In an early draft of the screenplay, Ann Darrow was the daughter of a famed archaeologist and Jack Driscoll was his assistant. Lord Darrow was killed in Ann's introductory scene by the Indonesian military in a cover-up attempt of his discovery of remnants of the Skull Island culture.
As of its opening release, this film surpassed Titanic (1997) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) as one of the most expensive movie ever made with a estimate budget of $207 million.
Adrien Brody was the first and only choice for hero Jack Driscoll. While Brody was under the impression that he was competing with other actors for the role, he was quickly informed by the producers that they were only interested in him. He signed on before the script was written.
Peter Jackson owns a number of props from the original King Kong (1933) and put some of the items from his collection into this film.
Cameo: [Bob Burns] together with his wife, Kathy.
Andy Serkis had 132 sensors attached to his face so that his every facial expression could be captured and shown on King Kong's face.
Besides studying wild gorillas in Rwanda in order to be able to mimic their movements and behavior; Andy Serkis also developed a close friendship with a female gorilla called Zaire at a zoo near London.
The hand-cranked motion-picture camera carried around by Black's Carl Denham, the movie maker, is an actual antique Bell & Howell 2709 which is also the same type of camera used in the original King Kong (1933)
Weta Workshops created 8 variations of animal excrement and even researched the manure of tigers and camels.
Shipped to cinema under the name "Tiny Dancer". For added security, the eighth reel was shipped separately from the rest of the print.
Cameo: [Howard Shore] The conductor seen in the theater where Kong is on display to a large audience.
When Jack Driscoll goes into the hold for the first time you can see a sign that says "Sumarian Rat Monkey", the animal that causes all the undead in Peter Jackson's Braindead (1992) (the Sumarian Rat Monkey is captured on Skull Island as well).
Peter Jackson originally wanted to make this film immediately after The Frighteners (1996/I). When Universal saw that Godzilla (1998) and Mighty Joe Young (1998) would be released the same year, they pulled the plug on the project and Jackson moved on to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), using the ghost effects he developed for King Kong. After the tremendous success of the trilogy, Jackson was finally able to make the film.
Alex Norton was offered a role but had to pass because the dates clashed with a TV project.
Sylvester McCoy screen tested for the role of Herb the cameraman.
|
