While strolling along Kent Terrace in Wellington today I spotted this 4–5 story Kong advertisement on the side of Quinovic House. Not a bad location either – Kong is facing towards the Embassy Theatre just one block away where the red carpet event is likely to be in a little over 3 weeks... [More]

Top New Zealand directors Peter Jackson, Roger Donaldson, Niki Caro and Vincent Ward have rallied round to help fellow film-maker Brad McGann, who has revealed that he has cancer. In My Father's Den, the 40-year-old's first film, was one of the most successful Kiwi movies of the past few years. It earned $1.5 million at the box office and won 10 New Zealand film awards. [More]

(CP) - DeVito is a renowned artist and sculptor - he's designed many a sci-fi/fantasy publication cover - and a devout Kong fan. This book is not to be confused with a prequel/sequel he and Strickland also wrote called Kong: King of Skull Island, or of a novelization of the screenplay for the new Peter Jackson film remake. Just like today, they issued novel versions of screenplays back in the 1930s too, and this is a re-working of the original book by Kong creator Merian C. Cooper published in 1932, the year before the epic film debuted. [More]

Order 'Merian C. Cooper's King Kong : A Novel' on Amazon.com today!

Dan and Cynthia Bianchi from Radiotheatre write: Sure, anybody can make a movie for $200 million! But, just try to imagine KING KONG live on stage in the Kraine theater down on East 4th Street! Before the big fella hits the silver screens around America in a few weeks, RADIOTHEATRE is offering a FREE TIX to all our friends... to its OPENING NIGHT of the WORLD PREMIERE of the only LIVE, staged adaptation of the classic fantasy adventure KING KONG! [More]

Ubisoft will release Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie on Nov. 22, three weeks before the Universal Pictures movie opens and the same day Microsoft releases its new Xbox 360, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jackson, who directs the remake of the classic 1933 SF movie King Kong, and his WETA special-effects house in New Zealand had a hand in the game's creation. Stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Colin Hanks and other cast members provided voices and likenesses for the game, the trade paper reported. [More]

Sam writes: Just thought you'd like to know that I caught a tv spot of King Kong while watching NBC tonight. The trailer was excellent! Mostly containing new footage, including (highlight for spoilers!) Carl Denham introducing Kong in a big theatre; Jack on Skull Island, trying to stop someone from falling from a cliff (with little success); bullets ripping through the Empire State Building as Naomi Watts runs to the top; and Kong catching Naomi as she falls from the top of the Empire building. It was awesome!

Visit themoviebox.net for the new commercial!

Stephen writes: We've been hearing more and more things about the building Kong advertising in NY. Around Manhattan yesterday, I've seen numerous bus stop walls adversting the King Kong Millions game with an added feature I don't recall seeing in normal lottery ads--in addition to being a regular poster featuring an image of Kong, there is a digital display showing the ever-growing jackpot. [More]

King Kong burnt its image on to the retina of a generation. On its release in 1933, it made so much money for its studio RKO that it financed the birth of the Hollywood Golden Age. It terrified audiences. At a test screening in San Bernadino in 1933, a scene featuring Kong rolling a log with his fingers and hurtling four sailors into a giant spiders' lair caused such hysteria that the film's director Ernest Cooper decided to cut it for fear that people would run out of the cinema. [More]

It doesn't get any better than this folks! Universal Studios has kindly given KongisKing.net 70 tickets to the New York City, Times Square, Premiere of Peter Jackson's KING KONG! And what better way to give them away, than by simply randomly choosing our lucky winners!

The idea is so easy, even a hairy ape could do it.

Fill out the form below between November 20th 2005 and November 27th 2005 (eastern time zone) for your chance to win 2 Tickets. We will be posting the winners first initial and last name on this page on, or around, November 27th. Winners will be contacted via the email address they entered with, and will have 48 hours to claim their tickets! Only two tickets are awarded per entry.

So what are you waiting for? Enter today!

Sorry for the confusion folks! Each winner will receive two tickets, unless they choose only one. Thanks!

