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The stories behind the 100 greatest props in movie history

Posted by / July 14, 2017

Naming our favorite stars or favorite movies is no big deal, but have you ever seriously thought about your favorite prop?

You probably have, even if they don’t immediately pop to mind, whether it’s the hope someday you’ll find Willy Wonka’s golden ticket or played with a light saber in the backyard.

Thrillist tells the story behind 100 of the greatest props in movie history to jog your memory.

100. Big Ern’s bowling ball, Kingpin (1996)

Peter Farrelly, director: “We shot most of the bowling stuff in the Pittsburgh area. There are tons of old bowling alleys around Pittsburgh — in the Midwest, they bowl! But they’d never been changed, so they were just beautiful. Every town had one!

 “We were scouting for the bowling alley and there it was, on a shelf. I said, we have to get his for Big Ern, so we bought it from them. When I first saw it, it looked like art, man. But [Bill Murray] did bowl with it, of course. The minute we handed it to him he was just tickled. And there was only one ball. Now it lives in Kings Alley in Boston, Massachusetts. They have a Kingpin wall.”

99. The mockingjay pin, The Hunger Games (2012)

Dana Schneider, jewelry designer: “I could tell even before I was contacted [for the movie] that that design really struck home with a lot of the readers. That’s one of those things that you’re almost afraid to take on, because you just know how much people care. But I always like a good challenge.

“There were a lot of technical things that had to be worked out, [like] getting the scale right. Because they were in the [book] illustration, I really needed to get the  feathers just right. Getting the arrow to float free in the beak. [To carve the bird], I started with a very hard carving wax. By hand. No 3D modeling, no computer printing. The bird itself and ring are cast sterling silver. But for strength, the arrow ended up having to be made out of 14-karat gold. Silver’s just too soft. Then it all gets gold plated…
Full story at Thrillist.

Movie paraphernalia.

Jul/14/17

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