1 00:00:28,985 --> 00:00:32,266 Did you ever hear of Kong? 2 00:00:32,266 --> 00:00:34,645 - King Kong was a guy I rented an apartment from 3 00:00:34,645 --> 00:00:36,539 in Philadelphia while I was in college. 4 00:00:36,539 --> 00:00:38,219 And he was really, really unpleasant. 5 00:00:38,219 --> 00:00:39,339 We called him King Kong 6 00:00:39,339 --> 00:00:41,025 because he was really big and he smelled bad, 7 00:00:41,025 --> 00:00:43,105 but the other King Kong, the one I'm talking about, 8 00:00:43,105 --> 00:00:44,577 is an icon. 9 00:00:44,577 --> 00:00:48,660 - King Kong is a sadly and horribly misunderstood 10 00:00:50,448 --> 00:00:52,054 love-sick gorilla. 11 00:00:52,054 --> 00:00:56,374 - King Kong is one of the biggest on-screen 12 00:00:56,374 --> 00:01:00,299 creatures, beast, in movie history, I have to say. 13 00:01:00,299 --> 00:01:01,334 He's awesome. 14 00:01:01,334 --> 00:01:03,515 - He is, not only just a monster 15 00:01:03,515 --> 00:01:06,825 who frightened moviegoers, but he paved the way 16 00:01:06,825 --> 00:01:10,630 for a lot of filmmakers to expand their imaginations. 17 00:01:10,630 --> 00:01:13,630 - King Kong is the icon of an entire 18 00:01:15,950 --> 00:01:18,629 three or four generations of monster lovers. 19 00:01:18,629 --> 00:01:21,296 - "King Kong" was the firs movie 20 00:01:23,198 --> 00:01:26,112 that I remember seeing as a child 21 00:01:26,112 --> 00:01:30,014 where you just had no idea how they did it. 22 00:01:30,014 --> 00:01:32,276 - For me it's a very powerful thing, 23 00:01:32,276 --> 00:01:35,123 it's about the time in my life when I first saw "King Kong", 24 00:01:35,123 --> 00:01:36,303 it's about the inspiration, 25 00:01:36,303 --> 00:01:38,207 how it was one of the many things 26 00:01:38,207 --> 00:01:40,062 that led me to want to make movies like this 27 00:01:40,062 --> 00:01:42,159 and be involved in movies like this. 28 00:01:42,159 --> 00:01:44,813 - Look, Kong's the eight wonder of the world. 29 00:01:44,813 --> 00:01:46,138 And there's no getting rid of him either. 30 00:01:46,138 --> 00:01:48,446 He'll come keep on coming back and coming back, 31 00:01:48,446 --> 00:01:50,228 like the best monsters do. 32 00:01:50,228 --> 00:01:53,308 - Anybody who hears the name King Kong gets excited. 33 00:01:53,308 --> 00:01:54,348 He's our hero. 34 00:01:54,348 --> 00:01:57,472 - "King Kong" is still the greatest movie ever made, 35 00:01:57,472 --> 00:02:00,571 and I would watch it right now if you wanna spool it, 36 00:02:00,571 --> 00:02:04,239 because it is just a fantastic piece of work 37 00:02:04,239 --> 00:02:06,952 that just cannot be matched. 38 00:02:32,242 --> 00:02:33,220 - I saw "King Kong" for the first time 39 00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:35,763 on Million Dollar Movie, on the first Monday that it was on. 40 00:02:35,763 --> 00:02:39,747 They would run at 7:30 and 9:30, I think. 41 00:02:39,747 --> 00:02:41,230 - At Million Dollar Movie they would show 42 00:02:41,230 --> 00:02:43,145 the same film twice a day, 43 00:02:43,145 --> 00:02:45,359 and three times on Saturday, three times on Sunday. 44 00:02:45,359 --> 00:02:47,334 And the first film in the Million Dollar Movie series 45 00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:48,568 was "King Kong". 46 00:02:48,568 --> 00:02:50,690 - And we were asleep, my brother and I, 47 00:02:50,690 --> 00:02:53,090 and my father, who is a very serious man, 48 00:02:53,090 --> 00:02:56,514 if you don't do sports you don't exist kind of, 49 00:02:56,514 --> 00:02:59,000 isn't into fantasy or anything like that, 50 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,346 came into our bedroom, woke us up, 51 00:03:01,346 --> 00:03:02,866 which is unheard of without the house 52 00:03:02,866 --> 00:03:04,385 was on fire or something, 53 00:03:04,385 --> 00:03:07,479 and took us into the living room where he had this tiny TV, 54 00:03:07,479 --> 00:03:09,644 and he said, "This is the greatest movie ever made". 55 00:03:09,644 --> 00:03:10,477 - And it was one of those films 56 00:03:10,477 --> 00:03:12,465 that my parents were talking about during the day. 57 00:03:12,465 --> 00:03:15,441 "Oh, 'King Kong' is on tonight", right? 58 00:03:15,441 --> 00:03:16,987 And this is back in the day before you could 59 00:03:16,987 --> 00:03:19,093 get the home DVDs and whatnot. 60 00:03:19,093 --> 00:03:20,315 So when something was on TV 61 00:03:20,315 --> 00:03:22,039 you catch it or you miss it, right? 62 00:03:22,039 --> 00:03:23,781 So it was an event. 63 00:03:23,781 --> 00:03:25,924 "King Kong" on TV was an event. 64 00:03:25,924 --> 00:03:29,409 - I remember my mom sitting down and watching it with me, 65 00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:32,814 like saying, like, "You're gonna love this movie!", 66 00:03:32,814 --> 00:03:36,031 'cause she knew I was like a monster kid. 67 00:03:36,031 --> 00:03:39,281 And I also remember her drinking a lot. 68 00:03:40,442 --> 00:03:41,903 It just came to me. 69 00:03:41,903 --> 00:03:42,736 - I was hooked. 70 00:03:42,736 --> 00:03:45,046 I mean, I watched it every night. 71 00:03:45,046 --> 00:03:48,282 I couldn't watch both showings because I had to go to bed. 72 00:03:48,282 --> 00:03:50,861 - And on weekends they would show it three times on Saturday 73 00:03:50,861 --> 00:03:52,200 and three times on Sunday, 74 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,948 so you could watch it 16 times when it was on. 75 00:03:54,948 --> 00:03:57,044 And I don't know if I watch it 16 times. 76 00:03:57,044 --> 00:03:59,705 - I watched every single showing. 77 00:03:59,705 --> 00:04:02,221 And the second movie in the Million Dollar Movie 78 00:04:02,221 --> 00:04:03,348 was "King Kong" again. 79 00:04:03,348 --> 00:04:06,009 It was so popular they held it over for the second week, 80 00:04:06,009 --> 00:04:07,363 and I watched all of those. 81 00:04:07,363 --> 00:04:08,783 So, in a very short time 82 00:04:08,783 --> 00:04:11,278 I'd seen "King Kong" almost 40 times. 83 00:04:11,278 --> 00:04:14,028 - "Channel 56" was a UHF channel, 84 00:04:15,326 --> 00:04:18,380 and two generations just went, "What?" 85 00:04:18,380 --> 00:04:20,067 And you were the envy of the neighborhood 86 00:04:20,067 --> 00:04:22,834 if you had a really good picture on Channel 56. 87 00:04:22,834 --> 00:04:25,841 And every Saturday they had the Saturday Night 88 00:04:25,841 --> 00:04:28,702 Channel 56 creature double feature. 89 00:04:28,702 --> 00:04:31,052 'Cause someone knew the difference 90 00:04:31,052 --> 00:04:35,143 between "Beast with the Million Eyes" and "Frankenstein". 91 00:04:35,143 --> 00:04:39,201 Someone knew that there were levels of quality. 92 00:04:39,201 --> 00:04:42,518 When it was time for a really good movie 93 00:04:42,518 --> 00:04:44,417 they would make a big deal of it, 94 00:04:44,417 --> 00:04:48,973 and one of the first ones I saw was "King Kong". 95 00:04:48,973 --> 00:04:50,286 Thursday afternoon, 96 00:04:50,286 --> 00:04:53,171 see three of the screen's greatest thrillers, 97 00:04:53,171 --> 00:04:56,264 starting at 1:00 with the greatest of them all. 98 00:04:56,264 --> 00:04:58,119 - The only way I ever saw "King Kong" 99 00:04:58,119 --> 00:05:01,735 was on Thanksgiving Day when I think it was WPIX in New York 100 00:05:01,735 --> 00:05:04,488 would air "King Kong", "Mighty Joe Young" 101 00:05:04,488 --> 00:05:05,907 and then "Son of Kong". 102 00:05:05,907 --> 00:05:08,288 And I would just live and die every day, 103 00:05:08,288 --> 00:05:10,227 every Thanksgiving Day, to see these movies, 104 00:05:10,227 --> 00:05:12,338 to try to rush through Thanksgiving dinner 105 00:05:12,338 --> 00:05:13,772 with my parents, my grandparents, 106 00:05:13,772 --> 00:05:16,886 and sneak away into the TV room 107 00:05:16,886 --> 00:05:19,239 and try to catch one of the giant gorilla movies. 108 00:05:19,239 --> 00:05:21,297 And God forbid I'm having Thanksgiving 109 00:05:21,297 --> 00:05:24,079 at my grandparents house and they got a lousy TV 110 00:05:24,079 --> 00:05:26,885 and it just, that would destroy the whole year for me. 111 00:05:26,885 --> 00:05:30,863 - We actually had a school field trip to go see "King Kong". 112 00:05:30,863 --> 00:05:32,978 So we went to a full movie theater, 113 00:05:32,978 --> 00:05:34,210 I got to see it on the big screen, 114 00:05:34,210 --> 00:05:38,893 it was my first experience in the like 1970 ... 115 00:05:38,893 --> 00:05:41,824 Like, before "Star Wars", if I remember. 116 00:05:41,824 --> 00:05:43,669 So it was like 1975 or something like that. 117 00:05:43,669 --> 00:05:45,834 That was really, really uber cool. 118 00:05:45,834 --> 00:05:47,806 - It's such and effect on you, 119 00:05:47,806 --> 00:05:49,812 'cause I've never seen anything like that in my life. 120 00:05:49,812 --> 00:05:52,916 And my dad, he kept saying, "I have no idea how it's done. 121 00:05:52,916 --> 00:05:55,663 "I don't know how they got to find a guy that big". 122 00:05:55,663 --> 00:05:57,374 'Cause my dad was an idiot. 123 00:05:57,374 --> 00:06:00,493 - Every single frame goes into your psyche when you see it 124 00:06:00,493 --> 00:06:03,671 because you're just so in awe of what you're seeing. 125 00:06:03,671 --> 00:06:04,926 - It was actually my first introduction 126 00:06:04,926 --> 00:06:07,129 to science fiction and fantasy. 127 00:06:07,129 --> 00:06:09,161 I lived in a small town in Arizona, 128 00:06:09,161 --> 00:06:11,182 and we moved to a bigger town, Phoenix, 129 00:06:11,182 --> 00:06:13,001 and I went to junior high 130 00:06:13,001 --> 00:06:16,405 and one of the teachers brought in "King Kong" on 16 mm, 131 00:06:16,405 --> 00:06:17,640 started showing it at lunch. 132 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,429 So it was my introduction to stop-motion, 133 00:06:20,429 --> 00:06:23,117 photography, backstairs score. 134 00:06:23,117 --> 00:06:23,950 I mean, everything. 135 00:06:23,950 --> 00:06:25,121 It was just a fantastic deal. 136 00:06:25,121 --> 00:06:27,212 That was my introduction to "King Kong", 137 00:06:27,212 --> 00:06:29,423 and to me it was like the greatest thing in the world. 138 00:06:29,423 --> 00:06:31,562 - I think everybody remembers 139 00:06:31,562 --> 00:06:33,571 the first time they saw "King Kong". 