Peter Jackson & KING KONG

KING KONG
A look at Peter Jackson's early career leading up to the originally planned 1996 KING KONG and the filmmaker's rise to A-List Hollywood dominance.
The '96 Kong project was ultimately cancelled by Universal.. But, following the success of 'The Lord Of The Rings' trilogy, Jackson was in a position to revisit the title, armed with a new script and an expansive new vision that would result in the 2005 epic released in cinemas.
#KingKong #Kong96 #PeterJackson
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[@bensneb360]

It’s always nice when one of these “canceled” movies get to be made in the end, it’s very inspirational and teaches you never give up

[@56postoffice]

I always saw Jackson as the Kiwi Sam Raimi. Both started on low budget horror before getting picked up for big studio releases.

[@NathanDrakeTheGreat]

It's really inspiring that, after the film got scrapped following months of prep, he still ended up making it anyways a full decade later. It's also a real testament to his passion for the 1933 original... I'm glad everything worked out for Peter.

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

Jackson's "KING KONG '96" and Universal's earlier attempt from the 70s: "The Legend of KING KONG" both deserve a graphic novel adaptation.

[@scifiguy9000]

Agreed!

[@Jared_Wignall]

I was not aware he planned to make a King Kong film in the 90s. I know he’s always loved the film, but seeing and hearing Jackson discuss his love of the film as well as attempting to recreate the end of the film with stop-motion is really cool. The video so far is great and I’m sure it’ll get better by the end. Keep up the great work guys!

[@chandlercarr4527]

I respect how much love he has for this character

[@DemonBoy3223]

I remember seeing the '05 remake when I was 12 with my family, we had already seen the '33 original, so it felt good to see how they'd remake it for a modern audience. I still remember I started crying during the drive back home because of Kong dying, that was the first time I'd ever cried over a movie. It also officially introduced me to Andy Serkis, I'd say his Kong performance was what had gotten him the job to play Caesar for the new _Planet of the Apes_ trilogy, and I had also cried when watching _War_ in cinemas. Such poetic-ness to it.

[@FilmCore]

Awesome video man. I've seen the making of 2005 Kong like a million times so it was nice that this wasn't just a rehashing of the documentary on the dvd. The quotes and extra information pulled from that era was really interesting, as it gives a better perspective of what was going on at the time. Also the little summary of the 96 script was nice to see, as its been ages since I read it. I adore the 2005 film and I wouldn't have been alive when the 96 kong came out, so I'm very happy with the movie we got, but definitely an interesting what if. Keep up the great work!

[@SupervoidCinema]

Much appreciated, thank you very much!

[@bsharp3281]

I've always thought of Kong as a tech demo. It will always be remade when there's new technology to display

[@MrVoomie]

Peter Jackson really went “Fine, I’ll do it myself”

[@velociraptor4you3291]

I've been familiar with Peter's cancelled 1996 version of "King Kong" for quite some time, but I *love* how in-depth and informative this was (👏). There were aspects to this (and to the wider history surrounding it) that I didn't know about before until watching this.

[@feature-creature]

Fantastic as always. I know it's been covered on some other channels, but I'd love to see your take on the canceled Jurassic Park projects, specifically the Jurassic Park IV script, and tracing how it influenced the eventual Jurassic World movies.

[@srstriker6420]

Like the Human/Dinosaur hybrid part

[@anubusx]

That plot sounds like something made by Asylum Studios.

[@chadyepipia8383]

now I found out about Peter Jackson doing king Kong in the 90s wow.

[@shainewhite2781]

17:06 saw this in 1996 on the WB network, and it's pretty impressive! It won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, Despite its low budget for VFX.

[@shainewhite2781]

Thank you so much for this! I really loved the 2005 version of King Kong! It was 188 minutes I'll never forget! I even liked it, as well as the original 1933 version and the 1976 remake, and the Monster Verse Kong.

[@thegadflygang5381]

This guy built more impressive scale models and a Kong at 12 than I could make at 39 with the benefits of thousands of dollars and access to internet "HOW TO" vids. Jackson really is an ageless talent. THE FRIGHTENERS has been one of my favorite films since the day I saw it in college.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

I read the script to this. I was reminded of the mummy.

