Han Solo's Iconic Blaster From Episode VI Pulls Over $500k at Auction

Han Solo’s iconic blaster from Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi has just sold for over $500,000. The real prop, touched by the sacred hands of Harrison Ford himself, sold at auction at the Planet Hollywood Casino-Resort in Las Vegas on Saturday along with a few other classic items from various films.

Star Wars is one of the most successful franchises in film history, second only to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 1983, George Lucas graced his devoted fans with the conclusive third instalment of his original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. The film introduced us to a host of new weird and wonderful characters from the malevolent gangster Jabba the Hutt and his creepy entourage of monsters to the adorable Ewoks on the mysterious Forest Moon of Endor. Other quintessential characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewie and of course Han Solo returned for another adventure, fighting the evil Emperor and his puppet Darth Vader.

At an auction in Las Vegas, Han Solo’s blaster prop from the movie sold along with other items from the personal collection of Art Director James L. Schoppe. The item, mostly made of wood, was bought for a whopping $550,000 by American news company turned museum chain Ripley’s Believe It or Not! the owners of Luke Skywalker’s official lightsaber prop from Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980). According to an article published by the prestigious buyers, the movie prop’s design is based on a German Mauser C96, a weapon widely used during World War II with an added futuristic extension to the end of the barrel and a large scope on top. In their extensive collection of odd memorabilia, Ripley’s also own an original R2 unit, C3PO’s head and a model of the illustrious Millennium Falcon made of matchsticks.

Although Han’s blaster was the star of the show, some 40 items previously owned by Schoppe were sold at the same auction hosted by Julien’s Auctions of California including an Ewok axe prop which went $11,000 and an Imperial Scout Trooper’s blaster, selling for a huge $90,000.

The event wasn’t just for Star Wars memorabilia, though. Schoppe also parted with a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe, the profits of which benefitted the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation to the tune of $50,000 and a Superman suit worn by Christopher Reeve on the set of Superman III that sold for a colossal $200,000, beating its original estimate.

The sale still hasn’t come close to the all-time record number still held by California auction house Profiles in History who sold an R2D2 unit last year at auction for an astonishing $2.75 million! As the original Star Wars trilogy increases in age, the props and memorabilia from the films continue to increase exponentially in value. Future auctions may sell more props for some astounding figures!

Source: Jose Martinez/Complex Media, Matt Wood/Cinema Blend, Associated Press, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Josh Brolin Reads Trump Tweets Aloud on The Late Show… as Thanos

Mr. Josh Brolin is among a small collective of the most weird and wonderful actors in Hollywood. In this recent interview with Stephen Colbert on the late show, he proved just that after a series of delightfully bizarre bits and anecdotes led to him reading from Donald Trump’s Twitter feed in the voice of Infinity War’s Thanos.

Brolin is quite the actor about town these days known for his dower and intense delivery for his characters. Colbert referred to a “summer of Brolin” following the Sin City 2 actor’s success with roles in the upcoming Sicario: Day of The Soldado as well as Deadpool 2, and as the infamous Thanos in Marvel’s latest box office smash Avengers: Infinity War, a character that Josh himself as well as some movie-goers have compared to US President Donald Trump.

Brolin appeared on The Late Show to plug the new Sicario movie and after repeatedly getting side-tracked into comedic improv bits, eating pretzels and even an arm wrestle with host Stephen Colbert. These weren’t the only segments of interest in the show, however! In the interview, Brolin even mentioned a few childhood memories that provided a unique insight into his surreal life, recalling how he grew up in an exotic animal rescue waystation with his mother, birthing mountain lions at just 7 years old!

Towards the end of the interview, Josh adds a few points comparing Thanos to President Trump and finishes the interview with some hilarious voice acting as he mocks Trump’s well-known Tweets delivered using the voice of his sinister Infinity War character. This interview is not to be missed!

Sicario: Day of The Soldado is in theaters on June 29^th.

Jurassic World 2's Heartbreaking Scene... You Know the One...

A tragic scene in Universal’s new release Jurassic World 2: Fallen Kingdom has shaken moviegoers to the core with the tragic death of a brachiosaurus. The follow-up to 2015’s Jurassic World was released on June 6^th and is currently still in cinemas boasting an impressive $466m at the worldwide box office to date and climbing.

Directed by J.A. Bayona, the new addition to the Jurassic Park franchise stars Bryce Dallas-Howard and Chris Pratt (as well as a few other household names) reprising their roles as Claire Dearing and Owen Grady respectively. The movie takes us back to the roots of the story to the fictitious Isla Nublar where the now wild population of de-extinct dinosaurs is in mortal danger from an imminent volcano eruption. The heroes must rescue each species from certain extinction and relocate them to a new island safe from human interference.

