One of the best flying displays of World War 1 aircraft in the world, including a large collection owned by film-maker Peter Jackson, boosted the Classic Fighters Marlborough airshow at the weekend. The aerial and ground displays at the Omaka aerodrome, near Blenheim, cost $500,000 to stage. They went without a hitch, giving an estimated 25,000 people two full days of events. [More]

Peter Jackson has been filming the final scenes of King Kong, in which the giant ape battles biplanes atop the Empire State Building. The website kongisking.net shows Jackson shooting scenes in his Miramar studios of a pilot and gunner, in a replica 1930s Curtis Helldiver aircraft. The replica of the American naval fighter – seen in the 1933 film – had to be built from scratch. Jackson and his team used plans from the Smithsonian Institution in the United States to build the biplane for the climactic confrontation in King Kong. [More]

Ever wanted to know what it's like on a movie set? Directors are revealing all in online journals. Lately, making movies has become a strangely transparent process. Directors and studios, in their never-ending quest to build buzz for big summer releases, are opening their sets to the public via Web-based video diaries. Like so many other trends, this one started with Star Wars: back in 1997 George Lucas and Co. had the bright idea of posting little video postcards online from the set of Episode I. No spoilers, of course, just a few tidbits to chum the waters for hungry fans. Flash forward to the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Peter Jackson became friendly with a group of fans who ran a website called theonering.net When Jackson wrapped Rings and started King Kong, the gang from theonering.net launched kongisking.net and Jackson began sending them video-blog entries every few days--46 in all so far. [More]

From tvshowsondvd.com: As we know by now, a big tentpole film project is the perfect time to tie in an old TV show's DVD release, and that means fans of the 1966 King Kong cartoon will be very happy this holiday season! November 15th will see the release of 3 DVD choices for this animated series, according to retailer DVDPlanet.com: a 4-disc set that lists for $39.95, or else you can buy Volume 1 and Volume 2 separately for $12.97 SRP each (these are both 1-disc releases). [Series 1 & 2] [Series 1] [Series 2]

Australian beauty Naomi Watts jumped at the chance to star in Hollywood re- make King Kong because she is a huge fan of New Zealand-born film-maker Peter Jackson. The Mulholland Drive actress has no great love for computer effects-laden blockbusters - but she couldn't turn down the opportunity to work with Oscar- winning director Jackson, who was catapulted to fame by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. [More]

If you caught the most recent Production Diary (Day 118) you'd know that two of the King Kong Helldiver pilots have been identified. One is a famous World War II artist, James Dietz, who has a big fan in Peter Jackson. Jackson owns some of Dietz's work and I am sure was invited down to the set to take part. The other is none other than Rick Porras co-producer of all three 'Lord of the Rings' films. Rick was apparently on vacation in New Zealand when he was given the chance to take part in the film. Lucky lucky folks! Be sure to check out thier bios and the rest of the cast right here! [More]

Kong Spy Alistair sends along this scan from the latest issue of Empire Magazine. It features a great shot of Andy Serkis as Lumpy! There is also a small article on Richard Taylor creating the 'look' of Kong. [More]

Hollywood beauty Naomi Watts will always be grateful to maverick film-maker David Lynch for recognising her talent and casting her in critically acclaimed movie Mulholland Drive. The Australian actress, who has since garnered rave reviews for her performances in The Ring and 21 Grams, spent her twenties 'almost' landing major roles until the Twin Peaks director recruited the then 33-year-old. [More]

Take a gander at these polystone statue sample images from Dark Horse Comics! Really sweet stuff! !!!SPOILERS!!! [More]

Helldivers take to the air! Well...sort of..Production Diary 118 is all about the famous planes used near the final scene in King Kong. Peter Jackson and Randy Cook are seen overlooking the plane shoot, PJ is a big World War II plane buff and you can see the sheer geeky joy in his face watching the guns go off. Gene DeMarco gives us a behind-the-scenes tour behind the making of the authentic plane, and we get to see the some great footage! Take a look! [QT6 240x132px 6Mb] [QT4 320x176px 12Mb] [QT6 480x264px 15Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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

