King Kong (2005)
Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance, Thriller and Remake
Running Time: 187 min.
Release Date: December 14th, 2005 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images.
Distributors: Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.: WingNut Films
Studios: Universal Pictures
Filming Locations: Wellington, New Zealand... ( +expand to view full text )
Description:
King Kong (2005)
Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance, Thriller and Remake
Running Time: 187 min.
Release Date: December 14th, 2005 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images.
Distributors: Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.: WingNut Films
Studios: Universal Pictures
Filming Locations: Wellington, New Zealand (Campertown Studios - Stone Street Studios)
Produced in: United States
King Kong - Synopsis:(from www.msn.com)
One of the greatest adventure stories in Hollywood history gets a new interpretation in this action drama from Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson. In the early 1930's, Carl Denham (Jack Black) is a daring filmmaker and adventurer who has gained a reputation for his pictures documenting wildlife in remote and dangerous jungle lands; despite the objections of his backers, Denham plans to film his next project aboard an ocean vessel en route to Skull Island, an uncharted island he discovered on a rare map. Correctly assuming his cast and crew would be wary of such a journey, Denham has told them they're traveling to Singapore, but before they set sail, his leading lady drops out of the project. Needing a beautiful actress willing to take a risk, Denham finds Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a beautiful but down-on-her-luck vaudeville performer and offers her the role; cautious but eager to work, Darrow takes the role, and one board the ship she strikes up a romance with Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody), a respected playwright hired by Denham to write the script for his latest epic. When Denham and Company arrive on Skull Island, the natives react with savage violence, but they happen to be the least of their worries. Skull Island is a sanctuary for prehistoric life, and lording it over the dinosaurs and other giant beasts is Kong, a twenty-five-foot-tall gorilla who can outfight any creature on Earth. The natives kidnap Darrow, giving her to Kong as an offering to appease the giant beast; Denham and his men set out to find her, with Driscoll bravely determined to save the woman he loves. Eventually, Driscoll finds Darrow and Denham outwits Kong, intending to take the giant ape back to New York for display. But Kong has bonded with Darrow, and his attraction to her proves to be his undoing. Andy Sirkis, who provided the body movements for Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings pictures, performed similar duties on King Kong, studying gorillas so he could mimic their actions, which were then used as the basis for the special effects crew's digital animation of the great ape.
King Kong - Awards:(from www.msn.com)
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Associat 2005
Best Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie, Won National Board of Review 2005
Outstanding Achievement in Special Effects: Won American Film Institute 2005
Best Picture: Won Golden Globe 2005
Best Original Score: James Newton Howard, Nominated
Best Director: Peter Jackson, Nominated Chicago Film Critics Association 2005
Best Picture: Nominated
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Nominated
Best Original Score: James Newton Howard, Nominated
Best Director: Peter Jackson, Nominated
Best Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie, Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Association 2005
Best Picture: Won Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Associati 2005
Top Ten Film: Won London Film Critics Association 2005
Best Picture: Nominated
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Nominated
Best Director: Peter Jackson, Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Association 2005
Best Trailer: Won
Top Ten Film of the Year: Won
Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Won
Best Production Design: Grant Major, Won American Society of Cinematographers 2005
Best Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie, Nominated
Online Film Critics Association 2005
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Nominated
Best Score: James Newton Howard, Nominated
Best Director: Peter Jackson, Nominated Broadcast Film Critics Association 2005
Best Picture: Nominated
Best Director: Peter Jackson, Nominated
News about King Kong The plane that toppled King Kong (from times-age.co.nz): The plane that meant curtains for King Kong is being pieced together at Hood Aerodrome for a grand unveiling at Sunday's Sport and Vintage Aviation Society's Open Day. The replica Curtiss Helldiver biplane used by Peter Jackson's Big Primate Productions is impressive sight even without its wings attached. The 1930s plane was purpose-built for Jackson's blockbuster, where it appears at the end of film doing battle against the greatest movie ape of them all. more details... King Kong storms Shanghai (from www.shanghaidaily.com): KING Kong collected 3 million yuan (US$371,747) in his first three days in Shanghai, Laodong Daily reported today. Local cinemas took 1.24 million yuan from the movie on Saturday as well as another 1 million yuan yesterday. Some industry insiders said it may be a bigger local box-office success than "Lord of the Rings: The return of the King," which garnered 12.03 million yuan last year. more details ... King Kong's capital connection (from www.canada.com): TORONTO - Movie-goers packed into theatres all over the world for the much-anticipated King Kong remake are being blown away by special effects created, in part, using Canadian technology. Ottawa-based XYZ RGB Inc. helped bring the giant ape and the dinosaurs on Skull Island to life using cutting-edge laser scanning technology developed by the National Research Council. more details ...