Steve,

Your comments are right on!  Thanks for taking the time to articulate it
this way.  

I'd just like to add that innumerable times I've had people from local
theater groups, University theater, etc., ask to borrow items and as we
converse it becomes apparent that they, like many people, mistakenly believe
that a museum is simply a 'library' of artifacts and thus expect that they
can check artifacts out as if they were books!! Add to this the fact that
numerous small local museums are housed in old Carnegie libraries that the
local library has outgrown. I have had a local library director refer the
museum as 'the library'; a friend who continually would ask me '...and how
are things going at the library?' and a surprising number of other folks in
the community making similar reference to 'the library' when they mean the
museum!  Is it any wonder there is surprise when we won't loan things....
perhaps they perceive us as simply a stingy library?  :-)

Given the number of places that call themselves "Museum" (a local bar in
Oregon; private 'museums' that are simply personal collections in someone's
spare room, theme park type attractions, etc.) it seems like some broad
education on a national level might be in order. This also seems to fit with
the recent debate about the 'Creation Museum' and whether or not the museum
field should be stepping up to disclaim entities using the name museum when
they are not. How do we maintain integrity for our institutions in the
confusion?

Lucy Sperlin
Butte County Historical Society Museum
Oroville, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Henrikson, Steve E (EED)
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 2:10 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: lending objects to film studios

It has been interesting reading the various warnings about film crews.
I'm curious as to what compels us to consider that having museum objects
in a film is something we really want to facilitate. In other words,
given the cost in our time and risk to our collections, what's in it for
us? How does having our museum objects in a film further our educational
and preservation missions? Doesn't this activity by its very nature tend
to undercut our preservation ethic? Then there's the slippery slope
aspect:  if you say yes to the film crew, how can you say no to other
requests to use objects? If you're looking to complicate your life,
saying yes to this is a good way to do it!

We spend lots of time and money eliminating threats to our collections.
Sometimes we take calculated risks with museum objects if the
"educational pay-off" is considered sufficiently high to justify those
risks--such as when objects are loaned to other museums for special
temporary exhibits. In these cases, we control nearly every aspect of
the event to make "the original" available, which in many cases is a
critical factor in a museum exhibit. Our museum partners in the loan
will generally share our standards.  

In a film project, the producers don't share our professional goals, and
the object is "just a prop." My impression in dealing with film
producers is that they see borrowing things from a museum is cheaper and
more convenient for them than other alternatives, which is to have a
replica made or to rent one from a prop rental house or a private
collector. The fact is, film producers usually have alternatives to
using museum objects--even if they have a compelling "storyline" about
why they want your object. The bottom line is they want to save
themselves time by getting your time at a cheaper rate.  

What other advantages might this proposal give the museum? Simply from
the standpoint of the time it takes to negotiate and monitor such an
activity, prop rental seems unlikely as way to generate revenue for the
institution. Even if they pay for our time, it takes the time away from
doing our mission-supportive activities. As far as visibility, I've seen
a few major films that have been based in part on a "real museum", but
the names of the institutions are fictionalized, so its not like you're
getting that much free exposure. While the museum might be named in the
credits, they roll so quickly that they are difficult to read. As for
the excitement and glamour of being involved in filming, that perception
is, unfortunately, "made in Hollywood." 

Simply put, I just don't see much advantage to getting involved with
providing props. If we must sell ourselves out, let us not be a "cheap
date."

Steve Henrikson

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Heather-Marie Wells
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 7:03 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: lending objects to film studios

Randy's comment reminded me of a recent story.

In the Battlestar Galactica TV show they have been showing Edward James
Olmos's character, for the last 2 seasons, building a model ship.  In
this year's season he finally "finished" it.  The production company had
been renting a museum quality ship model as the finished ship.

Well, half way through the season a crew member dies and as they were
filming his character's reaction scene without warning Olmos picks up
this model ship and smashes it to pieces!  It wasn't something he had
rehearsed, it was just something he did caught up in the moment of
acting.  The prop people were stunned and said they would have been glad
to make him one that he could smash to pieces rather than the one they
had been renting.  The production company had insured the piece but that
isn't going to bring it back.