Natas60 sends along these scans from the December issue of french 'Cinelive' Magazine. It features some great photos and an article on King Kong (in French). [More]

Universal will (finally) begin kicking thier King Kong promotion machine into high gear by the end of this month and all of December, so far we see at least 5 chat show appearances for castmembers Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts and Colin Hanks. We will be updating our listings as soon as we have confirmed lineups..and there is a very real possibiliy that someone will be hosting an SNL episode sooner or later (Universal owns NBC..so it's a given), here is the list we have so far.

Monday, November 28 - Naomi Watts on 'Jay Leno' (NBC) 11:35PM
Tuesday, November 29 - Colin Hanks on 'David Letterman' (CBS) 11:35PM
Wednesday, November 30 - Naomi Watts on 'Conan O'Brien' (NBC) 12:35AM
Tuesday, December 6 - Adrien Brody on 'Conan O'Brien' (NBC) 12:35AM
Wednesday, December 7 - Colin Hanks on 'Conan O'Brien' (NBC) 12:35AM

Entertainment Weekly Rates '33 Kong DVDs

Roheryn writes: This week's Entertainment Weekly gave an "A" rating to the new DVD release of the classic "King Kong"! Check out their glowing review! [More]

M0NSTABONE writes: I know you have heard about the Kong Lotto here in NY, but add that on to the regular advertisements and Kong is all we see. In the subway station, on the side of the bus. Even in the news paper! [More]

{ShineWonder} sends along the news: Atlanta King Kong Film Screening and Pre-Parties — Universal Pictures and Peter Jackson have granted DFGFI the opportunity to screen director Jackson's highly anticipated film, King Kong, before its worldwide theatrical release. The Benefit Screening on December 7 in Atlanta is being co-chaired by The Honorable Andrew Young and Sigourney Weaver. [More]

The folks at Aint-it-cool-news have setup a very cool contest for all Kong fans! The prizes are some uber-amazing WETA Collectibles Kong Vs. T-Rex statues..these things are BRILLIANT! What's the catch? Well Kong Fans..you need to create your own stop-motion movie and send it along to the AICN dudes...read all about it here! [More]

If the biggest star of the holiday movie season could place a personal ad, it would read something like this: Full-bodied single male, non-smoker, non-drinker, seeking woman to hold in the palm of his hand. Hope you don't hate a hairy back. King Kong is back in his epic love story, which opens next month, and it's a love project from Peter ("Lord of the Rings") Jackson, who adored the former "Kong" movies when he was a boy. [More]

More than 70 years have passed since that big ape took a liking to that lissome blond, and still, monster movies don't come any better than the original King Kong - heck, movies don't come any better than the original King Kong, but that's just this critic's opinion. Safe to say that few American films have gained such an iconic status, or influenced more future filmmakers (including Peter Jackson, whose own take on Kong opens Dec. 14), or withstood the test of time more triumphantly. And now, finally, it's available on DVD. [More]

Pre-Order the new 1933 King Kong DVD sets on Amazon.com today!

James Newton Howard and Peter Jackson are working hard on the King Kong score with 4 weeks left to go. James Howard and his 'King Kong Roadshow' are in and around LA recording the score as it trickles out of his mind and onto paper. These musicians have to be on top of their game to be able to learn this music very very fast. We get some great sound-bytes from the recoding sessions and a look at some of the interesting instruments James is using for his score. 4 weeks to go and the pressure is on! [QT6 240x132px 7Mb] [QT4 320x176px 14Mb] [QT6 480x264px 18Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

And don't miss our latest addition to the Kong History section, a 360 turnaround of the Kong Model! [Kong History]

Email us your questions and PJ may answer them in a future Post Production Diary!

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

Gandalf writes: This massive feature appeared in the Dominion Post today (Sat 19 Nov). "Interviews with Peter Jackson are rarer than a 25-foot gorilla. In this New Zealand exclusive, the Wellington film-maker who has made it to the top of the Hollywood tree talks to Tom Cardy about the price of fame, how it's changed his life and his new film, King Kong" [More]

James writes: This is probably the biggest Kong poster yet! I visited the Hsi-Men District in Taiwan (The Time Square of Taiwan), and saw this humongous Ad. It's about 7 floors high! [More]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Capcom's "Resident Evil 4," "Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie" from Ubisoft and Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron were among the winners at the 3rd Spike TV Video Game Awards held in Los Angeles on Friday. [More]

It is time to come together and talk Kong! The 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 we've devised 2 KONG Chat times, a set time and day of the week for all Kong chatters to meet and have fun! Tonight's chat will be at 5:30PM Eastern Standard Time (click here for more info). World times are below, if you need more help click here.

