The Vault is now under new management—Jimmy From NASA! Yes, after starting a betting pool during Nathan’s livestream of Override: Mech City BrawlFriday night and cleaning out the Monster Island Board of Directors, Jimmy became the new host of the podcast but kept Nathan on as his producer. Nathan is still a bit sore about that, as you’ll hear, but Jimmy is sure he’ll get over it.
For his first episode, Jimmy is discussing his favorite unmade Kong film: “Space Kong.” This was a wild idea that came about in the 1960s while Merian C. Cooper was corresponding with comic book publisher Western/Gold Key Comics to produce a comic adaptation of original film and a sequel. This would’ve featured the children of the original characters and Carl Denham still young from finding the Fountain of Youth. Cooper suggested setting it on another planet with “King Kong reincarnated.” While Jimmy first learned of this lost project through a book written by his (first) flame war nemesis, John LeMay, he showed up that know-it-all by buying Cooper’s long lost story treatment for this proposed film on eBay using his newfound wealth. Be the first to hear about it in today’s episode!
If you missed my stream from last night (or want to see it again), here’s the video. The microphone wasn’t the issue so much as the audio for the game, Override: Mech City Brawl, was a bit too high. Next time I’ll turn it down.
I was surprised that I was joined by my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, in the live chat (as well as Golden Ticket Tourist Joe Metter). Jimmy started betting pools with Monster Island personel on my performance–and he constantly bet against me! He fleeced everyone because I foolishly decided to play the game on hard mode. ::sigh::
All right, this blog, like last week’s episode on King Kong 2005, wants to be as long as that film. Thanks to contractual obligations, I have to include all of Marchand’s unused notes, which he split between his computer and a legal pad for whatever reason this time. I am suddenly more appreciative of the glorious invention that is copy and paste.
Let’s get this over with,
shall we?
My Notes:
Yes, I borrowed Dr. Aoki’s pteronadon bot without permission. I don’t think he’s missed it yet. So, unless he gets transfer to Monster Island, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. As for flying Danny here on it, well, I couldn’t resist taking it for a test flight. I now know how to improve on the thing’s admittedly goofy design.
I dare you to tell me you don’t like sand, DiManna!
I am fine with Daniel calling me “Jimbo”…for now. (Yes, I’m being flippant).
Nice job catching me before I corrected you, Marchand.
Actually, Danny, the dinosaur Kong fights in the original isn’t a Rex. It’s closer to an Allosaurus. It’s just called a “meat-eater” in the novelization.
Actually, Danny, I don’t think gorillas—even Kong—qualify as predators. At least in this film. Normal gorillas are vegetarians, but some do eat insects. Kong in this film was never seen eating meat. Therefore, he doesn’t qualify as a predator.
Jackson himself didn’t say he treated this like filming on Skull Island itself in the 1930s. That was a crewmember. Watch that $5 blu-ray again.
Mothra’s not a butterfly, Daniel! Her species is obvious! (Or was that a joke? I’ll forgive a joke. 😛 ).
I can neither confirm nor deny that I am the Jimmy in this film. And yes, like the Doctor, I will explain later. Maybe.
There were more than just the two crewmembers who survived in the 1933 King Kong, Daniel.
King Kong (1976) is two hours and 14 minutes long. Over one hour shorter.
“I had saw it on the big screen”? Verb tenses, Danny! I expect better from a writer. 😛
Here’s the Roger Ebert review Nathan brought up (and yes, you misremembered what he said). Here’s the video review.
They aren’t T-Rexes, Nathan. They’re V-Rexes. Both of you got it wrong!
“PJ’s version”? Danny is on initials terms with Peter Jackson? I doubt it. 😛
It wasn’t trailers but one of Peter Jackson’s video diaries on www.kongisking.net where he announced back-to-back sequels to the film. They were Son of Kong and King Kong: Into the Wolf’s Lair. And I agree: they would’ve been amazing! You can watch it here with a fan edit trailer. Sadly, it includes a stupid clip from the stupid Date Movie. Ugh!
You got your Bugs Bunny cartoons mixed up, Danny. The one you were thinking of was “What’s Up Doc?” not “Show Biz Bugs” (which you called “Show Biz Bunny”). The latter is about a jealous Daffy Duck trying to upstage Bugs on stage.
My whole backstory will be in my tell-all book, War in Space: The Jimmy From NASA Story. 😛
My international man of mystery Schick gets me more luck the ladies more than you have, Marchand! 😛
I’m happy to say, as promised in this episode, I am now one of Danny’s patrons on Patreon—and I used Nathan’s debit card to do it! 😛
The sexist essay Nathan was referring to (and forgot to include in the show notes) was “The Myth Goes Downward: The Infantilization, Electrification, Mechanization, and General Diminishment of King Kong” by Paul Di Filippo. It’s from the book Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – Blu-Ray Special Features:
Jackson saw King Kong 1933 as a kid in 1970. It
inspired his love of science fiction and fantasy and his desire to be a
filmmaker. He made super 8 films and stop motion. There’s lots of SFX in his
films because he was a “frustrated special effects guy.” Solitary. (-Sounds like me, except I work on robots
and mecha. –Jimmy)
Universal
approached him in 1995 to remake either Kong
or The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The first script
was closer in tone to The Mummy (1999).
