Eighth Wonder

Last updated: 13/10/2006 - 17:02

Peter Jackson's version of King Kong gets revealed to the movie-going public this month - restrained by completely escape-proof chains, naturally.

Peter Jackson's King Kong

Peter Jackson directs King Kong, bringing his sweeping cinematic vision to the iconic story of the gigantic ape-monster captured in the wilds and brought to civilisation where he meets his tragic fate.

Set in the 1930s, this is the story of a group of explorers and documentary film-makers who travel to the mysterious Skull Island to investigate legends of a giant gorilla named Kong. Once there, they discover that the mythic King Kong, worshipped by the island's natives is a real creature. Kong lives in a massive jungle where creatures from prehistoric times have been protected and hidden for millions of years. As the explorers search for the great ape, their quest puts them up against both Kong and his dinosaur enemies.

Triple Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King) brings his sweeping cinematic vision to the iconic story of the gigantic ape-monster captured in the wilds and brought to civilization where he meets his tragic fate. Jackson assumes directing, producing and co-screenwriting duties and surrounds himself with a list of superlative filmmaking and acting talents.

Jackson re-teams with long-time collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, co-writing the screenplay with three-time Oscar-winning partner Walsh and The Lord of the Rings co-writer, Academy Award winner Boyens. The screenplay is based on the storyline written by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace, which became the classic ground-breaking effects heavy (for it's time) 1933 RKO Radio Pictures film.

Pictured (above, left): Naomi Watts finds herself in full 'Perils of Pauline' mode lashed to a sacrificial altar awaiting the attention of Kong!

The 30's production was directed by adventurers Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack - and brought new wonders of painstaking stop-motion animation to cinema goers that inspired the likes of Ray Harryhausen (Mighty Joe Young, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Clash of The Titans, Jason & The Argonauts) to greater on-screen endeavours.

Follow this link for more information on the work of master stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen - the excellent 'The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen website.

Jan Blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh and Jackson have produced the film under their WingNut Films banner.

Starring in the Universal Pictures release is a slate of some of Hollywood's most versatile and accomplished actors, including Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts (21 Grams), Jack Black (School of Rock, Hi-Fidelity, Orange County) and Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist). Cast members include Andy Serkis (Gollum from The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Thomas Kretschmann (U-571), Colin Hanks (Orange County) and Kyle Chandler (Angel's Dance, television's Early Edition).

In filming ‘Kong Jackson has been employing the latest motion picture technology to cinematically portray the timeless tale of the beast and his beauty. He expands on the chapters of the tale that take place in the mysterious and dangerous jungles of Skull Island, and his remake promises to be a breathtaking creation.

As with his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson shot King Kong on location in his native New Zealand. Visual effects are accomplished by New Zealand-based companies Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, recipients of multiple Academy Awards for their collective work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Visual effects and miniatures supplement practical locations in creating primordial jungles and jazz age 1930s-period America.

The Game of the Movie

Naomi Watts and Jack Black will also be appearing - via both likeness and voice for the film tie-in videogame Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie. "We want the movie and the videogame to be a shared experience, so having the voices and likenesses of the actors is very important," says director Peter Jackson. "Another great aspect of the collaboration is the absolute enthusiasm that the cast has shown for the game. Jack Black loves seeing himself running around the jungles of Skull Island and it's fun watching him actually play the game."

The videogame version comes out worldwide on most major platforms in concert with the film's theatrical release, making it possibly the biggest movie-licensed launch in videogame history. Adrien Brody has also lent his voice talent to the game.

"The actors' full integration into the videogame with voice-over and likeness adds yet another layer of fidelity and highlights the close collaboration between Ubisoft's Montpellier studio and Peter Jackson's team," said Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft. "It's been great working with each of these gifted actors from the King Kong motion picture and we appreciate their dedicated, exclusive performances for the videogame."

The voice sessions with the actors were supervised and directed by two-time Academy Award Winner Philippa Boyens, co-writer of both the movie and the game, to ensure the in-game dialogue reflects the tone and style of the film. In fact, other cast members also contributed either their likeness and/or voice talent including, Jamie Bell, Colin Hanks, Thomas Kretschmann, Evan Parke and Andy Serkis.

"I'm really excited my likeness will be used in the videogame. I've always wanted to be in a videogame, it's kind of a dream come true," said Jack Black, who plays the role of Carl Denham for the movie and reprises it for the game. When asked about his approach to conducting the voice over session, Black shared, "While it's strictly my voice, I'm still acting and using all of my skills as an artist. I went full blast for this videogame."

Skull Island

Academy Award winner Adrien Brody added, "It's an amazing thing to be immortalized in a video game! I hope the graphics are still cool by the time my grandkids can play."

Pictured (right) It's a classic, timeless tale of girl meets great hairy beast, beast falls for girl, girl screams a lot...Well, wouldn't you?

Ultimately - on screens both big and small - it is the attention of a beautiful woman that soothes Kong long enough for him to be subdued by the explorers and shipped back to New York, where his bleak future involves being put on display in front of humans...but how long can even the mightiest shackles of man hold back an ape 25 feet tall? So will this be Peter Jackson be giving us a new wonder of the world? Time (and the punters) will tell...

Here's what the critics made of the new version of King Kong on its original cinema release:

"Spectacular, clumsy, hilarious, ludicrously self-indulgent, terrifying and far too long, Peter Jackson's remake of the 1933 classic is a monster in every sense." - Paul Arendt (BBC).

"That Jackson’s King Kong upgrades the now hammy original with wit, heart and humour is a pleasant surprise. That it does so by reinventing the action blockbuster, in form and emotional impact, is nothing less than an act of cinematic alchemy." - Kevin Maher (The Times newspaper).

"A phenomenal popcorn movie that eclipses the original in several respects, but inevitably owes a huge debt to the powerful imagery and innovation of the 1930s landmark." - Kevin Lally (Film Journal International).

"This lackluster cure for insomnia might have been more palatable without so many distracting digressions and pared down to a manageable ninety minutes or so. Zzzz...Zzzz...Zzzz..." - Kam Williams (Upstage Magazine).

"The movie seals Jackson's reputation: He's the most gifted big-picture artist working today, a master of epics from a human-eye view who excels at employing 21st-century technological wizardry to suit the needs of ageless, personal storytelling." - Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly magazine).

"There's no denying the monumentality of Jackson's achievement, which intermittently lives up to Denham's showbiz credo: 'Magic for the price of a ticket.'" - Peter Rainer
(Christian Science Monitor).

"Too big for its own good, too pure of heart to diminish, brawling, magnificent, heroic and flawed: That's King Kong, and that's King Kong." - Amy Biancolli (Houston Chronicle newspaper).

Peter Jackson's King Kong has now been released (or should that be 'unleashed?' on double-disc extras-packed DVD. The game: Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is out at the same time for XBox, PSP, PS2 and PC, from Ubisoft Entertainment. The film has not yet been rated by the BBFC.

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