Jack Black is in New Zealand on the set of the Peter Jackson's re-imagination of King Kong. His Tenacious D cohort Kyle Gass is in Los Angeles in between gigs with his "other" band, Trainwreck. And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we're all connected, albeit Gass sounds like he's speaking from the bottom of a disused well. [More]

As Tenacious D, Jack Black and Kyle Gass mix outrageous lyrics with tunes that sound as if they've been hand-crafted from the best riffs of classic-rock radio, writes Craig Mathieson. The standard press interview is not to Tenacious D's liking. Instead, the self-proclaimed "greatest band on earth" provide an improvised performance that's as much about testing out comic riffs on each other as answering questions. [More]

Peter Jackson and the entire team behind King Kong send along a Christmas greeting to KongisKing.net and all her fans! Take a look at the final days of shooting before the Holiday break, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Jamie Bell, Colin Hanks and Naomi Watts(!) greet everyone watching and promise to show us more in 2005. As a special giveaway to the crew, PJ setup a small contest for a chance to win a tour around New Zealand. The challenge was to try to guess the correct number of setups the 4 units have filmed so far. A setup consists of moving the camera, changing the lens, lighting and so on. The numbers will amaze you! Be sure to catch a glimpse of the cast and crews favorite (and not so favorite) moments on the set so far, Naomi Watts' dogs (and her promise to be in future PD's...we're holding you to that Naomi), Andy Serkis going overboard, opera during lunch, Jack Black dances-for-joy with PJ, and so much more!! [QT6 240x132px 13Mb] [QT4 320x176px 24Mb] [QT6 480x264px 31Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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

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

Driscoll's Doll writes: Just thought you guys would want to know that Adrien Brody is also scheduled to attend the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala to be held on January 8th. From the December 11th issue of The Desert Sun: The film festival did announce that Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody will present the Rising Star Award to Bryce Dallas Howard, the young actress who had a breakout role in M. Night Shyamalan’s recent film, "The Village." [More]

Joe Devito writes: I'd like to thank everyone who has e-mailed me asking about the release dates for KONG: King of Skull Island. I have just heard back from DH Press with a definitive schedule. KONG will be available Wednesday, Dec. 22, at your local comic book store. Visit the-master-list.com or call 1-800-Comic-Book to find the shop nearest you. I've been told that major book outlets such as Borders Books and Barnes & Noble will not have the book on their shelves until late Jan due to the way things are set up through the distributors. No one knows exactly what the deal is at Amazon, although the book is no longer listed as 'not yet released'. So if you want a King Kong Christmas, the surest way is to check out your local comic book store ASAP - many thanks and I hope it was worth the wait! [Buy 'Kong: King of Skull Island' on Amazon.com today!]

Kong Spies Deeargee and Gunnafan write: Today we went down to the New York Set to have a look and found that there is now a tram on the train tracks that were built on the set a week or 2 ago. We took some photos of it and the set to show how development is going on it. The tram has the number 133 on it. [More]

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has been added to the Jan. 8 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, bringing the number of gala honorees to an all-time high. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy composer Howard Shore also was announced as an honoree, and a significant director is expected to be added shortly. That will bring the number of gala honorees to nine. [More]

Hello Kong fans. Sal, here in L.A. with some Harryhausen news. Since my question to Peter hasn't been deemed worthy of a response (wink-wink, nudge-nudge) I thought I'd pass along this info while I think up a more thoughtful and worthy question. Here is the official announcement off the Egyptian Theater website. [More]

Gandalf writes: Something a little different for you today. Passing through Wellington Airport recently I noted a rather large portrait of Peter Jackson on the wall... made of toast! The artist is Maurice Bennett, aka "The Toast Man", with this piece being about 3m tall comprising some 2224 pieces of cocktail toast. [More]

Geri writes: Just wanted to let you know that Entertainment Weekly currently has a poll up for fans to predict which remake will make it big in 2005 - but King Kong is losing out to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory remake) 45 to 25%. [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 1020 mailing list members! Sign up now! [More]

Peter answers more questions from eager fans who want to know more about concept art. How does it work? What do they know to design, how does Peter get ideas from the artists and vice versa? Some amazing images seen in this Production Diary, and finally we get to see Richard Taylor!! He must be back from Narnia for a small visit. We get confirmation that the log scene will certainly be in the film, and get to see them filming with it! This PD will certainly get people daydreaming about Kong tossing a giant log around like firewood! Check it out!! [QT6 240x132px 9Mb] [QT4 320x176px 15Mb] [QT6 480x264px 21Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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

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

This spy sends along some tantalizing news on one of the most asked about question we get all the time...the spider sequence!!! Take a look if you want to know who dies during this scene, also news about Andy Serkis in his motion capture suit and more!! !!!SPOILERS!!! [More]

Joe DeVito writes: Many years ago, I finally made the decision to seriously pursue doing a prequel/sequel to the original King Kong story. The two main things that needed to be locked down were the plot dynamic and the visuals. I knew it was fiction and a central goal was to entertain, but as far as possible I wanted Kong and his world to be plausible. Equally important while delving into the many mysteries of Skull Island was to have fun and encompass many of the interests I’ve had since I was a kid. [More]

Kongspy AJ writes: In the current issue of "insidefilm (if) magazine", the cover story is "Top 20 Most Influential in Australian Film," and accompanying article "The Art of Persuasion". [More]

Day 70 provides a tantalizing glimpse into the Opera House shoot! Peter Jackson, along with Jack Black are in the Auckland theatre filming scenes just prior to Carl Denham's grand opening of the 8th Wonder of the World, King Kong. We get to see more than 200 extras in costume, from theatre ushers to reporters and more. One extra even provides us a look at the programme for the evening! As the cameras begin to roll a slight mishap with a prop causes us to go to instant replay to see if Jack Black is indeed a girlie little wuss...you have to watch it. Great ambiance, amazing costumes, Jack in a tux! Take a look!!! [QT6 240x132px 6Mb] [QT4 320x176px 11Mb] [QT6 480x264px 14Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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

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

Ain't It Cool News has posted an interview with legendary Tolkien artist Alan Lee. As you may know Alan was on a booksigning order around the US. Alan mentions his work with King Kong, specifically what he was charged to design! Take a look! [More]

Driving through one of the southern suburbs today (Tue 14) I noted some new BPP location signs that led to Wellington Zoo! The "BPP" sign was followed by a "2nd Unit" sign leading to the front entrance, while the "Tech Entrance" sign was a pointer for vehicle access off a side road for the production trucks to get into the zoo itself. Filming for King Kong was confirmed by someone at the zoo, although exactly what was being filmed is unknown... Incidentally, there's quite a large primate section at the zoo here with several species including monkeys, chimps, baboons, gibbons, lemurs and tamarins. Also present is the endangered "Tuatara" (meaning "spiny back" in Maori) - the only living survivor of an ancient group of reptiles that roamed with the dinosaurs and that have not changed in millions of years. [More]