Work was done in
1996 by Weta using lots of practical effects.
Jackson and his
crew visited the Empire State Building, and he signed his name on the peak.
The film wasn’t
storyboarded. It was all pre-viz. No finished script at the time it started.
It had more
miniatures than The Lord of the Rings.
Started with T-Rex
fight like the original film as proof of concept.
Naomi Watts had to
learn how to dance. Jamie Bell (Jimmy) had danced since age 6. (So…I can neither confirm nor deny that I,
too, can dance. –Jimmy)
Jack Black tapped
into his inner-Denham by using an old camera to make short films. Boxer and
criminal.
First shot filmed
was when Ann arrives at dock.
The boat bought
for the production had fish in it that had to be shipped out.
Jackson got
seasick, so he shot on sets.
Jackson says the
natives aren’t based on a particular civilization but are an amalgam of several
from that time. They use their hair to make clothing. The actors came from
Polynesia, Cambodia, etc.
The dinosaurs
weren’t paleontologically accurate but stylized and more evolved. The V-Rexes
were a family (mother, father, juvenile). Some like the Wetasaur were made up.
They used a
massive computer system to from LOTR to make CGI extras. They don’t fight like
Orcs but walk like New Yorkers—any differences? jokes Jackson.
Weta wrote a new
program called Building Bot to create missing buildings in NYC cityscape.
The real Empire
State Building took 14 months to construct. The digital version took 18 months.
Irony. (Digital construction is harder
than real construction. I should know. I worked at NASA. –Jimmy)
Peter Jackson,
Rick Baker, Frank Darabont, and other famous people attached to Kong flew the
airplanes that attacked Kong as a nod to Schoedsack and Cooper doing that in
the 1933 original. Jackson even shaved his trademark beard! (I’m not even sure that was Jackson. Like
Jonathan Frakes as Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he looks like a completely different
person. Maybe he was dubbed over by the real Jackson? 😛 –Jimmy)
Kong is a misunderstood
monster. Weta watched Charles Laughton in The
Hunchback of Notre Dame for inspiration.
They made him a
punch-drunk boxer and mountain man. They used an albino gorilla at a zoo for
inspiration. (Can you say, “Kiko”? –Jimmy).
His broken jaw was modeled after an inbred pug named Monster. It was toned
down later (as you’ll notice in the first trailer). He was redesigned
after the first trailer.
The final
reference used for Kong was Umagami the ape from an IMAX film. The filmmakers
ultimately decided he should look like a real gorilla.
Gorillas beat
chests with open cupped hands while movie gorillas use fists. They compromised
by having hands between open and clenched.
Some mocap was dropped,
but Serkis was used as reference.
Jackson said this
was always the film he wanted to make.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – The Film:
The opening
credits are like original.
Opens with apes
and monkeys in zoo next to a Hooverville. Then we go to Vaudeville clips. Cuts
between that and images of Depression. Alcohol bottles smashed. Prohibition.
Naomi Watts’
costume looks just like Fay Wray’s.
I never knew there
were that many nicknames for breasts in the ‘30s.
“Universal is
desperate for stock footage!” (4th wall)
Maybe it’s the
writer in me, but I like that Jack Driscoll is a playwright in this. “If you
really loved it, you would’ve jumped” (Denham to Jack).
Jimmy?! Is that my
producer?! Stowed away. Found in hold 4 years ago. Arm broken in two places.
Wouldn’t say where he came from. He’s a prankster. Defaces Baxter’s posters.
Jimmy can dance!
Live animals in
cage sign on Jack’s cage. Symbolic?
Was it necessary
to have the typing of Skull Island be in slo-mo?
Ann and Jack’s
relationship gets more development in this than original. All the characters
get more development. Helps that it’s 3 hours long!
Sure, hold the
important map over the edge of the ship! Yep! There it goes!
Is it just me or
did the rock the Venture bumps into
at 51 minutes look like a huge face? One definitely does later.
Of course there
are skulls on Skull Island.
Jackson is a
little overly fond of scary slo-mo in this film.
Ann screams and
then Kong roars. Appropriate.
The wall and
natives definitely remind me of LOTR. There’s a chasm as well as a wall. That
helps explain how the creatures are kept out.
Triceratops’ twitching
tail homage to original?
I love that Lumpy
tries to kill a bug with a frying pan. Then he shoots them.
“There’s only one
creature capable of leaving a footprint that size…and that’s me!” (Lumpy)
“Nobody’s gonna
think these are fake”(4th wall).
These raptors are
crazy. Going after prey that huge?!
Wilhelm scream!
Preston looks like
he’s heard this speech many times.
“I’m just an actor
with a gun who’s lost his motivation” (4th wall).
We see Kong eating
plants like a real gorilla.
Kong blocks Ann’s
way like in ’76.
Running around
barefoot in a jungle must be tearing up her feet.
Water scorpions?
Man, everything on this island is crazy aggressive.
And Denham becomes
a snuff filmmaker.
Not all CGI. Some
practical creature effects.
Kong does pick up
a man: Hayes.
The iconic log
scene recreated. Tries to account for surviving fall by having it get caught on
vines.
It’s hard not to
invite Jurassic Park comparisons.
Quietest. V-Rex.
Ever!
I love that Kong
stands with one foot on V-Rex when he beats his chest.
