“And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I tell you any more, I’m going to show you the greatest thing your eyes have ever beheld. He was a king and a god in the world he knew, but now he comes to civilization merely a captive – a show to gratify your curiosity. Ladies and gentlemen, look at Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World.”
-Carl Denham
We here at InsidePulse Movies along with many other movie enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting the release of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. So I and a few other movie staffers decided to sit down and talk about the remake. Joining me today are Travis Leamons, Tom Pandich, ML Kennedy, Robert Sutton, and Michaelangelo McCullar.
– What was your first reaction when the news first broke that a remake of the cinematic classic was in the works?
Travis Leamons: At first I was upset that a King Kong remake was in development. But unlike Gus Van Sant’s hackneyed version of Hitchcock’s Psycho (with an ejaculating Norman Bates, no less); King Kong can benefit with the advancements made in special effects technology. Plus when I learned that King Kong is Peter Jackson’s favorite movie of all-time, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Tom Pandich: My initial reaction to the news of a King Kong remake is one of total indifference. As a horror movie fan, I’ve grown to accept that any movie can be remade no matter how untouchable it is considered. Psycho, The Hills Have Eyes, Dawn of the Dead, Suspiria, and Evil Dead all have had or are in the process of being remade. Besides, King Kong was already remade. There is no legacy being trampled on with Kong.
John Cavanagh: Since nothing is sacred in Hollywood at this point it was only a matter of time before Kong was next. Granted, it was already remade back in ’76 but I try really really hard to forget that movie ever existed. The only relief I had was knowing Jackson would be in the director’s chair. But that brought up a new fear, I started to wonder if after close to 5 years with Lord of the Rings would the artistic style of those three films find themselves transitioned over to the Kong production and have all the creatures look like shelob the spider, Orcs or cave Trolls? After production stills and internet videos started coming out I began to rest easy and could see this movie has a lot of potential
ML Kennedy: How… odd. The original is great, partly because of its lack of polish. I’m sure there will be nifty special effects to distract us from the sanitation of the movie. So long weird sexuality, good-bye humans killed by Kong, hello remake hell.
Robert Sutton: When I had heard the Peter Jackson planned to remake Kong, I was really excited because I knew how much he loved the original picture. While it had already been remade once, the 70’s King Kong in no way able to live up to its original. With Jackson being one of today’s most gifted visual storytellers, I knew the film had the possibility to be one of today’s great FX achievements, if nothing else.
Michaelangelo McCullar: Why? I mean, there are just some flicks that don’t need remaking. What’s next? 10 years from now are they going to decide to remake Casablanca or On the Waterfront? Wasn’t the lesson learned with Gus Van Sant’s Psycho?
– With a budget of over $200 million dollars do you think Universal went a little over board allowing Jackson complete artistic freedom?
Travis Leamons: $200 million dollars. How far is too far? Well James Cameron gambled with Titanic and that worked out well. But nothing is a sure thing in Hollywood. I don’t think I have to remind anyone about The Wild Wild West, or Stealth for that matter. Still, people will definitely be getting their money’s worth sitting through a 187-minute feature film. And you also have to consider the merchandising coup that is King Kong. If Spaceballs taught us anything, toys and T-shirts (and flamethrowers) will only help add to the fortune King Kong will rake in.
Tom Pandich: 200 million is the new watermark for a movie projected to break 500 million. Yes, Universal gave Peter Jackson a huge budget, but with all of the tie ins including the Kong game, Universal is bound to make it up. Such is the price of having the director to head your project after completing the most impressive cinematic achievement to date.
John Cavanagh: To be honest I’m kind of getting sick of how much new movies are costing. After all these years shouldn’t the CGI technology cost LESS? Sure it’s more advanced but most of the advancements are just patches to make certain parts of effects more realistic, stripped down it’s all the same technology they’ve been using for years. And the idea this one movie is only slightly less than what the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy cost shows just how much studios are willing to throw around. But I suppose if there’s one movie that could use as much financing to make it as realistic as possible it would be King Kong.
