Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531433
PROPERTYMASTERSGUILD.ORG 19 PC: You've sold one of Indiana Jones' whips, haven't you? Tell us about that. CC: We've had multiple ones over the years. Some of those have come from the stunt performers where they had kept them after the fact. We've had others that have come from charity through Harrison Ford or I think it may have been Spielberg or it could have been Lucas. It was probably Lucas. They came out of the Lucas archives. Those typically come with a letter. With something like a whip having the provenance on those is important, because they did make replicas that look much like the ones that were used on set. To really be able to track it back and understand how this got off set is extremely important and that adds to the value. Those are very hard to screen match, and I don't believe there has been an officially screen-matched whip out there. PC: When doing your own authentication, have you ever come across props that you've deemed unauthentic? CC: Absolutely. We see stuff all the time we end up rejecting. Sometimes we do get excited about something that walked in the door. For instance, I know at this last auction, we had a phaser from the original series Star Trek, which appeared to be real, and it was a stunt version of the phaser which you would think people wouldn't bother to replicate. But ultimately, we determined it was a replica, and it was made by somebody back in the eighties. So, we had to reject it. When Propstore sells something authentic, and having been used as part of the production, we stand by that. If it turns out years later it isn't authentic, we end up refunding the money for that particular piece. So, it's very important that we determine what something is, and that we are describing it accurately. Because ultimately if it turns out to be incorrect, that one is on Propstore to make good on it. PC: One particular iconic prop I wanted to talk to you about is Wilson, the volleyball from the Tom Hanks film Cast Away. CC: We have seen a lot of fakes, and when they came to market, they were always questionable. The Wilsons that we sold were brought to us by somebody from the production. Because of that, we felt very confident in selling these particular Wilsons. Ultimately, we ended up screen matching those Wilsons. Because we could screen match those, we could definitively show that these were the screen-used Wilsons. There were a number of collectors that were just thrilled that we were able to find a screen-matched Wilson. Because of that confidence, the bidding was more than $389,000 for one of those Wilsons! Which is a pretty amazing price for something that is a relatively newer prop in the scheme of things. But it was from such a beloved movie, and having that rock solid provenance behind it, added to the confidence. People were willing to spend to add it to their collection. Hopefully, the consigner was very happy with the final results, too. PC: Amazing how a prop can actually become a character in a movie. CC: Wilson in some ways was one of the stars of the movie. I think those two hoverboards from Back to the Future 2 became another actor alongside Michael J. Fox. Those are the ones that really stand out. Those are the ones that a collector would want, and which ultimately go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's sort of that perfect trifecta. If it's a classic movie with a classic prop and it's one of the stars after the film is over, then that's what you remember more than anything else. PC: I could not ask for a better ending than that. Chuck, thank you very much. Thank you especially for helping us kick off our premiere issue of Prop Culture! It was really a pleasure talking with you. L-R: Padme's (Natalie Portman) blaster; Jeannie's (Barbara Eden) bottle from I DREAM OF JEANNIE Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from STAR WARS