5:30PM (Saturday) EST in New York, Montreal
2:30PM (Saturday) PST in Los Angeles, Seattle
11:30PM (Saturday) (Central European Time)
7:30AM (Sunday) in Sydney
9:30AM (Sunday) in Auckland, Wellington

Diederik writes: Here is an image I took when I picked my theatre tickets for History of Violence. It's a bit tucked away behind some tables but it's pretty big and looked really cool! Some kids were running around screaming "I wanna see King Kong!", but in dutch naturaly. It's in the Cinemec theatre in Ede, Holland. [More]

Emile writes: The track listing of the King Kong score is up james-newton-howard.com. That's all I know for now. Running times aren't known yet. [More]

John Michlig writes: Oaklander Willis O'Brien will be honored by cartoonist Morrie Turner with a biographical story to appear in 'Wee Pals', Turner's nationally syndicated daily newspaper strip. Both artists are native Oaklanders who fought the odds, and many human opponents, to become successful artists and inspirations. [More]

Spike TV's Video Game Awards show is tonight (Friday, November 18) in Los Angeles, it will air later next month on...Spike TV where else?! The show praises the best in the business, as voted on by industry vets, and is accompanied by celebrities and musicians. As for the games, Ubisoft's not-yet-released Peter Jackson's King Kong thumped its chest by leading all nominees. [More] [spiketv.com]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Just as we know there can never be another "King Kong" with the adventure, wit and pathos of the original, one look at the documentary "I'm King Kong" tells us why: There will never be, in American movies, in American life, the likes of "King Kong's" producer Merian C. Cooper, a man who lived the life of an adventurer, risk-taker, original thinker and, yes, movie producer. Kevin Brownlow's mesmerizing look at Cooper is itself an adventure story of the first order. Cooper's 20th century life also reads like travel literature of earlier centuries in this country: adventures in war, new unexplored continents and a feverish desire for experience that reaches few men. [More]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Universal Pictures is launching its largest ever in-theater concession program Friday, with more than 6 million "King Kong" Coca-Cola cups and nearly 2 million "Kong" popcorn bags and tubs being offered in more than a dozen major U.S. theater chains. The promotion is the latest addition to an already extensive promotional program that includes brands such as Volkswagen, Kellogg's, Toshiba, Chase, Nestle, Burger King and the City of New York. [More]

In 1933, a movie was released by then-Radio Pictures (later RKO) that would forever change the notion of Hollywood filmmaking. The movie packed theaters across the U.S. even in the midst of the Great Depression, dazzling audiences with escapist visuals the likes of which they'd never seen before. That film was King Kong, the unlikely story of a monestrous beast... and the beauty that stole his heart. [More]

Pre-Order 1933 King Kong DVDs

From nzherald.co.nz: Wellington has been confirmed as the final destination for the world premiere tour of Peter Jackson's latest film, King Kong. Jackson, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis and Thomas Kretschmann are expected to attend the premiere, on December 14.

After the worst summer of box-office flops in a generation, Hollywood is pulling out the stops over the next month as a trio of films vie to be the Christmas blockbuster. With Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and a re-make of King Kong all to be released over the next month, hundreds of millions of pounds are riding on film-goers returning to cinemas this holiday season. [More]

Lisa writes: I was out in Osaka recently and came across this Kong Picture. It's not the best quality - it was taken on my mobile phone. [More]

Dennis writes: I wanted to let you know that we just launched a King Kong online marketing campaign for Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and 100 Grand. We really focused on developing a campaign that would resonate with King Kong fans. We focused on creating an engaging Kong experience that is immersive and fun. I would love it if you would take a look at it and, if you think it’s worthy, let your readers know on your website. [More]

We also created a Kong-themed Nestle Crunch online instant win game where we are giving away over 20,000 prizes in 2 months – things like Kong movie posters, movie tickets, the King Kong video game for the Playstation and tons of Nestle Crunch bars. To check out the game, go to the homepage of NestleCrunch.com.

