The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

How *does* one fly a dragon?  David and Ryan ask Special Effects legend Mike Dawson, designer and builder of the dragon "buck" for House of the Dragon.  They also pester Mike for stories from his totally unfathomable history as a SFX man going all the way back to Superman: The Movie and through Raiders and Empire and Jedi and Temple and Roger Rabbit and Last Crusade!  Come for the dragon scuttlebu...

Marvel movies have never been hotter.  Wait.  Sorry.  OK, what do we do to make people listen to this episode of The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of?  I know, we bring back the original Avengers!  On today’s all new episode Dave and Ryan chat with Chris Donio, maker, builder and minder of specialty costumes from the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame!  And Captain America: Civil War.  And Shazam and Blue...

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Anthony Daniels.    But, unlike some previous episodes of the podcast, this man is actually here in the studio. Virtually. David and Ryan execute an absolute freakin' coup and bring on C-3PO himself, Mr. Anthony Daniels. The guys ask him about his collection from his screen-matched A New Hope hero helmet, to his annotated scripts and learning Ewokese, to his appearance on...

Still tired and poor from holding up paddles in the Greg Jein auction, David and Ryan get their hands on the catalog for Propstore's London auction, taking place from November 9-12. In a super-duper-sized page-turn, the guys hit the highlights such as the good Alien movies (APCs, Pulse Rifles, mini-armor!) and the bad ones (Covenant), Back to the Future time machine parts, a healthy debate over Ba...

David and Ryan sit down for a long-form chat with the co-founder of Screen-Used (RIP), one of the outfits that helped to bring movie memorabilia collecting out of the niche and into the mainstream. Desi talks about his story, how he discovered collecting (via a Back to the Future II hoverboard), how built his passion up into a viable retail and auction business -- all while holding down a grow-up...

All of America and Dave’s wife are wondering: Did Dave win the X-wing? Tune in to find out. Hear all about the wins, the losses, the endless sitting. Where does the Star Trek market stand?  And who or what was the mysterious Bidder 7101. Ryan and a slightly dazed Dave take us moment by moment, bid by bid, Shatner hairpiece by hairpiece through the incredible weekend in Dallas that was the Jein Col...

Everything is in the wrong order. The big stuff comes last and the small stuff comes first. What if we're too responsible, and we end up with nothing? Holy Batman props, Batman! Why is there another X-Wing? Did we wrong the prop gods?  Everyone will have spent all their money on the TOS Trek stuff, right? Right? Dave already has a Stormtrooper from A New Hope. So what that this one is in perfect c...

David and Ryan are joined by John Walsh, the author of "Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film", Titan publishing's brand new look at the making of the 1982 cult classic. John regales the guys with stories of trying to dig up new, old information, trying to get an audience with Arnold himself, why Dino DeLaurentis productions have so little behind the scenes photos -- and then, some e...

In another coup for the podcast, David and Ryan are joined by Weta mastersmith Peter Lyon who fabricated all the swords for the greatest fantasy trilogy of our time. Peter takes the guys through his early days as a medieval reenactor and film fan in far-flung, pre-internet New Zealand and talks about making armor and swords for practical use, and then that inconceivable day when his phone rang he...

David and Ryan have learned all there is to know about the Greg Jein collection (not that they'll stop talking about it anytime soon..) But who was Greg Jein: the man? To find out, they speak to two people who actually knew him: John Eaves, conceptual artist and model builder for Industrial Light and Magic, and Joe Maddalena, his friend and his "supplier of rare antiquities". Put your auction padd...

In this super-sized final installment, the guys complete their climb of the Everest that is the Greg Jein collection. Beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation and going through Star Wars and beyond, the guys cover what is perhaps their most alluring part of the catalog... at least to David. They discuss everything "New Trek" from Picard to Voyager to the JJ-verse. Then, they stare at a monoli...

In part two of their enthralling catalog deep-dive trilogy, David and Ryan are re-joined by collector, friend of Greg Jein, and Trekspert Rob Klein to page through the beating heart of the collection: Kirk and Spock Star Trek. Beginning with the laser pistol from the original, un-aired pilot of Star Trek (The Cage!) and going all the way through Star Trek: Generations, listen as the guys go on a t...

