Arnold's Auction Proved to "Make Some Noise" for Fans & Candlelighters!

As I mentioned in my last article (CLICK HERE), there were some awesome Schwarzenegger items up for auction at the exclusive black tie dinner event in Leeds. Well, IT IS TIME to show you these awesome lots and reveal just how much Arnold fans value these ONE OFF Schwarzenegger pieces! The proceeds from this auction went to The Candlelighters, a children’s cancer charity based in Leeds, and Make Some Noise, a UK based charity helping disadvantaged kids, similar to Arnold’s own After School All Stars.

All auction items were signed by Arnold earlier that day and the winners would receive a certificate of authenticity and a photo of Arnold signing the item. First up was a kick ass Terminator style leather jacket, as worn by Arnold in his most famous role. Bidding started at £1,000 and after fans battled it out to own this exclusive signed piece, one lucky fan came out victorious. The final value… £6,000! Say…. that’s a nice price!!

Photo courtesy of OlexyFresh.com

Following on from that were some beautiful canvases. The first, showing Arnold in a pensive, meaningful pose was sold for £2,250. Excellent! The second (and better looking) canvas was of the 7 time Mr. Olympia in his heroic, winning pose to the bodybuilding world. Selling for £3,500, it wasn’t far off what Arnold used to bench! This would look excellent hanging up in somebody’s living room or office and is sure to be a conversation piece. One lucky fan is going to have a LOT of motivation to GET TO THE GYM from now on!

Photo courtesy of OlexyFresh.com

Also up for auction were fan favourites from the Terminator movies, including an endoskeleton replica arm and skull. Can you really put a price on these iconic pieces? Well apparently you can! The endo arm sold for a staggering £6,500 whilst the nightmarish skull was snapped up for an astounding £8,000. It might be thirty years since this character was brought to life on our screens, but it clearly still holds a place in many fans’ hearts. Excellent news considering T5 is just around the corner.

 

Expendables 3 picked up a little more box office when a montage movie poster sold for £2,250. A nice piece, but they should have used the Schwarzenegger Trench poster. When you sell an Arnold item, you sell it big!

Now when Arnold signed the auction items, he was so impressed by some of them that he wanted to auction them off himself. So after being interviewed on stage by Jonathan Ross, and having asked Jessica to marry Dean (she said yes!), Arnold began with the hard sell. Schwarzenegger always pumps his products well and this was no difference! Raising money for two different charities, Arnold was happy to swap his Uzi for a gavel to become the auctioneer.

The first lot was a replica Winchester shotgun, as used by the Terminator in T2.
“This is a very accurate replica” Arnold told the audience. “Whoever buys this comes out here and I take a picture with you and with this together”.

Bidding got underway at £3,000. Moments later it sold for an excellent £10,000 and the winner was pulled up on stage to be congratulated and thanked by Arnold himself.

The best item however was saved for last. An incredible mosaic of the heroic T-800 from T2 was the final piece and without a doubt the greatest item in the whole auction. This ballsy item would surely outsell every other item before it and contribute to the already massive charity proceeds.

Photo courtesy of OlexyFresh.com
Starting off at £5,000, bidders were keen to get their hands on this remarkable piece. It soon reached £9,000 and looked to be slowly grinding to a halt. Not satisfied with this price, Arnold got involved.

“It’s beautiful really, I mean we need fifteen for this. I’ll put up £15,000. Let’s get someone for £15,000 right here from this audience. It’s a really extraordinary mosaic”.

Nobody was man enough to outbid the Oak and Arnold terminated the competition.

“Fifteen for the first… fifteen for the second… I got it!”

Arnold’s bid ended the auction for the evening with an astonishing £53,500 (roughly $85,600) raised for charity. Having only been scheduled to be on stage for fifty minutes, Arnold had clocked up an hour and a half. “Thank you all for being such a great audience. We’re trying to put something together where Sylvester Stallone and me come together here to do the interview. That would be a fantastic show. I’ll be back, thank you very much!”

A short time later I got my picture with Arnold. With only seconds together, I thanked him for being such an inspiration and told him that my success and my career choice was down to him. He grinned, taking my small girly man hand into his huge palm before thanking me for my commitment. After a Predator style hand squeeze I knew I was pushing way too many pencils. On that note, the evening was over. Before leaving I took the time to speak with other fans and share experiences of the Oak. It was fantastic getting to speak with other Arnold enthusiasts and to come together as a nation of Arnold fans.

Did you buy any of the Arnold items in the auction? Get in touch with us and show them off!

I’m already looking forward to the next time with Sly. “See you at the party!”
Listen to my recording of the entire "Evening with Schwarzenegger"!