140 00:06:33,571 --> 00:06:35,568 - I'm going up and make the greatest picture in the world. 141 00:06:35,568 --> 00:06:37,740 Something that nobody's ever seen or heard of. 142 00:06:37,740 --> 00:06:38,874 - Well, "King Kong" tells the story 143 00:06:38,874 --> 00:06:41,515 of an excentric movie producer named Carl Denham. 144 00:06:41,515 --> 00:06:45,664 - A ruthless filmmaker who is willing to do anything 145 00:06:45,664 --> 00:06:47,131 and exploit anyone. 146 00:06:47,131 --> 00:06:49,393 - So off they go, and his first problem is 147 00:06:49,393 --> 00:06:50,688 he has to have a female star, 148 00:06:50,688 --> 00:06:52,970 the public likes a female face, a beautiful face. 149 00:06:52,970 --> 00:06:55,957 And he does, he comes across the most beautiful face. 150 00:06:55,957 --> 00:06:57,772 - It's money and adventure and fame. 151 00:06:57,772 --> 00:06:59,031 It's the thrill of a lifetime. 152 00:06:59,031 --> 00:07:00,362 And a long sea voyage starts 153 00:07:00,362 --> 00:07:01,875 at six 'o clock tomorrow morning. 154 00:07:01,875 --> 00:07:04,090 - And he says, "Come on, we're gonna get on a boat, 155 00:07:04,090 --> 00:07:05,679 "and I've heard about this island". 156 00:07:05,679 --> 00:07:08,438 An incredible map that tells of a mysterious island 157 00:07:08,438 --> 00:07:10,783 where a beast god actually rules. 158 00:07:10,783 --> 00:07:12,090 - "Now, we're gonna go to this island, 159 00:07:12,090 --> 00:07:14,534 "we're gonna make a movie that's gonna be fantastic, 160 00:07:14,534 --> 00:07:15,867 "and I want you to be in it". 161 00:07:15,867 --> 00:07:19,353 And with no script to prove or whatsoever 162 00:07:19,353 --> 00:07:24,183 she decides, "Fine, I'll venture on this boat full of men 163 00:07:24,183 --> 00:07:25,865 "out to the middle of the ocean". 164 00:07:25,865 --> 00:07:28,846 - It's an adventure, the adventure of a lifetime, 165 00:07:28,846 --> 00:07:32,196 of going out and, oddly enough, 166 00:07:32,196 --> 00:07:34,963 in search of making the best movie in the world. 167 00:07:34,963 --> 00:07:37,785 - And they find a bunch of prehistoric natives 168 00:07:37,785 --> 00:07:39,953 who worship this great Kong. 169 00:07:39,953 --> 00:07:42,007 - And so they all load up, 170 00:07:42,007 --> 00:07:44,376 and he just starts randomly shooting. 171 00:07:44,376 --> 00:07:48,164 It's like John Cassavetes, there's no firm script. 172 00:07:48,164 --> 00:07:51,172 - What he doesn't realize is on this island 173 00:07:51,172 --> 00:07:54,740 lives this creature that the natives have worshiped. 174 00:07:54,740 --> 00:07:57,209 - This thing, it's not a natural disaster, 175 00:07:57,209 --> 00:08:00,177 it's not the result of atomic mutation. 176 00:08:00,177 --> 00:08:02,894 It's this cultural iconic thing 177 00:08:02,894 --> 00:08:04,408 in the life of this civilization 178 00:08:04,408 --> 00:08:06,071 that we don't even know exist. 179 00:08:06,071 --> 00:08:09,064 - The island itself is the lost continent, you know? 180 00:08:09,064 --> 00:08:12,651 It's preserved prehistoric times, prehistoric history. 181 00:08:12,651 --> 00:08:15,101 - The natives, as a way of saying hello, 182 00:08:15,101 --> 00:08:17,420 strap the actress to a pole. 183 00:08:17,420 --> 00:08:21,727 Kong! 184 00:08:21,727 --> 00:08:23,235 Kong! 185 00:08:23,235 --> 00:08:24,930 - They find out what King Kong actually is, 186 00:08:24,930 --> 00:08:27,357 he's actually a gigantic prehistoric ape. 187 00:08:27,357 --> 00:08:31,035 - And, oh my gosh, here comes this terrifying scene 188 00:08:31,035 --> 00:08:33,095 where you hear him coming, and it's like, 189 00:08:33,095 --> 00:08:34,385 "Oh, he's bigger than I thought". 190 00:08:34,385 --> 00:08:36,675 And poor little Fay Wray, you know, with the, 191 00:08:36,675 --> 00:08:38,718 with the back and the forth, and the back and the forth, 192 00:08:38,718 --> 00:08:39,551 and then, oh! 193 00:08:39,551 --> 00:08:41,191 And the dramatic, and the "Ah!" 194 00:08:41,191 --> 00:08:43,614 I was in love with her immediately. 195 00:08:43,614 --> 00:08:47,384 - And rather than have a snack right there, Kong takes her. 196 00:08:47,384 --> 00:08:50,013 - And so of course he becomes enamored 197 00:08:50,013 --> 00:08:51,795 with this beautiful blonde. 198 00:08:51,795 --> 00:08:53,218 - 'Cause all he had eaten before that 199 00:08:53,218 --> 00:08:55,816 was dark hair native girls. 200 00:08:55,816 --> 00:08:59,316 - I think Kong sees Ann as this beautiful, 201 00:09:00,718 --> 00:09:04,885 unusual, you know, strange, inexplicable treasure. 202 00:09:06,119 --> 00:09:09,486 It's just, he's just never seen anything like this, 203 00:09:09,486 --> 00:09:11,960 this fair skin blonde creature. 204 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:13,592 It fascinates him. 205 00:09:13,592 --> 00:09:14,808 - The captain of the boat, 206 00:09:14,808 --> 00:09:16,738 who is then falling in love with her, 207 00:09:16,738 --> 00:09:18,390 becomes a big rescue mission. 208 00:09:18,390 --> 00:09:21,442 - It's impossible to describe the horror 209 00:09:21,442 --> 00:09:24,065 of the wildlife on this island. 210 00:09:24,065 --> 00:09:25,950 There's no like a house cat, 211 00:09:25,950 --> 00:09:28,490 everything is the size of a Buick. 212 00:09:28,490 --> 00:09:31,759 - So you have this island with this giant gorilla, 213 00:09:31,759 --> 00:09:35,300 and there's dinosaurs too. 214 00:09:35,300 --> 00:09:37,586 "Oh, what the heck. Put them in". 215 00:09:37,586 --> 00:09:40,959 - Dinosaurs come around, never been seen my mankind, 216 00:09:40,959 --> 00:09:42,736 specially as it's written history. 217 00:09:42,736 --> 00:09:44,759 They throw a couple of gas bombs at it and they're like, 218 00:09:44,759 --> 00:09:47,259 "Ah, look at that thing. Let's keep going". 219 00:09:47,259 --> 00:09:49,180 - It just doesn't stop. 220 00:09:49,180 --> 00:09:51,012 You're going to Brontosaurus land 221 00:09:51,012 --> 00:09:53,260 and you're going to Tyrannosaurus Rex land, 222 00:09:53,260 --> 00:09:55,570 and you're going to this Plesiosaur. 223 00:09:55,570 --> 00:09:57,513 - And other creatures kind of want her 224 00:09:57,513 --> 00:09:59,180 because she's little and shiny. 225 00:09:59,180 --> 00:10:03,128 And Kong has to like fight them off, he's protecting her. 226 00:10:03,128 --> 00:10:05,651 And we get a feeling that he really likes her. 227 00:10:05,651 --> 00:10:07,326 - When Kong has won the girl 228 00:10:07,326 --> 00:10:09,954 and he see's he's got Ann Darrow up on his lair. 229 00:10:09,954 --> 00:10:12,236 - Not only is he not yet eating her, 230 00:10:12,236 --> 00:10:14,236 he's kind of keeping her over on a shelf 231 00:10:14,236 --> 00:10:16,203 he has in the jungle. 232 00:10:16,203 --> 00:10:18,647 He's kind of keeping her like a knickknack, 233 00:10:18,647 --> 00:10:20,966 like, "Wow, she's got a pretty dress on". 234 00:10:20,966 --> 00:10:23,956 She's momentarily, she stopped screaming. 235 00:10:23,956 --> 00:10:25,435 - It's this moment when you see that 236 00:10:25,435 --> 00:10:27,744 this is actually a thinking creature. 237 00:10:27,744 --> 00:10:28,878 I think it's the first time we say, 238 00:10:28,878 --> 00:10:31,251 "Wait, he's not a monster, he's something else". 239 00:10:31,251 --> 00:10:33,611 And that for me, I think it's the most serious moment. 240 00:10:33,611 --> 00:10:34,574 - I remember him, 241 00:10:34,574 --> 00:10:37,491 I remember him having his hand and doing this, 242 00:10:37,491 --> 00:10:40,853 which as a child went "pheew", you know? 243 00:10:40,853 --> 00:10:43,186 As a college student "Prrrr. 244 00:10:44,837 --> 00:10:46,413 "What did he just do?" 245 00:10:46,413 --> 00:10:50,423 - And he's just ready to sit down and enjoy his prize, 246 00:10:50,423 --> 00:10:52,213 and the pterodactyl comes. 247 00:10:52,213 --> 00:10:56,977 - Kong is having a really, really frustrating day. 248 00:10:56,977 --> 00:10:59,789 And the pterodactyl is really the, 249 00:10:59,789 --> 00:11:01,956 that's just like, "Dammit! 250 00:11:03,708 --> 00:11:04,541 "Please!" 251 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,323 - The guys realize that to attract the monster 252 00:11:09,323 --> 00:11:12,394 they'll get the girl and the monster will follow the girl. 253 00:11:12,394 --> 00:11:14,229 - But we've got something he wants. 254 00:11:14,229 --> 00:11:15,884 - The producer, Denham, has this wild idea 255 00:11:15,884 --> 00:11:17,442 of taking the most powerful creature on Earth 256 00:11:17,442 --> 00:11:21,503 back to New York with very disastrous results. 257 00:11:21,503 --> 00:11:24,380 - Carl Denham pick up a gas bomb and King Kong goes on it. 258 00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:26,864 He can't believe all that, but then Carl Denham, he says, 259 00:11:26,864 --> 00:11:29,564 "You know, we're gonna take him back to civilization". 260 00:11:29,564 --> 00:11:31,387 - And the whole world will pay to see this! 261 00:11:31,387 --> 00:11:32,742 - "We're millionaires, boys!" 262 00:11:32,742 --> 00:11:34,065 - I'll share it with all of you! 263 00:11:34,065 --> 00:11:36,011 - And you know he's gonna get rid of those guys, 264 00:11:36,011 --> 00:11:37,067 he didn't care. 265 00:11:37,067 --> 00:11:41,209 - It's like, I will believe a giant gorilla. 266 00:11:41,209 --> 00:11:43,219 I will believe that you can somehow 267 00:11:43,219 --> 00:11:46,949 get him across the ocean without drowning him, 268 00:11:46,949 --> 00:11:50,016 and then you can run a mock in New York. 269 00:11:50,016 --> 00:11:53,368 I do not believe a producer will just offer out 270 00:11:53,368 --> 00:11:56,352 profit participation willy-nilly like that. 271 00:11:56,352 --> 00:11:59,861 - Ladies and gentlemen, look at Kong, 272 00:11:59,861 --> 00:12:02,228 the eight wonder of the world! 273 00:12:02,228 --> 00:12:04,394 - The curtain goes up and there is Kong, 274 00:12:04,394 --> 00:12:06,586 and the flash bolts starts flashing and he freaks out, 275 00:12:06,586 --> 00:12:08,533 he breaks his chains and he escapes. 