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34 Authentic, Set-Used Facts About TV and Movie Props

Bring me the Death Star

34 Authentic, Set-Used Facts About TV and Movie Props

February 22, 2024

Frankly, I was a little disappointed to find out the Death Star was small enough to fit in a storage unit. If you’re going to build a planet-sized wrecking ball, you should actually build a planet-sized wrecking ball!

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34

A Rankin-Bass employee gave Rudolph and Santa to her kids. RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER CRACKED.COM In 2005, the puppets that starred in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer were recovered and displayed, but not before Santa was snatched bald and Rudolph was stuffed with Play Doh. — Source

33

Space Odyssey's original monolith pays tribute to the Queen. CRACKED.COM Though it didn't actually appear in the movie, the clear acrylic monolith that Kubrick initially envisioned found a second life when an artist looking for materials to sculpt a crystal crown for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee happened upon it in storage. — Source

32

The Jaws shark was found in a random junkyard. CRACKED.COM The last shark made from Joe Alves's iconic mold languished for years before it was restored to hang over the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where it definitely won't seek revenge. — Source

31

A sphinx was actually dug up by archeologists. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS X9807 After filming wrapped on the 1923 movie, DeMille and CO. either buried the sphinxes or let nature do it, but either way, they left some probably very disappointed scientists behind. — Source

30

Space Odyssey's star child wasn't found until Kubrick died. CRACKED.COM It went missing after filming wrapped but it was found in the director's house four whole years after his death, which is arguably both the most and least normal place for it. — Source

29

Vincent Vega's Chevy Malibu was the victim of an attempted stripping. PULP FICTION CRACKED.COM It was stolen from Tarantino during filming, and wasn't seen again for nearly 20 years, when cops caught two guys who had no idea what they were stripping for parts. — Source

28

A haunted spaceship

A spaceship was repurposed as a haunted house. ALIEN CRACKED.COM The Nostromo was donated to a collector for one sweet-ass Halloween display and then sat in his driveway for 20 years until a museum took it off his hands. — Source

27

One of Scarlett O'Hara's dresses was found on the floor at a costume company. GONE WITH THE WIND CRACKED.COM They apparently had no idea what it was until a former Universal executive happened to wander in. They gave it to him for twenty bucks because they were just going to throw it away. — Source

26

A Mustang driven by Steve McQueen was found in a Mexican scrapyard. BULLITT CRACKED COM A guy who makes Gone in 60 Seconds replicas, which is apparently a business you can have, identified the '68 Mustang, which was used in the movie Bullitt, as something way more valuable. — Source

25

Dorothy Gale's dress was found in a shoebox at a Catholic school. THE WIZARD OF OZ CRACKED.COM One of the dresses Judy Garland wore was somehow given to a Washington, D.C. priest/drama teacher, who promptly lost it for decades. It was eventually found in the school's mail room. — Source

24

James Bond's submarine car was sold for $100. CRACKED.COM It happened to be in a storage container that some dude bought with no idea what was inside. Apparently, the original owners had stopped paying their rent in 1987. — Source

23

Scarlett O'Hara's beloved estate was left to rot in some lady's barn. GONE WITH THE WIND CRACKED.COM It was dismantled in 1960 and sold to a Georgia woman, though MGM tour guides kept telling tourists a similar-looking house on their lot was the famous Tara, which feels vaguely metaphorical. — Source

22

Mary Poppins's snow globe was found on a janitor's shelf. CRACKED.COM The orb in which Julie Andrews kept her tiny live birds trapped wasn't recognized until it was noticed by a Disney archivist -- the janitor found it in the garbage and just thought it was neat. — Source

21

The Goonies map was probably thrown away by... Patty Duke? CRACKED.COM Sean Astin made off with a bunch of props from the movie and then just left it all behind when he turned 18, at which point he thinks the map was accidentally thrown out by his mom, who is Patty Duke for some reason. — Source

20

The original Death Star was abandoned in a storage unit. STAR WARS CRACKED.COM A storage employee salvaged it and displayed it in his mother's antique store, where it was bought for a country western bar, who used it as a trash can. — Source

19

ERASERHEAD CRACKED.COM David Lynch has never revealed how exactly he made the grotesque baby prop in Eraserhead. One journalist asked David if the baby was a calf fetus or battery-operated. Не refused to answer. His daughter is one of the few in the know, but she remains mum. — Source

