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Special Report #3: ‘Skull Island’ (Netflix “Anime,” 2023) | Ft. The Cel Cast

Published July 22, 2023

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! We interrupt our regular episode schedule for a “special report” on the Skull Island “anime” from Netflix and Powerhouse Animation. (Yes, the first “special report” was an experiment and the other a gag, but work with us). Obviously, Nate calls on his animation experts, Drew and Jacob of The Cel Cast, to discuss this, well, train wreck. SPOILER WARNING: It’s the worst thing in the MonsterVerse (although, its place in that shared universe is dubious). It has maybe 1.5 good episodes out of eight. But prepare yourselves, Kaiju Lovers, for Nate to “cross the podcast streams” for the most epic “rantmaster” ever on MIFV! (Take that, Little Orphan Annie!)

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org.

Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip.

Read Kaiju Ramen Magazine (https://kaijuramenmedia.com/).

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander; Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Eric Anderson of Nerd Chapel, Ted Williams, Wynja the Ninja, Brad “Batman” Eddleman, Christopher Riner, The Indiscrite One, Jake Hambrick, Edwin Gonzalez, Matthew Walsh, and Jonathan Courtright! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault)

Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop)

This episode is approved by Cameron Winter and the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:

  • Intro: 0:00-15:47
  • Main Discussion: 15:47-1:42:52
    • Plot: 15:47-32:20
    • Style: 32:20-51:39
    • Theme: 51:39-59:19
    • Characters: 59:19-1:42:52
  • Housekeeping & Outro: 1:42:52-end

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 14 – Dallas Mora vs. Kong: Skull Island’

Published April 15, 2020

Having spent a few weeks bandaging my bruised ego after the Island’s Board of Directors bamboozled me, I’ve decided to channel my inner Joel Robinson by riffing Nathan and Dallas’ discussion of Kong: Skull Island. That always cheers me up. (That and Baby Yoda).

Here we go!

  • Dallas meant to say “Goji-Kong” and not “Goji-kun.” He gave our mascots/resident gremlins that “duo name” before the broadcast but misspoke on the air.
  • The actor from Godzilla (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron Nathan couldn’t remember was Aaron Taylor-Johnson. You lost some serious nerd points there, Marchand. (Also, he was the star of Kick-Ass).
  • IMDB does claim that James Conrad was likely named after author Joseph Conrad. It also mentions that Marlow was named after the protagonist in the author’s most famous novel, heart of Darkness. But this is IMDB we’re talking about here, so it may require a kaiju-sized grain of salt.
  • The Legendary Godzilla actually appeared throughout history and inspired mythologies, but this was between long naps. He was awakened by nuclear submarine on accident in 1954, which led to the Castle Bravo test meant to kill him.
  • Nathan neglected to mention that the town of Brookings, Oregon, has a 400-year-old samurai sword from a Japanese fighter pilot on display. Read about it here.
  • It was five months after the Cubs won (October 2016-March 2017). Nathan, you never were good at math-ing.
  • The name of Marlow’s Japanese friend was Gunpei Ikari. You lost some more nerd points there, Nathan.
  • The name of the Chinese actress was Jing Tian. Her role was originally larger, but it was reduced through cuts to the movie. Interestingly, in Chinese her role is described as “hua ping” which refers to a vase. As in an insignificant role.
  • The actor who played young Marlow and Marlow’s son was Will Britain.
  • No, I will not share the vacation photo I slipped into the slideshow briefing. The Internet couldn’t handle it.
  • It’s called a dump button, Nathan. “Drop button.” Sheesh!
  • Oldboy is no longer on Netflix, at least in the U.S.
  • Dallas, you said “literally” when you meant “figuratively”! I’m surprised Nathan didn’t chew you out for that. I would’ve said something, but it wasn’t that important.
  • Actually, from what I can tell, U.S. troop deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq are comparable to the Vietnam War. There’ve been 775,000 troops deployed at least once to Afghanistan. Mind you, those weren’t all at once. There were 340,000 U.S. troops stationed in and around Iraq when Baghdad fell in 2005, with 235,000 engaged in the war.
  • “Eight month hiatus” for the “Kong Quest” (ba-dun-ching)? More like seven months, Nathan (April-November). Again, you’ve never been good with numbers. 😛