276 00:12:08,533 --> 00:12:10,950 Had he not broken his chains, 277 00:12:12,670 --> 00:12:14,601 what was the show? 278 00:12:14,601 --> 00:12:17,769 - I'm assuming there was a huge warmup, 279 00:12:17,769 --> 00:12:20,997 with dancers and a band, you know, 280 00:12:20,997 --> 00:12:24,052 Tony Dorsey, you know, who knows what they had. 281 00:12:24,052 --> 00:12:27,413 - And, of course, you can never control a wild animal, 282 00:12:27,413 --> 00:12:29,498 even though everybody thinks that they can. 283 00:12:29,498 --> 00:12:33,369 - Kong breaks lose and is rampaging through the city. 284 00:12:33,369 --> 00:12:37,181 And in his panic, 'cause New York City is scary. 285 00:12:37,181 --> 00:12:39,092 - He's in a strange world he doesn't know. 286 00:12:39,092 --> 00:12:40,287 He has no idea what's going on. 287 00:12:40,287 --> 00:12:42,522 They chained him up, they've done all this crap to him. 288 00:12:42,522 --> 00:12:44,272 So, I don't blame him for turning down the city, 289 00:12:44,272 --> 00:12:45,556 I think I would too. 290 00:12:45,556 --> 00:12:48,010 - Goes through New York looking for his long-lost love. 291 00:12:48,010 --> 00:12:50,437 Climbs up to the top of the building. 292 00:12:50,437 --> 00:12:52,256 - And there he is trapped. 293 00:12:52,256 --> 00:12:55,541 - And then they send planes to get him down. 294 00:12:55,541 --> 00:12:58,177 And the planes shoot him down and he falls. 295 00:12:58,177 --> 00:13:00,781 Sadly, he's dead on the sidewalk. 296 00:13:00,781 --> 00:13:05,253 And Mr. Filmmaker decides he'll dispense some wisdom. 297 00:13:05,253 --> 00:13:08,420 - Well, Denham, the airplanes got him. 298 00:13:10,451 --> 00:13:13,284 - Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes, 299 00:13:14,136 --> 00:13:16,685 it was beauty killed the beast. 300 00:13:16,685 --> 00:13:18,440 - And the story is a perfect circle. 301 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,984 The old Arabian proverb 302 00:13:20,984 --> 00:13:23,617 written by that old Arabian Meerian Cooper 303 00:13:23,617 --> 00:13:25,783 that opens the film, 304 00:13:25,783 --> 00:13:29,304 and the fable unfolds in front of you. 305 00:13:29,304 --> 00:13:32,290 All these adventures have an amazing imagery, 306 00:13:32,290 --> 00:13:33,873 this amazing quest. 307 00:13:34,851 --> 00:13:38,887 Kong's downfall, and it all works back around, 308 00:13:38,887 --> 00:13:40,915 basically to the opening proverb begin 309 00:13:40,915 --> 00:13:42,461 with the famous final line. 310 00:13:42,461 --> 00:13:45,651 - Kong was, for all intends and purposes, 311 00:13:45,651 --> 00:13:47,496 an original screenplay. 312 00:13:47,496 --> 00:13:50,493 - So I'm talking about the origin of the whole story, 313 00:13:50,493 --> 00:13:54,099 and I think you can credit Willis O'Brien, 314 00:13:54,099 --> 00:13:56,152 Jules Verne a little bit, obviously, 315 00:13:56,152 --> 00:13:58,744 maybe Marien C. Cooper read all of this stuff 316 00:13:58,744 --> 00:14:01,000 and wanted the giant gorilla because of that. 317 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,361 We know Willis O'Brien made contributions, 318 00:14:03,361 --> 00:14:05,933 but the person who's never been vindicated 319 00:14:05,933 --> 00:14:09,566 on the contributions to "King Kong" is Edgar Wallace. 320 00:14:09,566 --> 00:14:13,448 Edgar Wallace, if you don't know, is probably 321 00:14:13,448 --> 00:14:16,705 the most prolific mystery writer that ever lived, 322 00:14:16,705 --> 00:14:19,853 and largely his stuff is mystery thrillers. 323 00:14:19,853 --> 00:14:22,797 But in a lot of his mystery thrillers, guess what, 324 00:14:22,797 --> 00:14:24,464 you find poison gas. 325 00:14:25,347 --> 00:14:28,072 Those gas bombs, I'm the only one saying it, 326 00:14:28,072 --> 00:14:31,191 but those gas bombs in "King Kong" is Edgar Wallace. 327 00:14:31,191 --> 00:14:32,899 - Merian Cooper will later say that 328 00:14:32,899 --> 00:14:37,059 at least 90% of the film screenplay was Ruth Rose's work. 329 00:14:37,059 --> 00:14:39,747 There were still little bits of James Creelman's screenplay, 330 00:14:39,747 --> 00:14:42,783 there were little bits of Edgar Wallace, 331 00:14:42,783 --> 00:14:44,976 and probably a few bits that Cooper himself had thrown in, 332 00:14:44,976 --> 00:14:47,280 but he said, mostly it was Ruth Rose. 333 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,863 So, and that's yet another piece of the puzzle. 334 00:14:49,863 --> 00:14:52,985 They truly caught lightning in a bottle for "Kong". 335 00:14:52,985 --> 00:14:54,891 - Because it's a crazy notion, 336 00:14:54,891 --> 00:14:56,675 it's just the craziest call of enemies, you know, 337 00:14:56,675 --> 00:15:00,290 "we're gonna make up this movie about a giant gorilla 338 00:15:00,290 --> 00:15:02,135 "that fights a squadron of airplanes 339 00:15:02,135 --> 00:15:03,751 "on top of the Empire State building". 340 00:15:03,751 --> 00:15:07,274 And it's 1933, it's impossible how they got it done. 341 00:15:07,274 --> 00:15:09,633 And I think the creation of "King Kong" 342 00:15:09,633 --> 00:15:11,671 is almost as impossible as the actual 343 00:15:11,671 --> 00:15:15,095 strangest story ever conceived by man, "King Kong" himself. 344 00:15:15,095 --> 00:15:18,657 - It's one of those rare moments in artistic endeavor 345 00:15:18,657 --> 00:15:20,205 when everything was right where it needed to be 346 00:15:20,205 --> 00:15:21,891 at the right time, 347 00:15:21,891 --> 00:15:25,953 and the result is the all-time classic that we have now. 348 00:15:25,953 --> 00:15:28,226 - I mean, Cooper was a real nation hero. 349 00:15:28,226 --> 00:15:30,710 I mean, he flew, he got blown out on a plane 350 00:15:30,710 --> 00:15:31,682 and burned real bad. 351 00:15:31,682 --> 00:15:35,666 I mean, he and Schoedsack were really soldiers of fortune, 352 00:15:35,666 --> 00:15:36,690 is what they were. 353 00:15:36,690 --> 00:15:38,069 And it shows in this film. 354 00:15:38,069 --> 00:15:41,513 - Yeah, and the fact that these were documentary filmmakers, 355 00:15:41,513 --> 00:15:42,381 and for them to say, 356 00:15:42,381 --> 00:15:44,297 "We're gonna make this incredible story", 357 00:15:44,297 --> 00:15:47,223 and for people who show to invest in it, you know. 358 00:15:47,223 --> 00:15:48,765 - David O. Selznick would later write 359 00:15:48,765 --> 00:15:51,010 that one of the biggest risks he took 360 00:15:51,010 --> 00:15:52,853 when he was the chief at RKO 361 00:15:52,853 --> 00:15:55,518 was pulling money from other productions 362 00:15:55,518 --> 00:15:57,724 so that Cooper could make "King Kong" 363 00:15:57,724 --> 00:15:58,940 the way he envisioned it. 364 00:15:58,940 --> 00:16:02,299 - I mean, you have Willis O'Brien with this basically 365 00:16:02,299 --> 00:16:05,109 the left of the remnants of creation, you know? 366 00:16:05,109 --> 00:16:07,960 You have Merian C. Cooper, a madman wanting to pick 367 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,425 Komodo dragons against real-life gorillas. 368 00:16:10,425 --> 00:16:11,758 And to put all of this together, 369 00:16:11,758 --> 00:16:13,881 and this heads to finally say, 370 00:16:13,881 --> 00:16:16,448 "Well, we can make this movie, this magical movie", 371 00:16:16,448 --> 00:16:17,514 I think it's the testament 372 00:16:17,514 --> 00:16:19,662 of these guys passion and skill, you know? 373 00:16:19,662 --> 00:16:21,847 I, for one, am so glad that they did. 374 00:16:21,847 --> 00:16:23,202 - You know, for a movie directed by a guy 375 00:16:23,202 --> 00:16:25,535 who was sort of going blind, 376 00:16:26,961 --> 00:16:30,301 'cause Ernest B. Schoedsack was, 377 00:16:30,301 --> 00:16:32,124 every part of the movie is memorable for me. 378 00:16:32,124 --> 00:16:33,959 - I mean, all this stuff is just so incredible. 379 00:16:33,959 --> 00:16:38,548 I can imagine in 1925 when "The Lost World" came out, 380 00:16:38,548 --> 00:16:40,884 which you had the dinosaurs and stuff and things like that. 381 00:16:40,884 --> 00:16:43,439 I try to put myself back in that and think, 382 00:16:43,439 --> 00:16:45,368 "Boy, I would have been flabbergasted", 383 00:16:45,368 --> 00:16:46,996 and I was, I was flabbergasted with "Kong". 384 00:16:46,996 --> 00:16:49,683 I mean, absolutely, in a very good way. 385 00:16:49,683 --> 00:16:52,439 - I of course was blown away by it, you know? 386 00:16:52,439 --> 00:16:56,022 It just, it's one of those experiences that 387 00:16:57,829 --> 00:16:59,874 they just impress themselves on your mind. 388 00:16:59,874 --> 00:17:03,314 Every single frame goes into your psyche when you see it 389 00:17:03,314 --> 00:17:06,418 because you're just so in awe of what you're seeing. 390 00:17:06,418 --> 00:17:08,184 - It was a film I just couldn't get out of my mind. 391 00:17:08,184 --> 00:17:09,935 I mean, at first, I just loved it, 392 00:17:09,935 --> 00:17:12,555 it was a great adventure story for one thing, 393 00:17:12,555 --> 00:17:14,523 and everybody was good in the film, I thought. 394 00:17:14,523 --> 00:17:16,318 - It's got fantastic actors. 395 00:17:16,318 --> 00:17:19,051 Robert Armstrong is just incredible. 396 00:17:19,051 --> 00:17:22,694 - Robert Armstrong plays this sort of Ripley-like guy 397 00:17:22,694 --> 00:17:26,228 who is actually kind of Merian C. Cooper, 398 00:17:26,228 --> 00:17:28,523 this entrepreneurial producer who goes off 399 00:17:28,523 --> 00:17:30,816 and makes these jungle movies and stuff. 400 00:17:30,816 --> 00:17:34,571 And Carl Denham has always been my favorite director 401 00:17:34,571 --> 00:17:38,420 because of the way that he directs Fay Wray on the ship, 402 00:17:38,420 --> 00:17:41,211 when he's explaining to her how to act and what to do, 403 00:17:41,211 --> 00:17:43,243 "Now you see him and you're frightened". 404 00:17:43,243 --> 00:17:45,019 He just talks and just talks at her. 405 00:17:45,019 --> 00:17:47,120 Throw your arms across your eyes and scream! 406 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:48,510 Scream for your life! 407 00:17:48,510 --> 00:17:49,343 - Ah! 408 00:17:50,592 --> 00:17:52,759 - He has a crude authority 409 00:17:54,938 --> 00:17:57,045 that makes him kind of lovable. 410 00:17:57,045 --> 00:17:59,627 - Robert Armstrong was an amazing Carl Denham. 411 00:17:59,627 --> 00:18:01,603 Nobody could do it better than he did it. 412 00:18:01,603 --> 00:18:03,292 You know, Fay Wray was the most beautiful woman 413 00:18:03,292 --> 00:18:04,270 in Hollywood then, 414 00:18:04,270 --> 00:18:06,502 and still today she is the most beautiful woman. 