May the props be with you!
How Darth Vader and James Bond can turn your home into a blockbuster
FIRST-time visitors to Edward Prophet’s home are often surprised. There are a couple of clues to the businessman’s unconventional approach to interior decor in the hall of his three-bedroom semi in Manchester.
Hanging on the wall are two of the flintlock pistols used by Javert, Russell Crowe’s character in the film version of Les Miserables.
But it’s in the living room that the full scale of Prophet’s passion becomes apparent.
Here, pride of place goes to the four tracksuits worn by the members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team in the Disney comedy Cool Runnings, individually framed and mounted on the wall.
Elsewhere in the house are Forrest Gump’s running shirt, costumes worn by Nicolas Cage in Face/Off, the licence plate from a car in the Cage action flick Con Air, Harry Stamper’s ( Bruce Willis) wrench from Armageddon, and Steve Martin’s Sgt Bilko military uniform.
‘I have my collection all over the place,’ says Prophet. ‘One bedroom is devoted wholly to it, much to my fiancee’s dismay. It began when I was seven or eight and started collecting autographs.
‘As I got older, it was little pieces from films, and then bigger pieces and then entire wardrobes and before you know it, your walls are covered.’
Sian Taylor, 30, is another collector who proudly displays her collection in the Hemel Hempstead home she shares with her husband. ‘In our living room we have Heath Ledger’s sword from A Knight’s Tale, Captain Jack’s costume from the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, a pistol from Pirates Of The Caribbean and a weapon from Stargate,’ she says.
‘I hadn’t even realised you could buy this stuff until a few years ago when I stumbled across a prop sales website.’
Most experts trace the beginning of prop collecting to a huge auction held by Hollywood’s MGM studio in 1970. Items sold included a pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard Of Oz and the Time Machine from the film of the same name.
Now it’s big business. Leading auction houses hold sales of props and items are also available on eBay, but much of the trade is conducted through specialist dealers such as Prop Store ( propstore.com), a British company with offices in London and Los Angeles.
Stephen Lane set up Prop Store almost 20 years ago, initially as an extension of his hobby. ‘We work with a number of film studios to make the props from a particular film available to collectors via regular online auctions,’ says Lane.
‘We’ve just had a Star Wars and Star Trek auction and we have a Terminator Genisys one coming up.
‘We hold an annual live auction at the BFI IMAX cinema in London and there is a host of fixed-price items available on our website. For people just starting out or on a budget, there are items with starting prices of £10 to £20.
‘At the other end of the scale, last year we sold the Batpod motorcycle from The Dark Knight Rises for £320,000. We also had a Tie Fighter pilot helmet from Star Wars which sold for about £250,000.
‘As a general rule, the bigger the film, the more expensive the prop, and items associated with the hero or heroine tend to be worth more than those used by peripheral characters.
‘I view movie props and costumes as a branch of modern art. Lots of these pieces are investments that will appreciate in value,’ says Prophet.
HEADDS: ‘ If they are looked after properly they will always be worth money in the future — and if you buy a piece associated with an actor early in their career and a few years later they win an Oscar, the price can rocket.’
But, as a way of decorating a house, it is not without its hazards.
‘I bought the costume worn by the baddie in the Sylvester Stallone thriller, Cliffhanger,’ says Prophet. ‘I put it on a mannequin in the hall but forgot to tell my fiancee. It almost scared her to death when she came home from work.’