Phil Tippett Studio is shutting its doors after nearly 40 years, with the Oscar-winning stop-motion legend auctioning off props and memorabilia from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, RoboCop, and his passion project Mad God following Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Berkeley shop at 914 Grayson Street drew lines down the block this weekend as collectors, fans, and former employees snapped up pieces like AT-AT models, creature prototypes, and production gear — everything except Tippett's two Academy Awards, which he's keeping.

Tippett, now 74, founded the studio in 1984 with his wife Jules Roman after pioneering go-motion techniques on the original Star Wars films at ILM, later supervising dinosaurs on Jurassic Park and delivering creature work on Starship Troopers. The end came after a 2024 acquisition by Indian VFX firm PhantomFX failed to stabilize finances amid broader industry shifts like studio consolidation, tax incentives pulling work elsewhere, and the toll of Mad God's three-decade production that involved crowdfunding and personal strain. Bankruptcy filings from May 2024 cite debts including unpaid wages and taxes, with the plan confirmed earlier this year leading directly to this liquidation.

Tippett told CBS News he's not done yet, vowing, “I will die with my sword in my hand. We had almost a 40-year run. It was a good run.” The last studio project wrapped on a new Twilight Zone series, but the fire sale signals the end of an era for hands-on effects shops in an increasingly digital, outsourced Hollywood.

Fans on X are calling it genuinely upsetting and a sad close for someone who shaped so much of the industry, with posts mourning the loss of physical artifacts and craftsmanship that digital VFX largely replaced.