Movie bottles given to charity> Costner film `Message in a Bottle’ recently finished shoot

BATH, Maine — The crew from “Message in a Bottle” will be leaving soon. But it is leaving behind a few souvenirs.

Three bottles used in the movie starring Kevin Costner have been donated to Chocolate Church Arts Center, the American Red Cross and the Bath YMCA for use in charity fund-raisers.

The first bottle fetched $170 during an auction hosted by the Chocolate Church arts center on Sunday, said Deborah Hayden.

The price was not bad “for a place in Maine where people are not gah-gah over movie memorabilia,” Hayden said.

David Fulton, a publicist from Warner Bros., offered assurances that the bottles were used in the film. There were just a few of the bottles and there are no more to be had, he said.

The pale, aqua bottles have the smoky “sea glass” appearance of having been at sea for years.

Hayden arranged the acquisition of the bottle, which carried a certificate of authenticity that it was used by the movie, in which Costner plays a widower who tosses a message to his wife into the sea.

The owner of a bed and breakfast where crew members stayed, Hayden originally sought one of the costumes worn by Robin Wright Penn, who plays a woman who finds the message in the bottle and vows to track down its author.

The movie folks said no to the gown, but yes to the bottle. Hayden said she was happy with the auction.

“I think it’s fun. I think $170 was pretty good actually,” said Hayden, who noted most residents are low-key about the filming. “I don’t think there are that many groupies around.”

The bottles were not the only items from the movie sets that were sold at the auction.

Pieces of an elaborate white picket fence erected around a stately home at the corner of Washington and Edwards streets in Bath sold for between $20 and $90, Hayden said.