Fans of the 1997 movie “Titanic” (this writer is aggressively not one of them) have had a longstanding debate about the film’s ending.
Spoiler warning for a 23-year-old movie and real-life historic tragedy.
At the end of the movie, the two main characters Jack (portrayed by a very young Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (played by Kate Winslet) lay amid the wreckage of the ship in the freezing waters of the Atlantic.
Rose, clinging to a floating chunk of balsa wood, tragically sees Jack let go of the wood to doom himself and maximize her chances at survival. It’s all trite romance novel drivel.
However, the controversy that has arisen over recent years is the theory that Jack and Rose both could’ve easily survived on that same floating piece of ship debris. The debate has taken on a life of its own, not unlike who would win a fight between King Kong and Godzilla.
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Well a collector with deep pockets can now test that theory in real life, should they want to, with the very same piece of debris from the movie — it only cost them over $700,000.
That infamous piece of movie debris, as well as a number of other iconic movie props, were sold at the Heritage Auctions‘ “Treasures from Planet Hollywood.”
The auction event, which took place in Dallas and ended Sunday, saw a number of recognizable props being sold for hefty six-figure sums.
The crown jewel of the five-day event was that hunk of floating Titanic wood.
Are you a fan of the “Titanic” movie?
That bit of flotsam sold for a whopping $718,750.
That pricey bit of debris eclipsed some well-known items from other blockbuster films.
The legendary bullwhip of Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones from his second film (“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) sold for an eye-popping $525,000.
Another legendary character portrayed by Ford, the inimitable smuggler Han Solo of “Star Wars” notoriety, is connected to a pair of pricey items that sold at the event as well.
Princess Leia, portrayed by Carrie Fisher, brandished a blaster gun from “Return of the Jedi” that sold for $150,000. Another Star Wars blaster sold for $112,500.
Iconic horror movies were also well-represented.
The ax used by Jack Nicholson in the legendary 1980 horror movie “The Shining” — the one used in the oft-memed “Heeeeeeere’s Johnny!” scene, no less — sold for $125,000.
The “good” Chucky doll from seminal 1988 horror movie “Child’s Play” sold for $106,250.
Sports collectors also had some big prizes, including a photo-matched jersey of Shaquille O’Neal from when the legendary NBA center played in Kobe Bryant’s 1996 NBA debut.