415 00:18:06,502 --> 00:18:08,819 She just signified beauty in such a way. 416 00:18:08,819 --> 00:18:12,299 - I watched a lot of Fay Wray's pictures from the early '30s 417 00:18:12,299 --> 00:18:14,471 and she was quite a looker. 418 00:18:14,471 --> 00:18:17,462 And she, of course, did a lot of drama pictures. 419 00:18:17,462 --> 00:18:18,956 And in "King Kong" she doesn't wear a bra, 420 00:18:18,956 --> 00:18:21,285 which is always very pleasant. 421 00:18:21,285 --> 00:18:23,372 - But it's always Fay Wray, it's always that face. 422 00:18:23,372 --> 00:18:25,452 And that very moment when Carl Denham, 423 00:18:25,452 --> 00:18:27,665 when she's about to steal the apple but doesn't, 424 00:18:27,665 --> 00:18:30,202 and Carl Denham, she falls back and caught her in his arms, 425 00:18:30,202 --> 00:18:32,554 weak as a kitten, and you see that face. 426 00:18:32,554 --> 00:18:34,885 Wow, it's just wonderful, you know? 427 00:18:34,885 --> 00:18:36,700 It's a beautiful face. 428 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:39,472 And I think that there's no red-blood man on this planet 429 00:18:39,472 --> 00:18:40,766 that would disagree with me. 430 00:18:40,766 --> 00:18:42,466 - She's the original scream queen. 431 00:18:42,466 --> 00:18:46,633 And just being, I think, in that moment, in that role, 432 00:18:48,004 --> 00:18:50,052 she just blew everyone's mind 433 00:18:50,052 --> 00:18:53,060 because she really, she brought it. 434 00:18:53,060 --> 00:18:54,841 - I fell in love with her, I think the first time, 435 00:18:54,841 --> 00:18:58,356 you know, just, "Wow, she's so pretty". 436 00:18:58,356 --> 00:19:00,439 And that never went away. 437 00:19:02,088 --> 00:19:03,506 - She used to go to screenings all the time, 438 00:19:03,506 --> 00:19:05,213 you know, the big screening at the Chinese 439 00:19:05,213 --> 00:19:07,156 when they sort of, we put the picture back together again 440 00:19:07,156 --> 00:19:08,873 and she was there, and she was very gracious, 441 00:19:08,873 --> 00:19:11,454 talked very lovingly about everybody that was involved. 442 00:19:11,454 --> 00:19:13,042 And it's was just a nice lady. 443 00:19:13,042 --> 00:19:15,559 - When you're on a TV show in any kind of regular basis 444 00:19:15,559 --> 00:19:17,617 you get invited to stuff. 445 00:19:17,617 --> 00:19:20,344 And so I went and there was a guy I knew, 446 00:19:20,344 --> 00:19:23,927 and he was next to this lovely elderly lady 447 00:19:25,213 --> 00:19:29,165 who was just smiling and shiny and just, you know. 448 00:19:29,165 --> 00:19:31,373 And he said hi to me and I said, "Hey, how are you doing?" 449 00:19:31,373 --> 00:19:34,540 He said, "Have you met my friend Fay?" 450 00:19:37,213 --> 00:19:38,843 And I said, "No". 451 00:19:38,843 --> 00:19:41,093 "Oh, Brian Howe. Fay Wray". 452 00:19:42,642 --> 00:19:44,225 And my jaw dropped. 453 00:19:45,127 --> 00:19:48,845 And I remember holding my hand out and my jaw dropping open. 454 00:19:48,845 --> 00:19:52,161 She could not have been more delightful, just lovely. 455 00:19:52,161 --> 00:19:54,828 And I shook her hand and I said, 456 00:19:56,566 --> 00:19:57,816 "The Fay Wray?" 457 00:19:59,064 --> 00:20:01,406 Like it was just out of context, like, 458 00:20:01,406 --> 00:20:04,368 "Why are you here in my life at this moment?" 459 00:20:04,368 --> 00:20:06,627 And she just was, she was lovely. 460 00:20:06,627 --> 00:20:09,136 She was adorable, actually, it's what she was. 461 00:20:09,136 --> 00:20:12,117 - I was here for the 50th anniversary recreation 462 00:20:12,117 --> 00:20:13,568 of the premiere of "King Kong" 463 00:20:13,568 --> 00:20:15,401 at Grauman's Chinese Theater. 464 00:20:15,401 --> 00:20:20,116 There's Fay Wray, Ray Harryhausen, John Landis, Hugh Hefner. 465 00:20:20,116 --> 00:20:24,809 And I brought my "Making of King Kong" book to get signed. 466 00:20:24,809 --> 00:20:29,562 When she was signing my book I was suddenly in limbo, 467 00:20:29,562 --> 00:20:31,876 there was nothing else in the universe 468 00:20:31,876 --> 00:20:34,516 except me and Fay Wray signing my book, 469 00:20:34,516 --> 00:20:36,909 everything else was just blackness. 470 00:20:36,909 --> 00:20:39,876 It was a real, magical, mystical experience, 471 00:20:39,876 --> 00:20:41,007 it's just incredible. 472 00:20:41,007 --> 00:20:44,292 And she was so sweet and so kind to sign my book for me. 473 00:20:44,292 --> 00:20:46,117 I just, I was knocked down. 474 00:20:46,117 --> 00:20:49,402 - I had the opportunity to play her 475 00:20:49,402 --> 00:20:53,225 as a young child on stage in her play 476 00:20:53,225 --> 00:20:54,911 called "The Meadowlark". 477 00:20:54,911 --> 00:20:55,764 So I knew of "King Kong" 478 00:20:55,764 --> 00:20:57,738 and I think I even rented the movie right before, 479 00:20:57,738 --> 00:20:59,326 and I was very excited. 480 00:20:59,326 --> 00:21:01,032 And she was just this elegant woman 481 00:21:01,032 --> 00:21:04,314 just walking down the aisle and, 482 00:21:04,314 --> 00:21:07,135 it was an instant connection, it was instant, 483 00:21:07,135 --> 00:21:09,277 like it had nothing to do with age. 484 00:21:09,277 --> 00:21:10,444 And we bonded. 485 00:21:11,535 --> 00:21:15,093 Fay was always there, she was always next to me. 486 00:21:15,093 --> 00:21:16,206 If I was sitting down eating 487 00:21:16,206 --> 00:21:18,973 she would be sitting next to me. 488 00:21:18,973 --> 00:21:22,659 And after the show was over she said, "Stay in touch", 489 00:21:22,659 --> 00:21:23,544 and I said, "Okay". 490 00:21:23,544 --> 00:21:24,877 And phone calls, 491 00:21:27,217 --> 00:21:29,432 Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, 492 00:21:29,432 --> 00:21:31,368 Easter, the whole entire thing. 493 00:21:31,368 --> 00:21:35,464 She really mentored me, she really set me down 494 00:21:35,464 --> 00:21:38,008 and told me what to expect 495 00:21:38,008 --> 00:21:42,344 and really don't expect anything and expect all. 496 00:21:42,344 --> 00:21:44,894 And that always stood with me. 497 00:21:44,894 --> 00:21:47,416 - For me "King Kong" is a movie that has everything. 498 00:21:47,416 --> 00:21:49,678 It's a jungle adventure film, 499 00:21:49,678 --> 00:21:52,119 it's got dinosaurs, it's got a giant gorilla, 500 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:54,444 it's got a beautiful, sexy woman. 501 00:21:54,444 --> 00:21:56,862 I mean, I can't think of anything that lacks. 502 00:21:56,862 --> 00:21:58,044 - It's full of memorable characters, 503 00:21:58,044 --> 00:21:59,619 it's full of memorable scenes. 504 00:21:59,619 --> 00:22:02,429 And, of course, the Willis O'Brien's work is phenomenal, 505 00:22:02,429 --> 00:22:04,504 and even the flaws in it, 506 00:22:04,504 --> 00:22:06,504 which are the fur is ruffled under his fingers 507 00:22:06,504 --> 00:22:08,536 every time he moves the puppet. 508 00:22:08,536 --> 00:22:11,576 - And you'd see the finger marks all over the model. 509 00:22:11,576 --> 00:22:13,214 - A plus because it looks like wind. 510 00:22:13,214 --> 00:22:17,223 - And I remember being awestruck all over again, 511 00:22:17,223 --> 00:22:19,992 like it didn't spoil it in the least. 512 00:22:19,992 --> 00:22:23,891 - And those lavage, lush backgrounds based on Gustave Dore 513 00:22:23,891 --> 00:22:26,627 was just, have so much depth, 514 00:22:26,627 --> 00:22:28,284 it just seemed to extend forever, 515 00:22:28,284 --> 00:22:30,870 and they feel so real, it feel like you could 516 00:22:30,870 --> 00:22:34,103 just jump into the screen and enter that world. 517 00:22:34,103 --> 00:22:37,521 - They would paint leaves on glass 518 00:22:37,521 --> 00:22:39,776 and put the glass in the foreground, 519 00:22:39,776 --> 00:22:42,609 and then they put the puppet on a pegboard in the background 520 00:22:42,609 --> 00:22:44,122 and then they had another painting 521 00:22:44,122 --> 00:22:45,952 that were rear background. 522 00:22:45,952 --> 00:22:48,369 And how they figured that out 523 00:22:50,376 --> 00:22:52,354 still is amazing to me. 524 00:22:52,354 --> 00:22:55,048 - It was still a 3D dimensional set with the camera 525 00:22:55,048 --> 00:22:57,267 and a guy and a model, 526 00:22:57,267 --> 00:23:00,481 moving this model a micron of an inch 527 00:23:00,481 --> 00:23:01,814 and going click, 528 00:23:03,322 --> 00:23:04,578 click. 529 00:23:04,578 --> 00:23:07,786 And later that becomes King Kong? What? 530 00:23:07,786 --> 00:23:09,645 That still defies explanation. 531 00:23:09,645 --> 00:23:13,994 So, it hasn't become less awesome with age. 532 00:23:13,994 --> 00:23:16,767 - The effects are not an issue at all, I love 'em. 533 00:23:16,767 --> 00:23:20,627 And it goes back to the "Siskel and Ebert" statement 534 00:23:20,627 --> 00:23:24,276 where, yes, stop-motion looks fake but feels real, 535 00:23:24,276 --> 00:23:27,109 and CGI looks real but feels fake. 536 00:23:28,298 --> 00:23:32,818 - It never ceases to amaze when I watch the movie, 537 00:23:32,818 --> 00:23:35,735 the amount of emotion and animalism 538 00:23:37,592 --> 00:23:39,786 and humanity, if you will, 539 00:23:39,786 --> 00:23:43,593 that Willis O'Brien managed to imbue that puppet with. 540 00:23:43,593 --> 00:23:47,760 - After he fights the T. Rex and he rips the jaws open, 541 00:23:49,197 --> 00:23:51,811 and then he leans over and he plays with it, 542 00:23:51,811 --> 00:23:53,478 and he opens the jaw 543 00:23:54,426 --> 00:23:57,108 and he's sort of physically studying it. 544 00:23:57,108 --> 00:23:58,916 - And I loved that when he breaks his neck 545 00:23:58,916 --> 00:24:01,815 and he wiggles it to make sure it's dead and whatever, 546 00:24:01,815 --> 00:24:03,975 and then he gets up and does his thing. 547 00:24:03,975 --> 00:24:06,434 That probably is my favorite scene of the film. 548 00:24:06,434 --> 00:24:08,385 - If you don't include all of the artists, 549 00:24:08,385 --> 00:24:10,205 all of the pre-production artists, all the set designers, 550 00:24:10,205 --> 00:24:12,815 include just the guys that were literally animating, 551 00:24:12,815 --> 00:24:14,732 those two or three people 552 00:24:14,732 --> 00:24:17,367 as opposed to 300 or 400 people that it takes today 553 00:24:17,367 --> 00:24:19,749 to do a whole CGI character, 554 00:24:19,749 --> 00:24:22,624 or a whole horde of CGI characters for a movie. 