The internet’s favorite (and possibly only) movie props podcast returns for its sixth season with big news (!) from our new sponsor (!!) — the Greg Jein Collection is going under the hammer at Heritage Auctions on October 14 and 15 in Dallas.   Over the next few episodes, David and Ryan will look to get to know Greg Jein by talking to the people who knew him as they go page-by-page through what ha...

The full length bonus episode where Ryan and David recap and analyze the June 2023 Propstore auction. They talk wins, losses, and much more on this in-between-seasons one off! SDAMO - Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/ SDAMO - Threads  https://www.threads.net/@propspodcast SDAMO - Twitter  https://twitter.com/propspodcast?lang=en SDAMO - Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/propspodc...

For the third season in a row, Chuck Costas of Propstore joins us to reveal who the winner is of the Ryan10 / Dave10 contest! SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/ SDAMO - Threads https://www.threads.net/@propspodcast SDAMO - Twitter https://twitter.com/propspodcast?lang=en SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/ David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.co...

In a first for The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, David and Ryan make their point succinctly. And that point is—if you want to hear the full BONUS episode recapping and analyzing the June Propstore auction, you have to send us your email address. You’re a collector; you know you’ve gotta have it. Email us:  dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com   OR click this form to sign up for the episode:  https://forms...

Put on a comfy pair of pants (trousers for our UK friends) and buckle in for part two of David and Ryan's deep-dive into Propstore's auction catalog, covering the rest of the live auction at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on June 28. This one will take you from Lord of the Rings to X-Men claws, including Morghul blades, Star Lord helmets, MIB aliens, sporting goods from The Natural,...

David and Ryan dive into the all-new, super-sized Propstore catalog for the summer live auction on June 28th in Los Angeles. The guys begin with the first half of Day 1’s 523 lots, covering all things from 2010 to Karate Kid II. There are full Batman costumes (from scary good to plain scary), Blade Runner costumes, ILM cameras, a stunning (if complicated, for Dave) Braveheart collection, everythin...

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of is joined by the great Rob Liefeld, iconic Marvel Comics artist, co-founder of Image Comics, creator of Cable and Deadpool, and most importantly for this podcast, collector! Rob regales the guys with stories of growing up in the 70s and collecting comics, breaking in at the ripe old age of 18, buying original comic art, and seeing all his dreams come true in his 20s, n...

David and Ryan go head-to-head discussing how they try to avoid going head-to-head against friends in the prop world. Is all fair in love and war? Have the guys ever bid against each other? Did Ryan bid up the X-Wing? Join the guys for a lively discussion about being friends and collectors. Co-llectors? Auc-chums? Bid buds? And then, a bonus: the first ever live bidding on the Stuff Dreams Are Mad...

David and Ryan are joined by the creator of Filmumentaries and its eponymous podcast, Jamie Benning. A fellow lifelong cinema nerd, Jamie tells the guys about how he became not a collector of stuff, but a collector of stories - and how he spun that obsession into a life of adventure, making documentaries and podcasts about the history of his (and our) favorite films. His passions got him access to...

David and Ryan discuss a theory by the Honest Broker, Ted Gioia, that popular culture lives and dies in 80-year cycles. What does that mean for movie memorabilia? How has that impacted more mature hobbies like art collecting? The guys dig in and try to suss out whether the stuff their dreams are made of has an expiration date. And, of course, they discuss how this all relates to Star Wars. Hosted...

Not at all live from Star Wars Celebration in London, David and Ryan want to wish you a happy May the 4th -- No! Stop it. Please stop celebrating Star Wars on May the 4th, and with the stupid pun. It makes us crazy. The summer auction season unofficially kicked off in London when Propstore showcased three incredible, A-level original Star Wars artifacts before they go under the hammer this year. T...

David and Ryan are joined by living legend Alec Gillis to discuss his illustrious (and ongoing!) career as a creature designer and practical effects wizard. He tells the guys about his first job with Richard Corman, going to see Alien with James freaking Cameron, subsequently getting a job on James freaking Cameron's Aliens and building the infamous Alien Queen (first out of garbage bags), all bef...

David and Ryan tear open their first auction catalog of the summer season: Julien's "Hollywood: Classic & Contemporary" done in partnership with TCM -- and all sponsored by Propstore! The guys talk Indiana Jones machetes, Men in Black suits, vintage scripts, Harpo Marx's tasteful nudes, Carlo Rimbaldi's Alien designs, and Die Hard storyboards. Lots and lots and lots of Die Hard storyboards. So man...