Student loads college hopes on 'Brokeback' truck

TORONTO - A half-ton pick-up truck used in the award-winning gay Western "Brokeback Mountain" is up for sale, and the seller, a Canadian high school student, hopes the proceeds will help pay his way through college.

Matthew Kennedy said he bought the black, 1950 GMC truck last year at an auction of vehicles used in the movie because he liked its looks, and only decided to sell when he realized the amount of attention the film was garnering.

"The movie was getting a lot bigger and I thought I could sell it and put away the money for school," he said.

Kennedy's eBay description of the vehicle says it was driven by Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, when he meets Ennis Del Mar, played by Heath Ledger, at the start of the film.

Bidding (see link below) has reached US$15,000 so far, almost double the US$8,000 starting price, fueled by the ties to the film.

The movie, centering on the furtive love affair between two cowboys, was shot in the Alberta foothills, south of Calgary.

"The only thing I knew about the movie was that it was being filmed in my area and it was a cowboy movie," he said.

Murray Ord, executive producer at Alberta Film Entertainment, said it's standard procedure to sell film gear post-production. "Whether it be furniture, props, anything we purchased, we try to recoup the cost," he said.

Murray Pomerance, a sociologist and author of several books about cinema compared the pickup truck with items such as Dorothy's shoes from "The Wizard of Oz" and prosthetic masks from "Star Trek".

"With certain films that are distinctive in one way or another...this desire to imbed oneself in the context of the film is huge," he said.

"We're actually taking the truck and marketing it. Young people want to play at being characters...they're going to want to drive that truck...it's the ultimate way to play the game."

- REUTERS