From Cinescape.com: Though the American version GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS has long been a staple on home video, there has always been speculation as to if and when the original 1954 Japanese version would become legally available in the USA. Speculation has heated up over a DVD release ever since Rialto Pictures release remastered prints of the original GOJIRA to theaters in 2004. Recently, the film was released on DVD in England and Australia, making U.S. fans even more impatient. On September 5, the wait will be over. Classic Media, the Sony-distributed independent that holds the current rights to KING OF THE MONSTERS and several other early Toho giant monster movies, have announced the release of a special 2-pack DVD of both the Japanese and American versions of the film. [More]

Tom Huntington writes: The movie was originally called The Beast, then The Eighth Wonder. By the time it opened in New York on March 2, 1933, it was King Kong. A fantastic tale of a huge gorilla from Skull Island that runs amok in New York City, King Kong has come down the years as one of the world’s greatest movies and the precursor of today’s special-effects blockbusters. As The New York Times commented in 1933, it was “a remarkable example of the most up-to-date camera tricks … a series of multiple exposures, process shots, glass shots, miniatures and virtually everything that can be accomplished with a camera in a motionpicture studio.” Those “up-to-date camera tricks” may seem creaky in comparison to today’s digital work, but in its day King Kong set new standards for what could be done onscreen. And, for better or worse, it “pointed the way toward the current era of special effects, science fiction, cataclysmic destruction, and nonstop shocks,” in the words of the film critic Roger Ebert. [More]

Weta Digital transferred simultaneously with both NBC Universal and Big Primate, using Aspera's management tools to adjust delivery priorities in real-time, monitor ongoing transfers, and log all transactions to a common database for audit and billing reports. Keep up with the latest breaking business and technology news from ECT News Network. Receive real-time alerts as stories break -- or a daily version dispatched once each day. Easily add or eliminate keywords and modify service right from your inbox. Target your news today! Aspera, a leader in the bulk data transfer arena, announced earlier this month that Weta Digital selected Aspera's high-speed file transfer software to power the digital media transfers with NBC Universal in the making of "King Kong," this year's Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects. [More]

USA - Peter Jackson's epic remake of King Kong has won the Oscar for Achievement In Sound Mixing at the 78th annual Academy Awards, held in Hollywood on Sunday March 5th. Already an Oscar winner for his work on Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, sound mixer Hammond Peek relied solely upon the HHB Portadrive to record the dramatic location sound on King Kong, on an often arduous shoot that lasted some nine months. "Solid build, eight track flexibility and reliable hard disk recording made Portadrive the recorder of choice for King Kong," reports Stephen Buckland of HHB's New Zealand distributor Sound Techniques, himself an experienced sound mixer. "The Portadrive also excelled in trials to check compatibility with post-production workflow, a very important consideration for the production." [More]

LOS ANGELES, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Weta Digital's Joe Letteri, who was a member of the Academy Award©-wining Weta Digital teams that created the visual effects for "King Kong," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" will serve as the visual effects supervisor on the upcoming Walden Media, Beacon Pictures and Revolution Studios co-production "The Water Horse." Most recently Letteri, along with Weta Digital colleagues Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor, won the Oscar© for Achievement in Visual Effects for the groundbreaking work on "King Kong" at the 78th Annual Academy Awards on March 5th. [More]

In what promises to be my last Oscar-related story of the evening I have this one last clip from Naomi Watts' Red Carpet interview with Billy Bush. [More]

The always inane Red Carpet pre-show featured many montages to films from the past. An interesting little segment featured many of the simian sidekicks seen in movies from 1933's King Kong to...well...2005's King Kong! Take a look. [More]

Here are the nominee names and winners from King Kong at the Academy Awards held last night (March 5th) in Los Angeles. Thanks to Nessa for the text and links to the photos! [More]

Angela writes: Just to let you know there is an Official "Kong" movie collectable King Kong Doll being auctioned on Trade Me, New Zealand’s top online auction site. We are a charity raising money for medical research into children’s illnesses so would really appreciate you letting your fans know about this great opportunity! [More]

(March 06 2006) - Fans of Peter Jackson's "King Kong" will be delighted by last night's Oscars after the film won three out of the four technical awards for which it was nominated, according to SciFi Wire. Jackson's remake of the classic 1933 monster movie had previously earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director. However, "King Kong" did not receive any Oscar nominations in acting or directing categories and wasn't up for Best Film. The achievements of Jackson's technical crew were rewarded, though. "King Kong" was nominated in the categories for Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects. It won in all but the first of those. [More]

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK - News) congratulates visual effects facility Weta Digital, which crafted champion visual effects for the Oscar-winning film King Kong. Autodesk also congratulates Industrial Light & Magic and Sony Pictures Imageworks for shaping the Visual Effects category nominated films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and War of the Worlds. For the eleventh consecutive year, Autodesk technology was used to realize winning visual effect ideas for films in this category. In addition, Autodesk's Discreet Lustre system was used to digitally color grade Oscar-winning films in the Visual Effects, Documentary Feature and Foreign Film categories. [More]

Oscars.com has some very cool video clips from back stage at the Oscars. As soon as the winners leave the stage they are whisked away to this back room full of cameras and press people. It's great to see because they are still aglow with their wins. Take a look!

Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor. [View Clip]

Achievement in Sound Mixing: Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek. [View Clip]

Achievement in Sound Editing: Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn. [View Clip]

Here are a selection of images from the 78th Annual Academy Awards Sunday, March 5, 2006, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Naomi Watts was the only actor present at the awards, but there are more than a few photos of Richard Taylor and the other winners for 'King Kong'. Stay tuned tomorrow for video clips, acceptance speech transcripts and more! [More]

3 out of 4! King Kong has won the Sound Editing Oscar! Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn were on hand to accept the Oscar, congrats to all the winners! We wish we were there with you (again).

Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek have just won the Oscar for Sound Mixing! Congratulations guys!!!

King Kong has just won the Oscar for best Visual Effects! Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor were all there to receive the Oscar, congrats to all!

Just in case you are the only person on the planet not aware that the 78th Annual Academy Awards are to be presented tonight in Hollywood, here is a reminder for you.

King Kong has been nominated for 4 awards (some say Naomi was Robbed! I agree -Xo):

ART DIRECTION, SOUND EDITING, SOUND MIXING & VISUAL EFFECTS

Watch this space for updates, photos and video clips all night!

Garfeimao writes: The panel discussion with this year's Academy Award-nominated Production Designers and Set Decorators was held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, just two blocks from where the Oscars will be handed out. The panel was moderated by Art Directors Guild President Thomas A. Walsh. With Jim Bissell (art) & Jan Pascale (set) (Good Night, and Good Luck); Stuart Craig (art) & Stephenie McMillan (set) (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire); Grant Major (art) & Dan Hennah & Simon Bright (set) (King Kong); John Myhre (art) & Gretchen Rau (set) (Memoirs of a Geisha)[Gretchen had to bow out at the last moment]; and Sarah Greenwood (art) & Katie Spencer (set) (Pride & Prejudice). [More]

The nine Kiwis nominated for Oscars this year already hold nine of the coveted gold statues between them - but that won't prevent a fresh adrenalin rush tomorrow night. "The show is just breathtaking," says Upper Hutt sound mixer Mike Hedge. "The Americans really do those sorts of things well. Everything is taken care of." Hedge, who has worked with Kiwi director Peter Jackson since Braindead, was making his third trip to the Oscars with wife Joanne, who will be draped in a shimmery purple gown and $20,000 worth of borrowed jewels. "It's quite a busy time for us. A lot of work goes into meeting and greeting other potential filmmakers at the Trade NZ party. [More]

New Zealand's Weta wizards compete for more Oscars in tomorrow's 78th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. But four-time Oscar winner and Weta Workshop chief Richard Taylor, who flew to Los Angeles on Friday, says King Kong's Naomi Watts also deserved a nomination for best actress. And he hopes that actors who play digital characters will one day be recognised in best actor categories. Watts played heroine Ann Darrow opposite the digitally-created gorilla played by actor Andy Serkis, who was Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings triology. Peter Jackson's $US207 million ($NZ315.21 million) blockbuster of King Kong has five Oscar nominations for best achievement in makeup, art direction, achievement in sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects. [More]

The great ape King Kong has been at the centre of New Zealand's movie industry celebrations in Beverly Hills. Oscar nominees from King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia joined the cream of New Zealand's film industry at the Beverly Hills Hotel to celebrate our industry's continued success. The event has a King Kong theme, with a ballroom being converted into a virtual Skull Island. Minister of Economic Development Trevor Mallard has been mixing and mingling with the glitteratti, and says Peter Jackson has made a major contribution to making the world more aware of New Zealand. Mr mallard says that is what this event is all about: promoting New Zealand as a great place to make movies. [More]

King Kong is set to sweep the board at this year's Empire awards - after receiving five nominations. After being snubbed by the Oscars, the Golden Globes and the Bafta's, the remake of the 1933 monster movie has been nominated for a host of top honours, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. Pride and Prejudice, Crash, and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit also faired well with four nominations each. [More]