Anyone familiar with Quentin Tarantino movies knows there’s a lot of blood, a lot of gore, and usually a lot of destruction. Furniture gets shot up and windows are smashed on a frequent basis, so it’s really no surprise that a prop used in Tarantino’s latest film, The Hateful Eight, was destroyed inadvertently by actor Kurt Russell.
The prop was a one-of-a-kind Martin six-string guitar, on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum for the movie. The antique dates back to 1870.
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In the scene, Russell’s character, Hangman, grabs the guitar from Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and smashes it to pieces. It turns out that Russell thought it was a copy, not an original.
Needless to say, the Martin museum is not happy.
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The Hateful Eight sound mixer Mark Ulano said that Leigh’s horrified onscreen reaction to the destruction of the guitar is “genuine.”
This incident seems to have far-reaching effects, too, at least in terms of Martin antique guitars being used in future movies.
“As a result of the incident, the company will no longer loan guitars to movies under any circumstances,” said Boak.
The guitar was insured for its purchase price, and the museum has been reimbursed. The museum says its value can never be replaced with money.