555 00:24:22,624 --> 00:24:25,932 To me the uniqueness is that it's an artistic vision 556 00:24:25,932 --> 00:24:28,290 that really does come out of one person. 557 00:24:28,290 --> 00:24:30,895 - It's astounding that when you think about 558 00:24:30,895 --> 00:24:33,510 how big Kong really was, 559 00:24:33,510 --> 00:24:37,314 but that they imparted so much character in him 560 00:24:37,314 --> 00:24:39,383 and so much personality. 561 00:24:39,383 --> 00:24:42,992 And you can completely see why every other filmmaker 562 00:24:42,992 --> 00:24:45,775 and every other special effects artist in the world 563 00:24:45,775 --> 00:24:46,775 copied that. 564 00:24:47,916 --> 00:24:50,002 And Ray Harryhausen, 565 00:24:50,002 --> 00:24:52,731 the personality that he put into his creatures, 566 00:24:52,731 --> 00:24:56,097 was clearly mimicked by what he saw in "King Kong". 567 00:24:56,097 --> 00:24:58,446 - I think Forrest J. Ackerman said it best, 568 00:24:58,446 --> 00:25:01,986 in one of his most eloquent moments, he said, 569 00:25:01,986 --> 00:25:06,354 "What sets Kong apart from other movie monsters 570 00:25:06,354 --> 00:25:08,758 "is the fact that somehow or other Willis O'Brien 571 00:25:08,758 --> 00:25:12,169 "managed to insert a soul into that little creature". 572 00:25:12,169 --> 00:25:13,499 And I've never heard it put better, 573 00:25:13,499 --> 00:25:16,144 I think that's exactly what he did. 574 00:25:16,144 --> 00:25:17,483 - And it was achieved at a time 575 00:25:17,483 --> 00:25:19,422 when that kind of thing was still new, 576 00:25:19,422 --> 00:25:20,451 it had not been seen before. 577 00:25:20,451 --> 00:25:22,830 So it was, it sort of epitomizes a time 578 00:25:22,830 --> 00:25:25,588 when there were still new things to be had 579 00:25:25,588 --> 00:25:29,214 in moviemaking that people could relate to 580 00:25:29,214 --> 00:25:32,989 without understanding the technology behind it. 581 00:25:32,989 --> 00:25:35,480 - The other thing that hadn't been around that long 582 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,198 back then was original soundtrack recordings and scores. 583 00:25:39,198 --> 00:25:42,873 That score by Max Steiner is unbelievable, 584 00:25:42,873 --> 00:25:45,689 still one, I think one of the greatest scores of all time. 585 00:25:45,689 --> 00:25:47,886 - The music, oh, my God, the music is spectacular. 586 00:25:47,886 --> 00:25:50,574 Steiner's music just, I mean he made it live. 587 00:25:50,574 --> 00:25:52,361 I think movie scores make films live anyway, 588 00:25:52,361 --> 00:25:56,181 but this particular one, wow, it was just so cool. 589 00:25:56,181 --> 00:26:00,329 - He was so perceptive in giving each character a theme. 590 00:26:00,329 --> 00:26:02,727 - It was one of the first scores 591 00:26:02,727 --> 00:26:05,315 ever written for a motion picture, which I didn't know, 592 00:26:05,315 --> 00:26:08,622 but it makes sense because in that soundtrack, 593 00:26:08,622 --> 00:26:10,101 in that Max Steiner soundtrack, 594 00:26:10,101 --> 00:26:12,219 there are themes for the different characters. 595 00:26:12,219 --> 00:26:14,904 - When you hear Kong via the score, 596 00:26:14,904 --> 00:26:16,755 the first time he appears, 597 00:26:16,755 --> 00:26:20,285 you're not actually hearing him but you're hearing "Hmmmpf". 598 00:26:23,588 --> 00:26:26,856 Where you're imagining, "Okay, that's something huge, 599 00:26:26,856 --> 00:26:30,200 "and it's taking steps", but it's all done musically. 600 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,386 Astounding. 601 00:26:31,386 --> 00:26:33,425 - Again, another thing that locks into an artifact 602 00:26:33,425 --> 00:26:35,169 of a very specific time, 603 00:26:35,169 --> 00:26:37,304 not just in the movie itself but also in my life 604 00:26:37,304 --> 00:26:39,373 when I saw it, I think. 605 00:26:39,373 --> 00:26:41,695 - Skipper, believe it or not, 606 00:26:41,695 --> 00:26:44,146 there's a little Kong. - What? 607 00:26:44,146 --> 00:26:45,313 A little Kong? 608 00:26:46,181 --> 00:26:47,212 How little? 609 00:26:49,014 --> 00:26:50,277 - "The Son of Kong" is an interesting movie 610 00:26:50,277 --> 00:26:52,299 because it's a big picture, 611 00:26:52,299 --> 00:26:55,360 and they had to make it quickly to take advantage 612 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,980 of the amazing success of the first picture. 613 00:26:57,980 --> 00:27:01,564 - "Son of Kong" is a strange little oddity. 614 00:27:01,564 --> 00:27:03,579 It came out in the same year as "King Kong", 615 00:27:03,579 --> 00:27:06,829 they're both 1933, which is impressive. 616 00:27:07,826 --> 00:27:11,767 It implies the presence of a Queen Kong. 617 00:27:11,767 --> 00:27:13,751 That's, there's a movie right there. 618 00:27:13,751 --> 00:27:16,183 - I was definitely wondering how did that happen, 619 00:27:16,183 --> 00:27:18,193 how did King Kong have a child. 620 00:27:18,193 --> 00:27:20,193 So, can someone tell me? 621 00:27:22,129 --> 00:27:23,883 Who was he having kids with 622 00:27:23,883 --> 00:27:26,652 and how exactly would it happen? 623 00:27:26,652 --> 00:27:29,552 - I mean, there's a lot of unanswered questions here. 624 00:27:29,552 --> 00:27:31,637 So Kong just left the family, 625 00:27:31,637 --> 00:27:32,689 they don't know what happened. 626 00:27:32,689 --> 00:27:36,856 He went off to the big city, and with his girlfriend. 627 00:27:37,863 --> 00:27:39,665 - Did you ever catch a monkey? 628 00:27:39,665 --> 00:27:41,473 - Did I ever ...? 629 00:27:41,473 --> 00:27:43,030 Lady, you'd be surprised. 630 00:27:43,030 --> 00:27:46,943 - Kiko, the son of Kong, no explanation where he came from, 631 00:27:46,943 --> 00:27:49,529 where the mom is or if Kong is the mom. 632 00:27:49,529 --> 00:27:52,080 - You know, there's the reason why Willis O'Brien 633 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:53,643 turned his back on the actual movie, 634 00:27:53,643 --> 00:27:54,728 is because it was too funny. 635 00:27:54,728 --> 00:27:56,943 You know, we had such an epic movie, 636 00:27:56,943 --> 00:27:59,197 and to be followed by a lighthearted rump, 637 00:27:59,197 --> 00:28:00,938 I think really let the movie down. 638 00:28:00,938 --> 00:28:02,794 - Kong is dead, but everybody's interested 639 00:28:02,794 --> 00:28:04,384 in you too, Mr. Denham. 640 00:28:04,384 --> 00:28:06,661 All those people that Kong killed and injured, 641 00:28:06,661 --> 00:28:09,626 all the property owners who are suing you for damages. 642 00:28:09,626 --> 00:28:11,531 - A very clever opening, real, 643 00:28:11,531 --> 00:28:14,331 which most of these movies don't have 644 00:28:14,331 --> 00:28:15,995 where Carl Denham is like ruined to death, 645 00:28:15,995 --> 00:28:17,849 he's been sued by everybody in New York 646 00:28:17,849 --> 00:28:19,190 for all the damage that Kong did. 647 00:28:19,190 --> 00:28:23,275 And that's a pretty hip joke to be making in 1933. 648 00:28:23,275 --> 00:28:25,444 - The setup, the beginning was great. 649 00:28:25,444 --> 00:28:28,758 Carl Denham on the run, and he goes back into the jungle 650 00:28:28,758 --> 00:28:30,454 and the whole thing with the girl 651 00:28:30,454 --> 00:28:31,456 and the father getting killed. 652 00:28:31,456 --> 00:28:32,707 All that stuff was a great setup, 653 00:28:32,707 --> 00:28:37,443 and shockingly enough, when they introduced the son of Kong, 654 00:28:37,443 --> 00:28:39,193 it's a real let down. 655 00:28:40,734 --> 00:28:42,334 - It's the song "Runaway Blues" 656 00:28:42,334 --> 00:28:45,241 that just stops the film dead in its tracks 657 00:28:45,241 --> 00:28:47,911 for the three minutes she's singing that. 658 00:28:47,911 --> 00:28:51,678 ♫ Oh, I've got the runaway blues 659 00:28:51,678 --> 00:28:54,845 ♫ I want to wander away 660 00:28:54,845 --> 00:28:59,012 But I love it 'cause I love the audience nod in response. 661 00:29:00,197 --> 00:29:02,849 The Asian and Chinese gathered, just kind of sitting there, 662 00:29:02,849 --> 00:29:07,297 just sort of numb as she's going through her number. 663 00:29:07,297 --> 00:29:08,416 But it's a sweet song. 664 00:29:08,416 --> 00:29:11,269 And I love the way that Steiner echoes that song 665 00:29:11,269 --> 00:29:12,572 throughout the film. 666 00:29:12,572 --> 00:29:14,514 - Well, you know, Kong's son, 667 00:29:14,514 --> 00:29:17,031 who may or may not really be the son, 668 00:29:17,031 --> 00:29:20,069 the jury is out on that because there's certain things 669 00:29:20,069 --> 00:29:23,359 about him that don't seem to match up with his dad. 670 00:29:23,359 --> 00:29:26,949 But the idea of making him the hero 671 00:29:26,949 --> 00:29:28,756 sure came from the idea that so many people 672 00:29:28,756 --> 00:29:33,102 actually had responded to King Kong emotionally. 673 00:29:33,102 --> 00:29:35,167 - By the end, when the island is sinking, 674 00:29:35,167 --> 00:29:37,156 and out of nowhere the son of Kong 675 00:29:37,156 --> 00:29:38,903 holds up Carl Denham and saves him, 676 00:29:38,903 --> 00:29:42,589 I can't remember a more affective scene when I was a kid. 677 00:29:42,589 --> 00:29:44,270 Taught me about pathos 678 00:29:44,270 --> 00:29:47,662 and closing a little upon a story, and heroism, 679 00:29:47,662 --> 00:29:49,779 and doing the right thing. 680 00:29:49,779 --> 00:29:53,507 - It's undeniably moving, in a very corny way. 681 00:29:58,266 --> 00:30:00,373 - Then "Mighty Joe Young", which is, I think, 682 00:30:00,373 --> 00:30:03,027 the greatest special effects movie of all time. 683 00:30:03,027 --> 00:30:05,084 There are scenes in that that have never been duplicated. 684 00:30:05,084 --> 00:30:06,924 - Cooper already had the idea for a long time, 685 00:30:06,924 --> 00:30:09,411 but when he re-released Kong in '47 686 00:30:09,411 --> 00:30:12,726 it did better than it ever had before. 687 00:30:12,726 --> 00:30:15,798 I mean, you had audience now, a new audience. 688 00:30:15,798 --> 00:30:17,932 And, if anything else, I'm sure that he said, 689 00:30:17,932 --> 00:30:20,070 "I'm gonna make this other gorilla picture now". 