The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

House of the Dragon Season 2 production has begun! David and Ryan are joined by Ellie Murphy, Action Prop Supervisor, to discuss prop-making across Season 1 and maybe even a little bit about what's to come in Season 2. The guys get an inside look at their favorite filmmaking department as they chat crowns, eggs, egg-warming-devices, canes, tableware -- anything but the pointy-bits (Ellie doesn't m...

For the second time in its storied history, David and Ryan are joined by Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs to discuss saving memorabilia from the abyss of time. Tom takes the guys through his story of being a film fan, a collector, and a monster-maker before finding his way into the niche business of saving your props, creatures, and costume pieces from the rubbish heap. He’s a one-man memorabilia ti...

David and Ryan are joined by Pixar director and The Shining aficionado to discuss his masterwork, Taschen's  Stanley Kubrick's The Shining , a massive, limited edition collector's trove of "Making Of" material about The Shining, including the definitive story of the making of the Kubrick classic. Lee regales the guys with stories from decades of running TheOverlookHotel.com , the once and future d...

Ever wonder how to start a collection? David and Ryan are joined by "friend of Stuff (FOS)" and original comic art expert Kelvin Mao to discuss all the intricacies of collecting original comic art. Dave and Kelvin then help Ryan build his dream collection piece by piece and are delighted - and sometimes horrified - as they learn about the kinds of comic art sought after by Ryan’s generation. Frank...

David and Ryan are joined by long-time collector, film crew member, and human Glen Carroll. The guys talk about what exactly it is an Assistant Director does and dive deep with one of the foremost experts on collecting clapperboards (or are they slates?) and go all the way from Willow (niche!) to The Princess Bride to The Shining (sorry Glen) to Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination. Back to one...

David and Ryan rip open the mailbag and read some listener mail on the air. They discuss a cornucopia of topics, from the Lucas museum to House of the Dragon props to questionable Conan swords to ethics to conservation to storyboards and favorite props used in other films. It’s a prop topic extravaganza! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...

The results are in! Find out who the winner is of the “Your Favorite Host” contest, as Propstore’s Chuck Costas joins the boys to reveal the winner of the second Dave10/Ryan10 contest. Spoiler: it did not go well for one of your co-hosts! And it’s not who you think it is? Or maybe it is? After laurels are placed and wounds are licked, the guys welcome the winner of the fan contest - Super-fan Stef...

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of has returned for its fifth season! To begin this new collecting odyssey, the guys go back to where it began for many a movie prop collector -- the original movie poster. To discuss the topic and their own movie poster collections, the guys are joined by movie poster guru Grey Smith, who has been obsessing about and collecting movie posters since the 1960s. They talk 19...

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year from the Stuff Dreams are Made Of! David and Ryan get loaded up on eggnog and wrap up a busy 2022 with a holiday party potluck of topics like the year-end auctions, their collecting plans for 2023, their favorite Christmas movies, and other related (and unrelated) topics before they bid farewell to another collecting year. Hosted by Simplecast, a...

After multiple COVID cancellations, Dave finally took his family on a special guided tour of the Academy Museum… yet another in a long, long line of archives that Dave has visited and Ryan has not. The guys chat with the Academy museum’s Senior Curator, Collections and Curatorial Affairs, Nathalie Morris and learn all about the Academy’s collection... from a 40-foot scenic painting for North by No...

Adam Savage (Tested, Mythbusters) joins hosts David and Ryan to dive deep into the history of the very MacGuffin that inspired the title of your favorite movie props podcast -- the Maltese Falcon! Or, in the words of Sam Spade, “The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of.” Literally! A delighted Adam (who gets to talk rather than build stuff) discusses his history in the entertainment business making...

After 40-some episodes of the podcast, David and Ryan realize that they've never talked about collecting their particular contribution to the entertainment business: the script.  While it's a heavily-collected category of memorabilia, it is perhaps one of the least-discussed.  Well, that all changes today!  Join the guys as they cover every facet of collecting scripts: what interests them, what th...

Could you imagine a time in your prop-collecting life when you would be ready to say goodbye to your things?  Dave and Ryan certainly cannot... but they are joined by Aliens super-collector Harry Harris who made such a decision and recently auctioned off most of his incredible precious-es.  What drives a collector to sell?  When is it time?  Are there regrets?  Will Ryan and Dave be buried with th...