One scene in particular caught the teary eyes of fans as the story began to unfold. As our protagonists are leaving on a boat bound for the US, they see the island rapidly erupting in a cloud of fire and ash. A lone brachiosaurus makes its way to the pier and along with a heart-breaking music score, is tragically engulfed in the smoke. Fans immediately took to twitter to vent their reactions to the highly emotional scene. This could be seen as a not-so-subtle nod to the original film reminiscent of our first introduction to real live dinosaurs. It’s a reminder of the scene in which Sam Neill and Laura Dern stare in wonder at a giant majestic brachiosaurus, brought back from extinction for the first time in 65 million years making the Jurassic World 2 clip all the more heartfelt.

Universal Pictures first enticed potential viewers with a trailer featuring none other than Jeff Goldblum returning as veteran dinosaur damage-control expert Ian Malcolm. It also features a few new faces such as Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Rafe Spall and the terrifying Toby Jones whom many viewers may recall as the sinister serial killing entrepreneur, Culverton Smith of BBC series Sherlock. We are also gifted with the return of B.D. Wong as the tragically greed-driven Dr. Wu and of course Blue, the last survivor from the clutch of Owen Grady’s trained velociraptors.

The sequel has impressed movie buffs across the globe with a bold new take on the traditional “man meets dinosaur” motif seen in previous instalments of the franchise. The film marks the 25^th anniversary of the release of the classic 1993 dino-romp Jurassic Park, during which time, fans have witnessed a steep rise in the quality of CGI, animatronics and of course the depth and drama of the storylines. With a tense cliff-hanger ending, fans are eager to find out what the franchise has to offer next.

Yes, There Are Sharks in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Ubisoft’s new release Assassin’s Creed Odyssey features some stylish naval combat and just to make things a little more interesting, they’ve thrown in a few sharks! The latest instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is primed for release in October of this year.

Odyssey sticks to the usual formula of two stories running side by side; one set in the modern day and one set inside the Animus reliving the memories of the main character’s ancestor. The game is set in Ancient Greece circa 431 BCE, 400 years before its predecessor Assassin’s Creed Origins (2017) and gives the player a choice of two characters: Alexios and Kassandra. It features ship-based fighting element reminiscent of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and according to Ubisoft America’s trailer, also provides the player an RPG-like component with interactive dialogue.

Jonathan Dumont, Odyssey’s creative director posted an interactive thread on Reddit to answer fans’ questions about the game. In answer to being asked if ships had the same importance as in Black Flag, Dumont replied that although naval combat is not so much a core element, it does have a strong place in Odyssey only with more primitive weaponry so as to remain true to the era. Dumont then dropped the real bombshell when he mentioned “cleaving a ship in half and seeing her crew devoured by sharks!” Gaming journalist Brian Crecente posted a short gameplay video on June 21^st proving that deadly sharks do indeed feature in the game. The gameplay footage shows a shark attacking Odyssey’s protagonist and it definitely looks a little reminiscent of the diving bell missions in Black Flag and its 2014 follow-up, Rogue.

Following the success of 2017’s Origins, Ubisoft are really stepping up their game, prioritising better story lines, graphics, maps and new changes to existing features in the franchise. Players are now privy to a much deeper and ever-expanding view into the history of the Assassin’s brotherhood and of course, the vicious and deluded antagonists, the Templars.

We’ve come a long way since 2007’s first instalment in the franchise and its best-selling follow-up Assassin’s Creed II, when players were first introduced to renaissance rebel Ezio Auditore. Ubisoft has guided us through the ages with stories set in the Third Crusade, Colonial America, Revolutionary France, Dickensian London and of course Ancient Egypt. With so many periods of history from which to choose, the future of the inexhaustible Assassin’s Creed franchise is bright and full of mystery. It remains to be seen which era they’ll tackle next!

Review - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This month, Universal and J.A. Bayona brought us the fifth instalment in the mighty Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The new dino-romp has pulled down a whopping $150m in foreign box office sales in its opening weekend, with domestic numbers still to be released. With a budget of just $170m in comparison, it’s already on a B-line towards global success.

The story takes us back to Isla Nublar, the setting of the film’s 2015 predecessor as well as the classic first instalment back in ’93. The de-extinct prehistoric populous is under threat from a deadly volcano, spelling imminent doom for the island until our crooked friends at Ingen arrive to capture the dinosaurs as part of a savage plot to sell them off to the highest bidder back in the States.

This time around, we’re given some new deadly dinosaurs never before see in the franchise, a closer look at Owen Grady’s research with the adorable baby velociraptors and a brand shiny new genetic hybrid coined the “Indo-Raptor”, as well as the return of our favourite friendly neighbourhood Tyrannosaurus Rex and Grady’s beloved pet beta Velociraptor, “Blue”.

Fans of interesting filming locations are in for a treat with Fallen Kingdom! With the majority of the filming taking place either in Hawaii or England and Scotland (codenamed under the working title Ancient Futures), the scenery on location is really something quite spectacular to behold. Rolling hills, mountain ranges and dense forest provide a beautiful setting for the film, mirroring the ancient world of prehistory from which the dinosaurs first evolved, coupled with some strikingly dramatic CGI during the volcano eruption scenes.

