King Kong | movie news and insight

King Kong has been dominating the entries in a fun, new New York Times blog about the movie awards season called The Carpetbagger (written by David Carr).

Carr, who attended a screening of Kong, is putting his money on the 800 lb gorilla to take home the best picture Oscar. In a recent post he refers to Kong as a “hardware magnet,” and says, “The formula is simple – the industry is in disrepair, box office is flat, and Kong could serve as a tent-pole of recovery. ”

A couple of Carr’s other worthy entries on King Kong:
The Big Mo’ for the Big Monkey?
Konged

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly has offered up a gushing review of King Kong. She says, “King Kong sets the new standard for honoring a mass-market classic while remaking it with nuanced contemporary self-awareness. ”

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“Jackson’s King Kong will probably be recognized as one of the greatest movies of all time,” says contributor Malibu Kutt, who offered KingKongthemovie.com this first-hand account of yesterday’s premiere in New York:

Life IS about timing, but it’s also about who you know. I often laugh as to how psychotically karmic and charmed my life is and that I continue to experience very cool events and happenings….Latest to my list would be the invite I received to the King Kong premiere from my very dear friend “MS” a media planner/buyer who does a lot of work with Universal…So instead of heading off to MSG to watch the Rangers or join the boys for Monday Night Therapy - I was off to Skull Island.

Sitting in traffic while on my way to the Times Square area for the World Premiere of Peter Jackson’s King Kong, I found myself peering out the cab window and towards the illuminated tops of the Gotham City and thought this is exactly where this film should debut. Approaching the theatres on West 42nd at 5PM was surreal - between the swaying “premiere” spot lights cascading along the facades along the brick and mortor canyon and the hustle and bustling of throngs of people scurrying their way along 42nd street towards the Port Authority at rush hour- I kept expecting to see King King charging at me or a directors yelling, “cut!”

The red carpet was world record in proportion — as big as the oversized Ape himself. The white tented, enclosed carpet went from the Northeast corner of 8th Avenue half way down the elongated avenue block towards Broadway stopping at the Loews theatre. For a premiere this big - one theatre wasn’t enough - so the AMC across the street was also called into service.

Upon entering the jungle, guests were asked to show their tickets a cornucopia of times - I counted nine different check points along the odyssey to my seat. Once on the appropriate floor, we were met by what seemed to be Homeland Security with metal detectors and comprehensive searches for any form of recording equipment. There was a short line to grab bags of popcorn, a selection of water and soda and of course your choice of a King Kong commemorative cup - it made 7-Elevens “Big Gulp” look like a shot glass.

With my refreshments in hand I made it into my assigned theatre and grabbed a golden seat. Dead center! Luxurious stadium seating with over sized armrests to accommodate both tenants and cup holders to handle any size beverage..ahhhh. But each seat had two surprises; a white bag filled with either a delightfully tasty black forest ham and brie sandwich or a turkey wrap, a refreshing fruit cup and a trilogy of deliciously soft and tasty cookies. The black bag contained a King Kong action figure, kewl! Almost every seat in my row had a different one - good stuff.

Before I knew it, without looking at my watch once - three hours had passed from the opening chyron to the rolling of credits. My friend and I had a difficult time putting what we just experienced into words…Jackson’s King Kong will probably be recognized as one of the greatest movies of all time. I kid you not and I am a very tough critic. I was exhausted after the movie - emotionally and physically. It’s a cross between Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Predator and Harry Met Sally AMPED up several notches. It’s truly a marvel version of an all-time classic. Get your tickets NOW, but keep in mind, the PG-13 rating is very misleading. This deserves a NC-17 or R rating (not for sex, get your head out of the gutter). It’s way too brutally savage, gory and violent for kids.

- Malibu Kutt

The web is buzzing about Lindsay Lohan’s last-minute bail on Live With Regis & Kelly this morning. Lohan supposedly canceled her appearance on the show due to a bout with food poisoning. Speculation, however, is that Lohan had too much fun at the New York premier of King Kong last night (seen in above picture).

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Naomi Watts will appear in the January issue of Vanity Fair, on New York and L.A. newsstands December 7, and appearing nationally December 13.

In the cover story, she talks about the men in her life, hanging on in Hollywood, and playing King Kong’s girl.

Referring to the opening of Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Watts says, “All this stuff”—the global rollout, the raised expectations, the impossibility of privacy—”is still unknown to me. I’m less familiar with it, and it’s kind of frightening.”

For those of you who use the Google Earth satellite imaging program ( you can download a free version ), a user who goes by the name of ‘pmaxfield2 ‘, has created a placemark with King Kong on the Empire State Building.

pretty cool !

Today’s The Wall Street Journal has a big story about how Peter Jackson has become a Hollywood superpower.

“Director Peter Jackson has become a superpower in Hollywood, a town he abhors and avoids. After the successful ‘Rings’ trilogy, his upcoming “King Kong” reflects a level of autonomy that the industry gives few filmmakers.”…MORE

Tonight (Friday) at 10 p.m.
To New Zealand, Mexico and back, Stone Phillips travels the globe to interview Academy Award-winning director, Peter Jackson, and comedic actor, Jack Black, about their upcoming remake of the legendary film, “King Kong.”

Click here to access a preview of Stone Phillips’ interview with Jack Black