Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546176
PROPERTYMASTERSGUILD.ORG 7 Q: TELL US ABOUT A PROP THAT WASN'T SCRIPTED THAT ENDED UP CHANGING THE SCRIPT? JOHN D. BERT – On The Good Lord Bird, we created John Brown's Declaration of Liberty by hand and historically correct, based on the actual document, and recreated the scroll on canvas that he did and took with him on his tours and eventual assault on Harper's Ferry, Virginia. in 1858. Although not scripted, it was incorporated into the story as a way for men signing up for his cause by signing this document. JOHN D. BERT FEDERICO CIOMMO ASK THE EXPERTS FEDERICO CIOMMO – In the Zoolander 2 script, Mugatu carried and threw a bomb during the final scene. Its shape and look were vague, but my bigger concern was where to hide it until the reveal. I offered a solution to the director that he immediately found super rousing, being totally consistent with the plot and the character's conspiracy. We created a new version of his beloved poodle that could secretly hide the device. Its head was engineered to spring open, allowing a remote- controlled trigger to push the bomb out from inside the dog's body. The script was adapted and the sequence was shot. A very complex make considering the size of both the poodle and the budget! To this day, it's one of the props I'm most proud of. DEAN EILERTSON – This was on a John Badham-directed film called The Jack Bull. In the film, John Cusack's wife Cora is killed by a runaway horse-drawn wagon. Scripted there was this burial scene where Cora is lowered into her grave using two slings of rope. I mentioned to John B. during prep that to me it felt formal, too military like, and I suggested that John Cusack's character stand in the grave and lower Cora's shrouded body down to her resting place himself. John did his first take as scripted, and on the reset, John had a quiet talk with Mr. Cusack. Before the camera rolled, John C. jumped down into the grave and John B. asked me to take away the ropes. A prop that was scripted but not needed. DEAN EILERSTON DEAN EILERTSON