Rick Baker—the make-up artist and creature creator who we at The A.V. Club admire very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, much—is downsizing his Cinovation Studios and passing the savings on to you.
Baker, in conjunction with Prop Store Movie Collectibles, will be auctioning off over 30 years of film history in an auction that begins on May 29th. Early in his professional career, Baker served as the prosthetic makeup effects assistant to Dick Smith on The Exorcist, and went on to create some of cinema’s most iconic creatures, from family fare like Harry And The Hendersons and Gremlins 2: The New Batch to more gruesome effects in The Howling and Videodrome. (As it seems to be the theme of the week, it’s worth noting that he had a hand in creating the Cantina band in Star Wars).
“This is definitely a unique opportunity,” says Brandon Alinger, the chief operations officer of the Los Angeles Prop Store. “In my mind, it marks the end of an era…I think it’s quite a thing to watch that place [Cinovation Studios] come apart. You just got the sense that it was the end of something very special.”
While Baker is keeping several items for himself, he says he wanted to share his work “with people who would cherish it.” There is no reserve on any of the items up for auction at Rick Baker’s garage sale, and all items start at a $5 minimum bid. That means, theoretically, fans could possibly score the face and hands from The Incredible Melting Man for less than a cup of coffee.
The collection includes 417 lots from 50 productions spanning Baker’s entire career. Items of note are a mid-transformation werewolf back mold from An American Werewolf In London, estimated at a value of $800-$1,000, as well as a mohawk Mogwai puppet featured in Gremlins 2: The New Batch valued at $6,000.
Pre-bidding on the items has already begun, and the actual auction begins May 29th at 11 a.m. PT.