And now to fulfill my contractual obligations, here are Nathan’s leftover notes:

The Film

  • Starts in WWII. Conflict between American and Japanese fighter pilot. Foreshadows Kong and Godzilla? The Japanese pilot is never seen after the opening, which is disappointing.
  • Young Marlow is a terrible shot.
  • “Skull Island: The land where God did not finish creation.” Interesting. “A place where myth and science meet.” Describes the MonsterVerse.
  • It’s implied that Hiddleston is also a disgraced soldier hardened by the war and the public.
  • Larson gives a much better performance here than in Captain Marvel. I actually like her here. She isn’t a block of wood.
  • This briefing scene is similar to one from Kong ’76. The island is also obscured by a perpetual storm, which is like the fog of ’76, but a little crazy.
  • How many helicopters are there? The number seems to shift.
  • I can’t help but think the close-ups of the Nixon bobblehead during Jackson’s Icarus speech and whatnot are meant to be commentaries on the war and foolhardiness. 
  • Once they reach the island in 27 minutes, it really starts to feel like Apocalypse Now. That’s interesting because this film was largely shot in Vietnam. Director Vogt-Roberts became very fond of the country.
  • Kong’s anti-copter tree attack returns from King Kong Escapes!
  • This version of Skull Island has the most diverse wildlife. The giant buffalo is one of the most interesting.
  • The hollow Earth theory is brought up here for the first time.
  • I’ve been told the soldier being impaled by the bamboo spider was inspired by a film I never want to see: Cannibal Holocaust.
  • In this film we see Kong hunt.
  • The natives here are a bit odd. They have no crime or personal property (“beyond all that”). They don’t speak much. They have hallowed ground dedicated to Kong and will cut off people’s hands if they touch the wrong thing.
  • Kong is the god of the island, but the devils live below. “Kong is king around here.” Said like that because of copyright? This breaks the tradition of “King” not being given to him until he’s taken to civilization.
  • There’s still a wall like in most Kong films.
  • I feel sorry for this young guy. He wanders around alone for a long time and dies alone.
  • “The dangerous places are the most beautiful.” -Conrad
  • Like in 2005, Kong is lonely and the last of his kind, but he doesn’t seek companionship from a specific human. The closest is the tribe, which he protects.
  • The scientist getting dismembered by the lizard birds is…gruesome. Visceral.
  • “I’ve taken enough photos of mass graves to recognize one.” I don’t think this quite qualifies.
  • John Goodman gets killed off too soon, although he does help set up a cool set piece. He reminds me of the professor from Jurassic Park.
  • Man, that katana is sharp! It slices through lizard bird like paper!
  • There’s a lot of respect shown to the military and soldiers in this film.
  • In some ways, this film is an overcompensation for the perceived “problems” of G2014. The daylight complaint I’m tired of hearing. Some say it’s because it’s easier to hide SFX problems at night, but in this film, the characters aren’t brightly colored or have colorful attacks, so daylight makes sense.
  • FPS shots!
  • Kong is angry not only because his family is dead and he’s the last of his kind, but also because humans and Skullcrawlers keep invading his home. He attacks and kills humans intentionally because of this (unlike Godzilla). (Omni Viewer).
  • Packard dies just before Jackson can say his “famous line.”
  • 1:37:00: Vertigo shot!
  • Once again Kong is caught in chains that he breaks. In this case, it wasn’t chains of captivity. Strength overcoming hardship. He then uses them and the boat rotors as weapons.
  • Kong saves Mason and golds her in his hand, but that’s the closest we get to classic Kong. Miraculously, she isn’t crushed in his hand when the Big One swallows Kong’s hand. Good thing she was unconscious.
  • Kong kills the Big One, it’s implied, out of gratitude for the protagonists helping him with Packard.
  • Director Vogt-Roberts wanted Kong to move like a mech, which is weird.
  • Vogt-Roberts went on a Twitter rant when CinemaSins released their video on the film.
  • Vogt-Roberts says he was reinventing the story not as man vs. nature but as man vs. god. Didn’t want to retell the beauty and the beast story.
  • Vogt-Roberts says in the 1970s, people were actively destroying myth, but these characters go where it still exists.
  • Kong needs to be huge to small his grandiosity, humans in the shadow of the colossus.
  • Vogt-Roberts says he loves flawed characters because that makes them interesting.
  • Vogt-Roberts did hope that people walked away wondering what role myth and nature play in their lives.
  • Early concepts were more gorilla-like, but Vogt-Roberts wanted him to be more movie monster, more Neanderthal-like.
  • ILM used komodo dragons, deer, and buffalo for reference for the Skullcrawlers. Looked at how deer and buffalo thrust their heads getting up.
  • Those working on the film say every Kong film brings with it technical innovation.
  • Most Americans know Vietnam through the war, and those photos were from the siuth. The north has completely different landscape. “Like a matte paiting.” –Vogt-Roberts
  • Brie Larson worked with real photographer and war correspondents. Her camera was real. She took photos on set. On blu-ray. Some used in film, some not.
  • Symbols painted on Iwi skin and woven into their clothing as form of communication and camouflage. They’re not indigenous. Collection of people who were stranded on island.
  • Post-credit scene wasn’t always in film. Vogt-Roberts believed in it, but it took a new technician who hadn’t seen the film before to say it should be included.

