KONG

HELL YEAH!

this makes me very happy. especially the fact he's doing it completely in NZ again, far away from meddling executives and shit...

PJ does Kong. fuck yeah.

Oh, this is great news, mang. I remember being geeked for this when it was rumored to be his follow up to 'The Frightners'. And now it's happening. I love the original 'King Kong', and to see it updated by a guy who loves it so, will be awesome.

Fucking groovy.

Too bad that Jackson's apparently no longer doing his low-budget zombie movie, but I suppose it's invevitable. And if Jackson was going to tackle any subject *other* than zombies, I can't think of a better one that Kong. This is simply fantastic news.

My only concern is that hopefully his contract with Universal will allow him enough time to finish the Extended Edition DVD of "Return of the King." But I'm not too worried...the man knows what he's doing.

KONG LIVES!

Okay then, I'm gonna be the naysayer...

I hate this idea.

Why? 'Cause I'm a purist when it comes to this film and I have my reasons. It's just a tad ridiculous don't you all think? I've just been e-mailed the script by Jackson and Walsh (date '96) and from the mild skimming of it that I've done: it's the same stuff.

Why remake something that's already pretty fuckin' fantastic? "Godzilla" I can see - their always giving the G-man an update overseas, except when we did it - it got fucked up.

I'm not saying Jackson is going to do a piss-poor job. It's just hard for me to get excited about it. I'm more jazzed to see the "King Kong" SE coming our way on DVD next year than seeing a big CG ape running around ("Mighty Joe Young" anyone?). We've tried to remake "Kong" once and it failed miserably (Charles Grodin? Ouch!).

That's just me.

Don't agree, Ryan.

The "Kong" remake mangled the spectacle and lost the emotion of the original, which was the reason it was so abysmal. With "Lord of the Rings," Jackson showed that he can easily handle big-budget spectacle while retaining plenty of soul and emotion. He's also shown the ability to take material that is sacred to geeks and to update the material with respect and a great deal of imagination, keeping a familiar story feeling fresh and exciting.

Plus, I don't think we'll have to worry about the Grodin-factor in this remake. After LOTR, major actors are going to be lining up to work with Jackson.

If Kong is going to be remade--and it is, sooner or later, by somebody--Jackson is the absolute best choice out there. I'm pumped for this.

I'll add my Hell Yeah to the list. I love this flick and look forward to seeing PJ's vision.

I wish he'd remake KING KONG VS. GODZILLA instead. Better yet, a $150 million dollar remake of KING KONG ESCAPES. Who wouldn't want to see an all CGI Mechanikong?

I'm torn.

At the end of the day, I'm leaning towards siding with Ryan. KING KONG doesn't need to remade. The original movie still stands up to this day as well as CASABLANCA, CITIZEN KANE and THE MALTESE FALCON as a classic of cinema.

The reason I'm torn is because I love Peter Jackson. I adore every one of his movies I've seen, and I believe he's up there in the top five directors/writers in the world today. If anyone can do KONG justice, he can.

But again, I'm niggled by that little thought that asks me if it does need to be remade. In any case, I can only hope that the new script is much better than PJ's frankly average KK script. If everything comes together, this could be a classic, classic movie.

The only thing is, there's already a classic movie out there. And as much as I want to see a 21st Century Kong out there, I can't help but see this as another message to the kids to say 'fuck the old, bring in the new'. I know PJ loves the original, and would never think that. But that's what this is bringing. The original is an awesome movie, and I hope when WB finally bring out the DVD, it's pushed like crazy, and not just because it (might possibly) tie in with the new movie. Another movie that was recently released, Robert Wise's THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, went by with little fanfare whatsoever. Few people will be buying that, amongst the legions that'll pick up XXX or RED DRAGON. But that movie is another classic, especially relevant in these tumoultous times. But still, to the general public, another black and white movie.

I know my thought's haven't ended on this. I know I'll still see KONG, for my love for PJ and my love for the character himself. I just hope in the rush for technicolour, the grayscale isn't forgotten.

I'm with Ryan. A Kong remake is and always will be completely redundant, doesn't matter who's behind the wheel.

Jackson should tell a new story, move on.

