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Friday, April 1, 2011

Selling point: Spock's ear to be auctioned

Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek (1979)
Case in point … Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek (1979) Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Framed above the fireplace or simply sported by its owner, this is one movie collectable that would be a guaranteed conversation starter. One of the ears worn by Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock in the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture is to be auctioned tomorrow.


The appendage, one of Spock's most recgonisable features, is part of a pair acquired from the prop master on the film, and has been lovingly preserved.

"It was carefully wrapped up, which is important because silicone latex can deteriorate," a spokesman for the auctioneers, Premiere Props in Los Angeles, told the Daily Express.

"Spock's ears are an iconic part of Star Trek and fans across the world would love to own it – we've already had lots of bids," he said. Conservative estimates suggest the ear is likely to fetch around £700.

The half-human, half-Vulcan sidekick of Captain Kirk, commander of the USS Enterprise, Spock's curious appearance was initially a concern for producers who feared his satanic looks might scare children.

The ear is the centrepiece of a sale of more than 500 Hollywood props from dozens of films, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones and forthcoming slasher The Roommate. Other items include a Tom Cruise stuntman mask from Mission: Impossible (estimates $200 - $350), a pair of Cher's "personal pants … gold with gold sequins, bell-bottom style ankles, zipper on the back", and Charlton Heston's breeches from The Agony and the Ecstasy (no bids yet).

Meanwhile, Kevin Smith is helping meet the self-distribution costs of his horror film, Red State, by auctioning some of his personal memorabilia next month.

Items up for grabs include Ben Affleck's fake wings from Dogma, a burnt-out cash register featured in Clerks II and a foam rubber fist from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/apr/01/spocks-ear-auction-star-trek

Leonard Nimoy's Transformers 3 Role Ends Star Trek Star's Retirement

Leonard Nimoy's voice role in the upcoming Transformers 3 will end the Star Trek star's retirement, just a year after he announced it.

Michael Bay, the film's director, tells Entertainment Weekly that initially he wasn't sure if he could afford Nimoy's salary. Nimoy has been very choosy about his roles in recent years, and his decision not to reprise his Mr. Spock character for Star Trek: Generations required the film's screenwriters to bring in other characters from the original Star Trek series to take his place.

"I was too scared to ask him," Bay says. "Plus, he's married to Susan Bay, who's a cousin of mine. So I had to be careful. I've met him at family functions. But he told me, 'I would be honored. I'm glad to be back!'"

Nimoy previously voiced the character Galvatron in 1986′s The Transformers: The Movie.

In Transformers 3, Nimoy will voice Sentinel Prime, the predecessor of Optimus Prime. The wreck of Sentinel Prime's body is seen in the teaser trailer, discovered on the moon in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts. After he is brought to earth, he takes on the form of a fire engine for the film's climactic battle in Chicago.

The blockbuster Transformers film franchise is based on the hugely popular Transformers toy line by Hasbro. First released in 1984, the toys have inspired TV shows, comic books, movies and video games. Bay's 2007 feature based on the toys was the highest grossing non-sequel movie in 2007, taking in $709.7 million. Bay's sequel, 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, grossed $100 million more than the original.

Nimoy, who turned 80 last weekend, has been busy in recent years. He reprised the role of Spock in J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot, playing alongside Zachary Quinto's younger version of the character, and he's had a recurring role in the Fox TV series Fringe.
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_7721.shtml