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Topic: Peter Jackson Directing King Kong for 2005!
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Steve Anderson
Expert Film Handler
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Posts: 168
From: Nashville, TN
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 03-31-2003 06:03 PM
Peter Jackson Directing King Kong for 2005! Sunday, March 30, 2003 9:36 CST
Five-time Academy Award nominee Peter Jackson will direct King Kong for Universal Pictures, it was announced today by Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. Jackson will begin work on the film immediately following the release of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, the third and final installment of his blockbuster trilogy based upon the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson will write the screenplay with his partner Fran Walsh and "Lord Of The Rings" co-writer Philippa Boyens. Jackson and Walsh will produce the film under their WingNut Films banner. Universal Pictures will release King Kong worldwide in 2005.
Jackson will bring 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.
The screenplay by Jackson, Walsh and Boyens is based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace, which became the classic 1933 RKO Radio Pictures film, directed by adventurers Cooper and Ernest B. Schoesdack. The RKO King Kong has been designated by the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress as one of the 100 Greatest Films and chosen by that organization for permanent preservation as a national treasure.
Jackson will employ the latest motion picture technology to cinematically portray the timeless tale of the beast and his beauty. He will expand on the chapters of the tale that take place in the mysterious and dangerous jungles of Skull Island, and his Kong promises to be a unique and breathtaking creation. As with his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Jackson will shoot King Kong on location in his native New Zealand. The visual effects will be again accomplished by his New Zealand-based company Weta, Ltd., who have twice been honored with the Visual Effects Oscar® for their work on "Lord Of The Rings." They will supplement practical locations in creating primordial jungles and '30s-period America.
"No film has captivated my imagination more than 'King Kong.' 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," Jackson stated. "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."
Snider noted, "Peter Jackson is a filmmaker uniquely capable of capturing the core appeal of enduring classics and in expanding the visual language of motion pictures, as inarguably evidenced in his landmark achievement with the 'Lord of the Rings' films. We are thrilled to be working with Peter and Fran, and we are confident that their execution of 'King Kong' will amaze moviegoers. 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. 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."
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
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Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 04-01-2003 01:43 PM
The problem with Godzilla was that the teaser trailers were so good (e.g. the teacher in the museum and the two men fishing in New York harbour) that the feature couldn't really upstage them. Interesting, given current events, that the French were depicted as the villians, though.
The Cooper/Schoedsack King Kong worked incredibly well and the 1976 remake worked moderately well because both related the story to the historical and social circumstances of the time. The orginal was set in the great depression, with the Fay Wray character having been plucked from the breadline by a dodgy entrepeneur. Its message was that it doesn't matter if there is mass unemployment and insecurity - it could be worse, at least we don't wear grass skirts and worship a gorilla! And of course, the gorilla's ass is duly kicked. Add to that the self-reflexive element of Cooper and Schoedsack sending up their own career in the 1920s and you have a great film. In the 1976 version global capitalism and the developed world's reliance on fossil fuels is the butt of the joke ('wow, this'll beat the shit out of <effeminate voice>'we'll put a tiger in your tank'</effeminate voice>'), hence the dénouement atop the WTC.
I don't see any sense of a political or cultural agenda in this announcement of Jackson's proposed remake. If anything, his intention to enlarge the scenes on the island is a bad omen. In the 1933 film they drag on far too long, IMHO, and were only put there so that the studio could get their money's worth out of Willis O'Brien's special effects. The humour and social commentary are all contained in the New York 'book-end' scenes, and in the village (the ceremonies and later, KK's rampage). From the evidence of this announcement, I agree with Michael that we're probably in for another Godzilla - very spectacular CGI and sound effects, but not much else.
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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God
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Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 04-01-2003 03:36 PM
Michael,
If that was what you saw in your crystal ball, I know I will like it even more bacause I love zombie films!
Gustav Mahler is one of my favorite modern composer and his 3rd Symphony has been one of my favorite. I have a previous DGG release of the work with Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Jessye Norman and it is superb! I dont know if the disc you recommended is available in the United States yet unless it was simultaneously released all over the world at the same time. I will ask for it when I am at my favorite classical music store when I go there in the next couple of days. By the way, Deutsche Grammophon and it's subsidiary, Archiv has been two of my favorite classical music record lable and have a lot of their recordings. In fact as I had previously mentioned in another post, I have the complete set of all of the recorded works of Ludwig Van Beethoven on the DGG label. When I bought the collection, I was told that every note Beethoven wrote was recorded and is in the collection. Although I had this collection for years, much of the records have not yet been played. Too busy listening to CD's and watching DVds, perhaps
-Claude
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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?"
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Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 04-01-2003 04:27 PM
Mahler 3/Abbado is an excellent choice, probably the recording which captures the moods of the music best. I think the playing of the horns which are so important in this music is just completely awesome. You are probably aware that the Vienna Philharmonic play a certain type of horn which is different from anywhere else. It is much more difficult to play but preserves the true romantic horn sound.
The Boulez recording was just released, I think it is a very good recording too. The orchestra is - as almost always - in top form and Boulez` ability to make the smallest details in the music audible without losing the larger picture is stunning.
I think the same about the recording of the 6th with Boulez. Probably my favourite recording of the piece. (Sorry, Leo.) Yes, the recording is very direct, and Boulez makes the orchestra play very much "in focus", and a bit hard, but I think that is fantastic because the Vienna Philharmonic have a very full sound anyway and so you can hear a lot of details while the sound is still very colourful and "big".
I am a huge fan of Boulez, I have to admit. His readings are often criticised as being "impersonal" or "cold", but I disagree. Actually I think Boulez is one of the most "lyrical" conductors, because he pays a lot of attention to musical detail, colour and expressive nuances which many other conductors miss. What makes it even more fascinating for me is that he understands musical structure so well that all those details are not shaped randomly, but so that they lead from one to the next naturally.
I have the recording of 7 with Rattle but haven`t really had time to listen to it yet.
I am not sure about Berlin/Rattle. The orchestra has gone through troubled times, and I think that Rattle is basically a good choice because he does some interesting things and his programming is intelligent and innovative. But it remains to be seen if he can "tame" the orchestra. I know that he is very careful at the moment because it is not easy to handle them. Abbado got very frustrated about it...
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