Tag Archives: King Kong

It’s Time to Rethink Peter Jackson’s King Kong

It’s Time to Rethink Peter Jackson’s King Kong

“History has been too unkind to which should be remembered not as lumbering and mindless, but as majestic and mesmerising,” according to critic Chris Hartwell writing for…

Extraordinary Talent Sorely Missed

Extraordinary Talent Sorely Missed

Oscar-winning sound editor New Zealander Mike Hopkins, 53, who worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and other blockbusters, has died in a rafting accident on the Waiohine River in the Tararua Range….

Miramar’s Awakening

Miramar’s Awakening

“Until Sir Peter Jackson and his producer Jamie Selkirk made films in Miramar in the 1990s, the Wellington suburb was sleepy,” David Burton writes for Monocle. “‘There was tumbleweed, rolling down the street,’ jokes…

Kong is Back

Kong is Back

The King Kong attraction at Hollywood park, the first theme park attraction that Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-based f/x shop Weta Digital has created, reopens on July 1 after a devastating fire two years ago….

All Features Great and Small

All Features Great and Small

Debate over the effects of big budget US films such as King Kong and the Narnia series being filmed in NZ continues, with most in favour of the Hollywood blockbusters. “The blockbusters have been…

A thing of wonder

A thing of wonder

Released in December, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has received near unanimous praise from critics and movie-goers around the world. “This new King Kong is a folie de grandeur with real grandeur; in its power,…

Kong is coming

Kong is coming

Wired magazine’s October issue features a lavish 16-page look at Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong, due to hit cinemas this December. Wired examines the greatly anticipated film through an…

My Favourite Ape

My Favourite Ape

Compared with his work as an Oscar-winning director and the filmmaker behind the most popular trilogy in movie history, Peter Jackson’s first attempt to remake King Kong was by any measure amateurish. Jackson painted…

Big shoes to fill

Big shoes to fill

Peter Jackson unveiled some of his models and sketches for King Kong at the CineAsia movie convention in Bangkok. “It’s not a love story; it’s a story about love,” he told the convention audience,…

Wellywood in the Spotlight

Wellywood in the Spotlight

The world’s eyes are on Wellington once again as production steps up on Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake. Jackson promises to make a “wonderful, mysterious adventure film” worthy of the iconic 1933 original, which…

Kong

Kong

The three principal stars of Peter Jackson’s King Kong are raving about the film and its Wellington location before shooting has even begun. Adrien Brody: “The facilities here are incredible … I…

King of the Consoles

King of the Consoles

Peter Jackson has joined yet another elite Hollywood club: director’s who earn as much  if not more  from helping create video games as they do from making movies. Riding on the success…

Wetawood

Wetawood

Two LA Times features look at the phenomenal success of Peter Jackson’s Miramar-based empire; Weta Digital, Weta Workshop, and the Film Unit. The challenge meeting Jackson’s business is keeping the world-class staff he amassed…

The Price is Right

The Price is Right

New York Times feature addresses Peter Jackson’s record-breaking US$20 million salary for Universal’s King Kong remake, deciding he is more than worth the dollars. Jackson, with his collaborative team of Fran Walsh and Phillippa…

Watt’s Up Jackson?

Watt’s Up Jackson?

Peter Jackson has reportedly asked Australian actress Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive, The Ring) to play the female lead in King Kong, which begins shooting in Wellington this November.

Wellywood Weighs In

Wellywood Weighs In

An Anna Fifield Financial Times feature reviews the remarkable growth of the NZ film industry in the wake of its latest coup: Peter Jackson’s King Kong. “For the country’s film industry, the project marks…

Jackson (and NZ) goes ape

Jackson (and NZ) goes ape

Watch out Sky Tower: Peter Jackson is to direct a remake of King Kong for Universal Pictures. The epic production will be filmed on location in NZ and released globally in 2005. Says an…