The shot of Jack
and Ann running through the jungle looks just like ’33.
The Broadway sign
looks just like ’33.
“The Beast”: a
working title for ’33.
“Kong’s unfailing
ability to destroy the things he loves.”
Kong starts
grabbing every blonde he sees. From the real jungle to the urban/concrete
jungle.
The trolley attack
references the train attack in ’33.
The military
attacking Kong makes me think of a Japanese kaiju film.
Wow. The biplanes
deploy without anyone talking about it. Dang!
I wonder which cameos
were in the planes Kong destroyed?
Now the pilots see
Ann. They only almost killed her once.
The soldiers pose and
smile over Kong’s corpse. Sensationalize.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon by Ray Morton:
Robert Zemeckis
would’ve been the executive on Jackson’s 1997 script for Kong if it was filmed.
The Frighteners
poor performance shook Universal’s confidence in Jackson.
Jack Driscoll was
modeled after Arthur Miller (All My Sons,
Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge).
Jackson sought to
combine elements of Cooper’s beastly Kong with de Laurentiis’s more romantic
Kong. Saw him as a battle-hardened silverback. He told the Los Angles times he
saw Kong as “a very old gorilla [that has] never felt a single bit of empathy
for another living creature during his long…brutal life.” Kong intended to kill
Ann, “and then he slowly moves away from that and it comes full circle.”
Nathan’s Unused Notes – “King Kong’s Melancholly” by
Cynthia Erb:
Jackson called Universal’s cancelation of his original Kong script “the blackest day in my entire career.”
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is melancholy and shifts the emphasis from horror to mood and tears because Watts’ Ann cries more than she screams.
Argues that the extended cut frames Kong as an invader and presents the U.S. as “a bullying global entity at a stage of late empire” a la Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Says Jackson’s Kong reframes history through a modern lens (9/11 allegory).
Uses the “Depression” to set a mood of “depression.” Focused on objects, which leads to melancholy. Watts’ Ann is earthy, hungry.
This Ann is less afraid of predatory men than of being put into a “standardized role.” An indication of modernity. She gets up to leave when Denham wonders if she’d fit in a size four dress.
Says Black’s manic Denham makes him a character type called an intriguer or schemer, which also characterized Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello. This forms a “dyadic relationship” with the depressive Kong.
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is driven not by a sex drive but by a “death drive.” Jacqueline Rose: “The death drive is identified by Freud in the moment when the child seeks to master absence by staging the recall of the lost object, but finds it can only do so by first making the object disappear. This allows the child to achieve its aim only by repeating the very moment it is designed to avoid.” Compares Kong to Norman Bates in Psycho. Compulsive repetition.
The Manhattanites and Islanders are paralleled in that both are shown to survivors in a harsh environment.
Argues that the overzealous soldiers attacking Kong in Central Park, seeing him as an invader and New York as “sacred ground,” is an allegory for 9/11. Argues that this goes further with the skeletal Empire State Building in the morning, which parallels Art Spiegelman’s 9/11 memoir In the Shadow of No Towers. Kong seemingly mouthing “beautiful” on top of the structure recalls how American towers were seen as “utopian gestures…transcendental, sky-catching, awesome” (Mark Kingwell).
https://gfycat.com/flatwhichaustralianfurseal
Well, I’m glad that’s
done. If you read the whole thing, congrats!
Join us next week for a
(hopefully) much shorter episode on another epic: the 1959 Toho classic The Three Treasures, starring Toshiro
Mifune. Then the “Kong Quest” enters the MonsterVerse with Kong: Skull Island in April with Dallas Mora of Geek Devotions as the guest host.
Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy #JimmyFromNASALives #WeShallOvercome
It’s an epic episode for
an epic movie! No, not that stupid
parody film. Nathan is joined by Daniel DiManna, the creator and author of The Godzilla
Novelization Project, to discuss Peter Jackson HUGE 2005 remake of King Kong. (Although, Danny had to
survive a harrowing trip to Monster Island with the podcast’s intrepid
producer, Jimmy From NASA, and a
certain robot dinosaur to do so). Only Peter Jackson, who was fresh off of The Lord of the Rings, could’ve made a
three hour film about a giant monkey, er, ape. Nathan and Danny do a deep dive
into the film’s characters, themes, and story while struggling not to get Jack
Driscoll and Jack Black confused. They freely admit this is the one giant
monster movie that makes them cry. They also learn that the young man named
Jimmy in this film may or may not be the podcast’s producer. (Confused? Join
the club). The Toku Topic is vaudeville since Ann Darrow in this film is a
vaudeville performer before getting work on Carl Denham’s movie.
Nathan promises to not
make a habit of producing episodes that cross what Danny calls “the Kurosawa
threshold.” 😛
Timestamps: Intro: 0:00-6:08
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:08-15:29
Toku Talk: 15:29-1:55:52
Toku Topic: 1:55:52-2:29:43
Outro: 2:29:43-end
King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray
to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton
“King Kong’s
Melancholy: A Reading of Peter Jackson’s King
Kong” by Cynthia Erb (from Tracking
King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture, 2nd Edition)
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
A Night in Vaudeville (King Kong Blu-Ray)
Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong (King
Kong Blu-Ray)
Hello again! It is time
once again for another installment of “Jimmy riffs Nathan and publishes his
unused notes.” Better known as Jimmy’s Notes.
