Air New Zealand Talks Kong & Jackson Gandalf writes: Shine grabbed an Air NZ complimentary magazine on the way to the Wellington red carpet event containing this article on Peter Jackson. Some great little snippets in there and well worth a read! [More]

decoder writes: ABC Australia aired a fantastic interview with Peter Jackson tonight. You can read the transcript and view the interview on the website. ‘David Stratton interviews director Peter Jackson about his varied and exciting filmmaking career from BAD TASTE to KING KONG.’ [More]

Pungolo writes: Hey Xoanon! Today I had a good chat with Mr. Alan Lee, who was presenting his new book here in Milan! We spoke mainly about Kong, but he said some interesting things about LOTR too (even if we are going to publish a report of a conference he gave after our interview, in which he showed a lot of interesting material – we’ll send you the photos for TORN). [More]

Andy “Gollum” Serkis got a little too close to the apes to channel King Kong. King Kong’s return, 72 years after his introduction in the original classic, is the year’s best more-than-mortal comeback since Batman Begins. And the giant ape owes it to his alter ego, Andy Serkis. Serkis can do it all, from balding mystical runt to huge, hairy anthropoid in a blink of the camera’s eye. He was the heart and soul of creepy Gollum, the defrocked hobbit in The Lord of the Rings. Now he’s Hollywood’s go-to guy for iconic gorillas in our midst. [More]

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa has bumped a New Zealand art exhibition aside to make way for a money-spinning Lord of the Rings repeat, in a deal secured with a highly unusual payment. Filmmaker and aviation enthusiast Peter Jackson agreed to a second six-month exhibition on the condition the museum located and bought for him a vintage Sopwith Camel airplane engine. Te Papa spokesman Peter Brewer said a deal on an engine found somewhere in the northern hemisphere should be settled by Christmas. The engine cost “a fraction of the amount” the museum would otherwise have had to pay Jackson in licensing fees, he said. It is understood Te Papa paid trilogy backers New Line Cinemas up to $500,000 for the first Rings’ exhibition in 2003. The studio had since signed over the licensing rights to Jackson. [More]

BENBELLA BOOKS UNLEASHES THE ULTIMATE KING KONG ANTHOLOGY THIS NOVEMBER

King of Skull Island is Back on the Big Screen…and Ripping up the Pages of a New Anthology

Extra, Extra! After 30 Years, King Kong is Still One Angry Ape!
KING KONG IS BACK! AN UNAUTHORIZED LOOK AT ONE HUMONGOUS APE!
BEFORE YOU SEE THE MOVIE, EXPLORE THE PAGES OF NEWEST ANTHOLOGY FOR CONVINCING EVIDENCE OF KONG’S ENDURING LEGEND

King Kong—love story, horror film, exotic adventure tale—is back on the big screen after an almost thirty-year absence, just in time for the King of Skull Island to influence another generation. From the 1933 black-and-white Cooper/Schoedsack classic to the badly received 1976 De Laurentiis remake, to the new vision brought to life by Peter Jackson, the essayists in KING KONG IS BACK! explore the great ape’s unprecedented appeal and the film’s impact on our cultural imagination. Edited by bestselling author David Brin, KING KONG IS BACK! is sure to provoke provocative and oftentimes hilarious new insights on the legend of Kong, the evolution of film and the impact of one big ape on our society.

CONTRIBUTORS & TOPICS INCLUDE:

· Pop culture guru Natasha Giardina, in an essay entitled “Queer Eye for the Ape Guy?,” discusses King Kong’s dating issues, his uncanny similarities to Homer Simpson and why, in these metrosexual times, we need Kong more than ever

· Fantasy author John Wright on how King Kong tells us every thing we need to know about our civilization…although we may not like what we learn

· Primatologist Dario Maestripieri describes the first monkey studies of human behavior, gorilla genitalia and how King Kong is really a chimp

· Science fiction author Adam-Troy Castro speculates on what would have happened if they never went back for Ann Darrow

· Artist Bob Eggleton revels how the magic was created, and hypothesizes on the fate of the upcoming Peter Jackson film

PUBLICATION DETAILS KING KONG IS BACK! AN UNAUTHORIZED LOOK AT ONE HUMONGOUS APE!

  • Editor: David Brin
  • ISBN: 1-932100-64-4
  • Pub. Month: November 2005
  • Retail: $17.95 (US)/$24.95 (CAN)
  • Publisher: BenBella Books
  • Cover: Trade Paperback

ABOUT THE EDITOR:
David Brin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Postman and the Kiln People. He resides in San Diego, CA.

EDITORIAL NOTES:
December 14, 2005 is the international theatrical film release of Universal Pictures’ King Kong, directed by Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson and starring Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black and Andy Serkis.

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

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King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)