An 1870s Martin guitar worth over $40,000 was loaned to the filming of a Quentin Tarantino movie with Kurt Russell in February 2015. During the filming, Russell grabbed the guitar from the actress playing it and smashed it. There were six copies of the guitar available for the scene but he didn’t realize he had the valuable original. The Martin Guitar Museum says it will not loan any instruments again. We have warned against loaning or renting valuable parts of a collection. They are just “props” to the crew and are not handled like museum pieces. We have had advertising signs stolen, put in bright sun where they faded, or just “misplaced,” never to be seen again. Friends learned their giant modern resin vase was nailed to the floor to stay upright in a museum exhibit.
Sorry, I meant Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
I hope no one steals Del Close’s skull from the MA theater company!
I worked in film for 20 years as a prop person and set decorator. I’ve seen valuable props mishandled and stolen by the crew and actors. They think that the budget is a deep well and will cover the loss or theft. That’s not always the case. I had a vintage revolver stolen from on the set of a movie I worked on. We were filming in the desert at night and us d love Cala as extras. There was one man that was particularly interested in the firearms we were using. At the end of filming I was packing up and noticed the revolver was missing and so was the guy that kept eyeing them. I ended up paying a few hundred dollars out of my pocket for the missing gun. Two lessons learned ; lock up everything of value and don’t work on cheap, B rated movies!
We live in a riverside Victorian neighborhood of large old houses with front and side porches. Movie companies often approach home owners to use their property for a movie scene. Everyone who has consented learned to regret it. Movie people are uneducated Philistines convinced of their own wonderfullness. They leave nothing but a trail of destruction behind them.
I might add that the same caution applies to professional, educational, and community theatres. All have the best intentions in the world, but if it’s very valuable or irreplaceable, don’t loan/rent it. I’ve been burned that way a couple of times.