LotR Props, what´s out there

L

Lello999

Well-Known Member
Hi there

As I was watching the LotR Ext. Vers some days ago I was thinking about what happened to all the props? There´s the armour, swords, Masks etc. What happened to it Oh and we have this really huge Minas Tirith set. Are there any pieces left, King Heads Statues, pieces etc.?

Any Info, pics etc. would be great.

Thanks a lot

Have a nice day
Domenik
 
I believe that all the props / costumes are retained by Peter Jackson. Very few original pieces are legitimately on the market - there was a giveaway of about 7 or 8 of the key weapons and New Line auctioned a few minor pieces. As for the sets, I guess that they were pulled down after filming, too large and costly to save.

Cheers,

Dave
 
There are quite a few items still in the LOTR exhibit. I would imagine that PJ has kept a lot of the other 'important' items being the big prop fan that he is. I do remember someone giving away a 'piece' of Moria on TORn that they had found after the sets were broken down.

New Line did have some real nice items in their first auctions. I tried to get a Gandalf Dragon Firework. The last auction they did was for smaller items and promo items. Stuff like tankards from the Prancing Pony and movie posters and such. The best promo item they auctioned though was 1:1 lurtz in armor.
 
PJ saved a lot of stuff. He has Bilbo's house in storage and will supposedly rebuild it as a retirement home some day. (I think he said it on the DVD)
 
Originally posted by joatrash@Dec 4 2005, 02:38 PM
PJ saved a lot of stuff. He has Bilbo's house in storage and will supposedly rebuild it as a retirement home some day. (I think he said it on the DVD)
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It's already there.
(saw the picture in a magazine)
 
the stars were given some props as well, andy and elijah each got a version of the rings, bloom got a bow, rhys-davies got one of his axes, viggo kept a few things one of the swords...and he bought the horse he rode in them movies,

PJ kept most of it, its on tours, and in storage, most of the big model sets were probably taken down, in storage if they could be, or destroyed if they were too big to store, or put on tours....noone could save everything, cost wise, it would be silly to think they could....

jackson at least is a film geek, much like us, so hes going to save most of what he can,
 
I read PJ wanted to put them all in a museum, but he was having difficulites getting a location. From friends who have been there (weta and such) and others who worked on the film, 99% of the props and costumes are still there, on tour, and on display.

The sad thing is that if it every went on auction, the prices would be way too high for me to even consider.
 
Having worked in and in conjunction with several museums there are some points that should be brought up. First off, the politics of museums, their collections, the rights to that which is displayed, sold off, incorporated ad naseum....is nothing short of something of amazing. Just the displays themselves are often the result of months of negotiations as to the importance of a piece and/or the stipulations of who donated them. You guys would be amazed at how many pieces are actually NOT displayed in museums, but rather in their storage rooms....simple because they cannot legally display those pieces due to the fact that some zany 19th century philanthropist who donated a painting or suit of armor did so on the provido that nothing else can be displayed within 30 feet of their painting or armor. It seems nuts to us, but those were and are often the conditions museums are forced to deal with.

As to LoTR, Ive had some discussions with some folks who worked on the films but my understanding is that PJ does not have any direct control over a museum per se. The main thing to remember is that PJ directed the films; he doenst own the rights to LoTR, nor the rights to the film. There is talk of a museum, however only the best examples or one-of-a-kinds will be saved.

A lot was destroyed, trashed or dispersed. The sheer amount of props is staggering.

As to a museum location, I think you could bet on New Zealand for obvious reasons.

Now the flip side is that NZealenders like the fact that their country has become a new player in the film industry, ie Narnia, however there is also some reluctance to see the country overrun by tourists who only want to see Rings or Narnia locations. Im gussing this is part due to some ecological concerns. Thousands of tourists can have a significant impact on the local ecology. However, I have no doubt that tourism money will convince many NZers that a few roads and tourist destinations arent a bad idea as the buzz wont last forever.
 
