props podcast

Marvel movies have never been hotter.  Wait.  Sorry.  OK, what do we do to make people listen to this episode of The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of?  I know, we bring back the original Avengers!  On today’s all new episode Dave and Ryan chat with Chris Donio, maker, builder and minder of specialty costumes from the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame!  And Captain America: Civil War.  And Shazam and Blue Beetle.  And basically every movie ever.  Hear about Chris’ amazing journey from cosplay costume maker to Ant Man’s insane helmet, and if you listen carefully, you can hear the the boys drool.

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Still tired and poor from holding up paddles in the Greg Jein auction, David and Ryan get their hands on the catalog for Propstore's London auction, taking place from November 9-12. In a super-duper-sized page-turn, the guys hit the highlights such as the good Alien movies (APCs, Pulse Rifles, mini-armor!) and the bad ones (Covenant), Back to the Future time machine parts, a healthy debate over Batman costume nomenclature, a super-duper Blade Runner collection, whether or not it's OK to want a Clockwork Orange costume, the REST (?) of the terrifying Mario Kirner FT13th collection, Gladiator armo(u)rs, some big brass balls, The Bad's very good fedora, over-priced Indy shirts, reasonably-priced Indy whips, Captain America shields, Iron Man helmets, Books of the Dead!, Books of the Living!, a script that might bring Stanley Kubrick back from the dead, and of course, the epic Anthony Daniels collection. So check your internet speeds, take a chill pill, and download the catalog and the episode!

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David and Ryan sit down for a long-form chat with the co-founder of Screen-Used (RIP), one of the outfits that helped to bring movie memorabilia collecting out of the niche and into the mainstream. Desi talks about his story, how he discovered collecting (via a Back to the Future II hoverboard), how built his passion up into a viable retail and auction business -- all while holding down a grow-up job! The guys talk with Desi about buying twelve movie guns at a single auction, buying a T2 motorcycle from the guy who made T2, buying a screen-matched Darth Vader from another biker-dude, retirement and the eventual demise of Screen-Used, and being -- quite possibly -- the greatest Ebay bidder of all time.

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

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David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

In this super-sized final installment, the guys complete their climb of the Everest that is the Greg Jein collection. Beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation and going through Star Wars and beyond, the guys cover what is perhaps their most alluring part of the catalog... at least to David. They discuss everything "New Trek" from Picard to Voyager to the JJ-verse. Then, they stare at a monolithic (eh?) original Clavius Base spacesuit from 2001, more studio-scale models (!), and more shows from V to Battlestar to Space: 1999 to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. And of course, two of the greatest Star Wars pieces to ever come to public auction: a complete, screen-matched hero stormtrooper and the screen-matched, hero "Red Leader" X-Wing. To discuss those, they are joined by Imperial Stormtrooper Gino Sabatino and studio-scale model builder and historian Jason Eaton!

The full length bonus episode where Ryan and David recap and analyze the June 2023 Propstore auction. They talk wins, losses, and much more on this in-between-seasons one off!

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The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of is joined by the great Rob Liefeld, iconic Marvel Comics artist, co-founder of Image Comics, creator of Cable and Deadpool, and most importantly for this podcast, collector! Rob regales the guys with stories of growing up in the 70s and collecting comics, breaking in at the ripe old age of 18, buying original comic art, and seeing all his dreams come true in his 20s, not the least of which was meeting Conan himself -- Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and buying one of the Barbarian's very own screen-used swords at auction. Listen and prepare to be delighted by Rob's infectious enthusiasm and by Ryan's attempts to be cool in front of one of his comic art heroes. Also: stay tuned for a live presentation of Deadpool props! Excelsior!

David and Ryan are joined by the creator of Filmumentaries and its eponymous podcast, Jamie Benning. A fellow lifelong cinema nerd, Jamie tells the guys about how he became not a collector of stuff, but a collector of stories - and how he spun that obsession into a life of adventure, making documentaries and podcasts about the history of his (and our) favorite films. His passions got him access to some of the true greats of genre filmmaking. And Brett Ratner.