I'm not a lawyer and I have no idea how to write contracts but I'm
guessing you can put anything in them that you want.  So I would suggest
that the production company should have to include in writing all the
names of the people who might handle your artifact, including the
actors, and make it mandatory for them to take a lesson from museum
staff on the proper handling of the artifact.

Heather Marie



>From: Randy Little <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: lending objects to film studios
>Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:25:17 -0700
>
>As a person who works in Hollywood I have watched priceless things 
>destroyed on a whim especially if it is insured.  The only way I would 
>recommend letting something on set is with very hefty penalties and on 
>set supervision of the object by someone who has the power to say NO 
>you can't do that.
>
>R.
>
>
>On 6/19/07, Glenn A. Walsh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>Marcella,
>>
>>In the late 1990s, "Wonder Boys" by Michael Chabon was being filmed in

>>Pittsburgh. The studio requested use of historic tables from the main 
>>reading room of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in 
>>Carnegie, Pennsylvania [a Pittsburgh suburb], for certain college 
>>scenes in the movie.
>>
>>We had hoped that they would actually film some of the movie at the 
>>Andrew Carnegie Free Library [as was done with he filming of Tim 
>>Robbins' "Bob Roberts"
>>political satire in November of 1991]. However, after looking over the

>>Library and Music Hall, they decided they only wanted to use our 
>>reading tables!
>>
>>As a Life Trustee on the Library's Board of Trustees at that time, I 
>>was very hesitant to loan out our historic tables. However, the 
>>Library was always short on cash; we needed the money so we loaned-out

>>the tables.
>>
>>After several months, the tables were returned to us without any 
>>problems. Of course, we did have a contract with the studio, and we 
>>required a certificate of insurance.
>>
>>It is difficult to say what you should do. Certainly lending out a 
>>historic motorcycle is more problematic than reading tables. I was not

>>so worried about the reading tables being damaged [after about a 
>>hundred years of library use, what more could be done to them!]. 
>>However, I was worried about the reading tables being "lost" among all

>>of the other props.
>>
>>A strong contract, with insurance requirements, would be the minimum, 
>>if you decide to go through with the loan.  You should probably also 
>>require some sort of daily accountability--say, a daily check on the 
>>condition and end-of-the-day storage of the motorcycle that HAS TO BE 
>>SIGNED-OFF BY ONE OF THE MAJOR STUDIO EMPLOYEES. And, you should 
>>probably insist on a periodic report on the consition of the 
>>motorcycle.
>>
>>As with libraries, I am sure your museum could use the money such a 
>>rental would provide. Make sure your attorney "dots all the i's and 
>>crosses all the t's" of any such lease contract.
>>
>>Good luck!
>>
>>gaw
>>
>>--- Marcella Wiget <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:11:52 -0500
>>From: "Marcella Wiget" <[log in to unmask]>  Add to Address Book

>>Add Mobile Alert Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was

>>sent by HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM. Learn more
>>Subject: [MUSEUM-L] lending objects to film studios
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> > Hello everyone,
>> >
>> > Our museum has recently received a request to borrow one of our 
>> > artifacts (a motorcycle, to be precise) for use in a film.  Now, 
>> > this obviously raises a number of concerns, and we're still very 
>> > early in negotiating this process, but we wanted to hear what other

>> > museums have done in similar situations.
>> > Have you lent your artifacts?  If so, how did you work out the 
>> > details about overseeing the object, price to borrow the artifact, 
>> > and other issues I might not even be thinking about?
>> >
>> > I could swear I've seen this topic (or one very like
>> > it) come up before on
>> > the listserv, so if anybody could point me in the direction of any 
>> > previous threads where this topic was discussed, I would really 
>> > appreciate it.
>> >
>> > Thanks!
>> > Marcella
>> >
>> > Marcella D. Wiget
>> > Curator of Collections
>> > Reno County Historical Society
>> > [log in to unmask]
>>
>>gaw
>>
>>Glenn A. Walsh
>>Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] > NEWS - Astronomy, Space, 
>>Science:
>>< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news > Author of History Web 
>>Sites on the Internet --
>>* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
>>   < http://www.planetarium.cc >
>>* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
>>   < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
>>* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear:
>>   < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
>>* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
>>   < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
>>* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
>>   < http://www.incline.cc >
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
>--
>Randy S. Little
>http://reel.rslittle.com
>http://www.linkedin.com/in/rslittle
>
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