[@thomasqu9063]

Also worth noting he did say since he was interested in doing a directors cut of the 2005 movie to shorten it, so the story might not be over yet!

[@TheNightCrawler84]

I love the 96 script, I wish Jackson continued with this script in 2005 instead of a shot for shot remake

[@SirSmoldham]

When I was at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in Hollywood, we had a huge screenplay library. One of those scripts was "The Legend Of King Kong", Universal's original attempt at a remake in competition with DeLaurentis' version in '76. It was written by Oscar winner Bo Goldman, set in the thirties and was to star Paul Newman as Denham and Valerie Perrine as Ann Darrow. It was originally planned to be in stop motion and ended with Denham manning one of the biplanes and dying as he tried to shoot Kong down. I'm glad Mr. Jackson and company got back the large maquette they made for the pitch meeting when they first got to Universal. BTW, I love his three hour cut. It includes scenes that were direct remakes of certain monster attacks from the original, including my favorite moment when they are attacked by a charging Triceratops.

[@chaseboggs4866]

I'd love to see a video on all of the unproduced Punisher scripts, including Michael France's drafts to Hensleigh's cancelled sequel.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

I'm actually kind of interested in seeing what an 'Indian-Jones'/'Mummy'-type take on Kong would be like! =)

[@shainewhite2781]

5:43, hailed as "The Funniest and Goriest movies ever made." This was the first Peter Jackson movie i saw on VHS in 1997.

[@colerogers3681]

This video is something that I have craved for years!

[@stevenqbosell]

I still don’t understand how Kong 1976 gets such a bad rap, it is one of my favorite 70’s movies

[@TIMWReigo]

i agree man. Sure the 1976 movie is very modernized but it's a great 70's monster movie....with the only problem being that there's only the giant snake and...no dinosaurs....which really sucks.

[@stevenqbosell]

@@TIMWReigo absolutely bro, the movie is definitely not without criticism but holy moly people act like it’s King Kong Lives or something

[@TIMWReigo]

@@stevenqbosell "King Kong Lives" is a movie that, despite...well...what it is I enjoy that one as well because it's silly and fun seeing a new side of Kong. But yes people treating the 76 movie like the latter is not deserved. the 76 movie feels really like America had picked up on the trend of doing monster movies of the time Godzilla style with a guy in a suit, puppets and miniature sets. execution: seriously great.

[@qwertyzillaofficial2969]

Because there are no dinosaurs, the love story between Kong and the girl is creepy, and there is too much unnecessary gore

[@shainewhite2781]

6:40, he wasn't the only director for the job: James Cameron Roland Emmerich Chris Columbus Ridley Scott were considered.

[@brandonspain12345]

Roland Emmerich already ruined Godzilla, I am definitely glad he never got his hands on a King Kong remake.

[@anubusx]

That's a lot of fish.

[@chheinrich8486]

@@anubusx at a great Lack of atomic breath

[@spaceodds1985]

I love Jackson’s King Kong. It seems to get a bad rep due to its lethargic length and all, but I say utter rubbish. The 2005 Kong is, IMO and in hindsight, one of the last bonafide blockbusters. There have been far greater films than Kong, but the 2005 King Kong was a twinkle in the eye, spectacle blockbuster that had a basic premise and the audience just surrendered to the visuals.

[@Eric_1991]

I absolutely loved his Kong film. I especially liked the 1930’s touch

[@alexlemonds2838]

It does a terrific job expanding upon the original. 33 Kong is a film I respect more than actually like. The characters are static, unengaging. Stop motion is pretty much the only reason to check it out. '05 Kong though has a cast of very relatable people it manages to flesh out.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

I would tend to agree, but I think some the ideas they used to fill out the run-time ended up hurting more than helping. But that said, I agree it's underrated. =)

[@masonwright7700]

Far greater my ass

[@masonwright7700]

@@BuckarooBanzai84 it didn’t hurt

[@shainewhite2781]

Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe and Merry Christmas ☃️🎄

[@hemidas]

You should look into a canceled "In the Mountains of Madness" movie by Guillermo del Toro.