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

Kong Spy Alistair writes: I just scanned this article from this month's edition of the UK magazine Total Film. I haven't see this image before. Keep up the great work with the site, and hello PJ! [More]

Peter Jackson answers fan requests and gives us a detailed look at the sound department. Oscar award winner Hammond Peek and others show us the day to day challenges of making sure the sound is recorded, and recorded well! As a nice little bonus we get to see Jack Black flubbing his lines, a little more from Colin Hanks and Adrien Brody! [QT6 240x132px 6Mb] [QT4 320x176px 12Mb] [QT6 480x264px 15Mb] [Bit Torrents!]

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

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

Joe DeVito writes: For those in the New York city area who may be interested, I will be signing for KONG: King of Skull Island this Thursday, March 24, starting at 6:30pm. As usual, there will be original art on display, collectible postcards and more. There was a great turn out for the last signing which went on for almost two hours. Hope to see you there! [More]

The potential Hollywood blockbuster Superman Returns won't reach cinemas until next year, but today you can watch the film being made in Sydney - on the internet. Its American director, Bryan Singer, has been posting video diaries - or filmblogs - on the web for fans to see how the film is made. Singer follows Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who recorded filmblogs for more than 100 days during the shoot for his remake of King Kong in Wellington. When Jackson began his regular film diary on the King Kong fansite, www.kongisking.net, the school immediately placed a link for students on its website. Since then, students have been able to watch the director at work. [More]

The folks at the J. Walter Thompson ad agency in Bangkok, Thailand have created an hilarious Kong themed commercial to sell Ford Pickups, you need to register to see it yourself...but it is well worth it! The site reads: King Kong has returned and is currently living in Thailand, where he and his son are promoting Ford pickups. It's true -- see the spot yourself. But watch out for those airborne trucks. [More]

Hundreds celebrated the imminent return of the world's most famous gorilla at a party for crew remaking the classic movie "King Kong" _ due to end principal filming shortly, a spokesman said Monday. The 1933 classic is being remade by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who directed the fantasy trilogy "Lord of the Rings." It was likely to go into post-production within a couple of weeks, publicist Melissa Booth said. [More]

There is an excellent article up on Kaihoro.de about John Dybvig's experiences on the set of Kong. John is an actor/writer among other things, and has put forward a very nice account of his time in Wellington. [More]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - DreamWorks' horror sequel "The Ring Two," took the Number 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend, knocking the more family-oriented animated sci-fi flick "Robots," into second place. "Ring Two," starring Naomi Watts and David Dorfman as a mother and her brooding son who are haunted by an evil entity and a mysterious unmarked videotape, pulled in $36 million in over the March 18-20 weekend, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said on Sunday. [More]

New York was brought to life for one final time with a king-sized carnival to celebrate the end of King Kong filming.

Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson hosted more than 1000 people at the film's elaborate 1930s New York set at Seaview, Lower Hutt, on Saturday. Every person who had a hand in the movie – from Hollywood stars to construction staff – was invited to the carnival-themed family event and no expense was spared. [More]

Movie fans are going ape for Naomi Watts. Everyone wants the former Sydneysider to talk about Peter Jackson's King Kong, now in its final weeks of filming in New Zealand. Watts is cast in the Ann Darrow role and already she's bearing the weight of expectation. "It's such an iconic film and iconic part but hopefully it's not the only thing people talk about with me," she said. [More]

From years of demoralising rejections to stardom. From obscurity to the Oscars. From being just another Australian struggling in Los Angeles to the lead in Peter Jackson's King Kong. Naomi Watts knows more than most about the distance from the pavement to the penthouse in Hollywood. In Sydney for the premiere of The Ring 2 on the weekend, the actress who emerged in Flirting and the miniseries Brides of Christ insists that not much has changed since she reached the top floor via the stairs rather than the express lift. [More]