Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546176
PROPERTYMASTERSGUILD.ORG 27 Slowly he reaches behind the water tank; he panics when he cannot feel the gun. We see behind the tank his hand is just a few inches from the gun ... he gropes searchingly ... finally coming to rest on the gun. 1971. The trick here is that it all happens onscreen, and we cannot assume the actors will not drink the wine, and if they do, we cannot have real alcohol in the bottle and must be prepared with a substitution whether it is nonalcoholic wine, fruit juice, or colored water. What that means in the prop word is this. Decide on the wine, obviously a red one. Is it a real brand? If so, it will need to be cleared by legal, which given the context probably will not happen. So now we create a fictitious name and label that requires a creative to decide on the name, approve the art, and run it back through legal. Of course, in the final edit, no one drank which is oh so typical but, we always prepare for everything. Now, one of the most pivotal props of the scene, the gun. At this point in time, we all know that safety is the paramount concern with firearms, and I will not go into great depths about that aspect other than to say that as Property Masters, we allow for plenty of artistic license, finding that sweet spot between reality and fiction. But we all must draw the line on firearms safety, and if pushed to do otherwise, there is always the option to remove a gun from an unsafe set and bring it back to the property trailer's weapon safe because ultimately, the responsibility falls upon the Property Master. It is the producer's and director's job to push the limits and our job to set that limit where safety is concerned. The chosen gun was a classic snub nosed .38 Colt Detective Special, complete with duct-taped grips. Always reliable and easy to conceal, especially when tucked behind a toilet tank. It was scripted that Michael pulls the gun down and removes the duct tape that held it up there. Very likely Coppola decided it was too much business for Pacino and did away with it, along with the hand washing which was also scripted. Douglas Madison Sr. had to figure out a way to keep the gun up behind the toilet tank and yet make it easily retrievable when Al Pacino decided it was time to remove it. I read that Coppola also strategically changed the location of the gun, making Al Pacino's reaction to not finding it completely genuine. When you watch the film, take notice how he pulled it down like a baby bird from a tree, his innocence about to be lost forever. A few more points about the firearm and how it is handled. Once we know what the weapon is, we move forward with acquiring it from a prop armory, along with a double because in our world, one is none. No one wants to stand in front of a director with a broken or malfunctioning prop and have to say, "Sorry, I only had the one." Having two allows you to fix one while filming continues with the Good, done. Now we print multiples of the label, purchase empty bottles, corks, and foil tops. Next, decide what to put in the bottle; again, a discussion with the actors about what they prefer to be drinking. Finally, we fill the bottles, pull out our handy corking press, cork the bottle, carefully slide the foil sleeve over the neck, and shrink seal it with a hairdryer so you do not get wrinkles. The label comes last, so we do not ruin it when filling the bottle. Do this for a dozen takes, check, it is Coppola, make it two dozen, and be sure you have supplies to make more on the fly.