The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

David and Ryan go spelunking into the gaps and holes in their collections.  Whether it’s by movie (Men in Black, Citizen Kane, The Matrix), genre (70s films, comedies, and 1941), actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), or creature of the animal kingdom (monkeys, of course) the guys search for collectors’ nirvana by identifying the objects that will bring them a sense of completion and peace in their lives....

It's the mailbag episode!  David and Ryan dump out their sacks upon sacks of fan mail and read their favorites on air, doing their best to answer listener questions while going on ridiculous tangents.  They cover topics such as the great lost props of Hollywood, "black hole" collections, trade/cash deals, a future deep-dive topic, the value of props used by problematic people, the classic film 194...

On a very special The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, David and Ryan open up and confess their collecting regrets. They reminisce about a combined lifetime as collectors, revisiting the things they should have bought (like that Greedo mask), those they shouldn't have bought (like that Blade sword), the things they shouldn't have sold (like Hicks' Colonial Marine armor), and all the other things they wou...

Sure we all love the cool Blade Runner poster on our wall, but did you ever wonder who actually painted it?  The answer may surprise you as Ryan and David take you into the world of movie poster original art collecting. Learn all about the golden age of movie posters, how they were commissioned by the studios: the prelims and comps, the foreign editions and how to collect them all.  Hear about tre...

Since the dawn of cinema, producers have given crews “wrap gifts” and the crews have thanked them and sold the gifts on ebay.  Sure, you can find some amazing t-shirts and jackets with the film’s name on it, but that’s not all: wait till you hear about crew hats!  Plus a few other unique items, both good and bad.  Find out where the Cat in the Hat crew gift lands on that scale.  And who better to...

The podcast is dead. Long live the podcast! David and Ryan discuss their cancellation and resurrection as a fully armed and operational pirate ship, now broadcasting from international waters. They give personal updates, talk about their TV shows, their new acquisitions over the last few months, and then the guys discuss the main topic: bad collector behavior. Stay tuned... the rest of season 3 wi...

In the thrilling season two finale, David and Ryan talk museums with Ryan Lintelman, the curator of the Smithsonian's upcoming "Entertainment Nation" exhibit and -- more importantly -- fan of the podcast. Ryan speaks about the plans for the new exhibit and details some of the wonderful film and television pieces in the Smithsonian's collection and the stories behind their acquisition, in...

David and Ryan crack open the latest Prop Store catalog to pore over the latest treasures to hit the block. They discuss screen-matched Nazi demons, more Aliens props, Spectre rings, Gladiator movies, volleyballs named Wilson, hoverboards, the possibility of David expanding his hood ornament collection, what might be the greatest call sheet of all time, and, of course, one of the hosts’ enduring f...

If the deep dive into the Pulse Rifle wasn’t enough, David and Ryan are devoting their latest show to movie guns! Learn what makes a movie gun a movie gun, how movie guns are made, and how to collect them. To help, they are joined by Jason DeBord, Chief Operating Officer of Julien's Auctions. Jason talks about his life as a connoisseur of movie guns and all things Die Hard and the founding of the...

David and Ryan want to introduce you to a personal friends of theirs: the M41-A Pulse Rifle. So load up the dropship for a thrilling deep-dive on one of the greatest science-fiction props of all time as they are joined by the two foremost experts on James Cameron's Aliens: Harry Harris and Willie Goldman. It's the express elevator to hell! We’re in the pike five by five! Put her in charge! Etc. Ho...

David and Ryan lie on the couch while Dr. Shirley Mueller, a licensed psychologist, goes deep inside the collector's brain and attempts to diagnose whatever might be wrong with your hosts. Dr. Mueller, a collector herself, explains the unique gift of being a collector and how it leads to a much richer, more colorful life. It all goes quite well until the guys bring up collecting whisky and antique...

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of is back! And this time, David and Ryan brought a friend: George R. R. Martin. George talks about his life as an "accumulator" of many things, like antique toy knights and prop goodies from Beauty and the Beast. The guys also talk collecting comic books and Steve Ditko art, Bayonne pizza, George wanting to possess his own severed head, and, of course—House of...

David and Ryan discuss their thrilling wins and crushing losses in the recent Prop Store auction while wondering which lunatic spent $238,000 on a space flute, because that person clearly needs help. These two totally rational and practical collectors of better space objects then take stock of their own collections and talk about what they want to find next, and maybe, just maybe, what might need...

