To answer a few of your email's and Facebook questions... Yes I do collect All things American Graffiti... All The Time and yes I will show you some of it.
Along the way you stumble on to other things like the soundtracks. So you pick those up and now you have something to listen to while you continue your search. Cassette check. Album Check. Cd got it. 8-Tracks are cool..........
Then you find yourself emailing a lady in Edinburgh Scotland about a poster that her father got in the 70's from a friend who worked at their local movie theatre.
You must understand I'm not really big into posters but when you locate a girl who's grandfather went to an early preview of American Graffiti and was so crazy about the movie that he writes a letter to George Lucas / Universal Pictures about the movie and asks if there is anyway to get something from the screening and before the movie is even released to theaters they send him an early design poster ...so early that the border is hand cut....
Well lets just say I was all over that!
a Little F.Y.I. I don't know how many of these were made I know they never released them to the general public as they could not get a license deal with Wolfman approved. The only other one I know of is in Gary Kurtz's personal collection.
I see these things everyday and still as I sit here putting this little story together I can't believe how lucky I have been to find these items. Special Thanks to all with the leads to find them.
Keep'em coming!!
How about the ticket that was mailed to only a select few to attend a preview showing of American Graffiti.
or one of the lapel banner's that theatre ushers wore to announce coming attractions.
Then you have to pick up a few of the die cast and model Coupe's to add to your collection. Don't forget that any Die hard Coupe fan has to have an original "Gemini" poster.
Pins - Buttons - Stickers - Matches - Patches - Coin Trays just to name a few item that were branded with a Graffiti vibe. You know for a low budget film American Graffiti shore has a lot of memorabilia !
Collecting Graffiti for me is a slippery slope I really prefer original items. (never thought I'd be some kind of Purest) I do have a few homemade/fan made items. Like this totally Bitchin Original painting by Lori Beth
I will say it is nice to see some of the newer items from the Die Cast to a few of the t-shirts and posters. I gotta tell ya I am NOT in love with a bunch of the cheap posters and pictures being printed on home printers with photos swiped from sites like mine and others on the Internet!!! And the Coupe stuff that are not even pictures of the real American Graffiti Coupe!?? Sorry. .. .
Now let me climb down from my soap box.
Lets not forget a shot of my Graffiti inspired clock (not a Coke model). And just think a lot of guys buy a THX 138 plate. I was issued mine by the state of Illinois! That's right! That's my bike plate that I started running back in 1984. I still don't have all of my collection on display. Like everything else in my life I am slowly getting to it.
I must tell you when I first started it was just about the Coupe but as time has went on it has became more about the movie as a whole. From the cars to the men who built them. From the places they filmed to the crew that filmed it. From the characters of the film to the people they really are. And last but not least all of the Graffiti friends I have made along the way. Thank You All!
Sometimes I think my American Graffiti collecting is a little out of hand then a flip through some pictures sent to me by other movie fans. Collections from the U.S. to Japan, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand collected by guys with names like Craig, Doug, Magoo, Kevin, Gak and Mel just to name a few and then I think, to quote the Wolfman
"You better get you're act in gear"
Thanks
Jeff
