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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
An Interview with ‘History for Hire’ Movie Prop Supplier Jim Elyea
Collectors Weekly: "Jim Elyea co-runs History for Hire, a prop house in Hollywood, California, and has provided props for a variety of movies, television shows, and music videos. Recently, Jim spoke with us about the different types of props and the different eras that History for Hire covers, as well as the steps he takes to make sure an item or scene setting is historically correct. Jim can be contacted via the History for Hire website."
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2 comments:
This article is so in depth. I really find it intriguing, because I have never really done props before. I love first of all that Elyea fell into the business because thats what he grew up around. Its also nice to hear that he and his brother have been so successful, especially when some prop shops have had difficulty. But Elyea brings up a point I would have never have had considered, the fact that when you start getting into furniture and whatnot it starts taking up space and to be competitive you have to have like 10 different things and matching chairs. Theyve also done so many movies and stuff that I have really enjoyed. Personally I think I have to go watch Platoon again just to see that almost all of the props and costumes were from 'History for Hire'
One thing that I find interesting about the actual use of props is something brought up in this article. Sometimes people know better about historical accuracy, but for one reason or another, things slip through the cracks, that may not always be correct. Also, there is the lesser of two evils situations in which something incorrect may be the best choice. Another thing that I thought was interesting in this article was how they stopped buying props for a time due to the recession, but plan to continue buying at some point, becuase it makes me wonder, when is enough really enough? I'm curious to see if they develop any more specialty areas of props as time goes on just by adding to the collection.
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