Top 10 Movie Props Made from Everyday Objects

Did you notice that rocket launcher at the end of “XXX?” It might have looked somewhat odd… That’s because it was simply an old video camcorder painted green and with a variety of objects attached to it, all to give it the look of a deadly weapon. Now, this makes us wonder: was this a clever use of junk that was lying around or did budget issues start kicking in?

In “Star Trek: Nemesis,” Captain Picard famously uses what appears to be a prototype of the iPad, which is coincidentally called a PADD, or Personal Access Display Device. To operate the PADD, Picard used a blue stylus, which actually was nothing more than a butane pencil torch! The only modification to this tool was adding some reflective tape! “Star Trek” has had a long history of usingeveryday items as props and making them appear much more hi-tech. Another example is the medical scanners in the original television series, which were nothing more than salt and pepper shakers.

“Aliens” was an undeniable sci-fi blockbuster that was filled to the brim with heart-stopping action moments. Do you remember those mounted, high-firepower guns used to ward off the aliens? Take a closer look at them – the mounts for those guns were not made of some highly futuristic design, they were merely made out of Steadicam gear! This was an ingenious use of an easily accessible film production item found on set. It looked convincingly real though!

If that statue of the North Korean leader in “Team America” appears to be alive, well, that’s because it was actually a painted person! A great contrast to a cast of lifeless puppets, a living human being was chosen as a prop by the production crew of this satirical action comedy. Alright, so a human isn’tan object, but it is something you see “everyday”! Matt Stone and Trey Parker ingeniously used the most basic, random items to literally litter their movie’s varied backgrounds. So don’t be surprised when you realize that the buildings around Kim Jong-il’s palace are just Chinese take-out boxes or that the streets of Paris are nothing more than a bunch of croissant-shaped cobblestones!

Michael Myers’ mask in “Halloween” has terrified audiences for decades. What many people may not realize is that it’s actually a William Shatner mask spray-painted white! To be precise, the filmmakers found a “Star Trek” Captain Kirk mask for $2, which was made in the likeness of Shatner, performed some basic alterations such as spray-painting it white as well as enlarging the eye holes, and voila! The mask of horror that we now know and love – to hate!

The Death Star is an iconic planetary killing machine! After blowing apart Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan and causing the genocide of millions, who would have thought that this mass-murdering spacecraft and superweapon was in reality little more than a cannibalized, unpainted model battleship and plane parts? The only hint at this can be seen during the end of “A New Hope,” as Luke Skywalker is leading a fleet of Rebel Alliance starfighters along the Death Star’s surface.

“V for Vendetta” featured what appeared to be a quite complex surveillance jammer that was near pocket-sized and emitted a piercing light. Well, that complicated piece of hardware was nothing more than a portable reading light that you can easily purchase online! This fancy piece of everydaytechnology looked great on film and hopefully bolstered the product’s sales because it is definitely undeniably cool looking.

One of the most advanced pieces of technology in “Ghostbusters” was the Psychokinetic Energy Meter, also known as the PKE Meter. The Ghostbusters used this hi-tech device to find evidence of ghosts wherever their investigations led them. Well, this exceptional piece of movie hardware is just a modified 1970s shoe polisher bought from Sears! While it looked great in “Ghostbusters,” it was also recylced in lesser-known films such as “They Live” and Hulk Hogan’s “Suburban Commando.”

What do the Nostromo spacecraft from “Alien” and the DeLorean’s Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor in “Back to the Future” have in common? Well, both of them involved a Krups Coffee Grinder in their design! In the Nostromo, the Coffina coffee grinder can be seen carefully placed along the spaceship’s technical wall paneling. In “Back to the Future,” Mr. Fusion is pretty much just the coffee grinder itself but on a custom base! For some reason, the smooth shape of the grinder, as well as its neutral coloring, made it appear very scientific.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions:
- NERF Toy Dart Guns as Rifles
“Hunter Prey” (2010)
- Flameguns Made of Electronic Lighters
“Logan’s Run” (1976)
- Death Star Control Switch Was a Video Production Switcher
“Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” (1977)

The lightsaber is the “Star Wars” saga’s quintessential movie prop! Who doesn’t know what this laser sword looks and sounds like? We can thank “Star Wars” FX legend John Stears for the way the weapon looks. Stears cobbled together parts from calculators, computer cards, and, of course old press camera battery packs and their flash hilts to make it! But hey, “Star Wars” has a great history of this, just look at Qui-Gon Jinn’s Comlink from “The Phantom Menace,” it was nothing more than an altered Gillette women’s razor. May the Force be with you!

Do you agree with our list? What are your favorite movie props made from everyday objects? For more excellent Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.