David and Ryan discuss a theory by the Honest Broker, Ted Gioia, that popular culture lives and dies in 80-year cycles. What does that mean for movie memorabilia? How has that impacted more mature hobbies like art collecting? The guys dig in and try to suss out whether the stuff their dreams are made of has an expiration date. And, of course, they discuss how this all relates to Star Wars.

Not at all live from Star Wars Celebration in London, David and Ryan want to wish you a happy May the 4th -- No! Stop it. Please stop celebrating Star Wars on May the 4th, and with the stupid pun. It makes us crazy. The summer auction season unofficially kicked off in London when Propstore showcased three incredible, A-level original Star Wars artifacts before they go under the hammer this year. The guys dig in, discuss, debate, and certainly never say May the 4th Be With You. Dammit.

David and Ryan are joined by living legend Alec Gillis to discuss his illustrious (and ongoing!) career as a creature designer and practical effects wizard. He tells the guys about his first job with Richard Corman, going to see Alien with James freaking Cameron, subsequently getting a job on James freaking Cameron's Aliens and building the infamous Alien Queen (first out of garbage bags), all before founding his own legendary FX company, ADI, with partner Tom Woodruff. Alec has made more monsters than you can collect! But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

David and Ryan tear open their first auction catalog of the summer season: Julien's "Hollywood: Classic & Contemporary" done in partnership with TCM -- and all sponsored by Propstore! The guys talk Indiana Jones machetes, Men in Black suits, vintage scripts, Harpo Marx's tasteful nudes, Carlo Rimbaldi's Alien designs, and Die Hard storyboards. Lots and lots and lots of Die Hard storyboards. So many Die Hard storyboards. Starting April 22nd, raise a paddle, bang the hammer, and let the auctions begin!

House of the Dragon Season 2 production has begun! David and Ryan are joined by Ellie Murphy, Action Prop Supervisor, to discuss prop-making across Season 1 and maybe even a little bit about what's to come in Season 2. The guys get an inside look at their favorite filmmaking department as they chat crowns, eggs, egg-warming-devices, canes, tableware -- anything but the pointy-bits (Ellie doesn't make the pointy-bits).

For the second time in its storied history, David and Ryan are joined by Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs to discuss saving memorabilia from the abyss of time. Tom takes the guys through his story of being a film fan, a collector, and a monster-maker before finding his way into the niche business of saving your props, creatures, and costume pieces from the rubbish heap. He’s a one-man memorabilia time machine! And this time, they let him talk about the cantina aliens.

Ever wonder how to start a collection? David and Ryan are joined by "friend of Stuff (FOS)" and original comic art expert Kelvin Mao to discuss all the intricacies of collecting original comic art. Dave and Kelvin then help Ryan build his dream collection piece by piece and are delighted - and sometimes horrified - as they learn about the kinds of comic art sought after by Ryan’s generation. Frank Miller’s Wolverine! John Byrne’s X-Men! McSpidey! Weapon X! Batman! Carnage and Venom! Dawn of the Darkhawk!

After multiple COVID cancellations, Dave finally took his family on a special guided tour of the Academy Museum… yet another in a long, long line of archives that Dave has visited and Ryan has not. The guys chat with the Academy museum’s Senior Curator, Collections and Curatorial Affairs, Nathalie Morris and learn all about the Academy’s collection... from a 40-foot scenic painting for North by Northwest to Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary green velour tuxedo, to a collection of significant typewriters. Plus Nathalie discusses how the museum collects new acquisitions, maybe providing a little DiCaprio-backed competition to us private collectors. Oh, and did we mention the Lucasfilm Archives? Because Ryan has never been there either.

David and Ryan host a terrifying (well, maybe just spooky) Halloween episode of the podcast to speak about horror movies and horror props. The guys are joined by special guest and horror connoisseur Mario Kirner who has one of the most horrifyingly curated horror collections in the world. Come into our basement. If you dare.