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
1:30AM (Friday) in GMT (UK)
2:30AM (Friday) (Central European Time)
10:30PM (Friday) in Sydney, Australia
12:30PM (Friday) in Auckland, Wellington, New Zealand

Joe DeVito, author of KONG: King of Skull Island will be displaying some original Kong paintings and giving out collectible postcards at signings in the next few weeks. Today he will be at 'Barnes & Noble' (1972 Broadway, near Lincoln Center). Follow this link for more dates and locations! [More]

Wellington's Weta Workshop has started "importing" animators from overseas to work on a new television series. Weta has set up five Singaporean animators in New Zealand to work on a 26-episode, 3D animated series it is producing with Canadian entertainment company Nelvana, the Channelnewsasia website reports. The animation series, Jane and the Dragon, stars 12-year old Jane, a headstrong knight in the King's Guard, and a 300-year old dragon for company. It will be broadcast in Australasia, North America and Europe early next year. [More]

Don't let those girl-next-door looks fool you. Yes, she's nice, but there's steel in Naomi Watts. It's what makes her such a potent screen presence; it's what made her persist when Hollywood ignored her. Fenella Souter meets the actress who doesn't suffer fools gladly. [More]

Joe DeVito writes: I hope all is well. Going crazy here even more than usual this week. A few updates: I'll be doing my last New York City book signing this Thursday, May 5, at B&N on the corner of 66th St and Broadway (near Lincoln Center), starting at 7PM. I'll be doing a slide show, will have a prototype of the new Cooper Kong statue on display, and more. [More]

Three years ago, Oscar-winning partners Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger were keeping vigil beside their son in Wellington's neo-natal unit. Now they are patrons of the Neonatal Trust, which raises money for equipment and helps other children and parents in the same situation. The vigil was a life-changing experience for the Weta Workshop co-owners, and one they describe as extremely "humbling". [More]

An advertisement promoting organ donation that was rejected by the Ministry of Health has been given a lifeline by film-maker Peter Jackson. The Oscar-winning Jackson has included the ad, which encourages people to be organ donors, as an extra feature on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King special edition DVD. It was made three years ago by film-maker and cancer victim Cameron Duncan for GiveLife, a public campaign founded by Aucklander Andy Tookey. The ad won the Fair Go Ad Award just before Cameron died in late 2003, aged 17. [More]

The stars are beginning to align for the upcoming biography of legendary musician Bob Dylan. Variety reports Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Adrien Brody, Richard Gere, Julianne Moore and Charlotte Gains are all eying roles in the film, titled "I'm Not There." The actors will officially sign on when the film's finances are in place. [More]

Steve sends along a link to his new KingKon fan teaser trailer. Take a look! [More]

Jack Black is eager to begin filming his role as a Mexican priest who lives a double life as a wrestler, because the project will team him up with longtime collaborator Mike White again. [More]

Kong Spy Anonnymous writes: I sent you pics of the Kong Crew jacket a little while back, I've got some more crew stuff here for you. First up is the crew shirt you saw on the last days Production diary, I've got a snap of it plus a close-up of the graphic. Also have pics of the Art Department shirt and Hoodie, including close-ups of the graphics. [More]

Thousands of you voted...and here's the result - the Top 50 Movie Soundtracks. And what a fascinating list it is too - no surprises that John Williams clocked up the highest number of entries - 7 in total. But the sweeping popularity of The Lord of the Rings just goes on and on. When we ran a similar poll in 2001, Star Wars was top, with Gone with the Wind at No.2, Lawrence of Arabia at No.3, Titanic at 4 and Casablanca at 5. This time, The Lord of the Rings has stormed to the top, giving Howard Shore his only place in the chart. [More]

Working with the best to produce a world-class TV animation series. That's what five Singaporean animators are doing with one of the world's foremost special effects house responsible for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. "Jane and the Dragon" is a 26-episode, 3-D animated series co-produced by Oscar-winning team - WETA Workshop of New Zealand and renowned Canadian entertainment company Nelvana. [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

Joe DeVito, author of KONG: King of Skull Island will be displaying some original Kong paintings and giving out collectible postcards at signings in the next few weeks. Today he will be at 'Levittown Regional Library' (7311 New Falls Road, Levittown, PA). Follow this link for more dates and locations! [More]

Naomi Watts discovered that there is a price to pay for starring as iconic heroine Ann Darrow in Peter Jackson’s majestic, multi-million dollar version of King Kong. The slender English-born actress illustrates the physical wear and tear of being hurled into the prehistoric world of Skull Island when we meet the day after she’s filmed a demanding night shoot. [More]

Peter Jackson has gone from making rough figures out of plasticine to moulding some of the biggest movies in film history. The bearded, bespectacled, tousle haired 43 year-old Kiwi defied convention when he determined to do Tolkein’s epic Lord of the Rings his way. [More]

One of the stars of the blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy of films is set to swap hobbits for habits — by directing a film in Norwich about a city drug addict. Andy Sirkis(SIC), who portrayed Gollum in the hit movies will get behind the camera to film Addict, based on the autobiography of former drug addict and vagrant Stephen Smith, who lived on the streets of Norwich during the winter of 1978/79. Sirkis(SIC), who will be appearing in the re-make of King Kong later this year, is set to direct the movie, and filming is due to take place in Norwich in August. [More]

Peter Jackson begins his first Post Production Diary with a rundown on what we expect to see in the next 33 weeks. Principal photography may be finished yet there is still a TON of work to be completed. The Digital Department, Motion Capture, Sound Editing, VFX and more! This is the REAL nitty gritty stuff fans have been begging for since we started asking people what they would like to see in these diaries. 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 Post Production Diary!

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