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VFX production photography and paperwork archive from Robert Wise's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) assumed command of a newly retrofitted Enterprise to intercept an unknown alien entity en route to Earth.
Used by effects props and miniatures specialist Mark Stetson, this lot consists of 62 color print Polaroid photos with 14 featuring handwritten annotations; 11 transparencies in vellum sleeves, each featuring handwritten notes and two 35mm slides in a hand-annotated vellum sleeve and three handwritten vellum sleeves; three large transparencies with one in a hand-annotated vellum sleeve; a manila folder labeled "In Company Memo's & Correspondance" [sic] with two Paramount Pictures Corporation envelopes, one having a screening invite and directions, and 65 correspondences; seven black matted transparencies; and a black vinyl three-ring binder with a CD-ROM labeled "ST:TMP" and 304 35mm slides. This lot exhibits discoloration on the vellum and minor grime on the Polaroids. Dimensions: (largest) 17.5" x 13.5" x 0.25" (44.5 cm x 34.5 cm x 0.75 cm)
About Mark Stetson
Visual effects maestro Mark Stetson's singular run in Hollywood began in 1978. After graduating from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, he immediately began a position as an effects props and miniatures artist for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, for which his responsibilities included building such memorable vessels as the workbee, the Constitution-class shuttlebay, and a studio model of the Enterprise itself. After filming concluded, Stetson continued working as a modelmaker, and later model shop supervisor, for Entertainment Effects Group (EEG), hand-making miniatures and other groundbreaking optical effects for acclaimed productions like Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, and Brainstorm under founder Douglas Trumbull.
By 1989, following a stint as model shop supervisor for Richard Edlund's Boss Film Corporation - including positions on such blockbuster productions as Die Hard and Poltergeist II, among numerous others - Stetson had founded his own effects company, Stetson Visual Services, Inc. Over the next 35-plus years SVSI became known for producing pioneering effects sequences for dozens of hit films, running the gamut from action classics like Total Recall, Waterworld, and The Fifth Element to acclaimed franchise installments like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and Superman Returns to cult comedies like Coneheads and The Hudsucker Proxy. Stetson's work in this period earned him three Academy Award nominations (and one win), two BAFTAs, and the Visual Effects Society Awards' Founders Award for innovations in the field.
Today, Propstore is proud to offer a hand-picked selection of memorabilia from the personal collection of this once-in-a-generation talent. Accumulated over nearly five decades in cinema, these lots represent a wide range of production materials, including ornately detailed model miniatures, hand-drawn artwork, and rare behind-the-scenes photographs, as well as Stetson's own production paperwork and crew gifts. Stretching across different eras, genres, and styles of production, the Mark Stetson Collection is nothing short of a testament to one of the world's most successful and imitated living visual effects artists.
Estimate: $1,200 - 2,400
View all lots from STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
View all lots from Mark Stetson Collection
View all lots from STAR TREK FRANCHISE (1966-PRESENT)