Wisse writes: The November Issue of 'Preview' (The Netherlands biggest free movie magazine) has an interview with Kong character Andy Serkis. The last two pages of the magazine are devoted to the 'vs.' poster and the Kong teaser poster is on the back of the issue. On the cover however, there is Harry Potter, but I'm sure Kong will have the frontpage next month. [More]

Rosie sends along these scans from Starburst Magazine, it features an article on Andy Serkis. [More]

Peter Jackson has one film he wants to see this Christmas – and it is not King Kong. Jackson wants a ticket to the $NZ210 million adaptation of C S Lewis' children's story The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, according to its Kiwi director Andrew Adamson. Adamson said this week he was regularly in contact with Jackson. "He emailed me the other day and said it is the film he was looking forward to seeing over Christmas." Adamson returned the compliment, saying he had made a point of seeing the preview for Jackson's latest blockbuster and would be off to the movie. [More]

The folks at Ubisoft have sent along a press release with the details on what I am assuming is the UK only release of the King Kong game on all formats. I am slightly confused since I heard the game was being released on November 22nd. Anyone know if they've seen it on their favorite gaming store shelves? Follow the link for the Press Release. [More]

Earl writes: I just spotted this billboard in Burbank, CA. Thought you might like a pic. It seems Kong has reached the West Coast! [More]

Not to be outdone by Norway, Kevin sends along this image of the 3D Kong promo in Italy. [More]

It is time to come together and talk Kong! The 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 day of the week for all Kong chatters to meet and have fun! The bi-weekly Kong Chats will be Thursday nights at 8:30PM Eastern Standard Time (a new Saturday chat has been added click here for more info). World times are below, if you need more help click here. [Kong Java Chat Room] [irc chat settings: SERVER www.theonering.net ROOM: #kongisking.net]

8:30pm (Thursday) EST in New York, Montreal
5:30pm (Thursday) PST in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco
1:30am (Friday) in GMT (UK)
2:30am (Friday) CET in Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam
12:30pm (Friday) in Sydney
2:30pm (Friday) in Auckland and Wellington

MrCere writes: It is definitely worth a mention to Kong fans that two films from Merian C. Cooper (director of King Kong) arrived on DVD this week. Cooper and partner Earnest B. Schoedsack filmed "Grass: A Nation's Battle For Life" and "Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness" are now available on DVD. Both are silent films and considered classics and historical landmarks in film. Filmed in Persia (now Iran) and the jungles of Siam (now Thailand) these film-makers and films were revolutionary and are still startling.

Figurefreaks writes: Askim Cinema in Norway is ready for Kong ....bring in the hairy one. This is a nice and big 3D Cardboard Standee (looks amazing). [More]

Chance Thomas is a highly accomplished composer whose recent projects include multiple installments for the Lord of the Rings video game series. Along that trend, his most recent work is for Peter Jackson's King Kong game. For this project, Thomas composed a score that is on the scale of an epic motion picture with a 70-piece orchestra, choir, and soloists. In addition, Ubisoft has just released an unprecedented website specifically for Thomas' score which features, among many other things, over a half hour of music from the two hour score. This is a good thing - this is a score that people should be aware of. [More]

Today Ubisoft and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group announced that Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts and Jack Black will appear via likeness and provide voice talent for the videogame "Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie". Academy Award winner Adrien Brody has also lent his voice talent to the game. All three stellar actors star in Universal Pictures' upcoming motion picture King Kong, directed by Academy Award winner Peter Jackson ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy). The videogame, rated "T" for Teen, will release worldwide on most major platforms in November, making it the biggest movie-licensed launch in videogame history. [More]