Dave and Ryan are joined by real-life movie armorer Tim Lewis to discuss his illustrious career making movie swords for Kingdom of Heaven, Apocalypto, The Old Guard, and the forthcoming House of the Dragon! Go deep down the scabbard hole for an exhaustive discussion about movie swords, as the guys discuss their favorite sword movies like Conan, Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride, Excalibur and of c...

It's “ladies' night” on The Stuff Dreams are Made Of! Or at least “lady night.” David and Ryan are joined by an actual lady collector, Nikki Lietzke who talks about HER experiences as a multi-generational Hollywood kid, loving the classics, attending the Debbie Reynolds auction, and collecting movie memorabilia. The three discuss the general dearth of female collectors in the hobby, and wonder why...

David and Ryan crack open Prop Store's latest auction catalog to take listeners on a page-turn through the 3-day event featuring nearly 1,400 lots. This episode has something for every collector: hero Indy hats, stunt Pulse Rifles, fake Playboys from real movies, crew gifts, the furniture catalog from Fight Club, bullet-hit Bat-symbols, Muppet heads, Spinal Tap jackets, pieces from the flawless Ri...

David and Ryan sit down for an exclusive chat with Laela French, the Director of the Lucasfilm Archives. Laela regales the guys with stories of her 20-year career working in the archives and being surrounded by the most wonderful props, costumes, and models ever made for film, plus the future of the archives and the new Lucas Museum of Narative Art. Dave shares his own stories of his many, many, m...

Two big reasons to cheer: David and Ryan are back for the second season of the BEST (only) movie-prop-celebrating podcast in the free world, AND Raiders of the Lost Ark is turning 40. To celebrate, the guys are doing a deep-dive on Indiana Jones whips from all three movies. Plus collecting during COVID, and the latest on their productions House of the Dragon and White House Plumbers. Again Dr. Jon...

As they wrap up the first season of the podcast, Ryan and David finally answer the most asked question in movie prop collecting: "What does your wife think of all this?" That’s right: special guests Becky Mandel and Caitlin Monahan answer everything you ever wanted to know about what it's like being married to a prop collector. From LORD OF THE RINGS' Gollum to Ricardo Montalban’s fuzzy...

David and Ryan discuss their own experience making movies and television -- and the associated props. Is it different when you're a collector? It sure is! You make to keep! Join the guys as they take a bumpy ride down memory lane and talk about everything from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE'S Nerf Crotchbat, to stealing dishes off the SEINFELD set, hats from CAT IN THE HAT and VEEP's Vagibrary model to the T...

Join David and Ryan as they embark on their first "Deep Dive" -- an exhaustive (and exhausting) exploration of a single Hollywood artifact. Their first subject is the most famous hat in movie history: INDIANA JONES’s fedora. Learn how to ID an Indy hat, the differences between each movie's hat, and which hat the guys might have in their own collections. To aid them in their search for en...

David and Ryan are joined by Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs to discuss all things restoration. When should one restore a prop or costume piece? How much is too much? The guys tell their own restoration stories, like when Ryan rescued John McClane's Beretta from DIE HARD from the world of science-fiction and when Dave brought Chewbacca back to life. But Tom beats them all by telling his story of re...

David and Ryan discuss the art of protecting and properly displaying their collections, how they go about it, who they use to do it, and how, exactly, one goes about displaying Boba Fett’s jetpack and the holy grail from INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. Answer: one chooses wisely. They also wisely chose this week’s guest — creator and host of Disney+’s PROP CULTURE, Dan Lanigan — to talk about...

In the first episode of glorious 2021, David and Ryan discuss the topic that haunts all prop collectors: fakes. Hear all about fake lightsabers, fake Colonial Marine armor, and fake Stormtrooper helmets. Also, what does a COA really mean these days? (Nothing!) And, in a major coup for The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of and geeks everywhere, the guys have booked a very special guest. Download and listen...

On the evening of August 27, 2005 an original pair of Ruby Slippers were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Who stole them? We have no idea, this is not "Serial.” This is a podcast about movie prop collecting, and this week we are talking about one of the "holy grails" of movie prop collecting: the ruby slippers. So Join Dave, Ryan, and Rhys Thomas, auth...