Mmm, meat ... Wade Marshall unveils gems at Studio Ops

Written by Alexandyr Kent April, 16 2010 10:27 AM

Wade Marshall, manager of Studio Operations' prop house, is my kind of interview. He offered a frankly brilliant story for today's Big Picture, a weekly series airing on Red River Radio.

Personality? Check.

Eyebrow-raising insight? Check.

Sordid details revealed with a mischievous grin? Check.

Studio Ops' prop house is three years old and holds some 40- to 50,000 objects: lamps, tables, fake slabs of meat, plastic cactus, law books, fake money inscribed with the warning "for motion picture use only," foam flashlights, bullet hole-riddled cars, and a wardrobe room that would make a thrift-store junkie drool.

The majority of these props and sets come from movies made by Nu Image/Millennium Films, which has produced 10 features in Shreveport. (Studio Ops is the locally based division of Nu Image/Millennium.)

Inside the storage depot, you'll also find props from projects produced by other companies like "The Mist" (Weinstein Co., Louisiana Production Consultants) and "The Great Debaters" (Weinstein). Everything inside is available for rental.

Tune in to Red River Radio today at 4:32 p.m. for a funny and informative story.

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Perhaps the coolest thing I learned, however, wasn't about the prop house. Marshall is a composer who has some interesting credits to his name: videogames, TV shows and even a priceless dance song written for his wife's birthday ("Tall Chick"). Check out his website at www.wademarshall.com. You can also friend his composer page on Facebook by searching for "Wade Marshall composer."

PHOTO: In 2008, Wade Marshall shows off a foam slab of cow used in "Mad Money" and "Disaster Movie." Credit: Louisiana Movies blog, The Shreveport Times.