The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - The Mendl's Box
Annie Atkins, who worked with Wes Anderson on The Grand Budapest Hotel and created the Mendl's box references graphic design as "anything with lettering on it, anything with pattern on it, and anything with illustration on it, and most things made out of paper" (Mars, R., & Atkins, A., 2017).
The original boxes actually had a spelling mistake. Since Atkins had hand lettered the writing it never went through a spell check and she accidentally spelled patisserie with two t's. The mistake was later fixed in the editing process.
Atkins references that they shot with about 2000 of the boxes, all of which had to be spell-corrected post production.
Since the release of the film, the Mendl's box has become somewhat of an icon, prompting people to try to get their hands on an original from the film. There are many fakes out there, but Atkins says if you ever see one with two t's in patisserie then you should snag it.
Mars, R., & Atkins, A., 2017
This film poses an interesting use of paper props, as they are all put together on screen as a part of different scenes.
The prop designers had to use all the same equipment Frank would’ve been using at the time to create their props. This included a Heidelberg press that was too heavy to bring onset, so a the set had to be built around its location (Davies, D. M., 2013).
Catch Me If You Can (2002) -
Frank's Counterfeit Checks & Certificates
Davies, D. M., 2013
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) -
The Story Book
Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen wanted the traditional western opening feel and decided to create a real storybook to create digital vignettes for the narrative transitions between the short stories of the film
Master bookmaker and prop artist Dave King hand-crafted the period storybook to the Coens’ exacting specifications. The book not only had to look the part, but also had to act as a natural book, as its pages were turned on camera.
(Bijman, M., 2020)
Superbad (2007) - McLovin's Fake ID
When making fake IDs for film, prop makers and art directors have to be extremely careful, if it looks too real they can get into legal trouble.
There are lots of tricks prop masters use to create a realistic ID for movies. The most important being nailing the lamination process so it has the correct shine.
Some films even go the extra step of adding the ID's hologram in post production to go the extra mile for authenticity.
Fun Fact: An underage man in Iowa was once arrested trying to use the famous McLovin ID to get into a bar.
Geaghan-Breiner, M., & Nigh, B., 2022
The Goonies (1985) -
One-Eyed Willy's Map
When it came time to shoot with the map, prop designer J. Michael Riva thought it looked too new. To remedy this he spent the day in a hotel room pouring coffee on it, burning the edges, and even cut his own finger to drizzle blood over the map to get the authentic look.
"You do these crazy things. You get so into it" Riva said in an interview with NPR.
Stamberg, S., 2009
Mean Girls (2005) - The Burn Book
The only thing in the script that director Mark Waters had to go off while creating the burn book was “Karen takes a scrapbook off the shelf” and the insults Tina Fey, who wrote the screen play, wanted to include on the pages.
According to Waters, the Burn Book was one of "the rare movie props that was completed well before the actual shoot of the movie". This was because the book needed to be passed around, and eventually destroyed, by the characters.
Other than making it pink, one of the first ideas was to make it look like a yearbook of sorts. In an interview for Thrillist, Waters remembers the prop masters design breakthrough; "he said, 'Let's make it look like those kidnapping videos".
Patches, M., 2017
American Psycho (2000) -
The Business Cards
All four of the featured business cards include the same job title, phone number, address and company and were intentionally created to look virtually identical.
An unintentional typo, the misspelling of the word acquisitions, was on each business card and made it into the final cut of the film.
Despite the film's dialogue, Paul Allen's card does not actually feature a watermark!
In a subtle instance of foreshadowing, the font featured on Paul Allen's card is the same as the one used in the opening credits.
Fun fact: multiple printing companies offer templates to create your own American Psycho-esque business cards
Friedman, T., 2021
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) -
The Letters
Over one thousand hand addressed and wax sealed envelopes were used during filming.
The scene where letters fly in through all openings of the house, pictured below, was shot using 100% practical effects, utilizing wind machines and 1000 paper envelopes.
Colombo, C., 2022