690 00:30:20,070 --> 00:30:21,432 - It's a slicker picture than "King Kong" 691 00:30:21,432 --> 00:30:23,718 because the film stocks are different 692 00:30:23,718 --> 00:30:24,774 and the techniques are different. 693 00:30:24,774 --> 00:30:29,273 - There was enough advance made from, whatever, 1933 to '49, 694 00:30:29,273 --> 00:30:34,203 technically, that it felt more like a traditional movie 695 00:30:34,203 --> 00:30:35,752 about a great character, you know? 696 00:30:35,752 --> 00:30:38,281 Can't go wrong on a gorilla movie, as far as I'm concerned. 697 00:30:38,281 --> 00:30:41,347 - And there's a lot of really sophisticated techniques used, 698 00:30:41,347 --> 00:30:43,644 particularly in the whipping the monster scene 699 00:30:43,644 --> 00:30:47,785 which was repeated later in "The Valley of Gwangi". 700 00:30:47,785 --> 00:30:49,686 - And those were great lions too. 701 00:30:49,686 --> 00:30:51,471 They did a combination of real lions 702 00:30:51,471 --> 00:30:53,363 but also stop-motion animated lions 703 00:30:53,363 --> 00:30:55,019 for when Joe is fighting the lions 704 00:30:55,019 --> 00:30:56,493 when he's tearing apart the club. 705 00:30:56,493 --> 00:30:57,977 Those just look incredible. 706 00:30:57,977 --> 00:31:01,792 I'm sure those were a huge influence on Frank Frazetta. 707 00:31:01,792 --> 00:31:03,907 - It's the template for really a lot of pictures 708 00:31:03,907 --> 00:31:05,760 that Ray Harryhausen made after. 709 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,848 - The whole ending, that just wonderful thing 710 00:31:08,848 --> 00:31:11,139 where Joe's gonna get away but he doesn't 711 00:31:11,139 --> 00:31:13,700 because he needs to save those kids in the orphanage. 712 00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:14,747 - And when the picture was released, 713 00:31:14,747 --> 00:31:18,766 the fire scene in the orphanage was originally tinted red. 714 00:31:18,766 --> 00:31:21,640 The burning orphanage, the combination of fire, 715 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,191 which is hard in a regular movie, 716 00:31:23,191 --> 00:31:27,166 let alone to make fire work for you in an animated film, 717 00:31:27,166 --> 00:31:28,699 climbing the tree, the look in his eyes 718 00:31:28,699 --> 00:31:31,915 when the tree falls holding the little girl. 719 00:31:31,915 --> 00:31:34,481 No one's gonna shoot Joe now. 720 00:31:34,481 --> 00:31:35,648 - My poor Joe. 721 00:31:38,170 --> 00:31:39,709 - It's alright, kid. 722 00:31:39,709 --> 00:31:43,022 There's nobody in the world gonna shoot Joe now. 723 00:31:43,022 --> 00:31:45,976 - No, it's my home, I've lived here all my life. 724 00:31:45,976 --> 00:31:48,094 - Terry Moore is so darn cute in that film. 725 00:31:48,094 --> 00:31:49,625 I just, I fall in love with her 726 00:31:49,625 --> 00:31:51,697 every time I watch that movie. 727 00:31:51,697 --> 00:31:54,864 And I love the way she relates to the big gorilla, to Joe, 728 00:31:54,864 --> 00:31:57,066 that started as her little baby pet 729 00:31:57,066 --> 00:31:59,668 that's growing into this gigantic thing. 730 00:31:59,668 --> 00:32:02,419 - Mighty Joe Young was even more human than King Kong, 731 00:32:02,419 --> 00:32:04,729 though we accept that because he was brought up 732 00:32:04,729 --> 00:32:07,564 by a young girl whereas Kong was involuntarily 733 00:32:07,564 --> 00:32:10,441 this sad, lonely monster all by himself on an island. 734 00:32:10,441 --> 00:32:11,945 - Joe is just a great guy, you know? 735 00:32:11,945 --> 00:32:13,630 You'd like to live next door and have coffee with him 736 00:32:13,630 --> 00:32:15,820 and give him bananas or something, you know? 737 00:32:15,820 --> 00:32:17,354 Kong, I don't think you'd wanna do that. 738 00:32:17,354 --> 00:32:18,592 - I felt like Mighty Joe Young 739 00:32:18,592 --> 00:32:20,899 had more of a range of character than Kong. 740 00:32:20,899 --> 00:32:24,481 Kong had, there was angry Kong and there was Kong in love. 741 00:32:24,481 --> 00:32:25,886 And with Mighty Joe Young 742 00:32:25,886 --> 00:32:28,497 there were times when he was kind of playful, 743 00:32:28,497 --> 00:32:30,081 there were times when he was inquisitive, 744 00:32:30,081 --> 00:32:31,099 there was a whole point where he was 745 00:32:31,099 --> 00:32:32,321 depressed in the basement. 746 00:32:32,321 --> 00:32:34,103 And there was a much wider range, 747 00:32:34,103 --> 00:32:36,059 and more fun setups. 748 00:32:36,059 --> 00:32:38,905 - It's just not matched by anything in kid's cinema 749 00:32:38,905 --> 00:32:40,748 until maybe "Toy Story", 750 00:32:40,748 --> 00:32:44,047 and that ethic that the Pixar and Disney folks brought 751 00:32:44,047 --> 00:32:45,413 to those kinds of films, 752 00:32:45,413 --> 00:32:48,766 which I think deep down is the result of seeing 753 00:32:48,766 --> 00:32:51,020 "King Kong", "Son of Kong", "Mighty Joe Young" 754 00:32:51,020 --> 00:32:52,480 and knowing how to tell a story 755 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,189 to adults and children at the same time. 756 00:32:55,189 --> 00:32:57,645 - As a kid you'd watch "Son of Kong" 757 00:32:57,645 --> 00:32:59,925 or you'd watch "Mighty Joe Young" 758 00:32:59,925 --> 00:33:02,987 'cause "King Kong" wasn't on. 759 00:33:02,987 --> 00:33:05,225 Saying, "Alright, I'll watch this". 760 00:33:13,091 --> 00:33:15,577 - Around 1960 Willis O'Brien, 761 00:33:15,577 --> 00:33:18,193 who did the special effects for the original "King Kong", 762 00:33:18,193 --> 00:33:20,941 thought, "I'd like to do another King Kong movie". 763 00:33:20,941 --> 00:33:23,653 Well, his first thought was probably, "I like money", 764 00:33:23,653 --> 00:33:27,101 and then he thought, "Let's do another King Kong movie". 765 00:33:27,101 --> 00:33:30,836 Now, "Godzilla" had come out in 1954, 766 00:33:30,836 --> 00:33:35,027 so he thought, "Let's do King Kong vs Frankenstein". 767 00:33:35,027 --> 00:33:36,772 He didn't even think of Godzilla. 768 00:33:36,772 --> 00:33:39,904 - There was gonna be Kong versus a Frankenstein 769 00:33:39,904 --> 00:33:44,039 troglodyte creation, like this big hulking mass guy. 770 00:33:44,039 --> 00:33:46,972 - He went right to a giant Frankenstein in San Francisco. 771 00:33:46,972 --> 00:33:48,573 Having lived in San Francisco, 772 00:33:48,573 --> 00:33:50,465 who's gonna notice a giant Frankenstein? 773 00:33:50,465 --> 00:33:52,360 There's enough stuff going on at eye level. 774 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,370 - Couldn't get anybody, couldn't get arrested with the idea. 775 00:33:55,370 --> 00:33:57,995 - He is not a writer but he has this idea. 776 00:33:57,995 --> 00:34:01,044 He hooks up with the producer, named John Beck. 777 00:34:01,044 --> 00:34:02,981 John Beck, "Yeah, we'll get this thing going. 778 00:34:02,981 --> 00:34:04,368 "Let's get it going". 779 00:34:04,368 --> 00:34:05,971 So he's selling it and they find out, 780 00:34:05,971 --> 00:34:08,360 no, you don't have the rights of Frankenstein. 781 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,283 So they changed the name to "King Kong versus Prometheus". 782 00:34:11,283 --> 00:34:15,033 And then, while doing research, John Beck finds out 783 00:34:15,033 --> 00:34:19,921 that Willis O'Brien didn't own the rights to King Kong. 784 00:34:19,921 --> 00:34:24,379 So John Beck thought, "I know, I'll steal his idea". 785 00:34:24,379 --> 00:34:27,037 - And he decided to kind of take it, 786 00:34:27,037 --> 00:34:30,857 you could say he scouted with it, not quite sure. 787 00:34:30,857 --> 00:34:33,156 - So, without telling Willis O'Brien 788 00:34:33,156 --> 00:34:36,486 John Beck starts to talk to a lot of people, 789 00:34:36,486 --> 00:34:40,463 among them Toho International in Japan. 790 00:34:40,463 --> 00:34:43,347 - And Toho is like, "Well, we like the idea 791 00:34:43,347 --> 00:34:45,307 "of King Kong versus Frankenstein, 792 00:34:45,307 --> 00:34:47,024 "but we think it's gonna be even better, 793 00:34:47,024 --> 00:34:49,249 "specially with our 30th anniversary coming up, 794 00:34:49,249 --> 00:34:51,439 "let's do King Kong versus Godzilla". 795 00:34:51,439 --> 00:34:53,313 - Around this time Merian C. Cooper, 796 00:34:53,313 --> 00:34:55,070 who produced "King Kong", says, 797 00:34:55,070 --> 00:34:56,448 "Hey, hey! 798 00:34:56,448 --> 00:34:59,810 "You can't sell my movie, I own the rights of that movie. 799 00:34:59,810 --> 00:35:00,985 "You stole 'em from me!" 800 00:35:00,985 --> 00:35:02,394 John Beck said, "I didn't stole 'em from you, 801 00:35:02,394 --> 00:35:03,951 "I stole 'em from Willis O'Brien". 802 00:35:03,951 --> 00:35:05,781 Merian C. Cooper says, "He stole 'em from me". 803 00:35:05,781 --> 00:35:07,977 So now everybody starts suing everybody. 804 00:35:07,977 --> 00:35:09,641 In comes RKO Studios and goes, 805 00:35:09,641 --> 00:35:11,643 "None of you own the rights, we own the rights". 806 00:35:11,643 --> 00:35:13,041 And then they sue everybody too. 807 00:35:13,041 --> 00:35:16,601 - And Beck went and he negotiated the rights, 808 00:35:16,601 --> 00:35:20,687 got the rights from RKO and sold it to Toho 809 00:35:20,687 --> 00:35:22,892 for an exorbitant amount of money. 810 00:35:22,892 --> 00:35:27,534 - And the only person who stays on the film and gets paid 811 00:35:27,534 --> 00:35:31,559 is John Beck, the one guy who never, ever 812 00:35:31,559 --> 00:35:34,976 had the right to think he owned anything. 813 00:35:36,443 --> 00:35:38,361 Beautiful Hollywood story. 814 00:35:38,361 --> 00:35:40,668 - They were touting the new version 815 00:35:40,668 --> 00:35:43,543 of "King Kong meets Godzilla". 816 00:35:43,543 --> 00:35:45,705 And there were rumored to be two different versions 817 00:35:45,705 --> 00:35:48,512 where he wins and Godzilla wins and all of that stuff. 818 00:35:48,512 --> 00:35:49,773 But none of that really mattered 819 00:35:49,773 --> 00:35:53,469 because the monster suit was so crappy, 820 00:35:53,469 --> 00:35:55,245 it was so terrible. 821 00:35:55,245 --> 00:35:56,746 It was one of the worst gorilla suits 822 00:35:56,746 --> 00:35:58,590 I've ever seen in a movie. 