In Cast Away, Tom Hanks’ character was able to survive his escape from the island he was marooned on, but his “costar” Wilson wasn’t so lucky. Hanks’ companion drifted away after falling off their handmade raft. Well, the good news is, that trusty, blood-stained volleyball has come ashore and has a new home.
An off-white leather Wilson-brand volleyball used in the 2000 survival drama recently fetched £75,000 (over RM406,000) at a Propstore auction in London on 3 November. The markings on the ball—a bloody handprint with eyes, a nose and mouth—screen match it to the cave scene, after Hanks’ character Chuck Noland has created fire. The auction house described the prop as “intentionally distressed with a dark brown-and-red ‘face.’” Any additional signs of wear and tear are a result of production.
While Wilson the volleyball might’ve been Hanks’ sole companion on the island, Stephen Lane, chief executive of Propstore, tells Bloomberg that there could be “between 10 and 12 different Wilsons out here.” His estimate is based off the number of transformations that both the prop and Hanks had to go through throughout the film. In fact, a version of Wilson with tobacco stalks for hair sold for £230,000 (about RM1.2 million) in an auction last year.
Propstore will continue to auction off over 1,500 lots of film, TV and music memorabilia through 6 November. Other notable sales from the first day included Robert Pattinson’s Batarang from The Batman, which raked in £43,750 (about RM237,000). A screen-matched Bible from The Shawshank Redemption also got scooped up for £387,500 (just over RM2.1 million) and someone else placed a winning bid of £262,500 (just north of RM1.4 million) to get their hands on Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring, from The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Although, of all the inanimate objects going under the hammer, we’re sure Wilson will provide the best companionship.
Previously published on Robb Report.
