# What's the pre-buzz on Peter Jackson's "King Kong"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607 "2005-11-11T19:19:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/21 "2005-11-12T01:36:50Z")
Entertainment Weekly cover article (or at least parts of it): [http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1128298\_1\_0\_,00.html](http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1128298_1_0_,00.html) I could have sworn the official length was 3 hours exactly, but cannot find a cite. Call me a sappy geek (or a geeky sap) but I see real emotion in Kong in the latest trailer. Brian ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/22 "2005-11-12T03:03:36Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > People who hate/are still pissed off at Peter Jackson are going to try and tear down the movie in every way possible. And vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/23 "2005-11-12T03:13:49Z")
A couple of months ago I saw a short for it at a massive cinema in Sydney. There had been no hint that shorts were being show. It was several minutes long and stunned the audience into jaw-dropping silence. I can hardly wait for it and I will make sure I see it on the biggest screen I can find. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/24 "2005-11-12T03:37:15Z")
Well if its anything like the preview for the videogame it will be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/25 "2005-11-12T03:47:17Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > > [@equipose](#): > > > > People who hate/are still pissed off at Peter Jackson are going to try and tear down the movie in every way possible. > > And vice versa. The movie is going to try and tear them down?? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/26 "2005-11-12T06:15:02Z")
As someone who, as a teenager, sat in an icy cold garage wrapped in a blanket leaning against the bumper of a ‘69 Impala in front of our retired Magnavox b/w console tv to watch the original movie for about the fifteenth time I can definitely say that this movie looks effin’ awesome and I’m totally looking forward to it! The casting is great, a sly hommage to the original characters and actors while substituting better acting ability. \*Insert obligatory Fay Wray/paper bag snide comment here. \* I love that Jackson is remaking the original movie in the same time period, forcing viewers into that simpler state of mind and suspension of disbelief, and I’m also VERY glad that Kong FINALLY looks like a big giant silverback rather than a guy in a monkey suit. Ray Harryhausen would get up out of his grave to go watch this movie and he’d be cheering the whole time. It’s what he wanted to do but he just didn’t have the tools. Peter Jackson rulez with powers on loan from space aliens! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/27 "2005-11-12T06:20:12Z")
Make that “Willis O’Brien,” I knew that! :smack: Hell, he and Ray would go together and they’d BOTH have a great time… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/28 "2005-11-12T06:41:26Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Hell, he and Ray would go together and they’d BOTH have a great time… I hope that Ray Harryhausen doesn’t have the opportunity to go anywhere with Willis anytime soon, though. Stay animated, Ray! My first exposure to _King Kong_ was one of those abridged (and silent) 8mm jobbies for home use. (Good times!) I must’ve run that poor old thing a hundred times. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it actually had sound, subplots, and _everything!_ Strangely enough, it was often garage viewing for me, too. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/29 "2005-11-12T07:25:40Z")
I’m a little concerned that It’ll suck, but I’m willing to give it as much leeway as I can. It really could go either way. It’s just a matter of time. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/30 "2005-11-12T11:42:59Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If you disliked _Lord of the Rings_, you will not like _Kong_. > > If you loved _Lord of the Rings_, you will love _Kong_. > > If you were initially very skeptical about _Lord of the Rings_, until you saw it and then you changed your mind around completely, and you are currently skeptical about _Kong_, then you will have your mind changed again. Pardon me, but I don’t seem how LOTR can be compared with King Kong. Those are two different genre of movies - I don’t see how hating one necessary means you will hate the other. Of course, it’s by the same producer/director. But they defintely have different ways of shooting different films, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/31 "2005-11-12T14:16:13Z")
Moderator explains and apologies for confusion: You will see that there are some gaps in the fabric of reality. We had a “sock puppet” who had posted several times, and who has had several different identities on our boards. We have therefore caused his posts to disappear. This is our standard practice with trolls and sock puppets. If they see that their efforts vanish into smoke, we hope that they will go away and stop pestering us. Unfortunately, this causes some hiccoughs in the logic of the thread. That seems a small price to pay, but sorry about it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/32 "2005-11-12T21:24:54Z")