18

THE CIGARETTE-SMUGGLING ROACHES IN ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK WERE REAL TRAINED COCKROACHES. - Prop master Rachael Weinzimer said she CRACKED.COM couldn't just attach a cigarette to a cockroach and send it on its way, SO insect handlers had to teach the bugs to navigate a prototype maze they designed. — Source

17

The director of Lord of War, Andrew Niccol, borrowed 50 real tanks from a real arms dealer to use during the arms bazaar scene. Prior to filming, Niccol had to contact NATO before their satellites saw what looked like a small army and assumed an actual war was about to start. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Hugh Jackman kept stabbing other actors (and himself) with the Wolverine claws. The filming of the X-Men Trilogy needed to use actual metal claws for some of the scenes and accidents happen. One of the accidents involved a stunt double who (fortunately) responded gleefully and actually relished being stabbed by Wolverine. Jackman also has scars on his thigh where he stabbed himself with the claws. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The chocolate pudding cans in Stranger Things were actually Vienna sausages. Hunt's Hunt's snack pa Ж snack pack CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE PUDDING PUDDING Hunt's Hunt's Arti Hunt's pa snack pack snack pack CK N ack PaCK snack pack LAI OCO CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE DINC JOO PUDDING PUDDING PUDDING PUDDING Busin Noth Hunt's mac snack pack CK snack pack PaCK CHO 1 CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE LATE DUE Propmaster Lynda Reiss said the canned meat used to recreate the retro Hunt's Snack Packs smelled so nasty that the child actors would gag when they had to open them. ENNA SAUSAGE MAD CRACKED.COM — Source

14

The wood chipper used to dispose of a corpse in Fargo (1996) is now a tourist attraction in Fargo, North Dakota. It even appears on Fargo's official - tourism website and has its own Facebook page! CRACKED.COM — Source

13

34 Authentic, Set-Used Facts About TV and Movie Props — Source

12

The dead sheep that is flung at King Arthur at the Castle of Aarrgh is completely real. Monty Puthon AND THE HOLY GRAIL CRACKED.COM Filmmakers didn't have a stuffed one, so they used a dead sheep that the assistant director found by the side of the road on his way to production. — Source

11

Queen Jamillia's headdress in Attack of the Clones was made from lunch leftovers. Designer Trisha Biggar was so taken by the shells from the abalone she had for lunch, she had her server put them in a doggie bag, and then used them for the Naboo queen's crown. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

In 1976, Muammar Gaddafi's government in Libya received alarming reports of a massive military CRACKED.COM vehicle stationed near the border in Tunisia... But their investigation just turned up George Lucas' film site for Star Wars - and the Jawa Sandcrawler. — Source

9

The realistic severed horse head in The Godfather was actually real. The decapitated head came from a slaughterhouse that made dog food from horses. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Many Star Wars props are repainted WWII airplane parts. Rolls-Royce Derwent jet engine cutaway IG-88's head and the cantina drink containers are jet engine components. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

THE FLAMETHROWER GUITAR THAT DOOF WARRIOR PLAYS IN MAD MAX: FURY ROAD WAS MADE FROM BEDPANS. Director George Miller explained, everything had to be found objects, repurposed in the post- apocalyptic world. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

The contraption Dr. Geiszler wears to drift with the Kaiju's brain kept shocking Charlie Day. PACIFIC RIM The actor said he thought there was a sharp edge cutting CRACKED.COM his ear on the headpiece until costar Burn Gorman pointed out that there was an exposed wire, jolting him every time it lit up. — Source

5

PLANET TERROR When Dr. Dakota Block gives Joe the injections from her friends, the prop crew accidentally gave Marley Shelton real needles. RS France - - She is REALLY sticking Nicky Katt's arm in the scene. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

After the Wizard of Oz's iconic Ruby Slippers were stolen, a one million dollar reward was offered for their return. CRACKED.COM The reward was never claimed: The story ended in September 2018 when the FBI recovered Dorothy's slippers in a sting operation. — Source

3

ONE OF THOR'S HAMMERS WEIGHED 80 POUNDS. Prop master Russell Bobbitt said having one that was too heavy for the actors to lift added authenticity and realism when someone wasn't worthy to wield Mjölnir. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

THE PONCHO THAT RAMBO WEARS IN FIRST BLOOD CRACKED.COM was improvised on the spot by Sylvester Stallone because he was cold. The abandoned truck and tarp in the woods were real. — Source

1

ROGUE ONE A STAR WARS STORY After the filming wrapped, director Gareth Edwards wanted to take the Death Star plans home, but was told that it was supposed to be archived. So he stole it. CRACKED.COM — Source

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