Last month, one of the prop axes used during the filming of Stanley Kubrick‘s classic Stephen King adaptation The Shining (watch it HERE) went up for auction through Gotta Have Rock and Roll. Bids started at $55,000, and a “successful businessman” was credited with putting in the winning bid of $175,000. IndieWire now reports that the fan / businessman has donated the axe to the Stanley Film Center, a “major film and music entertainment complex” that is currently being built on the grounds of the iconic Stanley Hotel. That hotel, located in Estes Park, Colorado, helped inspire King to write The Shining in the first place.
The Stanley Film Center is expected to open in the spring of 2024. As IndieWire explains, “In addition to being a multi-genre film and music venue, the center will have a museum that celebrates the horror film genre. The Stanley Film Center is a non-profit funded in part by a Colorado State Regional Tourism grant.” The screen-used prop axe will be housed in the museum and will be incorporated into tours at the Stanley Hotel until the film center opens.
Stanley Film Center CEO Rand Harrington had this to say:
I can’t think of anything more appropriate than this piece of film history to start the museum’s collection. This is the first of many exciting announcements we expect to make.”
King renamed the hotel the Overlook in his novel and Kubrick used the Timberline Lodge in Oregon as the exterior of the Overlook for his movie (the interiors were sets), but the Stanley Hotel was a filming location for the 1997 mini-series adaptation of The Shining (get that one HERE).
King’s novel (available HERE) has the following description:
Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.
It was very cool of the fan who won this axe in last month’s auction to donate it to the Stanley Film Center. That seems like the perfect home for it. Will you be visiting the Stanley Hotel and/or Film Center someday? Let us know by leaving a comment below.