Well, I played part of the demo game on my OPM disc. But I don’t really know much about King Kong. Never seen any version, unless you count King Homer. And I had no idea Kong actually spends time fighting dinosaurs. But since he does, can we get a Godzilla cameo worked in somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/33 "2005-11-12T23:19:53Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Well, I played part of the demo game on my OPM disc. But I don’t really know much about King Kong. Never seen any version, unless you count King Homer. And I had no idea Kong actually spends time fighting dinosaurs. But since he does, can we get a Godzilla cameo worked in somewhere? [King Kong Vs. Godzilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_vs._Godzilla) (1962). I’d _love_ to see a remake of that one. I was transfixed by it as a four year old but it would probably look absurd to me now. As a little kid, I was in love with giant monster movies. They just don’t make those like they used to. Do yourself a favor and find some way to watch the original _King Kong_. It’s a mesmerizing film. Even with the effects as dated as they are, the movie still works. I know it’s a ridiculous premise but for some reason the original film has a power that just resonates forever. It’s the original popcorn movie and still arguably the best realized. Oh…and the dinosaurs live on Skull Island. Kong’s home. The first half of the story (both in the original and the remake) takes place there. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/34 "2005-11-12T23:50:01Z")
Interestingly, I DID get more emotional about the giant elephants than the line you mentioned, **Diogenes**. That being said, I think it will be very good (though I don’t like sad endings) and I’m looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/35 "2005-11-13T00:16:37Z")
The newly restored 1933 version will be on DVD very soon now. (NOV 22) One of the extras is PJ redoing the infamous “spider pit” sequence - with stop motion. (The sequence was removed form the orginal version I think before it premiered. In any case thoe footage has been lost) Check out the Nov 11 digital bits pre-review: > **[The Digital Bits - Home](https://thedigitalbits.com/)** > > The Digital Bits is the Internet’s leading source for DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and 4K Ultra HD industry news, reviews, analysis, and expertise. Founded in 1997, it’s THE place for cinephiles to celebrate their love of film. Brian ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/36 "2005-11-13T00:26:45Z")
> [@ExtraKun](#): > > Pardon me, but I don’t seem how LOTR can be compared with King Kong. Those are two different genre of movies - I don’t see how hating one necessary means you will hate the other. > > Of course, it’s by the same producer/director. But they defintely have different ways of shooting different films, don’t they? Because the “pre-buzz” asked of in the OP is exactly the same. Skeptical people who say “How can you make this classic story with all this modern wizardry? It will be a disaster!” versus excited fans saying “Peter Jackson can do no wrong! He is a genius!” If you liked how he handled the transition from book to movie, then you will almost cetainly like his transition from 1933 classic to 2005 blockbuster. Essentially the same sensibilities are being employed. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/37 "2005-11-13T00:28:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Do yourself a favor and find some way to watch the original _King Kong_. It’s a mesmerizing film. Even with the effects as dated as they are, the movie still works. I know it’s a ridiculous premise but for some reason the original film has a power that just resonates forever. It’s the original popcorn movie and still arguably the best realized. When I was a kid in New York “Million Dollar Movie” used to show the same old movie 5 nights for a week and then 3 times on Saturday. When King Kong was on I used to watch every single showing. I’m sure it’s the movie I’ve seen the most - probably at least 30 times. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > [King Kong Vs. Godzilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_vs._Godzilla) (1962). I’d _love_ to see a remake of that one. I was transfixed by it as a four year old but it would probably look absurd to me now. As a little kid, I was in love with giant monster movies. They just don’t make those like they used to. I was 11 when it came out, and I thought that it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. Not up to the original, though. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/38 "2005-11-13T08:09:07Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > The movie is going to try and tear them down?? In Soviet Russia, corruption is rampant ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/39 "2005-11-13T08:56:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Because the “pre-buzz” asked of in the OP is exactly the same. Skeptical people who say “How can you make this classic story with all this modern wizardry? It will be a disaster!” versus excited fans saying “Peter Jackson can do no wrong! He is a genius!” > > If you liked how he handled the transition from book to movie, then you will almost cetainly like his transition from 1933 classic to 2005 blockbuster. Essentially the same sensibilities are being employed. Hmm, so, any classic movies or book-to-movie transition handled by PJ will come out with exactly the same mistakes and quality that LOTR have? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607/40 "2005-11-13T12:42:22Z")
> [@ExtraKun](#): > > Hmm, so, any classic movies or book-to-movie transition handled by PJ will come out with exactly the same mistakes and quality that LOTR have? Yes, that’s exactly what he said. It’s probably going to be as big a flop too, since everyone hated LOTR, it didn’t go on to win any awards, and it made no money outside PJ’s friends and family who were dragged along. :rolleyes: Your favourite band sucks, by the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-pre-buzz-on-peter-jacksons-king-kong/330607.md?page=3)