Last
week Nathan covered the nearly forgotten kaiju film Varan the Unbelievable.(He
also talked about it on Geek Devotions,
using it to discuss how faith and science are not incompatible, which I enjoyed
filming). I will just be sharing his unused notes from when he re-watched the
film as part of his grad school independent study on Ishiro Honda. He did
highlight portions of his sources for that paper, but since he included them in
the shownotes, I will not post them. (Besides, my previous Jimmy’s Notes blog was
huge, and I already know my next one
on Peter Jackson’s King Kong will be
as long as that film).
So, without further ado….
Nathan’s Notes on the Film:
One of the highlights of this lackluster film is [Akira] Ifukube’s score. It’s quite good and would be recycled later. Music after credits reminds me of destroying the controller in Destroy All Monster. (That control device is on display in a small museum here on the Island, by the way. –Jimmy)
Talks about spaceflight but says there are still mysteries on earth; “most mysterious story ever told.” Hyperbole. (I have been to Venus. The mysteries there are far more interesting—like how it is somehow still there despite, you know, exploding during the War in Space. –Jimmy)
Villagers think the outsiders are monsters. Ignore them.
“It’s too early for monsters.” Did you forget you’re in a Toho movie? (To paraphrase a once-popular meme about video games: “Kaiju are common and frequently fight in public.” –Jimmy)
Varan’s intro is actually pretty good. Jaws-like.
Yuriko is surprisingly calm considering her brother died. Bold girl reporter. Sekizawa trademark.
Bus driver says no one goes to the village. (Probably because Varan kills people over butterflies. You should see how he reacts to other kaiju pestering Mothra. It is not pretty, but the tourists get a kick out of the occasional fights. –Jimmy)
Similar to Ainu; Ifukube infuses Ainu music in this score.
Dog is named Chibee. Japanese word for small. (Except it is actually spelled “chibi” and is Japanese slang. –Jimmy)
These first three characters are entertaining and funny and actually have some vim. Then they disappear halfway in.
Varan appears 21 minutes in. (Nathan has clocked the monster’s first appearance in all of these movies since fans complained about Godzilla not showing up for 45 minutes in the 2014 film. He argues this was done in the Japanese films, he seems to be right. Wow. I said something nice. I am losing my touch. –Jimmy)
This film has lots of issues, but suit/creature design isn’t one of them. Varan is quite impressive. Too bad he never came back. (Except in Destroy All Monsters, or did you forget that? And he almost came back, along with Anguirus, in GMK. –Jimmy)
When they return to the village, the priest is waving branch and chanting by fence as if that will stop Varan. Varan kills him while he chants “Forgive them! Forgive them!”
Varan’s rampage through the village is a highlight. Great suit, great destruction. [Haruo] Nakajima being awesome.
Another all-knowing dinosaur scientist.
“It’s big. You better get yourself a wide-angle lens.” Sekizawa humor.
After the village destruction, it starts to feel more padded as it goes. It gets really bad after they leave the village. A little too much detail with military.
The gas bomb mortars going into the water do look good. Classic Tsuburaya effects.
34:00: “That’s a lot of fish.” (And all of our readers/listeners groan. –Jimmy)
The three best characters get steadily less screen time as film progresses.
Professor wastes no time saying to kill monster. The Anti-Yamane.
These soldiers have the aim of Stormtroopers. (The Messiah 13 Aliens were not much better from what my War in Space buddies tell me. –Jimmy)
Varan coming out of water at 35:00 or so looks quite good.
Wind accompanies Varan. Supernatural? Godzilla 2014 with tsunami?
The first half of this movie feels unique. Godzilla meets Half Human or Rodan. Second half is run-of-the-mill monster stuff.
Varan’s roar is just a remixed Godzilla roar.
“Varan is indestructible!” No, you just have bad aim!
I see where Son of Godzilla got it with Kumonga getting in cave. Effective scene.
Professor just knows that Varan will respond to light. It’s what animals do, apparently. (The scientists here on the Island use some weird stuff—like bird calls—to maneuver the monsters around. –Jimmy)
Varan can fly! Cut from US version. Well, he glides. How does he sound like a jet?
47 minutes in, and it gets a heck of a lot less interesting.
[Akihiko] Hirata is in this! Barely.
This professor just exists to spout exposition and say you can’t kill Varan.
51:00: Varan approaching fishermen is very Jaws-like. The music especially.
55:00: Why would you fly that low and that close?! (A common problem when fighting kaiju. It seems soldiers forget basic tactics when fighting monsters. My military buddies cannot figure it out, either. –Jimmy)
Second half is largely action. Feels like a completely different movie. The music is still good.
63:00: Are they playing a miniatures game with a Varan figure? (You would buy that game in heartbeat, Nathan. You already have a few stuffed in your closet. –Jimmy)
65:00: Expertly edited home movies.
Super-bomb is weird. How does it explode better inside something? Makes no sense. (I was on a ship that inexplicably had a planet-busting bomb on it. All that to say, I do not get it, either. –Jimmy)
Climax is at Haneda Airport. Sky background is lacking. Can see strings pulling tanks. Not meant to be scrutinized. (Or seen in high-def, as you mentioned. –Jimmy)
Interesting how soldiers chicken out saying it’s beyond the call of duty, so Kenji the reporter has to drive the bomb to Varan. Sekizawa commentary?
