Who knew Debbie Reynolds was the gatekeeper of all things Hollywood? And who knew that Debbie Reynolds had anything to do with Star Wars ? (Okay, okay, aside from the fact that her daughter starred in it… that's coincidental.)

And who knew that anything from Star Wars: Episode IV was even available to collect anymore? I would have thought all the Star Wars geeks… er, enthusiasts in the world had eaten up everything left from the original shoot at this point. Not so, my friends.

If this camera could talk, oh, the stories it could tell...

If this camera could talk, oh, the stories it could tell…

The Panavision PSR 35mm camera that filmed the flagship episode of the sci-fi epic was apparently in her collection and broke the world record for the sale of a camera when it sold for $625,000 this past weekend at the latest installment of Profiles in History's auction of her Hollywood memorabilia.

I really have no idea what movie cameras cost these days, but I imagine the $625,000 this one sold for owes a sizable chunk to geekery… er, enthusiasm.

What will the lucky collector do with the camera? Make the next sci-fi cinematic masterpiece? Hey, there's gotta be some magic wound up in that thing just waiting to come back to life, right? I'm hoping for the saga of the Storm Trooper-enslaved Ewok, Harold. But this fancy little token is more likely destined to be lock up in dust-free memorabilia heaven, awaiting its next auction, where it can break its own record.

The next Profiles in History auction, taking place Dec. 15-16, includes the Ruby Slippers and Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz, the DeLorean from Back to the Future III and other items.

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