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

I'm pretty sure the "Sumerian tiger" from the 1966 script could have been the inspiration for the Spirit Tiger from the MonsterVerse (as seen in the comic Kingdom Kong).

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Note: Correction: 1996. Autocorrect SUCKS!

[@geoffberesford]

To call the 1976 version of King Kong 'a disappointment' is a misrepresentation of how the audience received it at the time and is only something that the publicity department of Jackson's later movie had clearly 'made up' in order to give the newest version seem a more promising prospect by comparison. In fact, Jessica Lange's performance in 1976 caused a sensation and was talked about and referred to for years afterwards.

[@jdogjohnson9038]

Kong movies I like are as follows King Kong (1933) King Kong (1976) Kong skull island (2017) I know there were more but those are my picks.

[@FlameShieldKing1]

Nicely made video. How about George Romero's Resident Evil next?

[@srstriker6420]

And his version of the Mummy as well

[@anubusx]

His live action RE2 commercial is amazing. I wish we could see a proper film exactly like it.

[@1dbanner]

I remember reading a short article about this in Cinescape magazine. It was the first I'd heard of Peter Jackson; for a moment, I thought from the photo included that he was Francis Ford Coppola. Plus.... isn't it amazing his wife hadn't seen his favorite film until they began working on a remake?

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

Universal's first attempt of a remake: *"The Legend of KING KONG"* (1976) deserves a video in this grand channel. Here's the cast & crew that could've work on the film: Peter Falk as the more villianous Carl Denham Susan Blakely as a more sympathetic Ann Darrow Robert Redford or Nick Nolte as Jack Driscoll George C. Scott or Richard Harris as Captain Englehorn Franco Columbu as King Kong Special Appearance by Fay Wray as The Female Reporter - Original Music from *"KING KONG"* (1933) by Max Steiner Stop Motion Animation/ Effects Advisor James Danforth Special Effects Director Clifford Stein Special Visual Effects by Albert Whitlock Costume Effects by Chris Mueller Jr. Screenplay by Bo Goldman Based on the 1932 public domain Novelization by Delos W. Lovelace Produced by Hunt Stromberg, Jr. & Stoddard "Joe" Kerby Directed by Joseph Sargent

[@shainewhite2781]

16:49, which was then made into the Monster Verse film of the same name in 2021.

[@homanism6438]

I also read an first draft of 90s Godzilla movie script, it's better than 98 Zilla movie.

[@brandonspain12345]

Me too. And I HIGHLY agree

[@andrewbyrne7321]

I loved the 2005 King Kong I loved Jack Black its my favourite performance of his it's truly epic in more ways than one

[@gabethedinosaur95]

Peter Jackson’s King Kong was my favorite childhood movie 19 years ago. If Peter Jackson directed Kong in 1996 and released it in 1997 I would have watched it at age 4 in 1999 . But 2005 was by far the best year of seeing King Kong .

[@shainewhite2781]

16:33, Good thing, too!

[@SHNASTTV]

However there was a 80s Kong movie. King Kong Lives with a male and female Kong. Probably the closest thing to what the 90s one would have been like

[@brianhayslett1663]

Please don't take another long hiatus from making videos. You were greatly missed leading up to this video.

[@SupervoidCinema]

Appreciate you watching!

[@zillauniverse7208]

Unpopular opinion but one of my biggest problems with Peter Jackson’s King Kong is that while it is a decent movie, it’s just basically the same movie from 1933 but just longer and for a remake I expected something new and different and after hearing this, I would’ve definitely prefer this film a lot more especially with the portrayal of Carl Denham and different tone tho if this film did happen then we wouldn’t have gotten TLOTR trilogy so I’m kinda split on it.

[@doomguydemonkiller]

I hope it gets re-released in theaters for its 20th anniversary. I never got the chance to see it in theaters and I would love to see it on the big screen!

