Fords Star Wars Script sells for just $10k

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Hi there TESTies, I saw this article and it struck me how little this original 1976 script sold for:

Harrison Ford's Star Wars script sells for £10,000 at auction

The pages had been left in a west London flat the actor rented in the 1970s.

www.bbc.co.uk

Now I know $10k is a lot of money but for wealthy collectors and fandom I'd have expected more for such an artifact...?

Could it be the fandom isn't as fanatical as I thought?

 

[Talonsbane]

Hi there TESTies, I saw this article and it struck me how little this original 1976 script sold for:

Harrison Ford's Star Wars script sells for £10,000 at auction

The pages had been left in a west London flat the actor rented in the 1970s.

www.bbc.co.uk

Now I know $10k is a lot of money but for wealthy collectors and fandom I'd have expected more for such an artifact...?

Could it be the fandom isn't as fanatical as I thought?

10k British Pounds, is a good chunk of money, but I suspect that it wasn't more due to various circumstances, such as its condition, verifiable proof that it directly belonged to Harrison Ford other than being found at some point where he used to live, or any number of other things. According to the article, it had a different title than the movie & was a 4th revision. Some collectors go bonkers over things like that, similar to double struck coins to coin collectors. Others avoid that sort of thing like the plague for their own reasons. I suspect that if it had been signed by Lucas or Ford, the price would've been much higher. Personally, this is the 1st I've heard of the original Star Wars movie having a different name while in production. I guess I'm still happily learning new things.

 

[Aramsolari]

10k British Pounds, is a good chunk of money, but I suspect that it wasn't more due to various circumstances, such as its condition, verifiable proof that it directly belonged to Harrison Ford other than being found at some point where he used to live, or any number of other things. According to the article, it had a different title than the movie & was a 4th revision. Some collectors go bonkers over things like that, similar to double struck coins to coin collectors. Others avoid that sort of thing like the plague for their own reasons. I suspect that if it had been signed by Lucas or Ford, the price would've been much higher. Personally, this is the 1st I've heard of the original Star Wars movie having a different name while in production. I guess I'm still happily learning new things.

The script was also an incomplete one. That and the weird title/4 revision status probably reduced the value somewhat.

I'm privy to scripts but they're never complete scripts (Below the line crew doesn't get complete ones). They also have my name watermarked right across so the studio/network know who to crucify if they get leaked/lost. I also get what you call sides which is the script for a shooting days work. Even less useful.

Value of such scripts? Probably $0 lol.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

10k British Pounds, is a good chunk of money, but I suspect that it wasn't more due to various circumstances, such as its condition, verifiable proof that it directly belonged to Harrison Ford other than being found at some point where he used to live, or any number of other things. According to the article, it had a different title than the movie & was a 4th revision. Some collectors go bonkers over things like that, similar to double struck coins to coin collectors. Others avoid that sort of thing like the plague for their own reasons. I suspect that if it had been signed by Lucas or Ford, the price would've been much higher. Personally, this is the 1st I've heard of the original Star Wars movie having a different name while in production. I guess I'm still happily learning new things.

True, considering the rarity I'd assumed it would have been afflicted by the midas touch but perhaps that value is a true reflection - just wasn't expecting it to be below what some backers have pledged to Star Citizen

The script was also an incomplete one. That and the weird title/4 revision status probably reduced the value somewhat.

I'm privy to scripts but they're never complete scripts (Below the line crew doesn't get complete ones). They also have my name watermarked right across so the studio/network know who to crucify if they get leaked/lost. I also get what you call sides which is the script for a shooting days work. Even less useful.

Value of such scripts? Probably $0 lol.

Oooh was not aware of some of the complexities around it - you get so used to astronomical numbers being spent on a franchise it becomes expected but if that artefact is in reality only worth the value of the paper it's typed on them $10k is indeed an inflated sum.

 

[Aramsolari]

Oooh was not aware of some of the complexities around it - you get so used to astronomical numbers being spent on a franchise it becomes expected but if that artefact is in reality only worth the value of the paper it's typed on them $10k is indeed an inflated sum.

Yeah $10k is too much. My guess is that at one point this script was one of hundreds if not thousands that cast and crew would have worked with on a daily basis. This particular one is unique because of it's connection to Harrison Ford.

On the subject of physical scripts even that has changed. Pretty much all productions have switched over to digital format these days. Scripts, sides, call sheets, etc. Most stuff come in PDF form. I think actors still have physical copies in reading sessions. Perhaps some old luddite of a director/producer still insists on physical copies. Other than that, the studios/networks have happily embraced digital formats. Officially they're embracing 'Green initiatives'....of course these initiatives also save them a lot of money lol. Lovely coincidence.

