IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES
Darth Vader's helmet and mask in The Empire Strikes Back, The Wizard of Oz's Dress and Marilyn Monroe's Nightgown are among the hundreds of Hollywood-related relics that will be auctioned near Los Angeles. next month.
© Frederic J. BROWN / AFP
According to the organizers of the sale, there are only a few copies of the Darth Vader's helmet worn by actor David Prowse, who played the sworn enemy - and the father - of Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars trilogy .
This "Grail" of science fiction objects "is estimated in the catalog between $ 250,000 and $ 400,000, and you can never know how much something will go before the last hammer blow, it could well exceed that," says AFP Zach Pogemiller, from the sales house Profiles in History. " Star Wars is still popular, it's never been as fashionable as it is now, with the series going on," he says.
Called "Icons and Legends of Hollywood", the sale takes place on September 25 and 26, with nearly a thousand lots expected to total more than ten million dollars. Fans will find memories ranging from silent movies to contemporary times, to the "golden age" of Hollywood movies.
© FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP
The catalog contains costumes worn by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic , Daniel Radcliffe's glasses in Harry Potter at the Wizard School, or the carcass of the famous DeLorean car shattered by a train in Back to the Future 2 .
Among the most emblematic lots is a black and white dress worn by Dorothy in The Magician of Oz in 1939 - more specifically by the Judy Garland lining, Barbara Koshay - which could reach $ 500,000. Even rarer, and kitsch: a lunar vehicle prototype stolen by Sean Connery / James Bond in Diamonds are eternal is estimated up to $ 600,000.
© FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP
"There are still stories of how some studio employees have saved unique pieces of the trash," says Zach Pogemiller. "It's amazing that, until relatively recently, people have not had the presence of mind to safeguard all those objects that are part of our cultural history," he says.