LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions will offer some of the most iconic pop culture relics of all time to the public and collectors with their “Hollywood, Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy and More Auction,” part of the world-record breaking auction house to the stars’ blockbuster Hollywood memorabilia event of the year. The two-day event begins Wednesday, April 28 and wraps Thursday, April 29, at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online via LiveAuctioneers.com.
The two-day auction kicks off with “Hollywood Legends & Luminaries Auction,” featuring property related to glamorous movie stars from Hollywood’s Golden Era including Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day, and Greta Garbo up to the modern era.
More than 800 lots from the greatest box-office films and movie franchises of the past 50 years – Alien, Batman, Die Hard, Edward Scissorhands, Independence Day, Scarface, James Bond films and more – will star on the auction stage, many of which will be sold to the public for the first time. The marquee includes museum-quality props, memorabilia and costumes used by Hollywood’s biggest stars and legends such as Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Sigourney Weaver, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, Jodie Foster, Bill Murray, Winona Ryder, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta Nicholas Cage, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Alan Rickman, and more.
Among the marquee highlights of this event will be the rising of an extremely rare and mysterious full-size prototype Xenomorph costume designed by the Academy Award-winning and revered surrealist artist and sculptor, H.R. Giger from the 1979 seminal sci-fi horror classic, Alien.
Long believed to have been lost and destroyed, this original translucent prototype (known as “Big Chap”) for the terrifying creature character was created for consideration by the film’s celebrated director Ridley Scott during the early stages of the film’s pre-production.
Comprehensive lighting and camera tests were conducted by the pre-production team to demonstrate the potential; however, the non-translucent costume was the final result and the character development with Giger would go on to spawn one of Hollywood’s most legendary horror icons ever to come on screen. This extraordinary costume is now considered the rarest and most elusive artifact from the blockbuster film franchise and has a conservative estimate of $40,000 – $60,000.
“This rare and mysterious artifact from the Alien movie mythology is as much a piece of fine modern surrealist art, as it is a piece of Hollywood history” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director and CFO of Julien’s Auctions. “It is a miracle that H.R. Giger’s designed and sculpted Alien translucent costume prototype survived. Julien’s Auctions is honored to erect this legendary piece in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at our gallery in Beverly Hills for Alien and Giger fans and collectors before its sale at auction for the first time.”
Other items from the Alien franchise include: a complete costume worn by Sigourney Weaver, as a clone of her legendary character Ripley in the film Alien Resurrection, as well as a costume worn by Winona Ryder from the movie. The films’ wardrobe (estimate each lot: $10,000-$20,000) was designed by Academy Award winner Bob Ringwood and inspired by fashion iconoclast Jean Paul Gaultier.
Another piece of celluloid history is a deep blue, original pinstripe gangster style three-piece suit, worn by six-time Academy Award-winning legend Al Pacino as Miami drug lord Tony Montana in the memorable and climactic final act of Brian DePalma’s popular 1983 crime drama, Scarface. The suit is possibly the only remaining original Scarface pin-stripe gangster suit costume from the film’s climax in existence and can be screen-matched to the sequences wherein Tony Montana nose dives into a mountain of cocaine in the office of his fortress-like mansion.
One of the most controversial and notoriously received films at its time due to its depiction of drugs, profanity and violence, Scarface has experienced a resurgence and appreciation from film critics and viewers in the past recent years, whose status has gone from cult classic to one of the best crime genre films of all time. The movie is also revered among hip hop and rap musicians, producers and record industry moguls who have spoken about the film’s impact and Tony Montana’s resilience and struggle for success as a testament to perseverance. This instantly recognizable and historic costume has an estimate of $60,000 – $80,000.
Following Julien’s historic sale of the Walther PP used by legendary actor Sean Connery as James Bond in the 1962 film debut of his most famous role in Dr. No this past December for $256,000, the auction house will be offering Connery’s hero Walther P5 from his last Bond film, 1983’s Never Say Never Again with a starting estimate of $80,000 – $100,000. In one of the most renowned collection of Bond weapons brought to auction in years, the auction will also offer an M16 prop rifle used in the 1979 Bond film Moonraker; the hero .38 Smith and Wesson used by Pierce Brosnan in 2002’s Die Another Day and the very first Walther P99 used by the character in a James Bond film by Pierce Brosnan in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies. The estimate range of these lots are $10,000 – $60,000.
From the blockbuster Batman film franchise, comes an assortment of exemplary original pieces from the movies including screen-used production artifacts from the first four Batman movies: 1989’s Batman, 1992’s Batman Returns and 1997’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Highlights with starting estimates include: an original Batman bodysuit with cape worn by Val Kilmer in Batman Forever ($40,000 – $60,000), a utility belt worn by Michael Keaton in Batman accompanied with a note on the film director Tim Burton’s stationary ($5,000 – $7,000); a cowl worn by George Clooney for his turn in the suit in Batman & Robin ($10,000 – $20,000); an original cowl worn by Catwoman portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the climactic final scenes of Batman Returns ($8,000 – $12,000) (photo left) as well as a massive light-up prop rifle brandished by Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin ($20,000 – $30,000).
“Yippee ki-yay!” Die Hard, one of the biggest action movie franchises of all time which turned actor Bruce Willis into an international superstar in his role as New York police officer John McClane, returns with a vengeance in the sale of his iconic screen-used Zippo lighter famously used throughout the original film that started it all. The Zippo (estimate: $10,000 – $20,000) is accompanied by a letter from the property master stating that this is the only Zippo used throughout the 1988 film production.
Watch for additional coverage to appear soon on Auction Central News.
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