Maybe the switch over to digital might mean that physical scripts have more value in the future since they'll be rarer? Who knows haha.

 

[Talonsbane]

Another thing that I feel might have swayed the price 1 way or another, if how the franchise has changed in popularity through the years. Before the prequels, Star Wars seemed nearly unstoppable, the prequels seemed to cool that fire down a bit, but was still legendarily popular. However, ever since Disney took over ... the way they have treated the story, the fans & the characters has caused quite a bit of instability in the future of the Star Wars franchise. This being said, it shouldn't hurt at all that it was formerly owned by Harrison Ford for the original movie, though Disney made the choice to kill him off in the 1st SW movie they made, which in my opinion was a massive mistake, even if it was meant to shock people as well as make the fans talk about the movie more.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Another thing that I feel might have swayed the price 1 way or another, if how the franchise has changed in popularity through the years. Before the prequels, Star Wars seemed nearly unstoppable, the prequels seemed to cool that fire down a bit, but was still legendarily popular. However, ever since Disney took over ... the way they have treated the story, the fans & the characters has caused quite a bit of instability in the future of the Star Wars franchise. This being said, it shouldn't hurt at all that it was formerly owned by Harrison Ford for the original movie, though Disney made the choice to kill him off in the 1st SW movie they made, which in my opinion was a massive mistake, even if it was meant to shock people as well as make the fans talk about the movie more.

4/5/6 were a cultural phenomenon partly built on bringing visuals which no one had seen the likes of before. Voyage Dans La Lune it was not!

I can't deny Sequel Number 1 while definitely a spectacle just didn't pull me in. Following the Anakin/Vader story arc just kept my mind going back to "but I know how this arc ends in number 6" and I didn't join in on parts 2 and 3 mainly because of that. I did enjoy 1, would probably like 2 and 3 too but just never got on that train which in turn stopped me from getting on board and seeking out the Sequels too - some would say I was sparred them, I don't know I think I saw 8 and while not awful again didn't get me in again. Thinking about it if I'd seen Empire before New Hope perhaps I'd have had the same impression of the originals... The sequels and prequels while box office events and spectacle in themselves just didn't seem to be that cultural phenomenon edge...?

All that said, after 4/5/6 I'd rate the animated series Droids next on the list of quality, so make of my opinions what you will! :-)

 

[Aramsolari]

Voyage Dans La Lune it was not!

Don't do my bro Georges Méliès dirty like that!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Don't do my bro Georges Méliès dirty like that!

Sorry! Of all its peers from the time it stands head and shoulders above the rest and the fact we still know it's name 122 years later is a lasting testament...

I've still got to see Metropolis but it stands out as the next most obvious mile-post on science fictions journey through cinematic history...?

 

[Aramsolari]

I've still got to see Metropolis but it stands out as the next most obvious mile-post on science fictions journey through cinematic history...?

You're in luck. You can now watch the film in it's original form when that would have been impossible not that long ago.

The original cut of the film was lost for decades. Film negatives were highly flammable back in the day and would deteriorate if kept in poor conditions. In 2008 a negative of the theatrical release was discovered in a dusty film museum in Buenos Aires. After two years of painstaking restoration, the restored version premiered in Berlin. I managed to catch a screening of the film at my local Film Society back then and it was glorious. You have to understand that prior to this discovery 1/5 of the film was missing. The existing versions had entire scenes and even characters cut out. It's a miracle that the film was restored almost in it's entirety after 83 years.

Metropolis inspired the Batman Movies, The Matrix, Star Wars, The Fifth Element, Blade Runner, etc. It's importance can't be overstated in film history.

So yeah go check it out! Maybe at your local arthouse cinema, on DVD/Bluray, or RIGHT HERE!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

You're in luck. You can now watch the film in it's original form when that would have been impossible not that long ago.

The original cut of the film was lost for decades. Film negatives were highly flammable back in the day and would deteriorate if kept in poor conditions. In 2008 a negative of the theatrical release was discovered in a dusty film museum in Buenos Aires. After two years of painstaking restoration, the restored version premiered in Berlin. I managed to catch a screening of the film at my local Film Society back then and it was glorious. You have to understand that prior to this discovery 1/5 of the film was missing. The existing versions had entire scenes and even characters cut out. It's a miracle that the film was restored almost in it's entirety after 83 years.

Metropolis inspired the Batman Movies, The Matrix, Star Wars, The Fifth Element, Blade Runner, etc. It's importance can't be overstated in film history.

So yeah go check it out! Maybe at your local arthouse cinema, on DVD/Bluray, or RIGHT HERE!

Woah it's two and a half hours long! I'll schedule that in soon for when I have a moment :-)