[@daviddeltoro1808]

Return of the king. Speaking of which a video about unmade LOTR adaptation would be perfect for your channel. More people should know about the Beatles trying to star in their own version of the movie. A video on all the unsuccessful live-action adaptations of Akira would be great too, but I don't think that much info has leaked online apart from some concept art.

[@joakinmartinezrodriguez9728]

Amazing work as always. I really hoped you will be returning and after a long wait, it really worth. Very interesting video about this version of King Kong that never came and also, a really good following of Peter Jackson's career, a filmmaker that finally was able to make his dream come true. I hope more videos come in the next weeks. Your channel is one of my favourites due to the excellent work and the fascinating details you always give. Thank you and greetings for the video!!!!

[@donovandelaney3171]

There's so many unanswered King Kong questions that have never been answered.

[@jackko21]

i wish he stuck with the 1996 script that sounds unreal

[@14DaveHunter]

What would've made Jackson's Kong better, was dumping Jack Black as Denham.

[@danthefan28]

17:27 "I'm King Kong Krazy!" spelt with three K's... They did not think that through.

[@donovandelaney3171]

I would love to see a King Kong movie where Kong and Anne Dawn end up together.

[@AHZUH]

God bless this channel

[@guillermoproano1164]

Another amazing video as always! Can you please do a video on the History of the Making Of Akira?

[@jekw23]

In torn on this. Well made film, nothing about it is badly done but I feel maybe Jackson was too emotionally invested as the film is far too long and would have benefitted from tightening up the editing. LOTR is an epic saga so length is less of an issue. King Kong is a more structured narrative and I think it’s a love letter from Jackson and can completely understand his investment it it. Still a good (but not great) movie. For my movie Braindead is his magnum opus and shows a huge amount of efficiency in editing so Jackson can keep a movie focussed…..just maybe not in this case

[@shainewhite2781]

8:10, I think this was on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

[@shainewhite2781]

11:04, this was going to be a Tales From The Crypt movie as well as Death Becomes Her.

[@srstriker6420]

Right and I thought that the Frighteners was an original movie

[@supergodzillaxvlogs3044]

Hi Friend👋Am Happy With The KingKong Movies We Have👍KING KONG is King Of The Movies🤣

[@swancman]

The cancelation of Peter Jackson's 1996 King Kong ended up freeing The Mummy (1999) from production hell. I'm okay with that!

[@Bob78550]

yes i would like to see the Planet of the Apes video

[@Tallacus]

2005 was Perfection. The best dinosaur movie ever!

[@JepMasta]

I think my favorite story about the remake in 1977 was that when they made the initial shot of King Kong in his lair, the set dressing had lots of animal bones all around it. But the Director didn’t think that it looked impressive enough and there should be a lot more bones. So he had a PA send out for a couple of boxes of chicken wings and had the crew eat them all. And then they took the bones that were now stripped of meat and place them around the throne so it looked a lot better

[@chadyepipia8383]

like the incredible mr limpet it is interesting and even get smart, scooby doo in the 90s and others of Jim's abandoned films because I am interested checking which jim almost played so many. Thanks.

[@hyd3n376]

I wish more films depicted dinosaurs and prehistoric life

[@kimrice394]

Just found you. Subbed! Very interesting look into cinema! Thoroughly enjoyed!

[@SupervoidCinema]

Thank you very much! Hope you have time to check out the previous episodes!

[@benmalsky9834]

It’s so great to see you making videos again Supervoid! Got a solid 2022 video lineup planned? Did you take my list of recommendations of canceled movies into consideration?

[@SupervoidCinema]

Hey thanks, I definitely hope to, hopefully get around to your requests sooner rather than later, appreciate you!

[@benmalsky9834]

@@SupervoidCinema Thank you so much Supervoid! If I think of any more cancelled movies and topics for future videos (especially ones that involve ips that I love), I’ll let you know.

[@benmalsky9834]

@@SupervoidCinema Have a Merry Christmas!

[@jasonsantos3037]

Man we wish we got King Kong 96

[@donovandelaney3171]

Kong 76 was a great movie.