Wow, that wasn’t suspenseful. He jogs away unharmed. (This is more common than many people realize. –Jimmy)
Rare time Nakajima got hurt on set when bomb explodes under Varan. (#firecrotch –Jimmy)
Sometimes Varan stands and sometimes he’s on all fours. Poor editing.
Now the military has good aim. 😛 (Varan lost his plot-armor. That is more durable than adamantium! –Jimmy)
Varan: “Stop attacking me with stock footage!” (Stock footage is the worst. The Messiah 13 Aliens’ attack on New York looked like The Last War and…my…family…died…).
This movie has such truncated time. Bomb explodes in 30 minutes but 15 have already passed.
84:00: Varan becomes Godzilla for a second! (To quote MST3K, “Space is warped and time is bendable!” –Jimmy)
What a horrible way to die: exploded from the inside after swallowing bombs. Varan retreats to water. Ambiguous? (Well, he was brought to Monster Island in 1999, so he survived…somehow. I just work here, people! –Jimmy)
Announcer declares that mankind has won. (For now…. 😛 –Jimmy)
There you have it!
And now for the moment
you have all been waiting for! The winner of the Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt is Celeste Mora!
Congratulations!
The “Kong Quest”
continues in the next episode when Nathan is joined by the creator/author of
The Godzilla Novelization Project, Daniel DiManna to discuss the epic 2005
remake of King Kong.
Our next mini-sode will
cover another epic: 1959’s The Three
Treasures.
In Nathan’s continuing
series of mini-sodes on films covered by Bran Scherschel on Kaijuvision Radio
after Nathan left the show, he examines Ishiro Honda’s overlooked 1958 kaiju
film Varan the Unbelievable (or Daikaiju Baran). While Honda didn’t
think much of it (especially after its tumultuous production when the American
TV network co-producing it pulled out), it was the first kaiju film written for
Toho by the fabled Shinichi Sekizawa. The second half is a by-the-numbers
monster movie, but the first half is intriguing because it touches on then contemporary
issues with the burakumin, a
discriminated social class in Japan. Their name means “village people” (no, not
the disco band!), and they were essentially the “untouchables” of Japanese
culture for centuries. When seen through that lens, this film offers more than
a cool kaiju.
After that, Nathan reads
some listener feedback, including a letter from someone who offers some
clarification on the (in)famous Batman
Meets Godzilla script.
Speaking of which, Batman Meets Godzilla,
one of the craziest yet most intriguing lost projects made famous by John
LeMay’s book, The Big Book of Japanese
Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (which now has a new “mutated”
edition), is being adapted into a fan-made comic book miniseries!
T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY:
Everyone who shares the Facebook and Twitter posts for this episode (or tags
the show when they share it themselves) will be entered for a drawing for a Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt. (One
entry per person per social media). Entries will be taken from February 26 to March
4 at 11:59pm (EST). The winner must then send Nathan his/her shirt size, shirt
color, and mailing address to be forwarded to the team at Batman Meets Godzilla. Here’s a link to the Tee Public site with this
epic shirt.
Last week’s episode on King Kong Liveswas certainly an interesting one. It was both informative and entertaining. Nathan “survived” in true Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fashion while John LeMay made a valiant defense of the movie. I did not pipe in as much because, as listeners will remember, John and I had a spat when I refused to show him my garage. I did not get a chance to explain it was because I needed to make sure it was clean and safe for visitors. That was all.
Anyway, here are my notes
on the episode:
I did not want to disappoint you on the air, John, but I am actually a natural brunette. I dye my hair red. In other words, I still have a soul. Or did I lose it when I dyed my hair?
About those so-called “magic artificial hearts”: The Island’s Board of Directors acquired Dr. Amy Franklin’s design and attempted to improve upon it. I can neither confirm nor deny that experiments may have been conducted on kaiju that aren’t as big a draw for Tourists….
Baby Kong was played by seven-year-old Benjamin Kechley. And yes, I think he should have bragging rights for life.
Surprisingly, Nathan was wrong about the Superman film John was talking about. (He is as obsessed with superheroes as he is kaiju. God help me when he takes a deep dive into Ultraman…). It was Superman II from 1980 that had the Eiffel Tower scene, which did involve terrorists with hostages and a bomb. You can watch it here and here.
I have a plenty of material to do a War in Space panel at G-Fest, John. I mean, I lived it. And miraculously survived it. But like Nathan said, someone has to take care of the studio while he is gone, and we are more or less a two-man operation. Maybe I will get some time off when the film’s 45th anniversary rolls around….
Here’s a link to the Godziban playlist on the official Toho Godzilla YouTube channel. It is the show Nathan and John mention briefly where Godzilla Junior and Minya get along. I cannot vouch for its accuracy.
John is both right and wrong about the dinosaur fights in the Lovelace novelization. Kong does fight a triceratops—several, in fact—but he later he also fights a “meat-eater” dinosaur, which may or may not have been a T-Rex. There is some debate over it.
It’s “Monsterverse” not “Godzilla universe,” John. 😛
The confusing things about Kong: King of Skull Island is there appears to be two of them. Maybe? Here is this on Amazon (and Wikizilla), but there’s also a Kickstarter for an illustrated version in 2018. I am guessing the latter is what sparked the lawsuit they mention.
