MOVIE MEMORABILIA: FAKES AND AUTHENTICATION

The untamed, boomtown realm of entertainment artifacts, especially the geekiest ones derived from studio productions and actors' personal estates, has become a potent business (with some auction house experts estimating it has ballooned from $20 million to $40 million in annual sales a decade ago to $200 million to $400 million today). "I have hedge funds looking to diversify into this market," says Darren Julien, CEO of Julien's Auctions.

James Comisar, a collectibles consultant recognized for his authentication expertise, describes how, in an increasingly "seismic" market, collectors "with unlimited spending potential are trying to club each other to death" for a limited number of the most "iconic pieces — the pieces that you recognize from across the room, the ones that don't need a descriptive plaque, the instantly recognizable ones where you creep up to the display case, your voice drops, and you go, 'Holy shit!' " As a result, the hunt is always on for the next cache, and auction houses are constantly working relationships in the hope of securing the deaccession of a production's original materials or a star's personal property, the latter governed by the so-called Four D's of estate sales: death, divorce, debt and downsizing. "That's what I do all day," says Joe Maddalena, owner of Profiles in History, who has handled a series of sales of Debbie Reynolds' belongings before and after her 2016 death, grossing more than $25 million.

It's also a category in which larceny and fraud can flourish because some of the structural safeguards found in analogous markets like the fine art world and sports memorabilia scene have yet to materialize. In addition, law enforcement has generally taken thievery in those other sectors more seriously than cases in the entertainment collectibles realm.

Authentication is an unceasing trial in a milieu that traffics in visual deception in the first place. When clear provenance and chain of title can't be established, it's up to auctioneers and would-be buyers to ferret out frauds, whether purposeful or accidental, outsider efforts or insider cons, true "screen-used" pieces (the most prized) or indistinguishable alternates that may have been prepared for productions but ultimately never used in them (and bear far less value). "When you start selling Michael Jackson's gloves for $400,000, the forgers come out," says Julien, referring to his firm's 2009 sale.

Costume archivist Brown notes that one tack taken in recent years has been the incorporation of DNA into garments. "They document where it is on the costume," he says. Might one surmise that strands of hair are discreetly threaded into the costume? Brown won't reveal the exact nature of the trick. Who knows who will read this? And almost anything can be faked.

To read the complete article, see:
A Marvel Heist and the Booming Business (and Seedy Underworld) of Movie Collectibles (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/seedy-underworld-movie-memorabilia-1117268)

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