823 00:35:58,590 --> 00:36:00,910 And it's supposed to be King Kong. 824 00:36:00,910 --> 00:36:04,525 - You essentially get a guy in a gorilla suit. 825 00:36:04,525 --> 00:36:05,796 And I've been a guy in a gorilla suit 826 00:36:05,796 --> 00:36:08,964 without any ability to have and show any emotions 827 00:36:08,964 --> 00:36:11,762 'cause his eyes aren't even his eyes. 828 00:36:11,762 --> 00:36:15,106 - And so, and thus the movie is, 829 00:36:15,106 --> 00:36:17,182 it's extensibly a comedy, I think. 830 00:36:17,182 --> 00:36:20,957 And it was suddenly treated by the distributor as a comedy. 831 00:36:20,957 --> 00:36:23,545 - One of our first big treats in "King Kong versus Godzilla" 832 00:36:23,545 --> 00:36:26,492 is Kong versus the giant octopus, 833 00:36:26,492 --> 00:36:30,084 which is an actual giant octopus in some shots. 834 00:36:30,084 --> 00:36:33,444 What happens is Kong is brought back to the mainland, 835 00:36:33,444 --> 00:36:34,792 at the same time that Godzilla 836 00:36:34,792 --> 00:36:36,318 has been woken up from a glacier 837 00:36:36,318 --> 00:36:40,756 because an atomic submarine is in it, of course. 838 00:36:40,756 --> 00:36:41,972 It's destined that these two guys 839 00:36:41,972 --> 00:36:43,775 are gonna fight each other. 840 00:36:43,775 --> 00:36:46,608 You now have Kong at 147 feet tall 841 00:36:47,686 --> 00:36:49,150 to be able to fight Godzilla. 842 00:36:49,150 --> 00:36:51,238 And also, for some reason, Kong has the ability 843 00:36:51,238 --> 00:36:53,909 to conduct electricity, 844 00:36:53,909 --> 00:36:55,149 because he has to be able to fight 845 00:36:55,149 --> 00:36:57,524 the atomic breath of Godzilla. 846 00:36:57,524 --> 00:37:00,907 After all this battle, Kong goes back to his island, 847 00:37:00,907 --> 00:37:03,430 Godzilla falls off to the ocean, 848 00:37:03,430 --> 00:37:05,286 we have no idea what's going on. 849 00:37:05,286 --> 00:37:08,275 - Godzilla has disappeared without a trace. 850 00:37:08,275 --> 00:37:11,882 As for King Kong, our international communications satellite 851 00:37:11,882 --> 00:37:13,162 is following him. 852 00:37:13,162 --> 00:37:15,412 - It's a draw, nobody wins. 853 00:37:16,566 --> 00:37:18,877 Okay, well, there you are. 854 00:37:18,877 --> 00:37:20,054 - Godzilla was my favorite. 855 00:37:20,054 --> 00:37:21,984 Godzilla and the creature 856 00:37:21,984 --> 00:37:24,465 were my two favorite monsters as a kid, 857 00:37:24,465 --> 00:37:27,944 so when I knew there was a Godzilla versus King Kong 858 00:37:27,944 --> 00:37:29,867 I was so excited. 859 00:37:29,867 --> 00:37:31,510 - And to me at the time, 860 00:37:31,510 --> 00:37:33,002 the King Kong was the exact same Kong 861 00:37:33,002 --> 00:37:34,819 from the original movie, I couldn't tell a difference, 862 00:37:34,819 --> 00:37:36,483 I was four or five years old. 863 00:37:36,483 --> 00:37:39,135 I was just excited to see this wonderful ape again. 864 00:37:39,135 --> 00:37:41,885 - I have a very strange deep love 865 00:37:43,607 --> 00:37:46,386 of "King Kong versus Godzilla". 866 00:37:46,386 --> 00:37:50,031 And to this day, there are certain films, 867 00:37:50,031 --> 00:37:53,781 there's just something about the look of them 868 00:37:54,984 --> 00:37:57,531 that I find just gorgeous. 869 00:37:57,531 --> 00:38:00,366 - It was a natural thing that Godzilla should meet Kong. 870 00:38:00,366 --> 00:38:02,401 I mean, they're both big, giant monsters and stuff. 871 00:38:02,401 --> 00:38:04,850 It was very enjoyable, I enjoyed both the films, 872 00:38:04,850 --> 00:38:06,346 but I never took them seriously. 873 00:38:06,346 --> 00:38:09,274 Ever could I ever take either one seriously. 874 00:38:09,274 --> 00:38:11,892 - Here in the States what happened was 875 00:38:11,892 --> 00:38:14,533 the animated company Rankin Bass 876 00:38:14,533 --> 00:38:18,003 got the rights to Kong to do their own animated series. 877 00:38:18,003 --> 00:38:20,836 ♫ The legend Kong 878 00:38:22,902 --> 00:38:26,444 ♫ King Kong, you know the name of 879 00:38:26,444 --> 00:38:28,472 ♫ King Kong 880 00:38:28,472 --> 00:38:30,871 So Rankin Bass approached Toho 881 00:38:30,871 --> 00:38:32,780 about doing a new Kong film, 882 00:38:32,780 --> 00:38:35,977 and this was going to be "King Kong Escapes". 883 00:38:35,977 --> 00:38:40,495 King Kong escapes and meets his greatest foe, 884 00:38:40,495 --> 00:38:41,995 the Kong of steel. 885 00:38:43,621 --> 00:38:46,680 - "King Kong Escapes" is totally 886 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,705 of that Toho science fiction era, 887 00:38:48,705 --> 00:38:51,529 it's totally of that Rankin Bass show, 888 00:38:51,529 --> 00:38:52,792 it's its own creation, 889 00:38:52,792 --> 00:38:54,691 and I don't think anybody's ever gotten 890 00:38:54,691 --> 00:38:56,950 that weird with Kong yet. 891 00:38:56,950 --> 00:38:59,786 - Yeah, I watched them all at once. 892 00:38:59,786 --> 00:39:01,535 That's enough for me. 893 00:39:01,535 --> 00:39:03,997 It was, you know, none of them are really Kong. 894 00:39:03,997 --> 00:39:06,395 The real Kong is the Willis O'Brien Kong. 895 00:39:06,395 --> 00:39:10,395 - It's definitely, if you're a diehard 1933 guy, 896 00:39:11,836 --> 00:39:15,327 the Toho films in general are a disappointment, I think, 897 00:39:15,327 --> 00:39:17,789 because Kong in "Kong versus Godzilla" 898 00:39:17,789 --> 00:39:19,518 is not the Kong we know. 899 00:39:19,518 --> 00:39:23,592 - The problem is, a big hit always brings competitors 900 00:39:23,592 --> 00:39:27,759 or the copiers that have no real understanding for it 901 00:39:29,256 --> 00:39:32,796 and decimate the original for what it was worth. 902 00:39:32,796 --> 00:39:35,209 I mean "Jaws" is one of the 10 best films in the world, 903 00:39:35,209 --> 00:39:36,600 as far as I'm concerned, 904 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,741 but there wasn't one movie made 905 00:39:38,741 --> 00:39:41,618 about a shark attacking people after "Jaws" 906 00:39:41,618 --> 00:39:42,921 that's worth the day. 907 00:39:42,921 --> 00:39:44,587 The always hit this middle ground where 908 00:39:44,587 --> 00:39:46,170 I remember "King Kong" comes about, 909 00:39:46,170 --> 00:39:47,993 "Well, okay, we'll have them do, 910 00:39:47,993 --> 00:39:50,075 "this Chicago city will be there, 911 00:39:50,075 --> 00:39:51,450 "it will be other tower. 912 00:39:51,450 --> 00:39:53,947 "It's not King Kong, it's not the Empire State buiLding". 913 00:39:53,947 --> 00:39:56,002 You know, whatever. 914 00:39:56,002 --> 00:39:57,617 - Fantastic. 915 00:39:57,617 --> 00:39:59,196 There's a huge monster gorilla 916 00:39:59,196 --> 00:40:01,722 that's constantly growing to outlandish proportions 917 00:40:01,722 --> 00:40:03,420 loose in the streets. 918 00:40:03,420 --> 00:40:07,165 - I remember seeing "Konga" as a creature feature on TV, 919 00:40:07,165 --> 00:40:07,998 and ... 920 00:40:08,937 --> 00:40:10,295 I don't even -- 921 00:40:10,295 --> 00:40:12,949 As much as I'm willing to forgive the Toho Kongs 922 00:40:12,949 --> 00:40:17,214 for the kind of cheesy-looking guy and suit effects, 923 00:40:17,214 --> 00:40:19,740 when it got to "Konga", that point now, 924 00:40:19,740 --> 00:40:23,051 I mean, it was really just, "Go down, get a gorilla suit 925 00:40:23,051 --> 00:40:24,335 "and put a guy in it, 926 00:40:24,335 --> 00:40:27,391 "and have him rampaged through a model". 927 00:40:27,391 --> 00:40:29,251 And I'm like, "Ah, really?" 928 00:40:29,251 --> 00:40:30,118 And there was all the, 929 00:40:30,118 --> 00:40:32,845 I remember 'cause there was like some growth formula 930 00:40:32,845 --> 00:40:35,640 that Michael Gough's character was using. 931 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,678 I don't know what film he was in but he was off his rocker. 932 00:40:39,678 --> 00:40:41,321 At the end it's not a woman 933 00:40:41,321 --> 00:40:43,977 and Konga's claw, is Michael Gough. 934 00:40:43,977 --> 00:40:46,067 It's like, "Really?" 935 00:40:46,067 --> 00:40:46,900 - Konga! 936 00:40:48,254 --> 00:40:50,677 - He looks very sexy in the giant gorilla's paw 937 00:40:50,677 --> 00:40:51,838 at the end of this film. 938 00:40:51,838 --> 00:40:54,551 - "Trog", although, is not a giant ape. 939 00:40:54,551 --> 00:40:57,024 Essentially it is the structure of "King Kong". 940 00:40:57,024 --> 00:40:58,828 It's good to have a couple of beers with that one. 941 00:40:58,828 --> 00:41:01,471 - I saw some movie at the theater called "A*P*E", 942 00:41:01,471 --> 00:41:04,342 and literally it was just a guy in a gorilla suit. 943 00:41:04,342 --> 00:41:06,189 It was a 3D movie and it was terrible. 944 00:41:06,189 --> 00:41:08,641 And I noticed how cheap it was because this gorilla 945 00:41:08,641 --> 00:41:11,176 had the same rubbed Don Post Gorilla hands 946 00:41:11,176 --> 00:41:13,884 that I had on my gorilla suit, I recognized the wrinkles. 947 00:41:13,884 --> 00:41:15,952 And there was a point where he knocks 948 00:41:15,952 --> 00:41:18,871 a helicopter model out the sky and flips off the camera, 949 00:41:18,871 --> 00:41:19,900 and that's where I got a really good shot 950 00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:21,622 of this rubber hand. 951 00:41:21,622 --> 00:41:24,368 So, I just never liked things 952 00:41:24,368 --> 00:41:26,400 that seemed like cheap knockoffs. 953 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:31,756 - Here's the power of Kong! 954 00:41:31,756 --> 00:41:34,027 - With the '76 Kong, I mean, I knew my friend Rick Baker 955 00:41:34,027 --> 00:41:35,821 was gonna play the gorilla, and I thought, 956 00:41:35,821 --> 00:41:36,682 "That's kind of cool". 957 00:41:36,682 --> 00:41:37,660 I didn't see any pictures, 958 00:41:37,660 --> 00:41:39,307 or I hadn't seem anything on him at all, 959 00:41:39,307 --> 00:41:40,878 and I was kind of looking forward to it, I thought, 960 00:41:40,878 --> 00:41:42,061 "Well, maybe it's okay". 961 00:41:42,061 --> 00:41:44,002 I did hear he was gonna fight a big snake, 962 00:41:44,002 --> 00:41:46,042 they weren't gonna have a dinosaur, and that kind of, 963 00:41:46,042 --> 00:41:47,761 you know, but, well, maybe they just ran out of budget. 