[@JoaoGuilherme-hp6zs]

Can you do Jan De Bont Meg based on the Steve alten book

[@srstriker6420]

Wow I never knew that along with the planet of the apes that he was going to make because I did know about the Frighteners but not this because we all know about the 2005 movie and I like the concept art do Don Bluth’s beauty and the beast and the Termite Terrence movie

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

Striker and pter Jackson was even going to make a halo movie innthe 2000s after lord of the rings

[@duesenberger]

34:20: If the plug hadn't been pulled in 1996 we wouldn't have this version of the 2015 film, which I think is a classic by now!

[@hyliannerd4541]

I knew you guys were coming back and thank you for listening to my request. Y'all have been great and I wish y'all a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2022! 😊

[@SupervoidCinema]

You're welcome, Merry Christmas to you too 🎅

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

@@SupervoidCinema what cancelled film will you discuss next msybe the cancelled mummy movies

[@waldo2565]

Jackson should do to "The Lost World" what he did to "King Kong." In 1933 the classic "King Kong" first appeared. In 1976, the POS "King Kong" appeared. So, in 2005, Jackson revitalized the story. In 1925, the classic "The Lost World" first appeared. In 1960, the POS "The Lost World" appeared. It's time for Jackson to bring "The Lost World" back to life.

[@himwiththehair8118]

Peter Jackson reminds me of the exact antithesis of Jack Black

[@The_Texorcist]

It’s a shame about The Frighteners. Sort of reminds me of something Kevin Smith said about Hollywood executives… you fail upwards. A Stallone vehicle is going to miss its summer window well what do we do? Let’s take a Horror film made to be released around Halloween and plop it down in summer. That is about as asinine as doing the same with a Christmas movie. So the studio makes a decision that tanks a film and because of that blames Jackson? So not only are the executives inept but also are incapable of seeing its failure was theirs and not Jackson’s… what assholes.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Now maybe you should do a video about all the canceled adaptations of 'Lord of the Rings' over the years! =) Right off, I can think of Ralph Bakshi's infamous version, as well as Lucas/Howard's cult-classic 'Willow', which began life as a 'LOTR'-project! =)

[@blackirish6868]

From what I understand if Jackson had made the film Jack was to be played by Bruce Campbell. He was first choice.

[@brandonspain12345]

A lot of fans at the time wanted Bruce since he looked like the original actor and I agree but he apparently wanted George Clooney as Jack.

[@sanchayansarkar2953]

Well all's well that ends well. Amidst all these chaos, we got the greatest film trilogy of all times and Jackson's masterpiece.

[@demongorr]

Fantastic video! Real 'What If?' scenario evident with this film. If Daylight doesn't get delayed then Frighteners releases in Halloween and has a better chance at not underperforming. If it doesn't underperform then Peter Jackson works on King Kong more in the 90s and potentially, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy doesn't get made. The trilogy not getting made might have also resulted in the trend of filming sequels back-to-back not developing as well.

[@billybimbo985]

Man 90s was just dinosaur hype

[@thephantompivot8110]

Dear God, why Jackson did not add all of those goodnes in his 2005's remake? Don't take my words as a critic about the 2005 movie, i love that, yeah, but, i mean, the Vastatosaurus Rex is so cool and scary, but for me, it would have better with all of the original ideas for dinosaurs, such as Carnotaurus and Allosaurus(maybe this was a tribute to the original O'Brien model, yes, some says it is a T-Rex indeed, but in the script it's just "Meat Eater").

[@halloweenlisteningparty]

Good doco!

[@chrislondo2683]

Imagine seeing this be made before Lord of the Rings and Hobbit (with Del Toro directing it simultaneosuly) if Godzilla '98 hadn't happen.

[@hifismiffy]

King Kong cancelled ? This will make some fans go apeshit !

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

Supervoid cinemea would you ever talk about about the cacelled mummy movies

[@RRstoriesstudios]

The cancelled venom movies

[@PeterRabbit4Eva]

Pls do Guillermo Del Toro’s The Hobbit. 🙏🏻❤️

[@angusmacfrankenstein7227]

Surprised you were able to find a Charlie Rose clip…there was a time that the work quite a few men, guilty of a crime or not, had their careers disappeared

[@kamandi1362]

I think I’d rather have an Indiana Jones/Mummy-type approach than the bloated version we got.