The person John could not remember who pitched Skull Island: Blood of the Kong with Neil Marshall was Simon Uttley.
The Kong Netflix series is Kong: King of the Apes. It is a children’s series and currently has two seasons. Here is a link to its official page.
Here
are the many notes Nathan did not get to during the episode. Admittedly, some
of them are riffs that require context not given in the note. Basically, watch
the film chronologically (if you dare!) and you may be able to find what he is
talking about. So, buckle up because there is a lot.
They edited in different roars for the flashback. Not as good.
I wonder how much Bridges and Lange were paid for that stock footage?
Music courtesy of John Williams’ leftovers.
How is Kong not a furry mound of jelly?
Admittedly, this continuous opening shot for the credits isn’t bad.
We see Lady Kong in less than 8 minutes. (Kong meets a female of his species and suddenly forgets about blondes?) (Mrs. Kong theory from episode 4).
“Can you hear me now?” Verizon, anyone?
“I’m in love with a gorilla!”
Disneyland? Why not Universal Studios?
“The only living ape.” Because all the normal-sized ones have died out in ten years?
“I left a trail of bananas.” Don’t make fun of yourself, movie. That’s my job!
As usual, Kong breaks his chains of captivity.
Did those apes just have a love at first sight moment?
Yeah, the dozers will stop him.
“They’ll need a doctor after they get a whiff of this gas.” I never should’ve eaten that breakfast burrito!
The action hero trope: the big bad male hero can take a beating and not flinch, but he winces when a woman tends his wounds. Nice job, Kong.
Are those natives on Kong’s Island burnt out drunks like Jack said? Would they let outsiders build a reserve then?
Welcome to Movie Land, where people fall in love and make out at the drop of a hat. Justification: This is what primates do.
Oh no! The flamethrowers return! How is Kong not PTSD-ing right now?
There’s a torrential downpour, but the sun is out.
There are a lot of pop culture references in this. Indiana Jones. Deliverance. Juicy Fruit.
You’re telling me none of the doctors the military brought in figured out Lady Kong was pregnant?
There are points this feels more like a post-1976 King Kong knockoff than an actual Kong film.
Don’t you guys know that Kong hates flashbulbs?
“Well, Kong, you’ve killed now. Nothing will stop them from killing you now.” Did you miss the first movie?
Kong is a tactician. He throws pocket sand at the military before attacking. 😛 (“Pocket sand!” -Dale from King of the Hill).
These are Nathan’s
leftover notes from King Kong: History of
a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton:
De Laurentiis
wanted to do a sequel from get-go. At one point even discussed a
Frankenstein-like idea with Semple.
Sequel never
manifested because De Laurentiis was either disappointed it didn’t out-gross Jaws or because he didn’t want to have
to deal with Universal.
In the ensuing
years, he bought Embassy Pictures and made it into his own studio, De
Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG).
John Guillermin
returned as director. Both he and De Laurentiis had lost sons in the
intervening years, so their relationship had mellowed.
Carlo Rambaldi was
brought back on for the special effects. He’d won several Oscars for his work
since 1976.
Despite not liking
the script, Brian Kerwin took the role because he was offered lots and money
and he was the lead. He said later that monkey was the lead and he was set
dressing. He also wanted to be picked up by Kong.
New suit actors were
brought in, both male. Kong’s hair was Icelandic yak fur.
They tried to make
Kong ’86 look like Kong ’76, but it didn’t quite work. The former is brown and
the latter black. Face was different with more expressive mask.
Kong’s biological
heart is a replica of a real gorilla heart. The artificial heart is a fantasy
creation. Kerwin considered making it into a coffee table.
Ran into budget
problems because DEG was hit hard by new tax laws. Some sequences were trimmed
or eliminated. It wasn’t filmed in Brazil and Jamaica and instead was filmed in
Tennessee and Wilmington.
All the fake blood
in the Kong transplant scene made an extra pass out.
Kerwin read all 22
Travis McGee novels in his downtime. One actor directed community theatre!
Kerwin said de
Laurentiis was “braggadocious and stingy.”
Guillermin was
mellower but often still intense.
Hamilton was in a
bad mood all the time according to Kerwin.
Baker refused to come
back due to unreasonable conditions and the Oscars dustup, so it went to Peter
Elliott, an acrobat and veteran costume performer. He did ape choreography in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. His
friend George Yiasomi played Lady Kong, but a “Greek guy” was brought in to do
the close-ups of her eyes.
The actors played
the apes like animals around each other and more human-like around humans.
Elliot based his performance on James Dean! (Indiana connection!)
The courtship
scene was over-the-top but Elliott based their actions on real apes but
performed it in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
No Oscars noms,
but Rambaldi was nominated for a Razzie for worst visual effects.
“You’ve got
Indiana Jones.” Now there’s a crossover I’d love to see! Now there is a crossover
I’d watch in a heartbeat! Pun intended. #KingKong #KingKongLives
“Lady Kong”? Is it
because “Queen Kong” was taken in a slightly better movie?
These doctors are
performing surgery with giant egg beaters? #KingKong #KingKongLives
Let’s spend
millions of dollars to resurrect the rampaging monster who killed dozens of
people and cost millions and property damage. This can only ending [in] good.
