From TwinCities.com:
Props collector takes home Potter magic
BY MOLLY MILLETT
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 07/07/2007 11:22:38 PM CDT
If Bruce Hubbard dies prematurely, it’s all settled: His niece gets the Superman costume – the one Christopher Reeve wore in the 1977 movie. After all, it could pay for college.
But Hubbard may need to update his will: He just acquired Harry Potter’s broom, the Nimbus 2000. That piece of movie magic could send the little one to graduate school. At Harvard.
Hubbard is a movie props dealer who lives in Minnesota, and right now, he’s flying high on Harry Potter movie magic.
“Harry Potter is the ‘Star Wars’ of this era,” Hubbard says. “History. It’s history.”
The Twin Cities dealer of “The Williams Collection” is like this with movie prop masters. He sells their props to collectors worldwide, collectors who probably wouldn’t let children with potentially sticky fingers handle their investments.
But don’t worry, kids! You can still see Harry’s accessories: Hubbard will bring some of his treasures to the Bakken Library and Museum’s Wizards’ Day on July 21 in celebration of the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
In fact, children might even get a chance to sit atop the Nimbus 2000, Harry’s broom that was featured in the first two Harry Potter movies. (We say “might” because Hubbard says that Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry, wanted the original bicycle seat that was affixed to the Nimbus for his upgraded broom, the Firebolt, and Hubbard needs to get a new seat affixed to the broom).
“If spending $20,000 to get the broom will put a smile on their faces, it was all worth it for me,” Hubbard says. “I will always let kids see the broom for free as long as I have it. I may even loan it to the Bakken for a few weekends so kids can come in and see real Harry Potter things.”
(If Hubbard was ready to sell the Nimbus, which he’s not, he says he believes that with “four or five phone calls,” he could sell it for $50,000 or $60,000.)
Hubbard also plans to bring to the Bakken a chocolate frog card and Harry’s invitation to Hogwarts, both from the first movie; some of Harry’s wands; and 10 proclamations from High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge that are featured in the new movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” which debuts Wednesday in U.S. theaters.
Comic books, not movies, used to be Hubbard’s passion, until prices crashed in the 1990s. At that time, Hubbard knew someone who collected movie props, so he posted a couple of props from “Total Recall” and “Batman” on his comic book site. Hubbard was surprised at the response.
“People snatched them up – fast,” he says. “I said, ‘I’m in the wrong business.’ “
Now, Hubbard thinks he’s in the right one.
“There are way more movie props than comic books,” Hubbard says. Plus, movie studios and actors only want to keep so many props for themselves, he says; there are many more left over. And Harry Potter props, they’re magic.
“Harry Potter props are not cheesy,” Hubbard says. “They are top grade.”
Especially the “hero” props – ones that are meant for camera close-ups.
“In the first two movies, the wands were made of wood, and, while they don’t make them that way anymore, they are still very intricate and precise,” Hubbard says. “Some guy actually paints the wood grain onto the hero wands.
“If you watch the first movie and see the wand that Ollivander hands to Harry, it’s much different than the wand he has now,” Hubbard says. “Now, the wands are converting to the characters.
The Death Eaters have wands that are black, with skulls; Dumbledore’s is old yet firm, and Harry has this tree branch of a wand. They are more attractive looking.”
Beyond his day jobs as a videographer and a student studying video animation, Hubbard runs his Web site, bedlum.net, where he offers movie props including that chocolate frog card.
“Here is the chocolate frog card used by harry on the train to Hoggwarts (sic),” Hubbard wrote in his conversational style on his Web site. “One side the green screen for the image of Albus. The other side the words about him and the stone. A VERY RARE CARD.” The price: $3,000.
Hubbard has spent years building his source list.
“It’s taken me 20 years to get to know prop masters,” he says. “And most of the major dealers have heard of me.”
Living in California is not necessary for his line of work, Hubbard says.
“I’d be closer to the studios, but I’m not into earthquakes and it’s so much more expensive there,” he says. “Besides, I already know more people in California than I do here, even though I’ve never stepped foot in California. Ninety percent of the job is by e-mail.”
Hubbard doesn’t stop with making a living at selling props. He also founded the United Movie Collectors Guild, an organization of dealers and collectors of movie props.
“I am very good at weeding out fakes,” he says. “Part of it is whether something has paperwork, but about 20 percent is just a gut feeling. That’s why I started UMCG … we have 25 members. It’s a group of people where we can ask, ‘Hey, has anyone seen this prop?’ Or, ‘This person on eBay sells fakes – stay away from him.’ “
John Cates is one of Hubbard’s clients, and he has trusted him enough to spend “Uh. (Pause.) Do I have to say exactly? (Pause.) Thousands of dollars,” on props including wands used by Harry Potter and Voldemort.
“It’s an investment, but it’s a fun investment,” Cates says. “Stocks are not fun to collect – you can’t look at stocks, but you can still enjoy movie props, whether or not their value goes up or down. It’s like owning a piece of movie history. You feel like you’re a curator for this movie memorabilia. These things are part of our cinematic history, and unless a museum is built for them, it’s up to collectors to keep this stuff as part of our cultural heritage.”
Cates, like everyone else Hubbard deals with, lives outside of Minnesota.
“My customers come from England, New York, Texas, Florida and California. A lot of people from California,” Hubbard says. “It’s funny, but I have yet to sell a prop to someone in Minnesota. I don’t think enough people here care about that sort of thing.”
And, if they do, here’s what it might cost them:
Proclamation #76: $1,000
Crystal balls: $3,000
Quaffle: $4,000
Harry’s robe: $20,000
Oh, well. At least it won’t cost any extra to check out the props while watching “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” this week.
Molly Millett can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5505.
Wizards’ Day
Where: The Bakken Library and Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave. S., Minneapolis
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 21
Details: Fans can make a glowing wand, admire owls from the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center and buy Book 7. Bag lunches and free water and ice cream also will be available. In addition, Bruce Hubbard, a local movie props dealer, will bring a variety of Harry Potter props to display, including Harry Potter’s Nimbus 2000 (it’s steel and weighs more than 50 pounds), Harry’s wands and 10 proclamations from High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge.
Tickets: $7-$5 (children ages 3 and younger will be admitted free)
Information: www.TheBakken.org or 612-926-3878;bedlum.net
Jason De Bord