Original blaster casting on ebay

[Bwood]

Hmph. Robbie Knott.
As chief inspector Jacques Closeau might declare, "The mystery is sol-ved!"

[andy]

In going back to all the old research, I can see that supposedly Robbie Knott was already spoken to, and even gave some of the early "misinformation" we had about the gun. He is also the one that supposedly said it was an Hispanic gunsmith by the name of "Frankie" that worked on the gun for him. The Art Shippee information all adds up, but the stuff after him is info that was questionable back when it first came out, and never seemed to go anywhere. It is possible I just went down the same dead end myself, with even less of a chance of catching the trail another decade and a half later. Hopefully I have some people that might have better connections that can get a lot closer than I can that might dig up something new, or previously suppressed.

Andy

[racprops]

And the quest goes on....

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[joberg]

Thanks Andy for that great info! I'm always afraid that the real stories will disappear when all of those guys will also
It's great that Art Shippee, Tom Southwell and others gave us/others the proper stories over the years. So much is still to discover!

If you have the chance to talk to him again, ask him if the vacu-formed bottles were leaking and how many real glass bottles were on set/or available to the production.

[Mr Webber]

How cool is all this
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Formerly offworld66

[andy]

Unfortunately many of the paths we tried to go down suffered from aging memory, that we all suffer from. Most of the details he could not remember, but he could remember the t shirt wars and the reasons they started. He does not seem to as much of a fan of Ridley Scott as some in the art department were. Still he stayed till the end, possibly because of his connections to those who left like Robby Knott. They still needed them to some degree, but they couldn't work for Ridley directly it seems. Emotional moments last much longer than minuscule details.

Andy

[joberg]

Right you are Andy. SRS has a "reputation" in the Film Industry as being "difficult". But what does it really mean to be "difficult" as a Director?

He's not here to please everybody (not his job) but he has a vision and know how to get there. He said it many times before: "You're either with me, or not". The "not" isn't necessary for him to deal with. He has other things to think about.
Team work is essential in any big production and some disagreement might occur from time to time, but, as a Director, the buck stops with him.

[hirohawa]

[Skin-Job]

I agree, he misses a lot more than he hits. But when he hits.....

This leads me to believe he may not actually know it when he's doing the great stuff. It can happen with Directors.

Personally I believe Tarantino has been desperately poking around trying to find the lightning in a bottle that was Pulp Fiction. He may simply not know what he did that was good.

Directors being difficult?
I've worked with several Directors who are considered difficult, Terry Gilliam and Ridley Scott himself. I think the main issue is that there's still a 'feudal' system in place in film. The Director is King, and God help anyone who upsets him.
Many difficult Directors seem to have forgotten that film is a collaborative art and believe they are doing it on their own.

The buck doesn't really stop with the Director, but the Producer. It's up to the Producer to reign the Director in and tell him what he can't have or can't do. When a Director won't be told to do, often when they've already agreed to it, that's when they become 'difficult'.
Unless the Director is also the writer and Executive Producer, then he's an employee like everyone else. This seems to be forgotten.

The Director has become the central figure in film, far more so than the writer, which is a far more important role in my opinion.

Originally in early Hollywood the Producer was the central figure. The Director was only there to make sure the shotlist was completed and the actors stood on their marks....

[Staar]

Fabulous info Andy. Many thanks mate...

High regards
MARK
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[Dascoyne]

I can't help but imagine that somewhere there's a gunsmith named Frankie entirely unaware of his role in cinematic history, kicking back with his buddies, telling them about the time he slapped together a single gun prop for some B sci-fi film in the 1980's.

[racprops]

Sadly I heard he passed a way.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[Dascoyne]

Seriously?
I'm very sorry to hear that.

[racprops]

Me too..Wish it is other wise...
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!