The Toku Topic

  • Soldiers grew more restless and doubted their purpose for being there and the government’s reasoning for doing so. Many suffered from PTSD and turned to vices like drugs. “On the collapse of U.S. morale, historian Shelby Stanton wrote: ‘In the last years of the Army’s retreat, its remaining forces were relegated to static security. The American Army’s decline was readily apparent in this final stage. Racial incidents, drug abuse, combat disobedience, and crime reflected growing idleness, resentment, and frustration… the fatal handicaps of faulty campaign strategy, incomplete wartime preparation, and the tardy, superficial attempts at Vietnamization. An entire American army was sacrificed on the battlefield of Vietnam.’” (Wikipedia)
  • ROTC enrollment dropped drastically from 191,749 in 1966 to 72,459 by 1971, and reached an all-time low of 33,220 in 1974,” depriving the military of much-needed leadership. (Wikipedia)
  • “In 1970, a joint U.S-South Vietnamese operation invaded Cambodia, hoping to wipe out DRV supply bases there. The South Vietnamese then led their own invasion of Laos, which was pushed back by North Vietnam. … The invasion of these countries, in violation of international law, sparked a new wave of protests on college campuses across America. During one, on May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen shot and killed four students. At another protest 10 days later, two students at Jackson State University in Mississippi were killed by police.” (History.com)
  • There was much insubordination among the ranks as the war went on (which sounds like the film when Packard’s men turn on him). “Ron Milam has questioned the severity of the ‘breakdown’ of the U.S. armed forces, especially among combat troops, as reflecting the opinions of ‘angry colonels’ (can you say Packard?) who deplored the erosion of traditional military values during the Vietnam War. Although acknowledging serious problems, he questions the alleged ‘near mutinous’ conduct of junior officers and enlisted men in combat. Investigating one combat refusal incident, a journalist declared, ‘A certain sense of independence, a reluctance to behave according to the military’s insistence on obedience, like pawns or puppets…The grunts [infantrymen] were determined to survive…they insisted of having something to say about the making of decisions that determined whether they might live or die.’ The morale and discipline problems and resistance to conscription were important factors leading to the creation of an all-volunteer military force by the United States and the termination of conscription. The last conscript was inducted into the army in 1973. The all-volunteer military moderated some of the coercive methods of discipline previously used to maintain order in military ranks.”
  • “President Ronald Reagan coined the term ‘Vietnam Syndrome’ to describe the reluctance of the American public and politicians to support further military interventions abroad after Vietnam. In the same speech, he voiced support for the war and its veterans, saying, “It is time we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause. A small country newly free from colonial rule sought our help in establishing self-rule and the means of self-defense against a totalitarian neighbor bent on conquest. We dishonor the memory of 50,000 young Americans who died in that cause when we give way to feelings of guilt as if we were doing something shameful, and we have been shabby in our treatment of those who returned. They fought as well and as bravely as any Americans have ever fought in any war. They deserve our gratitude, our respect, and our continuing concern.”
  • “The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, concerning the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as missing in action, persisted for many years after the war’s conclusion. The costs of the war loom large in American popular consciousness; a 1990 poll showed that the public incorrectly believed that more Americans lost their lives in Vietnam than in World War II.” (Wikipedia)

