{"id":12551,"date":"2009-04-27T20:41:39","date_gmt":"2009-04-28T04:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/?p=12551"},"modified":"2024-02-24T20:14:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T04:14:39","slug":"planet-of-the-apes-statue-of-liberty-prop-a-terminal-error-in-authentication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/27\/planet-of-the-apes-statue-of-liberty-prop-a-terminal-error-in-authentication\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPlanet of the Apes\u201d Statue of Liberty Prop: A “Terminal” Error in Authentication"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An industry professional who personally inspected the “Planet of the Apes” Statue of Liberty prop at the “The Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show” convention has come forward with information and evidence that it was actually custom designed and sculpted for the film, The Terminal<\/em> (2004), which would confirm that it has absolutely no connection whatsoever with Planet of the Apes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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The Statue of Liberty prop head, claimed to have been used in the filming of Planet of the Apes<\/em> (1968), was previously consigned for sale with Profiles in History (est. $30,000-$40,000) and Heritage Auction Galleries, as well as offered for sale on eBay, was this past weekend prominently advertised in conjunction with “The Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show”\u00a0 featuring “for a fee” photo opportunities.<\/p>\n

There have been a number of articles published on the Original Prop Blog going back to August 2007, raising questions about the attribution of this piece to the classic movie, Planet of the Apes<\/em>, released in 1968:<\/p>\n

Today I have been in communications with Mr. Daren R. Dochterman<\/a>, who was employed as Conceptual Artist for Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal<\/em> (see credits, IMDb<\/a>), who gave me permission to publish the following statement on his behalf:<\/p>\n

I hadn’t heard about this prop “restoration” before… probably because I don’t usually travel in the collector’s circles… but I just saw this on display at the Hollywood Show over the weekend… and I recognized it immediately… it’s from a film I worked on back in 2003, Steven Spielberg’s “The Terminal”… I did the concept art for this… and remember it being sculpted in the shop next to the large Terminal set in Palmdale, CA. The scene, which I’m not sure is in the final film or not, had Tom Hanks’ character in a souvenir shop in the NYC Airport Terminal, and this Statue of Liberty head was made to fit a closed circuit television fed by a camera imbedded inbetween the eyes… so he could see himself in the crown windows. This is why the crown line is distorted… to fit a standard monitor size.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is collateral provided by Mr. Dochterman showing the composite illustration he created for the film, The Terminal<\/em> (TOP<\/strong>), as well as “sculpting in progress” photos of the prop itself (MIDDLE<\/strong>), and a photo of the shop set in which the scene would have been filmed (BOTTOM<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

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Click for Full Resolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the post-restoration “Planet of the Apes” Statue of Liberty prop offered at auction (LEFT<\/strong>) and the very distinctly custom sculpted prop specially designed for The Terminal<\/em> circa late 2003 (RIGHT<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

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Also note, in this photo of “Planet of the Apes” Statue of Liberty from the Hollywood Collectors and Celebrities Show held this weekend (LEFT<\/strong>), the back of the piece is completely flat, so as to be pushed up against a wall.\u00a0 Then compare with the on set photo from The Terminal<\/em> (RIGHT<\/strong>) to see how the piece was designed to fit flush against the wall in the store (with raised ceiling to account for the crown spikes):<\/p>\n

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Click for Full Resolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note also that both pieces are self-standing, with flat, horizontal bases.<\/p>\n

I did review the film, The Terminal<\/em>, and did not find the prop used in the final cut of the film, though Mr. Dochterman’s account is absolutely consistent with the film and the use of monitors and closed circuit television cameras, and would explain many of the outstanding questions about the “Planet of the Apes” piece.<\/p>\n

***UPDATE:\u00a0 I have found this prop on screen in the film – see “Reader Comment” below for stills from the movie showing the Statue of Liberty prop.***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Most notably, the distorted crown line of the auction piece (height and windows), which does not resemble the actual Statue of Liberty nor the matte painting as seen in the film.<\/p>\n

Below is a comparison of the Statue of Liberty prop attributed to Planet of the Apes<\/em> (LEFT<\/strong>) and the real world Statue of Liberty (RIGHT<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

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Note both the pronounced height of the crown as well as the large, centered window, as opposed to the numerous, small, evenly-spaced windows on the “short” crown of the original work.<\/p>\n

In comparing a screencapture obtained from the recently released Blu-Ray disc of Planet of the Apes<\/em> (BACKGROUND<\/strong>), with the long shot of the matte painting seen in the film (the only front shot of the statue is a matte painting), while the windows are too dark to see clearly, the height of the crown is consistent with the real world Statue of Liberty, not the auction prop (INSET TOP LEFT<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

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Click for Full Resolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As noted, I have reviewed the Steven Spielberg film, The Terminal<\/em>, starring Tom Hanks, and found no scene as described by Mr. Dochterman.\u00a0 However, one of the running themes and visual motifs of the film is the prevalence of CCTV cameras and monitors as well as televisions throughout the film, as seen in the screencapture samples below:<\/p>\n

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Click for Full Resolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr. Dochterman also examined the prop in person over the weekend, where it was on display at the Hollywood Collectors and Celebrities Show.\u00a0 Attendees who were interested in having their photo taken with the “piece of cinematic history” were charged a fee.<\/p>\n

Mr. Dochterman’s account would explain why the auction Statue of Liberty has both a stretched crown in height, far fewer windows in the crown, and why there is one large, centered window.<\/p>\n

As seen in the photo comparison below, the “restoration in progress” photos of the auction prop (LEFT<\/strong>) show a crown frame which is empty – per Mr. Dochterman’s experience, that was to account for the placement of CCTV display monitors (RIGHT)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Click for Full Resolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on Mr. Dochterman’s information and photos, one can conclude that the auction prop is in fact a prop made for the 2004 film, The Terminal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Prior Article Summaries<\/h1>\n

The following are prior articles related to this piece along with short summaries.<\/p>\n

Profiles in History 28 Held Yesterday, Today<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n