A freighter converted for a central role in Peter Jackson's King Kong is unlikely to become a tourist attraction once the film is released in December. Workers have begun dismantling sets fixed to the 50-year-old boat, formerly the Manuia, which has been a familiar sight at Miramar wharf, Wellington, for the past 18 months. Jackson, who bought the ship in Tonga, transformed it into the Venture, which visits King Kong's home Skull Island. Many of the features added to the boat to make it resemble a 1930s freighter were removed late last week. King Kong publicist Melissa Booth said the boat was being "de-dressed". "It's a boat with a set on it, so the set part of it is being taken off." She said she did not know what plans the $200 million film's Hollywood backers, Universal Pictures, had for the boat now that King Kong was nearly completed. [More]

Take a look at KongisKing.net's exclusive images of the Venture ship being 'de-dressed'.

The original soundtrack to the film 'A History of Violence' is to be released on New Line Records on October 11th. The film marks the 11th collaboration between director David Cronenberg and Canadian composer Howard Shore. Best known for his scores for the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which earned him three Academy Awards, Howard Shore continues to create epic and unique soundtracks. His work on ā??Rings" saw the composer win Academy Awards for Best Original Score ("The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Return of the King") and one for Best Original Song for his collaboration with Annie Lennox and Fran Walsh on the song "Into the West" featured in "The Return of the King." [More]

If you ask his latest director, Adrien Brody is a complex soul who is not easily placed in a convenient box. Brody is a contradiction, a man who loves the hip-hop he grew up listening to in Queens as well as the finest Italian tailoring, a car freak who likes to drive a big macho machine a Hummer, for good-ness sake, the military monster favoured by Arnold Schwarzenegger with his pet chihuahua, Ceelo, in the back. [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

John sends along these scans from the September issue of Hot Dog Magazine, they feature a Kong cover and a fairly in depth article on King Kong. Take a look! [More]

11 weeks to go and the motion capture department is working hard to capture Kong's smallest gestures using Andy Serkis as a template. When motion capture (mocap) is not subtle enough the animators are called in to fill in the missing bits, keep an eye out for some cool previs shots of Kong in Times Square, some mocap wranglers going for a bit of a ride, '21' year old Andy Serkis and rows upon rows of PCs! How many gigaflops does it take to make Kong? [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!

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

SEPT. 30 Fans inspired by the Dec. 14 theatrical remake of King Kong to immediately run out and buy the soundtrack, coffee table book and other related merchandise also will have the rare opportunity to purchase a DVD filled with 3½ hours of bonus features from the movie months earlier than usual. Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release an elaborately packaged two-disc collection of 54 of the Internet video production diaries from the set of the Peter Jackson film on Dec. 13 (prebook Nov. 8), just one day before the film opens in theaters. The continuing video journals featuring Jackson and all the stars and crew at work on the movie, as well as early looks at the various incarnations of the giant ape have been posted regularly all year at fan web site KongIsKing.net. The shorts were produced by Lord of the Rings DVD production company Pellerin Multimedia Inc. [More]

Xoanon here, YES we know about the PPD DVD, we will have links for people to pre-order soon. However we are currently trying to work out a way to keep them online.

The folks at gametrailers.com have some footage of the King Kong game in action. Take a look at this link before it is removed! [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
1:30AM (Friday) in GMT (UK)
2:30AM (Friday) (Central European Time)
10:30AM (Friday) in Sydney, Australia
12:30PM (Friday) in Auckland, Wellington, New Zealand

From Steve Palley at GameSpot: SAN FRANCISCO--We're happy to report that King Kong is just about ready for his grand mobile debut. The development of this side-scrolling action adventure game has been under close wraps (we were only able to play a single level at E3), but Gameloft let us go hands-on again with a nearly complete version of the game at CTIA. This time around, we tried our hand at Level 11--Kong's climactic journey to the top of the Empire State Building. The top-notch character animation doesn't seem to have changed much, as Kong still lopes along with realistic simian grace, and he shakes the ground when he leaps. However, this was the first extended climbing sequence we saw the big gorilla perform. [More]

Ursus writes: I came across the following information in the latest issue of Previews (comics catalog). Dark Horse will be releasing a three-part comic book adaptation of Peter Jackson's King Kong beginning in December. [More]

Take a look at the latest addition to KongisKing.net, our Gaming Boards! Feel free to rant and rave about anything game related! Sign in (or register) and post away! Kong Gaming

Having trouble registering? Email here for help!

Gandalf writes: As I drove around Evans Bay today I was surprised to see the Venture being dismantled by workmen using a small crane. Much of the extra topside structure, including the wheelhouse, rigging, funnel and lifeboats have been removed already. Sad to see her go... the distinctive Venture was a familiar sight for those in the eastern suburbs and anyone frequenting Wellington Airport. [More]

Jonathan Bing writes: Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong hits the big screen in December. But for the last year, he's been giving eager fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world he built for the big ape. Posted while the cameras were still rolling, these extraordinary online diaries break every closed-set taboo in Hollywood...

King Kong is about to die. Shoulders hunched, the great ape is perched atop the Empire State Building, 1,200 feet above Fifth Avenue. At that height, the skies are empty but for two Curtis Helldiver biplanes that swoop through the clouds. The planes arc toward Kong and strafe the beast with bullets, their silhouettes black against the Gotham sky. This footage, the public's first glimpse of the final scene of Peter Jackson's King Kong, was lifted from the server of a special effects shop in Wellington, New Zealand, converted into a short QuickTime movie, and posted online a few months ago. But the clip isn't the product of a studio leak or a hacker's wiles; it was created and released by Jackson himself. Posted on Kongisking.net, it's one in a series of so-called Production Diaries, which chronicle the making of Jackson's new motion picture. [More]

Peter Jackson's restored version of the only film taken of the Anzacs at Gallipoli in 1915 will have its New Zealand premiere at a documentary film festival in Wellington today. The film Heroes of Gallipoli screens at the DOCNZ Documentary Film Festival. Jackson, a World War I buff, approached the Australian War Memorial two years ago to see if technology developed by Weta Digital could be used to restore archival film. The 20-minute film included Wellington Battalion soldiers. The original nitrate film was destroyed in 1967, and prints were scratched, fuzzy and low in contrast. [docnzfestival.com]

Today is Naomi Watts' birthday! Naomi, the pride of Australia, was actually born in Sussex, England on September 28th, 1968. That makes her 37 today! Happy Birthday Naomi!

The swanky folks at Ubisoft have updated their King Kong game site, take a look at the cover image for the game! UPDATE this appears to be the cover for the UK version only. More may be gleamed when I visit the Ubisoft Montreal offices this Thursday! Check this space for my report(s)! UPDATE 2 Seems that Kong image may not be the final one...Ubisoft have kindly asked us to remove it for now, more info soon! [More]