That’s everything for this week. My apologies for posting it late. With us pumping out bonus episodes to entertain and enlighten everyone in quarantine thanks to COVID-19, the episode took precedence over my blog.

Regardless, next week you’ll hear Nathan’s discussion of Battle in Outer Space—the second entry in Toho’s “pseudo-trilogy”—with Luke Jaconetti from the Earth Destruction Directive podcast. Then for the first episode in May, Nathan starts what could be called the “Summer of Mothra” with a discussion of Rebirth of Mothra with Bex from the Redeemed Otaku podcast.

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives
#WeShallOvercome

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 12: Daniel DiManna vs. King Kong (2005)’

Published March 18, 2020

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

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 8: Ben Avery vs. King Kong (1976)’

Published January 15, 2020

Our big year started with a big film when Nathan was joined by Ben Avery to discuss Dino de Laurentiis’ 1976 remake of King Kong. I have a lot to add and Nathan had plenty of leftover notes from re-watching the film. So, let’s started.

  • Nathan informed me after the fact that I forgot to mention that the film has a 5.9 score on IMDB with 28,249 ratings as of today. Oops. Okay, Nathan, you get one point on me. Don’t expect that to happen often!
  • The books Ben mentioned—as pointed out by a listener on Twitter—were the Crestwood Monster Series Books. Yes, they do go for a pretty penny now, although you can find them for reasonable prices if you search on eBay. (Weirdly enough, the King Kong book is on Amazon for only $15 in hardback!)
  • “Funnest,” Ben? I’d expect a professional writer like yourself to know that isn’t the proper superlative for that adjective (although I’m surprised it isn’t). The Law of Common Usage may make you right eventually, though.
  • I think it was more De Laurentiis making this film than Paramount, but, you know, details. 😛
  • Gorillas are apes, not monkeys, Ben! (see VeggieTales).
  • Actually, Ben, I do think you get a few decent close-ups of the “gorilla chief,” especially during the sacrifice scene where he’s dancing around like a male stripper on crack!
  • Wow, Ben, you outdid me. I couldn’t find those deleted/alternate scenes you mentioned were on YouTube. However, some of the scenes shown on the extended NBC TV version can be found on it.
  • It’s pronounced “kra-kn” not “krei-kn,” Ben.
  • Tim would be disappointed that Nathan forgot Charles Grodin was in The Great Muppet Caper. Shame. 😛
  • “Petra” is Greek for “rock,” so I assume it was used as the source word for Petrox (not to take away from the clever pun).
  • Nathan and I watched a POV video of the original Kong ride, “Kongfrontation,” at Universal Studios. He was doubly jealous when I told him I rode it back when it opened in 1977. 😛 Yes, there were Smellitzers” installed in the animatronic Kong’s mouth that emitted “banana breath.” (The scientists here on the Island tell me the real Kong’s breath is…well, in need of some kaiju-sized mouthwash).
  • Ben correctly identified the documentary as Man on Wire. It tells the true story of Phillippe Petit, who walked across a tightrope between the World Trade Center Towers in 1974. (This was illegal, by the way). Nathan wants to see it now.
  • According to Newsweek, there were gas stations owners who faced prosecution in 2001 for price gouging.
  • Your closing is cute, Ben, but I’m actually a Sagittarius. 😛 (Not that I believe in horoscopes. I am a man of science who knows what stars actually do: burn and gravitate). J

Now on to Nathan’s rather exhaustive notes from the film. He went through all his stuff for the 1973 oil crisis, but as Ben said, there is much to talk about with this film.