From the Oneclick website: To help launch King Kong the game, Natalie got to chat with Philippa Boyens, screenwriter on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and King Kong the movie - and also the woman responsible for the drama of this game. Philippa works side by side with director Peter Jackson and his wife/creative partner Fran Walsh on all these projects and road-tested King Kong's gaming action on set in New Zealand - she also let slip she listened to Radio 1 when she was based in the UK doing post-production on Return of the King. [More]

A gigantic ape, measuring about 10 feet tall and weighing up to 1,200 pounds, co-existed alongside humans, a geochronologist at McMaster University has discovered. Using a high-precision absolute-dating method (techniques involving electron spin resonance and uranium series), Jack Rink, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at McMaster, has determined that Gigantopithecus blackii, the largest primate that ever lived, roamed southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago. [More]

DeeDee writes: I just got my new issue of Giant magazine yesterday, and it features Andy Serkis as #10 in the "50 most important people and trends in entertainment right now." [More]

Larry D. Curtis writes: Merian C. Cooper didn't live a remarkable life — he lived several of them. Cooper is most famous for creating and directing the character and film "King Kong" — and if that were the sum of his life he would still be worthy of interest and praise from biographers and film buffs. But Kong was only a part of his 80 years as a filmmaker, director, soldier, prisoner of war, explorer, innovator, businessman and mogul. His life is getting new exposure because of the new "King Kong" film coming this December from Universal Studios. Money and Hollywood always attract interest, but his legacy would be relevant and interesting without the newest remake of his seminal film. In the 1933 "Kong" (as well as the 2005 remake), Carl Denham is a film director who seeks out an uncharted island so that he can make an adventure film. Denham is, of course, based on Cooper, as well as his faithful friend and co-director Ernest B. Schoedsack. And it's Cooper's temperament that rings most true in Denham. [More]

WELLINGTON, NEW Zealand—“Come on in,” Richard Taylor said, leading a pack of journalists who had flown in from all over the world for a tour of his Weta Workshop. Weta, named after an insect that is found primarily in New Zealand, was established by Richard and his partner Tania Rodger 16 years ago. They had been active in the business for a number of years, but it was their work on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy that did more than just put the spotlight on them. It also earned them an Oscar. The award is well deserved. After all, Taylor and his crew worked on the trilogy for seven years and made a whopping 48,000 props for the films. [More]

Abby Letteri has attended five premieres and three Oscar ceremonies but admits she is nervous about walking down the red carpet at the New York premiere of King Kong. "You get butterflies in your stomach no matter what because it is exciting," said Mrs Letteri, wife of Oscar-winning special-effects whiz Joe Letteri. She will be wearing a 1930s-inspired steely powder-blue silk gown, designed by Wellington's Angeline Harrington, at the premiere on December 5. "It definitely has a retro feel. It is not about how much cleavage or butt crack you can show," she said. [More]

From uk.news.yahoo.com: Hollywood beauty Naomi Watts has blasted movie remakes as unoriginal and tired - despite starring in the new version of King Kong. Watts, who stars as Ann Darrow in the big budget remake of the 1933 gorilla classic, is saddened by the current lack of fresh screenplays in cinemas. She says, "It's weird there are so many remakes at the moment. There's a great lack of good material and new ideas. "It's emblematic of our times. We've run out of ideas, which is sinful. We're going to burn out."

Triple Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) directs the dramatic adventure King Kong, bringing his sweeping cinematic vision to the iconic story of the gigantic ape captured in the wild and brought to civilization where he meets his tragic fate. [More]

Dan writes: In all this hooplah about the new Kong film, one thing seems to have been overlooked, the fact that the original King Kong movie was based on a true story. I lived for one year on the Indonesian island of Komodo, and, am to this day, still based in Bali. When I was on the island, I had read stories about how the makers, or at least one of them, had been to Komodo on one of the earliest expeditions to this 'uncharted' island in the late '20's. He had been so inspired by the primeval nature of the place, surrounded as it is by vast and tempestuous whirlpools, and populated by giant lizards (the so-called 'dragons'), that, upon his return to the west, he set about the story of King Kong. [More]

Kong Unbound : The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend (Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World) is out today. From the book: 'In 1933, Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack, and Willis O'Brien created more than movie magic. King Kong is a pop-cultural icon and a central part of American mythology.' [More]