David and Ryan are joined by longtime collector, friend, Clint Eastwood expert and all-around-great-guy Tim Lawes to talk about the "good 'ole days" when collecting props and costumes was even more niche and weird (and most importantly -- cheaper!) than it is now. Tim regales the guys with tales of yore, including traveling around the US by bus, and being "the man in London" who had access to all...

A flood in Dave’s prop-collecting condo prompts a heart-to-heart discussion about the burdens of prop ownership and how to properly care for, protect, and insure your life’s work.  How big a collection is too big?  Is it when you can't remember how many Stormtrooper helmets you have?  And does anybody have a room they can rent Dave? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...

Ryan and David are thinking about House of the Dragon spoilers as they check out the jam-packed catalog for the November 3 - 6 Propstore Entertainment Live Auction in London.  From Roy Batty’s Blade Runner trenchcoat to Andy Dufresne’s Shawshank Redemption bible, from something from Star Wars to something else from Star Wars, the boys are checking out Day 1 of the auction—all under the incredibly...

David and Ryan host a terrifying (well, maybe just spooky) Halloween episode of the podcast to speak about horror movies and horror props. The guys are joined by special guest and horror connoisseur Mario Kirner who has one of the most horrifyingly curated horror collections in the world. Come into our basement. If you dare. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informa...

Nothing holds an edge like Valyrian Steel... except maybe the return of the best podcast about collecting movie props! The boys are back for a brand new season, and they're chatting what's new in props, House of the Dragon, and what's ahead for The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of. Then, David and Ryan are joined by swordsmith (don't call him "master") Peter Johnsson of Sweden who designed and built the "...

It's all over but the crying, and David does a bit of it on this post-auction post-mortem.  In what is either a Season 3 bonus episode or a teaser for Season 4, the guys break down that ultra-marathon, four-day Propstore auction and discuss their wins and losses, and they talk a *lot* about that screen-matched X-Wing.  In what little time remains, they also discuss what Ryan won and lost and sold...

In a first for the Stuff Dreams are Made Of, David and Ryan discuss their preparations for the June Prop Store auction.  David consternates for a long time regarding the X-Wing, theoretical and practical economics, and the meaning of life itself.  Ryan then talks about having to bid on a pricey Batman Returns speargun before his consigned Indiana Jones lots sell, which is a bit of a gamble.  He al...

David and Ryan hydrate and take their vitamins before another marathon catalog session, covering days 2 through 18 of Prop Store's summer auction.  They cover such topics as hand-illustrated storyboards, crew gifts, Beetlejuice maquettes, the delight of Cabin Boy, a starter Conan collection, bearer bonds, Home Alone newspapers, the Last Action Hero, Masters of the Universe, original Tim Burton art...

In this super-sized, pants-shitting episode, David and Ryan page turn the spectacular new catalog for the June 21-24 Prop Store auction.  They discuss a massive Aliens lode, Batman spearguns, scissorhands, hoverboards, Wilson!, grail diaries and holy grails, Hatori Hanzo swords, Star Fleet uniforms, a “pretty cool” X-Wing model, and David wonders aloud if bidding against him might cause sudden dea...

In literally their most literate and literary episode yet, David and Ryan venture into the reference library to talk about their favorite prop books and movie books.  They cover everything from the essential JW Rinzler collection to a must-have series of 1982 “making of” articles written about Conan the Barbarian.  Magazines, remember them?  A walk through the Mandel and Condal stacks highlights t...

In their first (almost; they tried) hour-long episode in some time, David and Ryan take a stroll down memory lane, recalling two of their favorite tales of “The Hunt.”  Ryan tells the story of questing in the Southern Californian desert to unearth Wyatt Earp’s hero pistol from Tombstone, and David, in a complete change of pace, talks about Star Wars! Specifically, the acquisition of his first Stor...

May the 4th be with you!  In their first ever Star Wars "deep dive," David and Ryan move along into the wonders and mysteries of the imperial stormtrooper helmet.  Joining them is a man who is always at his post: Gino Sabatino of Star Wars Icons, the world's foremost expert on all things stormtrooper.  The guys honor David's favorite holiday, Star Wars Day, as they discuss hero helmets, background...