The man with the master plan, director Peter Jackson at the FELLOWSHIP premiere in L.A.
© 2001 Sue Schneider

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King Kong

Genre:
Adventure/Fantasy.

Studio:
Universal Pictures.

Production Company:
Wingnut Films.

Project Phase:
Released.

Who's In It:
Naomi Watts (Ann Darrow); Andy Serkis (King Kong - motion capture reference, Lumpy); Jack Black (Carl Denham); Adrien Brody (Jack Driscoll); Thomas Kretschmann (in talks); Jamie Bell; Evan Parke.

Who's Making It:
Peter Jackson (Director); Frances Walsh, Phillipa Boyens Peter Jackson (Screenwriters); Peter Jackson, Frances Walsh, Jan Blenkin, Caro Cunningham (Producers); Andrew Lesnie (Director of Photography); Grant Major (Production Designer); Dan Hennah (Art Director); Weta Digital (Special Visual Effects); Howard Shore (Musical Score); a remake of the 1933 film King Kong.

Premise:
A thirty-foot high ape is found on a mysterious prehistoric island, captured, and brought to America where he creates chaos. Originally filmed in 1933 and remade again in 1976.

Release Date:
Holiday 2005.

Comments:
After two-thirds of his Lord of the Rings trilogy has been released to commercial and critical success, director Peter Jackson has been rewarded with what he calls his dream project: King Kong. After witnessing his versions of Tolkien's cave troll and Gollum, Jackson may presently be the most suited filmmaker to try and impart believability and human characterization into imaginary creatures. That makes him the ideal man to attempt a remake of the classic Kong picture.

Rumors:
Unknown.

Scoop Feedback:

March 31, 2003... Director Peter Jackson has finally gotten his precious.

After earning critical and commercial acclaim for two LORD OF THE RINGS films, Universal Pictures has agreed to allow Jackson to remake the classic 1933 RKO Radio Pictures KING KONG. Jackson wrote the script for his version of KONG about five years ago (together with RINGS writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) but at the time Universal passed on the notion of greenlighting the film. See how things change when your previous two films make a billion dollars at the box office?

"No film has captivated my imagination more than KING KONG," Jackson said in a press release yesterday. "I'm making movies today because I saw this film when I was 9 years old. It has been my sustained dream to reinterpret this classic story for a new age.

"The story of Kong offers everything that any storyteller could hope for: an archetypal narrative, thrilling action, resonating emotion and memorable characters. It has endured for precisely these reasons and I am honored to be a part of its continuing legacy."

Universal wants to release the film sometime around the holiday 2005 period. As with his RINGS films, Jackson's company, Wingnut Films, will produce the new KONG movie and the WETA special effects company will create the movie's FX. Jackson wrote his version of KONG just as the original film was set in the 1930s, and the movie will be set in that same period.

"Anyone who has seen the first two installments of THE LORD OF THE RINGS knows that Peter will bring Kong to life as a real character," said Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. "His vision for the tragic tale of the misunderstood creature, with its poignant character development and technological wonder, will make KING KONG compulsory viewing for any real movie lover." [Taken from the press release.]

August 12, 2003... The director of the popular and profitable LORD OF THE RINGS movies is starting to see some sweet fruit bear from all of his hard work. Peter Jackson will get paid a whopping $20 million dollars against 20% of the grosses from Universal Pictures' KING KONG picture. The $20 M upfront also gets paid in part to Jackson's co-writers on KONG and the RINGS trilogy, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

The deal is contingent on Jackson delivering KING KONG to Universal at an agreed upon budget price. The film will be shot in New Zealand and is now targeted for a Christmas 2005 release frame.

The first two LORD OF THE RINGS movies have earned nearly $2 billion dollars at the box office worldwide, and that's not even counting home video revenue. Jackson wrote an earlier version of KING KONG for Universal back in 1997 only to have the studio pass on remaking the movie. The original KONG is one of Jackson's all-time favorite films and getting the opportunity to tell his version of the story (set in the same time period as the original movie, the 1930s) has been a dream of the director for years. [Variety.]

September 22, 2003... According to the trade magazines actress Naomi Watts (THE RING) has been given the chance to star in Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG. If she accepts, Watts would play Ann Darrow, a 1930s Broadway stage performer who winds up becoming the object of Kong's eye. The role was first portrayed by Fay Wray in the original KING KONG; Jackson's remake is set in the same time period with the same characters as found in the original film.

Watts is also supposed to be mulling over starring in the sequel to THE RING. Jackson wants to start filming his KING KONG movie next year for release in 2005. [The Hollywood Reporter, Variety.]

November 19, 2003... According to The Toronto Star (via Coming Soon), Peter Jackson may have already found the face for his KING KONG -- and he's Gollum. But it was supposed to be a secret.

"Ssssh!" was all Andy Serkis would say on the matter to the Star's Peter Howell, plus a big smile and a thumbs up. Sounds like it's already a done deal.

Serkis plays Gollum for one final time in THE RETURN OF THE KING next month in theaters. [The Toronto Star, Coming Soon.]

January 28, 2004... E! News was on the side of the red carpet at the BAFTA lunch last Saturday and spoke with actress Naomi Watts. Watts confirmed publically for the first time that she is locked for the lead actress role in the KING KONG remake. The Movie Box website was first to report this news online.

Watts also added that filming on Peter Jackson's great ape adventure will commence in August. Jackson, also attending the BAFTA lunch, also had this to say about his version of KONG: "I just want to approach KING KONG has a drama...not as a fantasy...not as anything other than a straight drama and explore what would really happen in that situation and I think would be interesting." [E! News, The Movie Box.]