I've been collecting original LOTR stuff for some time. There is indeed very little out there and it has been a real struggle finding it/affording it. The above posts were also correct in that a ton of the original pieces were destroyed. I have had this confirmed by a number of people who witnessed it. Most stunt pieces made in mass were put to a band saw and destroyed. Jackson considers these pieces works of art and did not want them flooding the market and getting into private hands. Very little made it out, both through the New Line auctions and the other contests (not to mention a few things that left the set through less than legal means-I also saw and Elf sword and shield set that came from a Canne premiere costume that I believe is currently with a collector in Europe). Once Jackson heard about this he was quite angry and worked hard to regain ownership of the props from New Line which eventually he did, from what I have been told he re-acquired the props as partial payment for the work on the Extended DVD's. A bulk of the cream of the crop has been touring, I believe they are currently in Indianapolis. In addition, most of the major cast members were gifted pieces, mostly swords and as correctly stated above, Wood and Serkis each got a Ring. Most of the pieces I have been able to track down I have listed on www.YourProps.com, just search Lord of the Rings. I love talking LOTR pieces and as always, if anyone has any leads I'd gratefully appreciate the heads up.
 
I was being quick, but I clearly see the work on these films as art first and foremost. I have never been as truly blown away by the craftsmanship and care that went into fabricating the arms and armour for film as I was with these films. Something that Jackson talked about quite a bit was his belief that he would achieve more honest and "real" performances out of his actors if the quality of their wardrobe and weapons were as "authentic" as possible. The detail worked into the pieces that never was intended to show on screen is a testament to this. Viggo famously almost always used his Hero sword and even wore it around town. Jackson demanded that the stunt weapons had identical detailing to the Hero counterparts and I can attest to this owning a few. My sting sword is a Stunt version and the only difference between it and the Hero version is that the stunt has an aluminum blade and the Hero is steel, and this was the way with all of the main pieces. Legolas' bows and Gimli's axes were all created identically, both Hero and Stunt. Legolas' lothorian bow is so detailed that the actual bowstring has a colored strand meant to be a hair from Galadriel. This is a detail taken from the books, that would never show up on screen, yet the artisans still included it on the prop. Now that is something.
 
Pictures...

elvenswordandshield.gif
 
Originally posted by bighowboy@Dec 4 2005, 11:02 PM
Jackson considers these pieces works of art and did not want them flooding the market and getting into private hands.
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Wow, and therefore it was destroyed?. I´m quite happy many other artists didn´t thought that way :cry Man, it would have been that great to own one of theese king heads or an other piece of Minas Tirith
What a pitty, but thanks a lot for the info:
And I already saw Your great pieces on Tim´s site. Great collection, awesome pieces.

Domenik
 
Originally posted by Durasteel Corporation@Dec 5 2005, 10:36 AM
Now the flip side is that NZealenders like the fact that their country has become a new player in the film industry, ie Narnia,   however there is also some reluctance to see the country overrun by tourists who only want to see Rings or Narnia locations.    Im gussing this is part due to some ecological concerns.   Thousands of tourists can have a significant impact on the local ecology.
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Really how you know this?? Obvious you haven't spent any time around NZer's, otherwise you would be calling us Kiwi's.As for a reluctance to being over-run by tourists :lol :lol A few thousand xtra LOTR fan's is'nt gonna hurt our economy any.
 
Originally posted by armourerdoug@Dec 4 2005, 02:42 PM
I know who has the Legolass bow in a glass case, here in the UK. cost LOTS though..
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How much did they cost, and what company makes it?
 
I was watching the LOTRÂ’s DVDÂ’s with the commentaries on and Peter Jackson stated that he had kept the Bag End set for himself.

He eventually wants to set it up as kind of a retreat for himself.

That would be the ultimate cool.

I got a big kick out of that.

Bye for now
Al
 
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