New York, Dec 13: Troubled restaurant chain Planet Hollywood is unloading some of its vast collection of film memorabilia, giving movie buffs the chance to bid on everything from a bullfighter costume worn by Rudolph Valentino to Robert De Niro`s boxing shorts in Raging Bull. The movie-themed restaurant chain, which expects to emerge soon from its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, hopes to sell more than 300 costumes and props in an auction at Sotheby`s in New York on Saturday.

Planet Hollywood is shedding part of its 40,000-piece collection, including costumes worn by stars such as Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn and Yul Brynner, because it had closed some restaurants and had less space to decorate, said Robert Earl, the company`s chief executive. He also wants to make room for new acquisitions to the collection.
"We felt that we could release some of our collection," Earl said this week. "What`s the point of having a large collection just sitting in a warehouse?"
The sale represented one of the biggest auctions of Hollywood memorabilia in the past five years, said Leila Dunbar, director of the collectibles department at Sotheby`s. Bureau Report