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Fangoria’s Annual Horror Movie Prop Live Auction: A Cabinet Of Curiosities For Cinephiles

Shipra Gupta |
November 1, 2010 | 11:48 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Halloween auction (Premiere Props)
Halloween auction (Premiere Props)
Premiere Props’ warehouse sits on a quiet, unassuming residential street of El Segundo.

If a large, temporary banner hadn’t been plastered against the side of the building, it would have been easy to miss. Once inside, however, the atmosphere is tinged with antiquity.

The building serves as a gateway to a new life for the costumes and props of past productions. It could even be viewed as a conduit for reincarnation because these items are literally reborn as keepsakes when put up for auction.

The Annual Horror Movie Prop Live Auction is one of many auctions put on by Premiere Props.

The company works in conjunction with major studios and production companies throughout the production process, inventorying and storing all props and costumes until they are ready to be put up for sale.

With a three-camera live broadcast set up that could be streamed online, and Fangoria, Screamfest LA and After Dark Films as co-sponsors, this auction had the potential to connect with fans all around the world.

Items at this year’s auction came from a mixture of classic and contemporary cinema that included, but was not limited to the horror genre.

While a number of props and costumes came from films such as "Resident Evil: Afterlife" (2010) and "Saw III" (2006), the posters from actor Chris Kattan’s collection proved to be true gems.

A neatly framed, original poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho" (1960), a framed and matted index card with actor Boris Karloff’s autograph placed underneath a still of "The Monster from Frankenstein" (1931) are only two examples of the items that were up for auction from Mr. Kattan’s collection.

Irrespective of the scope of the items up for auction, the live broadcast model imposed a sterile quality that seemed to stifle some of the anticipation.

Nevertheless, for cinephiles and visual artifact enthusiasts who may not be interested in bidding on an item, it is important to note that a preview usually takes place during the two hours before the actual start of the auction.

During this time slot, anyone can peruse the inventory in order to learn, first-hand, about a little piece of cinematic history.

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