Fiendish Friday Interview - Andrew of Movie Mania

How long have you been in the business?
MovieMania started in early 2004 so we are a fairly new venture.

How did you start?
I started by building full-sized film replicas in my back garden. The first replica I built was a 16 high wooden gateway as seen in the hit movie, Jurassic Park. I managed to incorporate real fire into the tops and the gateway had the theme music as people walked through it - everyone thought I was crazy but you go to great lengths when you have a passion and on that occassion I wanted to re-live the movie in my garden! I also started my own collection of movie props and tested the market by selling a few on the internet. It was difficult to find the right audience and tailor the marketing accordingly but I ended up making good profits and found myself selling movie props full time. My replica building that I started doing enabled me to build up a great list of contacts in the movie industry which help me find the pieces I get hold of today. We've had many wonderul items, from one of Pierce Brosnan's 007 watches to an entire collection of props from Gladiator.

What’s the scariest Haunted House you ever attended?
Thats a tricky one! We have our fair share of haunted houses here in the UK, but can't seem to beat the US - they seem to be the masters of horror attractions these days! The scariest one I went in was a place called Pasaje Del Terror at a theme park here in the UK called Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Their live actors looked VERY real and when they tap you on the shoulder or grab you by the legs its even more terrifying... Never again!

What inspires you to create?
Seeing the effort that goes into making moves inspires me. I like to think that selling props promotes the movie that the prop appeared in. I also get a real buzz from satisfied customers who have found a gift which is so incredibly unique and a 'one-off'. I enjoy seeing the excitement on people's faces when they know they can own a piece
of their favourite movie - it's a real buzz and is a major source of inspiration.

keytab used in the 1998 remake of Psycho

Do you ever get scared anymore?
Oh definitely. Thats one of the reasons I go to the cinema every week to see the latest horror movie. I just love being scared, but obviously in a fun and exciting way. My friend seems to hide behind her popcorn with scary movies and I have to narrate to her what is happening so my visit to the cinema is always unique!

Do you believe in real Haunted Houses? Ghosts? Etc.
Yes I do - most definitely. I once visited a real haunted location in the historical city of Edinburgh, in Scotland, UK. It consisted of a labyrinth of underground vaults which were used hundreds of years ago to store food and prisoners. We went through it late at night and I had a 'feeling' that I have never had, and never want to have ever again. It's the feeling that you know someone is standing behind you and you don't want to turn around because you are so terrified - but you know they are there. I also felt someone hit me on the back when I was the last person to exit one of the chambers. I had to get out of there immediately because it was really playing with my mind - but definitely got me believing in ghosts, even though I was scared. I live in one of Europe's most haunted cities. It was voted to be more haunted than the city of London and we have several pubs and restaurants which are incredibly haunted. But I doubt whether I would stay the night!

What is Fear?
Fear is a sense of being afraid or being anxious about something that we have no control over. The 'sense' I should imagine is caused by the presence of danger. Depending on our definition of danger will result in our own personal level of fear. See...my psychology course paid off in some shape or form...!

Who’s your average customer?
Our customers range from investors, to movie buffs who have an amazing addiction to their favourite movie. Usually though, people buy for the purposes of wedding or birthday gifts because they like to obtain something that they may not be able to find

Who’s the main competition in your market and why?
The main competition in the market conists of other specialist vendors - ie, of film props and Hollywood memorabilia. Many vendors however, seem to think that a certificate of authenticity that they have printed themselves attests to an item's authenticity, when it is simply worthless. If I was spending $5000 on a film prop I would not trust the
statement of provenance from the vendor, no matter how much of a good reputation they have. I would however, trust the film studio that not only made the prop, but created the film the the prop appeared in - it makes sense. This is really the only way you can authenticate a prop. So many people buy items without good provenance - it's so so wrong when they spend so much money and can't prove that it was used in their favourite film. Authenticity is something we take as absolute priority and we maintain this feature in everything that we sell. This
is enough to show customers that we have an added bonus compared to other vendors.

What are your 5 year goals?
I intend to launch a new company in 2007 which will complement the sale of authentic film props. It's never been done before but it's top secret! All will be revealed!