I have faith he can pull it off, I'm pretty excited to see what he does with it.

Before I read the script, I was 100% on the Ryan side, although if anyone was gonna do Kong, I'd want it to be Jackson. Reading the script, he does have some cool stuff in there, and maybe you could look at it as one of those things like Drac and Frank--every generation should have it's own Kong. Personally, I don't really mind the 70s version, inferior though it is, and Jackson's is almost guaranteed to kick that one's ass. So I'm kinda on the fence, and since it's happening anyway, sure, why not.

There is one story element in the climax of the script (the biplane) that's just idiotic, I really hope he changes that, but otherwise it's pretty damn cool. I particularly like the sea captain's monologue, that seems like a tribute to Lovecraft's <a href="http://www.subgenius.com/bigfist/classic/classictales/HowthHill.html" target="_blank">Cthulu</a> stories.

Besides, it paves the way for a movie that there really SHOULD be a remake of, King Kong vs. Godzilla!

Having read the on-line script of this thing, I hope they do rewrites. I'm happy that Jackson's getting his Rings props, but I can't see this project as anything but a "owed" film (in that now Jackson gets to make a film as he wants for his huge success).

I am stoked. And for one I liked the De Laurentis remake, though I am sure it is nostalgia. It was my first summer being able to run around little (well, then it was little) Chico, CA unsupervised and KONG was playing at the Pageant Theater. I went over and over and over again.
Still the original is the shiznit.

I'm convinced the man can do NO wrong.

As anyone who knows me can tell you, Kong rules my world. It's the greatest movie ever made, in my opinion, and Willis O'Briens stop motion work is still a benchmark in technical skill and characterisation.

There is, of course, no need to remake.

But...remake it they will. It's the Hollywood way, and it was inevitable, I suppose. With that in mind, the thought of it in the hands of Peter Jackson reassures me no end. I may not see the need for a new Kong, but I'm certainly drooling at the prospect of what PJ can unleash. If it has to happen, I can't think of anyone better.

I like the fact he's keeping it a period piece, I like that he's sticking to his New Zealand homebase (hopefully a lot of it will be location work, not CGI) and I like that it's in the hands of a fan.

I mean, just think, it could be Michael Bay...

I'm somewhat confused on the source material Jackson is using. He's a huge fan and probably knows more about this stuff than I do but I always understood the novel King Kong was written after the movie was made but it went on market before the film was released (to give it legitimacy I guess). Anyways I read the novel some time ago and I don't recall any substantial difference.

I am looking forward to the pit spider scene and I was happy to see it in his script.

I have one thing to say...
.."Planet of the Apes"

There's a difference between an established director badly in need of a hit taking on a surefire paycheck and an established director at the peak of his career getting his dream project greenlit.

Tim Burton inherited Planet Of The Apes after it had been passed around Hollywood for years. Production was ready to start, and he was basically a director-for-hire brought in to polish the turd. Burton may have sat in the director's chair, but that was not his movie.

Jackson will be working from his own script, with his own companies, in his own country, on a movie he's always dreamed of making. Experience tells us that this usually leads to good things.

Who said PJ can't work on smaller films while doing Kong? Afterall, spy satellites show that there were over thirty Peter Jackson clones working simultaneously on the set of LOTR... You really think the man can do just one movie at a time?

I was so thrilled to see this news. The only thing that would make me happier was if he said "oh yeah, and I'm gonna bang out that really low budget zombie movie right before I start on Kong."
I do love the original and it is untouchable...but I was excited about this when he had talked about it way back when, in the Frighteners, Forgotten Silver days. I think he'll do great (and I'm the one who, while finding no technical or story faults with LOTR, well, they really just do nothing for me.)

After making the collosal Lord of the Rings Trilogy I think a regular old 2-3 hour film won't be challenging enough for him.

I liked POTA. I loved the 70's Kong! Bring on PJ's version! The more the merrier!

[EDIT]

I just have to say that being a HUGE Tolkien fanatic since birth what Jackson did with the film version just blew my mind completely and vaulted him past Kubrick into the "My favorite director of all time" slot. Just had to give him props cause I know he needs it! wink

Words can not truly express my elation.....