#ISS

In part 1 of this article, we talked with Larry Zanoff one of the most prominent armorers in Hollywood who works for ISS, the company that provided weapons for “Extraction 2“.

At the end of May, after some careful consideration, I canceled my Netflix subscription, only to find out a few days later that “Extraction 2” is coming out on Netflix on June 16.

Nerd out with James in this episode four of the “ TFBTV Goes to Hollywood” series. Today, we are talking about the real guns of Joss Whedon’s Firefly TV series and the Serenity film. Did you know that Mal’s Moses Brothers Self-Defense Engine Frontier Model B is actually a working Taurus Model 85? Larry Zanoff and James handle and talk about the guns from this cult classic series, discuss what they were made from and how the concepts came to life. This is a must-watch for gun guys who love their space westerns, too.

In this episode of TFBTV – part of the “TFBTV Goes to Hollywood” series – James Reeves visits Larry Zanoff of Independent Studio Services to talk about the REAL gun (or guns, as it turns out) used by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. Larry talks about the origin of the gun, how it was used, and the legacy it left behind, blazing a new trail for guns in cinema.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves takes you behind the scenes at ISS, Independent Studio Services, for the making of the gun from Pirates of the Caribbean. A lot of work goes into making and using the black powder firearms from movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, and Larry Zanoff of ISS explains to everyone exactly how much work the creation and use of these guns requires.

In this episode, TFBTV GOES TO HOLLYWOOD! (Well, technically Burbank, California.) This video is a part of a 5 episode series covering guns used in cinema and film, and we kick off the playlist with this Episode 1, “The Top 5 Most Expensive Guns from Movies”. In terms of episode ones, we think this ep one is better than Star Wars’ ep one, but that’s not setting the bar too high. Anyways, Larry Zanoff, as the head honcho at Independent Studio Services (or “ISS”), runs perhaps the biggest movie prop house in the world, and oversees an arsenal of over SIXTEEN THOUSAND GUNS. Today, Larry tells us about the 5 most expensive guns in the collection.

Last September The Firearm Blog got a behind the scenes look at how an episode of Hollywood Weapons was made. Larry Zanoff, one of the co-stars of the show, is the lead armorer at Independent Studio Services (ISS) Props. While we were in town, Larry gave us a tour of ISS Props’ cave of wonders. A firearm collection that is north of 16,000 pieces.

Outdoor Channel has been making a wide variety of firearms-related shows (a popular one is “Gun Stories” with Joe Mantegna). The producers of that series created another show called Hollywood Weapons and it is definitely a show you should be watching.

A company you may have not heard of, but have absolutely seen their work in numerous films for decades is Independent Studio Services (ISS). This 3rd generation, family business got its start in 1977 by the way of Greg Bilson, Sr and the family business is making firearms for Hollywood!