The original 1982 model of E.T. expected to fetch $3 million at auction
The original mechanical model from Stephen Spielberg‘s iconic 1982 film E.T. is going under the hammer as part of the Icons and Idols: Hollywood auction. It will be organised by Julien’s auctions and Turner Classic Movies, and for just $3 million, you could finally give E.T. the home that he has craved for so long.
The film is now 40 years old and, as such, it predated the use of half-decent CGI in film. The consequence of that was that Spielberg had an actual mechanised model for the character of E.T., with 85 points of movement. It had been controlled by 12 professional animators during the film’s scenes.
Carlo Rimbaldi, the Italian special effects icon, designed the model, which is now considered a feat of engineering genius. ET was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and Rimbaldi himself took one home when the film won Best Visual Effects amongst three other awards.
At the Icons and Idols: Hollywood auction, several other pieces of E.T. memorabilia will be up for sale, including the original prototype for the E.T. model and the original blueprint mechanical instruction illustrations, which are set to go for around $15,000 each.
Items from the Harry Potter films are also set to be offered, including the original Nimbus 2000 from Philosopher’s Stone, which could reach $100,000 in price. There will also be a Shooting Star broom and an original Gryffindor overcoat and scarf for sale. So too, will a Gryffindor Quidditch robe from Chamber of Secrets be available for bidding and may earn a sale of around $20,000.
The Icons and Idols: Hollywood auction is set to go ahead on Saturday, December 17th and Sunday, December 18th, in Beverly Hills. The Julien’s Auctions website reads: “The event will include nearly 600 important artefacts taken out of the vault and production archives of Hollywood’s greatest films from the Golden Age of Hollywood to today’s modern and new box office classics as well as pieces rarely seen or coming to the auction block for the first time, celebrating the famous and influential from film, television, stage and more.”
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