ML Kennedy: That 200 million isn’t being thrown into a well. It fuels the Hollywood machine. You pay for studio time in buildings that were built nearly 100 years ago. Everybody is making a good chuck of change on this movie. On paper, it’ll lose money even if it rakes in 400 mill.
Robert Sutton: Absolutely not. The possible windfall of money that could come from this project seems immeasurable. This is the studio that gave a ton of money to Waterworld. Why not give a hefty sum to a film maker that just gave New Line one of the most successful franchises ever. It looks like all of the $200 million will be on screen, and Universal is probably frothing at the mouth to finally get this thing into theaters.
Michaelangelo McCullar: Not really. Having made the decision to redo the flick, they might as well go balls-out on it. The worst thing in the world they could have done was have Kong look underwhelming.
– How do you think the movie going public will react to a completely computer rendered Kong?
Travis Leamons: To answer your question, all you need to do is look at Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Some may wish to have a Harryhausen-esque Kong, but when comparing the time and the animatronics it would take, CG is the way to go. Besides, Andy Serkis (a.k.a. Gollum) is back as Kong.
Tom Pandich: The general public will react relatively positively to C(G)Ing Kong. The animation of Kong looks pretty stellar from the trailers and Kong himself is one of the most realistic looking giant monsters I’ve seen on screen. Wait, Kong isn’t the monster! We’re the monsters!!! Does that mean that real actors are monsters and that CG monkeys are heroes? My world has just been blown.
John Cavanagh: Computer effects have really advanced over the past few years, not necessarily huge advancements, but a lot of small thing that have managed to help blur the lines between real and fake. Things like reflection of light, hair movement, muscle movement and facial expression motion capture, it’s all a bunch of small details that greatly improved the way audiences react to CGI these days. And after seeing a scene from the 2005 version it truly is mind blowing how real this movies effects look. Much like the 1933 King Kong wowed audiences for its ground breaking effects, the 2005 Kong I think is going to be the first CGI character that audience are going to really attach themselves to and feel for.
ML Kennedy: People like shitty CGI. This looks like halfway decent CGI, but I still prefer the good old rabbit fur.
Robert Sutton: I believe Kong will inspire complete awe in his audiences. The big ape looks incredible and has the opportunity to be able to really express himself better than any other big monster since Willis O’Brien’s original giant gorilla.
Michaelangelo McCullar: I think audiences by now are comfortable enough with CGI that it won’t be an issue. Not to mention that most of the audience out there that will see this film are retarded enough not to appreciate stop-motion animation.
– Was it a smart marketing plan to hold off promotion until early December?
Travis Leamons: I didn’t really notice the lack of promotion until the month of December since I’ve seen both the teaser trailer and theatrical trailer numerous times at the movies. The best possible time to advertise King Kong would have been in November during “Sweeps” month in TV. Though, with the release of King Kong: 2-Disc SE, Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, and Peter Jackson’s King Kong Production Diaries (a DVD first….DVD extras before the DVD is released? Weird.) in December it only helps to generate buzz for the new Kong.
Tom Pandich: For once, I’m glad to see promotion get underplayed. We as a film watching society were pretty burnt out by the summer Batman/Star Wars/Fantastic Four/Madagascar hype machines. It’s nice to not have the more recent theatrical releases such as Harry Potter, Narnia, and Kong shoved down our throats. I predict that Brokeback Mountain will be shoved down our throats though. BAZING.
John Cavanagh: You know, I’m beginning to think that King Kong is going to be the anti-Hulk, it’s as if Pete (or Universal) saw all of the wrong steps that movie took and went the exact opposite direction. Hulk had movie posters plastered everywhere and merchandise on every store shelf like a year before it was released theatrically, it just made itself so prevalent that people were getting sick of it before it was even out. King Kong however stuck to mainly theatrical trailers and didn’t really make their campaign as large as most people expected, besides KongisKing.net was basically the movie promoting itself since last September, and the internet is where their target market for viewers is anyways.
ML Kennedy: Actually, yes. The summer season ain’t want it used to be. Season seems affect things less now than in days past, so might as well keep the movie away from Episode 3, War of the Worlds, and the Batman.
Robert Sutton: A movie like this really seems to sell itself. We don’t need to be beaten over the head to go see a movie, like they did with Godzilla back in ’98. The images released so far have looked fantastic and should really pack audiences in.
