Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guest David Monaghan and Grace Duffy, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.
This week, Peter Jackson’s King Kong.
Vaudeville performer Ann Darrow has just lost her steady gig. A chance encounter with veteran filmmaker Carl Denham presents a unique opportunity. If Denham can stay one step ahead of his investors, he might just make the greatest motion picture that the world has ever seen. Tricking his cast and crew on to a boat, Denham sets sail for adventure, charting a course to the most dangerous location shoot in the history of cinema, a mythical locale described in whispers as “Skull Island.” Denham plans to make a star of the island’s more iconic inhabitant: the King that they call Kong.
At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best or worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 25th November 2024.
- King Kong at The Internet Movie Database.
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- Peter Jackson talks to NBC about his longstanding passion for King Kong, December 2005.
- Peter Jackson talks to Three Monkeys Online about his love of the original King Kong, December 2005.
- Peter Jackson talks to The Independent about remaking King Kong, December 2005.
- Domonic Riley writes at Film Stories about the long and troubled road to Peter Jackson’s version of King Kong, March 2023.
- Adam Chitwood at Collider considers Peter Jackson’s original plans to remake King Kong following The Frighteners, February 2021.
- Ross Langager writes at PopMatters about the history and production of Peter Jackson’s King Kong, November 2011.
- Matt Stewart at Stuff looks at the excitement around Peter Jackson bringing Michael J. Fox to New Zealand to shoot The Frighteners, November 2015.
- Rebecca Keegan and Nicole Sperling at Vanity Fair look back at Harvey Weinstein’s pursuit of Shakespeare in Love, December 2017.
- Miles Surrey writes at The Ringer about the development of Deep Rising and the rumours that it was planned to set up a King Kong reboot, January 2023.
- The Palm Beach Post considers the racial politics of Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, December 2005.
- Karen Grigsby Bates talks to Day to Day about the presentation of race in King Kong, December 2005.
- Ross Langager at PopMatters considers the racial subtext of King Kong, November 2011.
- Nathan Rabin writes at Vanity Fair about the metaphors and allegories that underpin the King Kong franchise, March 2017.
- Gene Demby wonders on All Things Considered whether it is possible to make a King Kong movie without racial undertones, March 2017.
- Peter Jackson talks to The BBC about seeing himself as “an entertainer”, December 2005.
- Peter Jackson talks to Black Film about rejecting the label of “auteur”, December 2005.
- Viggo Mortensen talks to Entertainment Weekly about the importance of the reshoots to shaping the Lord of the Rings sequels, June 2014.
- Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline looks at how the Lord of the Rings trilogy came together, July 2021.
- Drew McWeeny at Polygon looks at the various alternate versions of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings that almost happened, February 2021.
- Adam Gopnik writes in The New Yorker about the authenticity of Peter Jackson’s And They Shall Not Grow Old, January 2019.
- Adam Gopnik at The New Yorker considers Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary Get Back, December 2021.
- Richard Brody considers Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary Let It Be for The New Yorker, May 2024.
- Jack Black talks to Black Film about his inspirations in playing Carl Denham, December 2005.
- Andy Serkis talks to The New Zealand Herald about visiting Rwanda to study gorilla movement, September 2004.
- Andy Serkis talks to Total Film about starring in King Kong, December 2005.
- Andy Serkis talks to The Guardian about his love of Rwanda, November 2005.
- Naomi Watts talks to The Irish Examiner about her upcoming work on King Kong, July 2004.
- Naomi Watts talks to CBS about how David Lynch convinced her to star in King Kong, February 2013.
- Naomi Watts talks to The Daily Mail about why it took her so long to get her big break in Hollywood, June 2019.
- Naomi Watts talks to The Guardian about feeling “unhireable” in Hollywood, July 2017.
- Kayleigh Donaldson ponders the life and career of Naomi Watts at Pajiba, July 2017.
- Ray Morton talks to The Hollywood Reporter about the development of the original King Kong, March 2017.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: andy serkis, animals, colonialism, david monaghan, grace duffy, imperialism, jack black, king kong, kong, monsters, Naomi Watts, peter jackson, spectacle, universal movies, universal pictures |
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