[@simonhassnilsson7009]

Even As some who actually really likes the 2005 version i must say, i actually agree with you fully on that, would have gladly given it up for the 96' version

[@cpedersen474]

Every time I watch one of these, I feel the need to watch another channel about police interactions

[@TroyUlysses]

If the 1996 Kong was designed more like The Mummy '99 & Indiana Jones, then I want that version of King Kong. The 2005 version is a Jackson obsession, over indulgent & miscast mess. The possible cast of the 96 version sounds so much better. Jack Black was the worst of all in a sea of bad actors for the 2005 version.

[@masonwright7700]

Wrong

[@benmalsky9834]

With the return of Fraggle Rock on Apple TV+ next month, how about a video on the long-in-development but ultimately cancelled movie that lead to Back to the Rock? And with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 coming in April, a video about cancelled Sonic movies?

[@chadyepipia8383]

also you could check the wollfman as well please

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

I really like Peter Jackson's King Kong, however there are moments which are absolutely embarrassing in their kitshiness.

[@masonwright7700]

No

[@srstriker6420]

What about Marvin the Martian movie for Christmas?

[@jmpmovieproductions6095]

Can you do a Canceled Wachowskis Plastic man movie ?

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

I can't imagine how that character could be in a live action movie. Seems impossible.

[@jmpmovieproductions6095]

@@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812 I know right ? Plastic man doesn't seem to be anywhere in DC Upcoming Movies. I would love to see a LOBO movie , now that would be awesome.

[@BigJackFilms]

Well I'm out of the job with Kong96...or am I? Great job guys. Very informative.

[@brandonspain12345]

Hi Jack.👋

[@ryandowney8743]

Peter Jackson's King Kong is overall just okay. It's got great special effects and some excellent moments. But it's undeniably overlong and bloated. This, and even more so the Hobbit films, show that the success of Lord Of The Rings (amazing films in their own right) has made him too self indulgent and unwilling to make the hard filmmaking choices to cut stories down to where they really belong. Ironically I think if he had made King Kong in the 90s before LOTR then it would have been better.

[@masonwright7700]

It’s overall great

[@kaijukidsam]

@@masonwright7700 Ryan is correct, the film is too long, and on top of that Jackson released yet another of his extended cuts for a movie that didn't need it. I've seen your comments throughout here kind of blindly defending the film, it's not a BAD movie but the criticism is warranted, it needed tighter editing at the very least, and I would argue a lack of the janky missing frames thing that was so popular at the time, that element has not aged well.

[@shainewhite2781]

18:10, which is the WORST SEQUEL EVER MADE, being nominated for Worst Visual Effects in 1987.

[@alexlemonds2838]

This concept is so awesome it hurts. Makes this film's unmade status sting all the worse.

[@stephanryll2133]

If you like the concepts, you can be happy with the 2005 movie. The concepts were impossible to make in the 90s. King Kong would have been more expensive than jurassic park the lost world and they wouldnt have and didnt make the movie because of it.

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

@@stephanryll2133 well at least Peter got to make king Kong 2005 when he was able to

[@alexlemonds2838]

@@zacharyjochumsen9677 I love '05 Kong. It's my favourite version. But hearing about this project, what they had planned, is nonetheless very intriguing. It's fun to imagine what it would've looked like. To see those drawings & sculptures brought to life. Kinda want to see someone else use the '96 outline, perhaps for a fully stop motion feature. I recommend Laika.

[@MovieEnforcer]

35:26 While I like the 2005 final product but this version sounds way better. I know it was originally scheduled for Summer of 1998 due to Godzilla and Mighty Joe Young, but why not push it back to Summer 1999?

[@shaddouida3447]

King Kong🎬🎬🎬🎥🎥🎥 King Kong: Son of Kong🎬🎬🎬🎥🎥🎥 King Kong: Into the Wolf's Lair🎬🎬🎬🎥🎥🎥