Gandalf writes: Yesterday (Tue 16) saw action on the Village Wall set. Huge flood lights could easily be seen from across town as shown in the first photo @8:30pm. Twenty minutes later with a darker sky the set really stands out (center left of the second photo), graphically demonstrating the "like moths to a flame" comment in the recent newspaper article. The final image is a close-up view well after sunset. This is the first time I've seen these lights used well into the night suggesting more night shooting is under way. [More]

Last week's Kong Files column was, I admit, a bit grim ("Every Picture Tells a Story"), and I expect that a bit of levity in this installment might be just what the doctor ordered. Toward that end, welcome to Part One of an ongoing series that I'll call "The Wrong Kong." This week's episode: "Kong" Meets Desi. [Read Entire Article]

It is time to come together to talk Kong! The new chatroom has been a great success, however some people have been popping in at odd hours when there is no one to chat with. To that end I've devised a KONG Chat time, a set time and date for all Kong Chatters to meet and have fun! The next scheduled Kong Chat will be Thursday, November 18th at 9:30PM Eastern Standard Time. World times are below, if you need more help click here. [GET CHATTING]

9:30PM (Thursday) EST in New York, Montreal
6:30PM (Thursday) PST in Los Angeles, Seattle
2:30AM (Friday) in Greenwich
10:30AM (Friday) in Hong Kong
1:30PM (Friday) in Sydney
3:30PM (Friday) in Auckland

NZFRESH Tee, the design that's continually taking New Zealand by storm has steadily evolved into an icon that everyone wants to own. Its unique design inherently showcases the New Zealand culture: versatile and world class. Thanks to King Kong actor Jack Black, who held the tee with pride as the press photographers took pictures to their hearts content during the recent King Kong press conference in Wellington, there has been nonstop requests for the NZFRESH design. Well, also thanks to Naomi Watts who give the tee to Jack Black as a gift. [More]

Wellington, New Zealand -- "Peter wants this," scribbled the young woman next to me at a Courtenay Place cafe. I figured she had to be in pictures. Wearing a tailored black suit and the requisite sexy-librarian glasses, she was jotting comments in the margins of some latte-stained production notes. Peter, I had to assume, was Peter Jackson, the white-hot and famously disheveled Wellington director who practically wore out the carpet on Oscar night last February as he repeatedly made his way to the stage to accept a double armful of statuettes for "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." [More]

Gandalf writes: A big update today, including several photos from the new "Village Wall set" taken during the last week. Seeing this set for the first time was impressive - it's much bigger than the Skull Island set where the first outdoor filming took place. The wall here is full size and contains the "gates" that Kong eventually breaks through during his pursuit of Ann after her rescue. Construction is continuing, but parts of the set look ready for the impending filming - especially sections of the wall where painting looks complete. In the first few shots, you can see the wall with some nearby little temple-like buildings - some yet to be painted. The next photos show some of the scaffolding supporting part of the set well in front of the wall, including a massive rock skull towering above some of the workers. The next photo shows the stairs leading to the top of the wall next to the gates that featured in day 20's production diary and in the recent newspaper article. The last couple of shots from this location show one of the little temple-like buildings during painting, and some more human sized statues. The final images come from the suspected New York set - spot the difference with previous photos to identify the changes in the last couple of weeks. [More]

The latest newsletter is ready to go! Do you want to receive our free weekly newsletter? Packed with tons of info to keep you up to date on the latest? Plus filled with exclusives from time to time! Join the crowd of over 800 mailing list members! Sign up now! [More]

NEW YORK - Arri has delivered an ArriScan film scanner to Weta Digital Ltd. in New Zealand. The studio had been evaluating various film scanning systems at their facility which was home to the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. "After months of testing, we made the decision that the ArriScan will be our next generation film scanner," says Pete Williams, head of digital imaging at Weta Digital Ltd. [More]

Woah! Be careful what you goof about, you just might get it! Earlier today I posted a funny little video claiming to be test footage of Kong Vs. T-Rex, and this afternoon PJ and his crew sends along REAL test footage from Skull Island! Take a look at the process the entire team has to go through to complete less than 10 seconds of footage. Peter is not relying only on CGI to create depth and atmosphere, he is very cleverly using a mix of live action, models and CGI. Some amazing stuff! One question...who was the guy in the CGI suit!?! [QT6 240x132px 5.9Mb] [QT4 320x176px 11.2Mb] [QT6 480x264px 13.4Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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This footage is amazing, actual T-Rex Vs. Kong raw footage! The film-makers obviously have a lot of special effects they need to add to this clip, however it is still amazing to look at! Stuning work! Take a look! [More] Thanks to the Message Board SKIIPs for getting a hold of this one ;-)

Beginning tonight (November 12th) at Metro Cinema in the Citadel Theatre's Zeidler Hall (Edmonton Alberta) is the Godzilla 50th Anniversary Celebration, a five-film, three-weekend mini festival honouring the half-centenary of Japan's most famous radioactive monster. The festival picks up next weekend with two screenings of the original and classic 1954 Godzilla (Nov. 19 and 20) and wraps up on Nov. 26 and 27 with screenings of 1962's King Kong Vs. Godzilla, which features some of the most hilarious fight scenes of any of the films. Tickets for each film are $8 for adults, $6 for students or seniors. For more information, call Metro Cinema at 425-9212.

David Hartnell's weekly gossip column features a small article on comedian Mark Hadlow, it also states that he is working alongside Naomi Watts on King Kong (he may not be working with Watts specifically, gossip writers tend to name drop). Could the funnyman be working on PJ and the crew? I'll find out more and get back to you! [Hartnell's Column]

After King Kong's fall from atop the Empire State Building both Kong’s captor, Carl Denham, and Kong’s body quickly vanished leaving rumor and speculation in their wake. Left behind was Carl's son, Vincent. In1957, Vincent, now a paleontologist, discovers his father’s Skull Island map and contacts Jack Driscoll, one of Kong's original captors. They forge a plan and voyage to Skull Island in search of Carl Denham, King Kong, and answers to questions spanning a quarter century. When their expedition goes awry and they are captured, their fate depends on an enigmatic native elder, the cryptic ‘Storyteller’. [More]

The first giant gorilla movie, King Kong (1933), is one of the greatest giant creature movie ever made. Derived from an idea by crime writer Edgar Wallace and producer Merian C. Cooper, King Kong is essentially a re-telling of “Beauty & the Beast”. The superior, groundbreaking special effects developed by Willis O’Brien, who updated stop motion animation, remained the industry standard until the 1980's with the emergence of computer-generated effects. Thanks to O’Brien’s camera work, a good script, and a stirring soundtrack, King Kong revolutionized film making and established the ape as a major player. The 1950's re-release of King Kong inspired another popular monster, Godzilla, and launched that decade’s giant monster movie craze. [More]

Gandalf sends along this scan from the latest edition of The Dominion Post. Take a look! [More]

Jack Black, aka Carl Denham, is steaming mad at KongisKing.net...and more specifically, me. (Lets just hope he never finds out my secret identity) As it turns out, Jack is not 5' 4" tall. He is more like 5' 7.5" (after Yoga). Check out the rampaging Jack Black in this latest production diary! (And remember, don't shoot the designer) [QT6 240x132px 6Mb] [QT4 320x176px 10.9Mb] [QT6 480x264px 13.6Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

Like what you see? Discuss it in our new Chat Room! [Click Here] Or the Message Boards? [Click Here]