terms of challenges, one of the incredible pieces in the auction is the original ‘Mother’ (or MU/TH/UR 6000) computer console and chair from Ridley Scott’s Alien. The set piece with a light-up computer interface reflected significant aging from time and a period of neglect. When we encounter important pieces that are not in the best of condition, we must make some subjective choices when it comes to the question of restoration and, if undertaken, how to approach that.
Image courtesy Julien’s Auctions.
With this piece, we decided that it would be of optimal benefit to the longevity and preservation of it to undertake a fairly extensive restoration. Our guiding principles were to leave the aspects that were in good shape alone (apart from cleaning) and do more extensive true restoration on the parts that were in lesser shape. Much of this involved stripping away peeling paint from the wood, treating and prepping it, and re-painting. It looks fantastic now and we are confident that it will go on in a much better state to its future caretaker. The work was done by our friends at Blok4, who are incredible artisans with a long history of experience in the film industry. They also took on the restoration of the U.S.S. Discovery One from 2010: The Year We Make Contact and a Xenomorph head from Alien, which we sold in previous auctions.
(FR): Do you have a favourite movie moment that ties into an item in this auction?
(JD): One of my favourite mini-collections in the sale is a series of original works of art by Tim Burton. These are incredible, never-before-seen, original paintings by Burton from early in his career (circa 1985). Three of the four are also very large and substantial, which isn’t easily conveyed by showing photos online. They are magnificent. I first became acquainted with Burton’s work in 1985 with the release of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, which to this day remains one of my all-time favorite movies.
An original Tim Burton ‘The Joker Steals Christmas’ painting created in 1985 during his transition to Warner Bros.
Image courtesy of Julien’s.
What is most interesting about the paintings that we have is that one features the Joker. It was a year later that Burton was tapped to direct Batman (though it wasn’t greenlit until 1988 after the release of Beetlejuice.) So in a way, this painting feels very much like it’s part of the process that led to Burton recreating Batman for the cinema—in a way that is still reflected today in looking back at all of the subsequent Batman films. The film Burton created in 1989 was a landmark achievement in updating the character for the mainstream in a way that was true to the original character as created by Bob Kane, as well as the contemporary work of Frank Miller, Alan Moore and others of the time.
JULIEN’S AUCTIONS produces high profile auctions in the film, music, sports and art markets. Julien’s Auctions has received international recognition for its unique and innovative auction events, which attract thousands of collectors, investors, fans and enthusiasts from around the world. Julien’s Auctions specializes in sales of iconic artifacts and notable collections including Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and many more.
In 2016, Julien’s Auctions received its second placement in the Guinness Book of World Records for the sale of the world’s most expensive dress ever sold at auction, The Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress which sold for $4.8 million. Julien’s Auctions achieved placement in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009 for the sale of Michael Jackson’s white glove, which sold for $480,000 making it the most expensive glove ever sold at auction and two years later, sold Michael Jackson’s jacket from “Thriller” for $1.8 million. Based in Los Angeles, Julien’s Auctions has a global presence bringing their auctions and exhibitions to targeted destinations worldwide including London, New York, Las Vegas, Japan and China. Live auctions are presented for bidders on-site and online via live streaming video and mobile technology. For more information on Julien’s Auctions, go to juliensauctions.com.
Learn more about Julien’s Auctions and register for Hollywood Legends:
Robots, Wizards, Heroes, & Aliens
The Big Lebowski: The Complete Storyboards Auction
Glamour, Grace & Greatness