Peter Jackson spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and briefed the magazine on the latest developments with his remake of KING KONG. The LORD OF THE RINGS helmer confirmed that Naomi Watts is locked to play Ann Darrow, the beauty that the great ape falls for. Jackson is currently tinkering with the screenplay, trying to refine the characters. He is also not averse to trying to cast some of his RINGS actors in KONG roles.

Jackson also revealed some of the creative personnel working on the film, including producers Jan Blenkin and Caro Cunningham; Andrew Lesnie (Director of Photography); Grant Major (Production Designer); Dan Hennah (Art Director); and Howard Shore (Music). Both WETA Workshop and WETA Digital have been working on the look of the picture's creatures for some months now.

And as for what differences, if any, there will be between Jackson's new movie and the classic film: "It's [Jackson's film] is based on the 1933 movie, and we will follow that basic plot and narrative structure," explains the director. "We will obviously be writing much more depth into the characters -- approaching it as a drama rather than a fantasy."

And what about the Dino de Laurentiis remake from the 70s? "We pretrend the 1976 version doesn't exist." [The Hollywood Reporter.]

Screenwriter's Voice has reviewed the old draft of Peter Jackson's forthcoming KING KONG remake. Written and submitted eight years ago to Universal before Jackson began working on his trilogy of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, only to find the project dismissed by the studio. Now, after the tremendous success of the RINGS films, Jackson is revisiting KONG as his next project.

While it's common knowledge that the 1996 draft won't be the one Jackson will use for his movie, it does provide some insight into where he might be taking us when KING KONG rolls into theaters in late 2005. In his review for Screenwriter's Voice, Brian Tallarico states that the old KONG script isn't as solid a piece of escapist entertainment as the LORD OF THE RINGS movies were. He finds two main problems of note: that the three main characters come off as one-dimensional, and that the great ape himself doesn't appear until halfway through the '96 draft. On the positive side, Jackson's KONG has loads of action including plenty of fights with dinosaurs and a thrilling opening sequence.

"All they need to do is focus their film on the four characters (the three humans and Kong," writes Tallarico in his review. "Avoid the spectacle and strengthen the character."

You too can pick out more hairs to examine by reading the script review right here. [Screenwriter's Voice.]

March 30, 2004... Jack Black is the third cast member to join Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG. Black, who joins the previously announced Naomi Watts and Andy Serkis, will play adventurer/showman Carl Denham, the man who brings King Kong back to the civilized world and who has the final line in the film. Robert Armstrong played the part in the original 1933 movie; Charles Grodin in the 1976 KONG.

Watts remains slated to play Ann Darrow, the actress that catches the eye of the great ape while Serkis will don another motion capture bodysuit and be Kong. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

March 31, 2004... Actor Adrien Brody is now in talks to join Peter Jackson's KING KONG. Brody would play Jack Driscoll, a former World War I fighter pilot that becomes the man who leads the rescue for Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) from King Kong. The role was played by Bruce Cabot in the 1933 picture.

Brody is wrapping up work on THE JACKET and will next be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's THE VILLAGE. [Variety.]

April 14, 2004... While we already know that Peter Jackson's next project will be a remake of Universal's KING KONG, what we didn't know was that there would be a video game based on the new movie. That fact was revealed last weekend in an article appearing in the New York Times Magazine about the growing relationship between movie studios and video game companies.

Two startling items were said in the Times story. First, the KING KONG video game will be released by Ubisoft. This is unusual because Universal Pictures, the studio making and releasing Jackson's KONG, has its own internal games division, Vivendi Universal Games. This may be due to the fallout after last year's sale of Universal's movie division to General Electric who did not pick up VU Games.

The second interesting item in the story was the pronouncement that Jackson could stand to make more money from the sale of KING KONG video games than from making the movie. That's an amazing piece of supposition to make considering that the LORD OF THE RINGS director is guaranteed to get a $20 million dollar paycheck and a piece of the profits from KING KONG. Nevertheless, if the KONG video game is as successful as Electronic Arts' LORD OF THE RINGS video games, it's conceivable big bucks could be made.

[A shout out to Gamespot for spreading the word.]

June 11, 2004... While it's not truly news to those who have been following the latest developments on Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG, today The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Andy Serkis will indeed be used as a motion capture reference for the great big ape. One item that is new is that Serkis will also be playing a human in the film, that being the part of Lumpy, the cook of the steamer ship Venture that sails to Skull Island, the home of Kong.

Jackson took the opportunity to single out why Serkis' skills will be vital to the creation of Kong as a character in the film. "While Andy will provide very valuable onset reference, this doesn't mean we will be softening Kong by attempting to humanize him," the director told the Reporter. "The power of the story lies in the fact that this is a savage beast from a hostile environment, and we don't intend to compromise that."

Serkis played a similar role in THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy of films, playing the part of Gollum. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

June 25, 2004... After playing a vampire overlord in BLADE II and a Nazi in THE PIANIST, Thomas Kretschmann deserves to play a good guy for a change. So it's nice to note that he's up for the role of the boat captain who will be taking Jack Black, Naomi Watts and Thomas' favorite pianist Adrien Brody to Skull Island in Peter Jackson's eagerly-anticipated remake of KING KONG.

But the actor is also up for another role, in quite a different type of venue. He's in talks with the people doing DEAN KOONTZ'S FRANKENSTEIN for the USA Network. Hopefully, his part won't require a flat head or neck bolts. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

July 29, 2004... Two more actors have come aboard Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG; Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT) will play a cameraman on Carl Denham's exploration mission to Skull Island while Evan Parke (ALIAS) will play the first mate on the Venture, the ship Denham hires to transport his crew to Kong's home. Parke's character eventually winds up becoming the de facto leader of the rescue team that goes after Kong to rescue Ann Darrow's character.

The duo join Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody who have already been hired for the remake. The film will out in theaters in December 2005. [The Hollywood Reporter.]