A light saber immortalized in a pivotal scene from George Lucas' "Star Wars" saga is among the fixtures of an upcoming auction focused on Hollywood memorabilia. The massive Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction, presented by the New York-based auction house Heritage Auctions, will give pop culture enthusiasts the opportunity to bid on numerous props from iconic films, including costume hats worn by the stars of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Also up for sale are hoverboards from"Back to the Future II," rugs from "The Big Lebowski," boxing boots from "Rocky," a drafted screenplay of the "Godfather" sequel, and John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "If I fell," written on the back of a Valentine card while he was in New York for the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."The auction runs from July 13 to 17, according to the auction house.Bidding on the light saber, which has never been auctioned before, will open at $1 million.Actor Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker used the custom-designed prop in his character's climactic Cloud City fight in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," the "Star Wars" sequel in which Darth Vader declares, "I am your father." The light saber includes a severed hand effects rig. Bidding starts at $100,000 for a Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by actor Margaret Hamilton in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" and at $50,000 for the brown top hat worn by Gene Wilder as the title character in 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."The auction will also include a pair of boxing boots worn by Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky III." Stallone wears the showy boots featuring tassels and a Nike swoosh in the opening montage of the 1982 film.
Bids will begin at $100,000.Two rugs that are essential to the plot of "The Big Lebowski" are also up for sale: the one belonging to Jeff Bridges' "The Dude" that is soiled at the beginning of the 1998 film that "really tied the room together," and the other that...