Hey folks, Harry here... People ask me why I'm so excited about Peter Jackson's KING KONG. Some think it is because of LORD OF THE RINGS. To me... LORD OF THE RINGS was child's play next to the task of making KING KONG.
Blasphemy?
Perhaps. But LORD OF THE RINGS was a formless dream laying in the imaginations of those that had read a book. Sketchy imaginings that had never been rendered in the cinematic realms. KING KONG on the otherhand is not only a great story, but one of the greatest films ever created. More to the point. It's my favorite movie. And even more important to the story of this new film, it is Peter Jackson's favorite movie. I desperately want to fly off to New Zealand... see all the behind the scenes action... Live there for the duration of the shoot. Why? Simply, I know that someone that loves Kong greater than me is making this movie. One that's entire life's ambition has been to tell his dreams in the land of Kong. One where Kong could be more expressively animalistic, able to express a higher degree of sadness and want. One where he could add more texture and nuance to the characters, more passion to the love... and lastly - to offer forth his tribute to the film that lit in him the passion to make films.
All of that matters very little though if the dialogue isn't as breathlessly exciting, if the pacing once upon Skull Island isn't as unrelentingly thrilling and lastly if they drop the ball in the slightest in terms of bringing the period to life. This film is a bitch to make - and the reward? Perhaps the greatest reward for Peter is to make a film he's spent a life chasing. One that 4 years ago he told me he felt he'd never get a chance to make.
I've decided to not travel to New Zealand for the set of KING KONG even though I've been invited. The reason? Right now, I have my dream of what Peter is doing with KING KONG. With every little delicious tidbit I see and hear, well... it reinforces my faith in Peter. I'd rather preserve the dream... Quint's seen quite a bit of KING KONG behind the scenes - the look on his face tells me all I need to know... it's mind-blowing.
Perhaps my favorite remake of all time had a similar history. John Carpenter's THE THING. John loved the original deeply. So much so he sought out the original story, which combined with his own imagination and a team of like minded dreamers created something legendary, something unlike anyTHING we'd ever seen before... and frankly since. The original THING was a genre stand-out... but frankly, it was a tick on the furry as of KING KONG. Why am I writing this piece? Well, for one I'm a kongophile - and need only the vaguest of nudges to write about my love of primitive rainforest civilizations, natural log bridges, dinosaurs and evolved monsters that eyes have never before seen... on and the eighth wonder of them all... King Kong. However... getting Newsweek to write about KING KONG... heh... That's something altogether different.
At the below link, you'll find a great story written for NEWSWEEK - and if you love Kong, it'll tickle ya so much - especially the reaction of the writer to the climax of the film as told via animatics. But for me... it's Phillipa's "For the record, KING KONG is going to kick 'Lord of the Rings' ass! It Will!" - Followed by Peter and Fran's "That's the wine talking." In my experience, Peter and Fran are a pair of the most humble souls around... Phil on the otherhand, is one of the most honest. So - when she says KING KONG will kick LORD OF THE RINGS' ass... I have very little doubt!
Here's the Newsweek story: CLICK HERE