Nathan notes:

  • “Here’s to the big one.” Foreshadowing. (Hence why Nathan referenced it at the beginning of the episode. –Jimmy)
  • James Creelman, Ruth Rose, Merian C. Cooper, and Edgar Wallace are all credited as inspiration. Wow. (Probably for legal reasons. 😛 –Jimmy)
  • How do sailors deal with everything on a table moving during a stormy sea? It’s even worse when you’re drunk.
  • The island does appear to be shaped like a skull, although they never call it that.
  • It’s implied that Kong may be at least 400 years old (1605). Or he is the latest member of the species? At least that’s a little mythic.
  • “Spouting ape s—t.” Foreshadowing?
  • “Snapped a few monkeys.” More foreshadowing.
  • Jack and Dwan’s relationship does get at least a little more development in this compared to Jack and Ann.
  • Was Kong spotted on radar briefly?
  • How does Dwan not cause all kinds of trouble being the only woman on this ship? (When I flew on the Gohten, there was only one woman onboard, and the men behaved themselves—although that was probably because she was the captain’s daughter, so you may have a point there. Maybe. I’m not giving you another one this week, Marchand!)
  • Set off charges to map geological structure—just like in Skull Island!
  • I gotta say, the scenery in this is really pretty. It does make me wonder if Peter Jackson was influenced by this?
  • They say the wall is Egyptian like in the original.
  • Dwan says this is a wedding. Bride has a blonde headdress. Groom stand-in is dressed in ape mask and makes thrusting motions while dancing. Definitely indicates what they think happens. Very ‘70s.
  • The chief tries to trade six maidens for Dwan like in the original.
  • Jack speaks against colonialism by saying this isn’t the 19th century, so they can’t walk in and take their island.
  • Just like the original, the natives read the script and knew exactly where Dwan was. Somehow they keep her from not screaming much.
  • Did Dwan get drugged by natives? (Obviously, yes. –Jimmy)
  • It’s never explained why the natives want Dwan over their own girls. The original aid it was because she was blonde.
  • And so they recreate the iconic scene where the girl is tied to the…altar(?) and Kong comes through the trees and takes her. It’s surprisingly effective.
  • Kong appears 53 minutes in. (Which I think is proportional to the 1933 original where Kong appears 40 minutes into a 100 minute film. –Jimmy)
  • Dwan references Empire State Building.
  • There’s a Chinese cook (and masseuse?) like in the original.
  • “Turned on ape.” Constant sexual references. Very ‘70s
  • Stone towers foreshadow Twin Towers.
  • This time Kong undressing the girl does feel sexual, unlike the original. It’s unsettling.
  • A giant snake appears out of nowhere. Only other monster on island. Gory death when Kong breaks its jaw. Harkens back to original.
  • “Estimates monkey time”? Oh my…
  • Replicates the scene where Kong crashes through wall. A bit more spectacular because Kong actually smashes it.
  • Like original, Kong is knocked out with chloroform. Scene with his hand rising out of cloud of gas in hole is actually effective.
  • Jack opposes the exploitation of Kong, unlike original. Calls it a “grotesque farce.” The beauty and the beast show is frowned upon. Later calls it a “Tragedy.” Quits Wilson’s “circus” on principle.
  • The shot where Kong catches Dwan was a bit unimpressive.
  • There’s no mention of a legend of Kong before getting to island, unlike original.
  • One shot of Empire State Building.
  • How long did it take Wilson to put all this together? This is a lot of stuff.
  • Kong reaches into building and grabs Dwan like in original. This time, though, she doesn’t seem as resistant. Yet she still calls for help. Hmm…is she confused about how to feel? I don’t want to get into sex and consent right now.
  • Jack cheers when Kong kills soldiers. He is a hippie.

With that, the “Kong Quest” will with the…unfortunate sequel in next month’s main episode on King Kong Lives.

Join us next week for a mini-analysis of one of my favorite Toho tokusatsu films: The Mysterians.

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