Michaelangelo McCullar: I don’t think them waiting until now to promote the film was a big mistake. I still say, however, that they should have never let you see Kong in the clips, at least no more than a glimpse. I know a lot of people who were severely underwhelmed when they saw Kong in the first trailers this summer. He looks much better in the current teasers, but that could have been a major backfire.
– What are your predictions for the movies opening weekend box office total (domestic)?
Travis Leamons: Box Office total predictions for opening weekend: $102 million.
Tom Pandich: I’ll say it breaks 80 million but not by much. The early December release still has a lot of kids in school and Narnia will only be in it’s second week of release. It’ll be disappointing to some, but Kong will hang around for a long time this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it break 350 domestically and 600 internationally.
John Cavanagh: With a movie like King Kong and how much the studio put behind it anything under a $100 million opening weekend would be a disappointment. It’ll be facing up against Narnia and when it’s released Narnia will have only been out for around 5 days so it’ll be interesting to see how the two films duke it out at the box office. So I’ll go with $115 million opening weekend with it taking the #1 spot.
ML Kennedy: Lots.
Robert Sutton: I’d have to say at least $150 Million with the Wednesday to Sunday totals. This movie has buzz that within the fanboys that borders on a Star Wars craze. With word of mouth being what it should be, I’d anticipate the film making Return of the King numbers in the end.
Michaelangelo McCullar: I agree with R0bTrain. $150 million minimum from Wednesday through Sunday.
– What is it about the original that still makes it timeless after all these years?
Travis Leamons: The original is a love story of epic proportions. Sure go ahead and laugh, but in many ways King Kong is like Beauty and the Beast. I’m going out on a limb and say that in no way can Namoi Watts usurp Fay Wray’s quintessential role as the original Scream Queen. King Kong has something for everyone: Action-adventure, romance, thrilling excitement, you name it.
Tom Pandich: The original is timeless for several reasons. Here they are in short order:
1. We love monster movies. Kong was one of the first.
2. We love movies where the monster is misunderstood and it is mankind that is the monster.
3. King Kong had a brilliant in movie marketing scheme. The 8th Wonder of the World. That has been etched into the American psyche. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Colossus of Rhodes, not so much.
Finally and most importantly, King Kong has a wonderful story that is as captivating as it is tragic. King Kong has remained truly timeless for that reason and that reason alone.
John Cavanagh: What is it about King Kong that after over 70 years it still manages to work on many levels? The movie has everything, fantasy, adventure, love, action, tragedy and it managed to wrap them all together so nicely it was a movie that anyone could see and enjoy, on top of all that the story and characters still shine through. It’s an adventure tale that no matter how old you are, it still manages to pull you in and gets you lost in its imaginative magnificent world.
ML Kennedy: It’s f*cking good. There is an impressive level of craft that brings the creature to life. The script is tight. The flick is Freudian and subversive.
Robert Sutton: There’s a boundless energy that you can see from watching the original. While the remake and other special effects films have suffered with the passage of time, the creativity of Kong’s film makers shines through. The big ape is just captivating every moment he’s on screen and it’s that energy I feel that Peter Jackson is trying to capture with his new film.
Michaelangelo McCullar: The filmmakers were able to give Kong a human quality in the original that allowed audiences to connect with the big ape on an emotional level. You were able to empathize with him and feel pain when he dies at the end. That’s going to be a major hurdle for Jackson to overcome. If the audience winds up detached form Kong in the remake, it’s doomed for failure.
Also be sure to check out the latest columns from everyone that participated:
Rob’s latest edition of R0BTRAIN’s Bad Ass Cinema takes a look at the original Kong.
Travis reviewed the DVD release of Murderball this week.
Tom and a few other staffers from the game section put together a feature on the Xbox 360.
Kennedy is still Contradicting Popular Opinion when he talks about Moulin Rouge in his latest column.
And I also reviewed the King Kong: Peter Jackson’s Production Diaries DVD Collection which is available in stores today.
You can catch the original 1933 King Kong airing at 8:00PM (EST) tonight on TCM.
