Next Time You Watch A Film, Think About The Props

Pam Elyea turns a corner in the massive History For Hire prop warehouse she runs with her husband Jim.

“You’ll see over here we have atomic weapons.”

Turns out, the Burbank prop house History For Hire did “quite a bit of work” on Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s latest film. Elyea says these props don’t rent a lot but “it was fun to have them on Oppenheimer."

Casual.

A lifelong love of film

Pam and Jim Elyea started a prop house 40 years ago. Elyea says she knew she wanted to work in the business when watching the original Star Wars. Then she met her film-loving husband at the Arts Center College of Design in Pasadena and they soon started shipping props out of their living room. She says the first film they worked on was the Oliver Stone war epic, Platoon in 1986. The business has only grown since.

History For Hire usually works on thousands of productions a year. You name it, they’ve probably worked on it. Titanic, Forrest Gump, Babylon, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? are all titles that get thrown around as Elyea navigates the labyrinthine rows of props from all decades and origins.

The can microphone History For Hire propmakers built for the Coen Brothers film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" in 2000.

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Courtesy History for Hire

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Courtesy of History for Hire

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Tim Blake Nelson, George Clooney and John Turturro from the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" sing into a vintage microphone prop created by History for Hire.

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Courtesy History for Hire

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Impact of this strike

It’s a fascinating walk through movie time and space. But this reporter has to ask the question that’s hanging over everyone’s heads right now: How have things been going since the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild went on strike?

Elyea doesn’t mince words: “This strike is just really kicking our butt.”

The feature films History for Hire contracts with usually shoot for several months and have large budgets. The prop house also works on music videos and short films, but that’s not what brings in money.

“Nobody’s filming right now,” she says.

History For Hire lived through the writers strike in 2007-2008 and the pandemic, but Elyea says the dual strikes are a different beast. The industry has come to a standstill, and this time around, the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Producers — the AMPTP — still isn’t budging.

Also, during the pandemic shutdowns, there were additional resources available that simply aren’t being provided now. In 2021, History For Hire was able to keep staff with the help of PPP loans and also rent products online.

History For Hire has over 200 guitars available for rent. This pink sparkle Fender was once rented to Dolly Parton.

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Victoria Alejandro

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LAist

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What’s next

Some observers say the work stoppage could last until this fall, but it's already taking a toll on Elyea’s business. History For Hire has had to reduce it staff from 20 employees to 12, and they may have to cut down even further. Rent on the warehouse is $45,000 a month.

“Los Angeles is such an expensive city to have a small business in,” she says. "And just because there’s a strike doesn’t mean I don’t have to pay the city for the water, for the power, for the gas, for the taxes.”

The work History For Hire does is intensive. There’s a veritable library of research that goes into selecting and building every prop for a film. Standing among stacks of catalogs dating back a hundred years, I ask Pam how people can best support folks who work below the line on films, doing the jobs people might not know are crucial to making your favorite movies.

Her reply is truly that of a film lover.

“I think the very best thing anybody can do right now is go see a movie. And after you’ve seen that movie, think about all the work that went into that, and all the people that did that, and that would be tremendous help,” she said.

And despite supplying props for Oppenheimer, Pam leaves me with an emphatic, “Go Barbie!"