ANDREA ALVIN APPEARS ON THE POPULAR PROPS AND FILM ART PODCAST THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF:
Recently, we posted a blog about the discovery and return of Blade Runner art used in the making of the poster for Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi classic. You can read about that HERE. As many of you know, Leslie of ArtInsights works with the John Alvin Art Estate, and Andrea Alvin of Alvin and Associates and John’s life partner, to bring awareness to John Alvin’s legacy, sell original and limited edition art by the artist, and just generally promote his importance to the history of film and his place in the history of illustration art.
Once we found out what was happening with the Blade Runner art, we wanted to spread the word. We are thrilled we’re able to partner with movie prop, art, and memorabilia collectors and film lovers David Mandel (Emmy-winning writer and showrunner of VEEP) and Ryan Condal (Emmy-nominated writer and showrunner of House of the Dragon), to talk about it on their podcast The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of. Andrea Alvin was a guest of the show, and spoke about her experience working to get the art back, what is happening to it now, and how she sees the future, in terms of the importance of film art in general and John Alvin’s contributions in particular.
The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of was launched by longtime friends and movie geeks Mandel and Condal in 2020. It has gotten a lot attention by the press and is not only highly regarded but very popular with movie lovers around the world. Vulture wrote an article on the podcast when it premiered, interviewing the co-hosts and mentioning both collectors’ bone fides. The Hollywood Reporter wrote about the blog in 2020, as well as did the CBC in Canada. Mandel has a second apartment in LA dedicated to his prop and movie art collection, and Condal has been collecting important movie props for some time, including a substantial and impressive Indiana Jones collection. The Hollywood Reporter wrote an article about the time they had George RR Martin on the show, and George himself wrote about it on his blog, “Not a Blog”. It was referenced in an article about Sean Connery in the British online culture magazine Far Out.
It’s no wonder the show has become so popular!
On it, Andrea Alvin also talks a bit about the fact that the Alvin family, with the help of Leslie Combemale, is selling the entire John Alvin Art Estate, which is comprised of over 1000 original drawings and paintings from John’s extensive career in film. Included in the collection are originals from Aladdin, Arachnophobia, Atlantis, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Hook, Pinocchio, Pocahontas, Alien vs Predator, Silent Movie, Spaceballs, the Star Wars franchise, Tarzan, Emperor’s New Groove, Hunchback, Lion King, Princess Bride, Willow, Always, Batman, Cocoon, Cats Don’t Dance, Darkman, ET, Legend, Pokemon, Star Trek, Ten, The Lost Boys, and Virtual World, and that’s just naming a few of the over 200 movies to which John Alvin contributed.
Obviously this collection represents an important part of film history!
For those of you curious about what might be part of the 1000+ collection, here is a video showing parts of the John Alvin Art Estate in various interior spaces:
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Ryan and Dave are first and foremost collectors, so they have a perspective unique to that, as they say in the first 40 minutes, and it’s why they called this episode “Who Owns the Piece?” There are certainly lots of collectors who buy from auction or from a source that is many steps away from the original source, so the issue becomes complicated. That being said, Andrea makes clear the circumstances of this particular Blade Runner image, as well as the art that was not returned in years past, after many queries to the studios. FASCINATING! It’s wonderful to see such respect and appreciation towards not only John Alvin but Andrea as well, by both Ryan and Dave.
You can watch the “WHO OWNS THE PIECE?” episode of the Stuff Dreams Are Made Of podcast here (Andrea guests around the 40 minute mark…):
If you want to listen to the podcast, click on the various sites listed below to hear the episode:
ON SPOTIFY:
ON APPLE:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-owns-the-piece/id1535879222?i=1000654132137
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If you want to subscribe to the STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF podcast, (and why wouldn’t you!?), you can do so by clicking the following links to Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
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ANNOUNCING A NEW BLADE RUNNER LIMITED EDITION: “TEARS IN RAIN”
In conjunction with the release of this episode of The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of featuring Andrea Alvin talking about John Alvin’s work on Blade Runner, we are releasing a new limited edition based on an image created by John inspired by the film. An edition of 50, this new giclee on canvas is inspired by a key moment in the classic film, and the career-defining speech by Rutger Hauer:
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe… Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion… I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain… Time to die.”
Beyond the large images of Deckard and Batty, note the detailed design at the center of the image illustrating Deckard dangling from the edge of the building, moments before Batty pulls him to safety, revealing the dying character’s empathy and compassion.
Blade Runner has been celebrated as one of the best and most beloved sci-fi films of all time. “Tears in Rain” is an homage to the tremendous performances by Rutger Hauer as replicant Roy Batty, and of course Harrison Ford, our favorite professional in the Los Angeles Replicant Detection Unit, circa 2019.
With “Tears in Rain”, Blade Runner aficionados can show their appreciation for the traditional illustration of master cinema artist John Alvin, and join the film critics and film historians around the world that consider the original Blade Runner one of the best science fiction films ever made.
More info: Price: $395, Edition Size: 50, Image size: 15 x 20 – Canvas Size: 20 x 24, with a 2 inch border for canvas stretching.
CLICK HERE OR ON THE ART TO PURCHASE!