#KingKong #KingKongLives
That’s not an
artificial hard—it’s a submarine! Makes me wish this was a crossover between
#KingKong and Fantastic Voyage. #KingKongLives
“#KingKong, you
just came back from the dead! What are you going to do next?“ “Get laid.” That
must’ve been one heck of a wet dream he was having for 10 years.
You know your
sequel is in trouble when the flashback to the mediocre remake has the best
special-effects.#KingKong #KingKongLives
“The other monkeys
going ape $&@#!” [L]eave the bad puns to me, movie.#KingKong #KingKongLives
#KingKong and Lady
Kong: Still a better love story than #Twilight. #KingKongLives
Lady Kong is
scared of (normal-sized) snakes. Of course. #KingKong #KingKongLives
If all it took to
get a girlfriend was dying and being resurrected, I have tried it a long time
ago. #KingKong #KingKongLives
“Bring in the Big
Bird!” Hey, it’s not yellow and teaching me to count! #KingKong #KingKongLives
It was a lack of
protein killed the beast. And no wonder: he keeps eating rubber gators.
When you howl at
the moon, sometimes the moon howls back.#KingKong #KingKongLives
Please, sir, I
want some more stomach blows. #KingKong #KingKongLives
#KingKong almost
became a slasher movie villain by killing some horny teenagers. All he was
missing was a knife and a huge hockey mask. Yet another amusing crossover: King
Kong and Friday the 13th. #KingKongLives
#KingKong:
Defeated by rednecks. I was an icon once. #KingKongLives
“My dad’s gonna
kill me! We didn’t switch to Geico and add giant monkey insurance!“ #KingKong
#KingKongLives
Lt. Cola? Is that
soda for soldiers? I guess if #Godzilla endorses Dr. Pepper, Kong should get
something. #KingKong #KingKongLives (Lt. Col. A. Nevitt). Haha!
Kong: I ate
red(neck) meat! I’m not afraid to eat white (guy) meat! #KingKong
#KingKongLives
#KingKong just
crashed a hoedown. Now I’ve seen everything. #KingKongLives
Is this general
play[ed] by our young Don Frye? Is he Captain Gordon’s grandpa? #KingKong
#KingKongLives
So what if
#KingKong is dead. Just cure him with another artificial heart. #KingKongLives
From the World
Trade Center to a barn in redneck country. Talk about coming down in life.
#KingKong #KingKongLives
Finally, here are some
unused notes about the convoluted King Kong copyright:
Supposedly Eisner
also discussed the idea with Sidney Sheinberg, chief operating officer of MCA
(Universal), which was hot off the positive early reviews for Jaws and wanted
another marauding animal film. Negotiations started around the same time as De
Laurentis. Agreed to pay same amount up front but balked at sharing the gross.
Lots of studio politics involved. Word has it that the Universal offer was
preferred. Attorney Arnold Shane thought Universal won the rights, and
Stromberg hired Oscar-winning screenwriter Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest, Melviun and Howard) to write a script. Meanwhile, De Laurentis’ offer was
accepted. Universal protested saying that despite not signing a written
contract, they took Daniel O’Shea’s supposed comment as a binding verbal
agreement. Universal sued for $25 million in damages in June 1975 accusing
RKO-General of “breach of contract” and “fraud” and De Laurentis of
international interference with advantageous business relations” and “unfair
competition.” De Laurentis was surprised by Universal’s claim but thought it
was invalid because he had a signed contract, so he pressed on confidently.
Sept. 1975:
Superior Court of LA dismissed Universal’s claim, saying the verbal agreement
was “tissue-paper thin.” Universal then filed a second claim having learned the
novelization of Kong, which had some different material, had fallen into the
public domain in 1960 thanks to the Copyright Law of 1909 that set the
copyright to 28 years. The studio claimed they weren’t infringing on RKO’s
films—the “new” material—while the “old material” was in public domain. They
announced their new film would be based on the novel, and told Bo Goldman to
revise his script to conform to the novel. Joseph Sargent (Colossus: The Forbin
Project, The Taking Pelham 123) was hired to direct. De Laurentis said he would
start casting in December for his film. Unsure if the name King Kong was owned
by RKO, they changed their film’s title to The Legend of King Kong to be
safe. De Laurentis responded by changing
his to King Kong: The Legend Reborn.
RKO filed a
countersuit November 20 against Universal in Federal District Court for $5
million for copyright infringement and asked for an injunction for the studio
to stop promoting the film. De Laurentis filed his own suit December 4 for $90
million in damages caused by “copyright infringement and unfair competition.”
He also filed an injunction against Universal. Universal forced the issue by
saying they’d start filming Jan. 5, which was a bluff. The market would only support one remake, and
whoever started shooting first would likely win. De Laurentis moved production
up, hastily starting Jan. 15 and having the crew work 16-hour days. This
required money he didn’t have, but he was determined.
Universal
allegedly approached De Laurentis about settling after he announced when they’d
begin filming. They discussed a joint production, but De Laurentis didn’t like
Universal’s demands. They wanted their script to be used and merchandising and
sequel rights. Barry Diller and
Paramount threatened to pull out if he didn’t settle, so he started talking
with Universal.