As per usual, the franchise’s fanbase remain selectively blind to the continuity errors, scientific inaccuracies and a convenient lack of common sense on behalf of the characters to further the plot… Ignorance is bliss! The films are (and have always been) a bit silly but we can let it slide for the sake of quality cinema and a feel-good franchise that just keeps on giving!

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard did not disappoint in the slightest, returning in the second round alongside B.D. Wong as the smooth, double-crossing mad scientist, Dr. Henry Wu. New faces Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda as computer hacker, Franklin, and wise cracking paleoveterinarian, Zia (respectively) make a formidable new back-up team for our heroes with some great snappy dialogue, although their characters are clearly a cringe-worthy dig at typical millennials that some viewers born after 1983 may feel the need to tweet about furiously.

Other fresh faces include Rafe Spall (Hot Fuzz), Ted Levine (Shutter Island), James Cromwell (Spider-Man 3) and the truly terrifying “face you just want to hit repeatedly” Toby Jones whom you’ll likely recognise as Sherlock serial killer Culverton Smith as well as roles in Captain America, and The Hunger Games.

Last but not least, the new instalment handed us a cameo and loose commentary from none other than the amazing Jeff Goldblum returning to his role for the first time since 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is out in cinemas now and is currently ranked the fourth-fastest-grossing film worldwide.

Is "Solo: A Star Wars Story" Really A Box Office Disaster?

*There are NO spoilers in this post*

This year, Disney, Ron Howard and the Kasdan Family gave us our sophomore stand-alone Star Wars movie focused on our favourite lovable nerf-herder, the one and only Han Solo. The story surrounds a young Han in the early days of his career as a swindling soldier of fortune. The galaxy is in disarray. Anarchy and lawlessness have made way for the Empire to begin its Nazi-reminiscent march of domination as savage organised crime syndicates run wild beneath.

Good start, right?

Alden Ehrenreich takes the lead with a very natural and aesthetically accurate performance reprising Harrison Ford’s iconic role supported by Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, Terminator Genisys), Donald Glover (Spider-Man Homecoming, The Martian), Thandie Newton (Westworld, 2012), Paul Bettany (Avengers, Legend) and of course, spectacularly diverse movie veteran Woody Harrelson, adding yet another great film to his already impressive resume.

Now then… We’ve all seen the clickbait posts popping up all over social media. We’ve all seen the stories making Solo out to be a box office disaster… But is it? Well since everyone seems to be fixating on the box office takings, let’s examine the numbers in a little more detail:

As of June 4^th, 2018, Solo: A Star Wars Story has earned a total of around $152m domestically and $115m internationally adding up to a total of $267m worldwide. In its opening weekend, the film took home $84.4m. Not a bad haul, right? You would think not, however the number represents just 34% of its gargantuan $250m budget. Disaster! What would account for that, I wonder?

1.  Well, Solo was released on Memorial Day Weekend, a time of year notorious for poor cinema takings. Even then, Solo is the seventh highest grossing film ever released on Memorial Day Weekend, beating blockbuster hits such as X-Men Apocalypse, Men in Black 3 and the latest release in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

2.  The film has also been heavily boycotted by elitist fans due to outrage over The Last Jedi. Some viewers felt that Disney didn’t have their best interests in mind during the production of the eighth instalment of the main-line Star Wars franchise. Some felt that the Han Solo backstory was a film they never wanted or asked for in the first place and as such, Disney had no right to make it.

3.  Solo is up against some pretty stiff competition in cinemas from Avengers Infinity War and Deadpool 2 creating a tricky decision for non-regular cinema goers, particularly with Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom just around the corner.

4.  Just in case anyone missed it, Solo’s budget was extremely high, standing at a whopping $250m. It’s currently ranked the most expensive movie in the franchise and the ninth most expensive movie of all time.

There are definitely extenuating circumstances that could skew the takings slightly. While we’re still crunching numbers, let’s bring a little optimism to the proceedings!

After its second week in cinemas, Solo is already the fifth highest grossing movie of the year. Also, let’s be fair; fans who believe that the quality of a movie revolves around its box office success are perhaps a little blindsided. “More statistics to back that up, please” you ask? Well, alrighty then!

In its opening weekend, the original Star Wars movie made just $1.55m against an $11m budget representing a pity-inspiring 14%. That's $6.4m against $45.48m adjusted for inflation from 1977.

The film was an exceptional example of a much sought-after origin story, the cast was brilliant and very well chosen and it holds up very well alongside Rogue One in the extended collection outside the story arcs of episodes I to IX.

Go and see the film, you know it to be true!

Statistics from www.boxofficemojo.com

Additional data from www.imdb.com