Saruman’s staff to whip up R1m bid
MOVIE fans will be keeping a close eye on a Bonhams “There’s no place like Hollywood” auction coming up in New York in November.
Highlights will include two of the main weapons of good and evil from the Lord of
the Rings movies – Saruman’s staff and Aragorn’s sword – from Christopher Lee’s personal collection.
The wizard’s staff, topped by a pronged resin crown which cradles a hand-blown glass orb, is estimated at $100 000 to $150 000 (R1.06-million to R1.6-million) while the sword has an estimate of $150 000 to $250 000 (R2.65-million). Items from Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind will also form part of the November 24 auction.
Meanwhile, another Gone with the Wind item is generating interest ahead of an auction in Dallas, Texas.
A previously unknown script for the film with an alternate ending has been discovered.
Instead of Vivienne Lee’s character, Scarlett O’Hara, speaking the famous line “After all, tomorrow is another day” she appeared much more distraught and desperately called after her ex-lover Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable.
In the rare script she shouted: “Rhett! Rhett! You’ll come back. You’ll come back . . . I know you will!”
The 251-page script has been given an auction estimate of $5 000 (R53 000).
Upcoming local auctions
Other than the regular weekly auctions for Rose-Innes Auctioneers in East London today and Vigne and Howard in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, the only other one to speak of is on Tuesday at 10am.
GoIndustry DoveBid will be auctioning a vacant plot in Seamist Drive, Emerald Heights, Port Alfred.