De Laurentis and
Ubniversial announced Jan. 28, 1976, that they’d reached agreement. Universal
got 8% or 11% percent of De Laurentis’ profits, certain merchandising rights
and profits, and veto power on sequels by agreeing to cancel their film. They could also start their own film so long
as it was 18 months after the release of De Laurentis’ film. If it was hit,
there would be no need, and if it was a flop, there would no interest in one.
Silly move. Universal didn’t get to make their own until 2005 with Peter
Jackson. The lawsuit was settled in September.
Oh man. This might be my longest Jimmy’s Notes yet. This is what happens when you are a producer on a podcast with a host who over-prepares. My contractual obligation to post all of these in my blog does not help. You win that front, Marchand!
Anyway, join us next week
when Daniel DiManna of the Godzilla Novelization
Project joins us to discuss Peter Jackson’s epic 2005 remake of King Kong.
Despite a slight delay thanks to MIFV mascots Goji-kun and Bro Kong hiding Nathan’s laptop, the unavoidable has happened: King Kong Lives. John LeMay, author of Kong Unmade and other kaiju books, returns to Monster Island to discuss the Godzilla vs. Megalon of the Kong series—and John un-ironically likes it! This ill-fated sequel to Dino de Laurentiis’s 1976 remake stars Linda Hamilton, fresh off of her star-making role in The Terminator, as a scientist who resurrects King Kong with an artificial heart…because that cures falling off of a building. Not only that, he “falls in love” with Lady Kong, a female giant gorilla, which leads to most of the Kong film tropes getting turned on their ears. Also, King Kong eats rednecks. Yep. Nathan goes full-tilt MST3K with this movie, but he riffs because he loves. That is, when he isn’t mediating a conflict between John and the show’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA. The Toku Topic is the convoluted King Kong copyright, which came to a head twice when Universal tried to sue Dino de Laurentiis in the 1970s and Nintendo in the early 1980s. Hear all about it in the newest episode of The Monster Island Film Vault!
You can buy the hardcover of John’s book Kong Unmade on Amazon.
With there being five
Wednesdays in January (for which I’m grateful because it gives me an extra week
to edit the next episode), I thought I’d give all of you a bonus blog. I toyed
with several ideas, but it was my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, who suggested a blog
on his Entertaining Info Dump. Normally, I’d have only done it because of those
darn contractual obligations, but it’s also been a part of the podcast that
listeners have appreciated, so it’s worth giving a peek behind the curtain to
explain it.
Believe it or not, Jimmy based it on the “film descriptions” Brian Scherschel and I developed on my previous podcast, Kaijuvision Radio. Apparently, Jimmy was a fan of the show before I left it. As he said on the first episode of MIFV, this was a great way to get preliminary information out of the way before diving into the film discussion. It’s also more interesting to listen to than a simple plot synopsis and, well, info dump. You can get all of that from a wiki page. Several of them, actually. They also make it possible to compare these films to each other.
There are different
subheadings for these essays, although they’re never mentioned. Those
subheadings are:
The (primary)
kaiju plot line and characteristics/goals
Other kaiju plot
lines and characteristics/goals
The human plot
line
Human and kaiju
plot intermix level
Attempts to solve
the issue at hand
How the issue is
resolved
Story complexity
Production quality
Light/Dark Tone,
gravity/seriousness, and fantasy/reality
Experimentation
level
Reinforcement vs.
Expansion of Style
Movie purpose and
demographics
Success Level
Difference between
original version of that film and the other versions
The forces at play
The theme(s)
Most of these are
self-explanatory. The first half or so summarizes the most important facets of
the film’s story. All but the last two give production and background information
on each movie. The last two focus on thematic elements.
However, there are two
that Jimmy insists I highlight because one is unique and the other could be
confused with it. That being the “expansion vs. reinforcement of style” and “experimentation
level.”
What do we mean by expansion
and reinforcement of style? With long-running franchises and series like King Kong
(or Godzilla), some entries introduce new story types, tropes, or other elements
that are emulated in later ones. They’re the films that break the mold, the
firsts of their kind. This is admittedly a little subjective, especially since
some films have a mix of both, but these elements can be objectively identified.
For example, Son of Kong was an
expansion of style for the Kong films because it introduced the idea of a Kong offspring
and was the first “Son/Daughter of…” type film to come out in any film series.
However, King Kong Escapes, while
primarily a reinforcement of the styles of King
Kong (1933) and The King Kong Show,
did make one expansion by having a “love interest” who sympathized with Kong.
Experimentation level, on
the other hand, would have to involve risk-taking. It isn’t simply adding new
things to a film. They have to be elements that are so different from the
previous films in the series that it might disappoint the audience or
disinterest them. For example, it was a risky move for Dino de Laurentiis to
set his 1976 remake in (then) present day because the original was firmly set
in 1933. It’s a rare to see a film that is both an expansion of style and
experimental. It doesn’t always make it good, but it’s always interesting.
Honestly, with the films we’ve covered so far in the “Kong Quest” ( 😛 ), the
only one that truly qualifies as both is the 1933 original (although, that’ll
change next week).
If you’d like to learn
more about the Entertaining Info Dump, I recommend listening to the bonus
feature Mr. Scherschel and I did on the film descriptions for KVR.
Until then, get ready for
the next week’s episode on the worst film covered on MIFV so far: King Kong Lives!