964 00:41:47,761 --> 00:41:48,601 I don't know. 965 00:41:48,601 --> 00:41:51,374 I didn't know who Dino de Laurentiis was, I had no idea. 966 00:41:51,374 --> 00:41:53,752 - Well, Dino's "King Kong", again, 967 00:41:53,752 --> 00:41:55,888 was pretty much a disappointment, 968 00:41:55,888 --> 00:41:59,806 largely because Carlo Rambaldi's big Kong thing 969 00:41:59,806 --> 00:42:02,258 that he built didn't really work. 970 00:42:02,258 --> 00:42:03,819 - "Jaws" had just come out, 971 00:42:03,819 --> 00:42:07,346 and "Jaws" they built this gigantic 25-foot shark, 972 00:42:07,346 --> 00:42:11,513 They had claimed in the marketing campaign for "King Kong" 973 00:42:13,706 --> 00:42:16,792 that they had built a full animatronic Kong 974 00:42:16,792 --> 00:42:17,889 that did everything, 975 00:42:17,889 --> 00:42:20,764 and that the only thing they used the guy in the suit for 976 00:42:20,764 --> 00:42:22,319 was a few shots. 977 00:42:22,319 --> 00:42:23,596 Later, of course, you find out 978 00:42:23,596 --> 00:42:26,839 that the reverse was really true. 979 00:42:26,839 --> 00:42:30,888 They did built a full-size mechanical Kong 980 00:42:30,888 --> 00:42:32,891 that looked absolutely nothing 981 00:42:32,891 --> 00:42:35,580 like any of the ape faces in Kong. 982 00:42:35,580 --> 00:42:37,461 Nothing at all. 983 00:42:37,461 --> 00:42:38,811 - And then of course when you're seeing the movie 984 00:42:38,811 --> 00:42:39,894 it's like ... 985 00:42:41,536 --> 00:42:43,129 And it doesn't even move, 986 00:42:43,129 --> 00:42:45,425 where you see like four shots of it. 987 00:42:45,425 --> 00:42:47,006 - The arm actually came loose, 988 00:42:47,006 --> 00:42:49,035 it's all mechanical, made out of steel and stuff, 989 00:42:49,035 --> 00:42:49,884 with fur on it, 990 00:42:49,884 --> 00:42:53,555 it fell off and, darn it, it hit some people. 991 00:42:53,555 --> 00:42:56,629 And then it's used, I think, in two scenes in the film 992 00:42:56,629 --> 00:42:59,709 for about maybe five, six seconds, that's it. 993 00:42:59,709 --> 00:43:02,534 And the rest of it is Rick in the suit. 994 00:43:02,534 --> 00:43:05,211 - But I remember watching the movie for the first time 995 00:43:05,211 --> 00:43:09,301 and I think more than anything the giant mechanical hand, 996 00:43:09,301 --> 00:43:12,550 I loved that, I mean, I just loved how they built that hand 997 00:43:12,550 --> 00:43:14,453 to come in, and then, you know, 998 00:43:14,453 --> 00:43:16,480 in the waterfall scene where it's holding her 999 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:18,626 and there's one that's she's sitting in. 1000 00:43:18,626 --> 00:43:19,585 That I always love, 1001 00:43:19,585 --> 00:43:22,369 I was always fascinated with that aspect of it. 1002 00:43:22,369 --> 00:43:23,283 - Before that movie came out, 1003 00:43:23,283 --> 00:43:26,320 going into all the excitement, knowing it was Rick Baker, 1004 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,200 and I was a big Rick Baker fan by then, 1005 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:29,377 and pictures came out. 1006 00:43:29,377 --> 00:43:31,355 I remember when "Time" magazine came out 1007 00:43:31,355 --> 00:43:32,872 just trying to read everything I could. 1008 00:43:32,872 --> 00:43:36,080 And I read past all the stuff about, 1009 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,096 "It's all gonna be a life-sized robot". 1010 00:43:38,096 --> 00:43:39,043 And I just didn't care, 1011 00:43:39,043 --> 00:43:40,369 I didn't believe it and I didn't care, 1012 00:43:40,369 --> 00:43:41,996 I was just wanting to see Rick Baker 1013 00:43:41,996 --> 00:43:43,613 in another gorilla suit. 1014 00:43:43,613 --> 00:43:44,757 - And Rick did a gentleman job 1015 00:43:44,757 --> 00:43:47,370 because Rick loves playing apes to being with, 1016 00:43:47,370 --> 00:43:50,219 and to play King Kong was obviously, you know, 1017 00:43:50,219 --> 00:43:52,174 it's the guild leader of monsters. 1018 00:43:52,174 --> 00:43:54,479 - I know that Rick Baker isn't fond of it, 1019 00:43:54,479 --> 00:43:55,933 or isn't fond of aspects of it. 1020 00:43:55,933 --> 00:43:59,641 I think I'm much generous in embracing all of it 1021 00:43:59,641 --> 00:44:01,139 because it was Rick Baker. 1022 00:44:01,139 --> 00:44:04,442 - Aside from Rick's great suit and the miniatures 1023 00:44:04,442 --> 00:44:08,547 that John Berkey artword for the poster, was it. 1024 00:44:08,547 --> 00:44:10,586 And I'm a big fan of John Berkey's 1025 00:44:10,586 --> 00:44:12,451 because he had also painted 1026 00:44:12,451 --> 00:44:14,659 the poster for "Towering Inferno" and "Orca". 1027 00:44:14,659 --> 00:44:16,878 He'd done a lot of amazing posters. 1028 00:44:16,878 --> 00:44:19,247 And there are variations of the posters. 1029 00:44:19,247 --> 00:44:21,035 There's one of him knocking through the wall, 1030 00:44:21,035 --> 00:44:23,286 there's one of him fighting the snake. 1031 00:44:23,286 --> 00:44:25,323 The movie posters is what pulls you in, 1032 00:44:25,323 --> 00:44:29,125 it was that sense of wonder of like, 1033 00:44:29,125 --> 00:44:30,307 "Wow, look how big he is". 1034 00:44:30,307 --> 00:44:31,296 And then, of course, you see the movie 1035 00:44:31,296 --> 00:44:32,912 and there's not way he could have stood 1036 00:44:32,912 --> 00:44:35,704 from one tower to the other, but it didn't matter. 1037 00:44:35,704 --> 00:44:37,267 - I didn't hate that one at all. 1038 00:44:37,267 --> 00:44:39,367 What? I didn't hate it. 1039 00:44:39,367 --> 00:44:41,700 It was silly in places, yes, 1040 00:44:42,799 --> 00:44:45,892 but, you know, by then, of course, with all the animations 1041 00:44:45,892 --> 00:44:47,450 you could get out of his face, 1042 00:44:47,450 --> 00:44:51,243 and like you could read more expression from him and all. 1043 00:44:51,243 --> 00:44:54,035 I absolutely have a big heart for that big silly. 1044 00:44:54,035 --> 00:44:55,894 - And I'm a huge Jessica Lange fan, 1045 00:44:55,894 --> 00:44:57,881 so I found her riveting, 1046 00:44:57,881 --> 00:44:59,505 I mean, I thought she was just amazing. 1047 00:44:59,505 --> 00:45:00,673 And I loved the movie. 1048 00:45:00,673 --> 00:45:03,097 - I think Jessica Lange could take care 1049 00:45:03,097 --> 00:45:07,264 of any ape that she wanted to, specially back then. 1050 00:45:08,304 --> 00:45:09,363 Oh, my. 1051 00:45:09,363 --> 00:45:11,148 - But good character, I loved Charles Grodin, 1052 00:45:11,148 --> 00:45:12,845 I thought he was the best. 1053 00:45:12,845 --> 00:45:14,628 It was interesting that he wasn't in moviemaking 1054 00:45:14,628 --> 00:45:16,369 but there was still a reason to take Kong back 1055 00:45:16,369 --> 00:45:18,419 as an advertising gimmick and all that stuff. 1056 00:45:18,419 --> 00:45:19,928 I really thought it was fun. 1057 00:45:19,928 --> 00:45:22,028 - And I think the switch looking for oil 1058 00:45:22,028 --> 00:45:25,058 at the time of the '70s was a good plot twist. 1059 00:45:25,058 --> 00:45:27,179 You know, it wasn't as theatrical as the original one, 1060 00:45:27,179 --> 00:45:29,100 wasn't quite as big a fairytale. 1061 00:45:29,100 --> 00:45:30,875 I, for one, I'm a really big fan of it, 1062 00:45:30,875 --> 00:45:33,859 and I can put it that just below the original. 1063 00:45:33,859 --> 00:45:36,493 - Had the chance to work with Jeff Bridges 1064 00:45:36,493 --> 00:45:40,218 on a movie called "K-Pax" and I'd forgotten, 1065 00:45:40,218 --> 00:45:41,230 I had actually forgotten 1066 00:45:41,230 --> 00:45:44,948 that he's in the Dino deal in this "King Kong". 1067 00:45:44,948 --> 00:45:48,585 And he had a brief anecdote that they were coming up close 1068 00:45:48,585 --> 00:45:51,668 to the end of the shoot and, you know, 1069 00:45:51,668 --> 00:45:55,071 Jeff and Jessica were both like really over it. 1070 00:45:55,071 --> 00:45:58,988 He said that, "Jeff! I have two words for you", 1071 00:45:59,935 --> 00:46:01,931 and Jeff said, "What?". 1072 00:46:01,931 --> 00:46:02,764 "Kong 2". 1073 00:46:05,704 --> 00:46:09,204 And Jeff said, "I have two words for you". 1074 00:46:19,203 --> 00:46:22,633 - The 1976 "King Kong" was disappointing enough. 1075 00:46:22,633 --> 00:46:24,312 It's all in retrospect that I think people like it 1076 00:46:24,312 --> 00:46:27,201 because it was Rick Baker in the suit. 1077 00:46:27,201 --> 00:46:28,895 So, what does De Laurentiis do? 1078 00:46:28,895 --> 00:46:31,335 He doubles down, literally. 1079 00:46:31,335 --> 00:46:33,027 And he brings this "Kong Lives". 1080 00:46:33,027 --> 00:46:35,694 Not one but two people in suits, 1081 00:46:38,179 --> 00:46:41,473 male and female, 'cause that's what we wanna see, 1082 00:46:41,473 --> 00:46:44,329 two people in gorilla suits getting it on. 1083 00:46:44,329 --> 00:46:46,375 - The worst scene in that movie is when the two apes 1084 00:46:46,375 --> 00:46:47,746 are kind of trying to be romantic 1085 00:46:47,746 --> 00:46:49,340 and they're playing this soft music. 1086 00:46:49,340 --> 00:46:51,932 It's like, "Ah, this is just too much. 1087 00:46:51,932 --> 00:46:53,483 "No the romantic apes". 1088 00:46:53,483 --> 00:46:55,366 - The thing about "King Kong Lives" also is that 1089 00:46:55,366 --> 00:47:00,030 this is like way after the '76, this is like 10 years, 1090 00:47:00,030 --> 00:47:02,228 it's like '86 when "King Kong Lives" come out. 1091 00:47:02,228 --> 00:47:04,512 We've had "Star Wars" since then, 1092 00:47:04,512 --> 00:47:06,941 you've had a lot of classic '80s cinema, 1093 00:47:06,941 --> 00:47:09,814 "Blade Runner", since then. 1094 00:47:09,814 --> 00:47:13,565 You have no excuse for sub-'70s special effects 1095 00:47:13,565 --> 00:47:16,088 like little tiny storebot alligators, 1096 00:47:16,088 --> 00:47:18,266 they just took them off his feet. 1097 00:47:18,266 --> 00:47:19,873 And the best De Laurentiis came up with 1098 00:47:19,873 --> 00:47:21,666 is an open heart transplant, 1099 00:47:21,666 --> 00:47:24,906 which an open heart transplant on a giant gorilla 1100 00:47:24,906 --> 00:47:28,823 is saying something, but who wants to see that? 1101 00:47:29,761 --> 00:47:31,176 - I don't have a lot of fond memories out of it, 1102 00:47:31,176 --> 00:47:33,416 I just remember this was a really bad, 1103 00:47:33,416 --> 00:47:34,862 bad movie all the way around. 1104 00:47:34,862 --> 00:47:37,243 - I think at that point we were pretty sure 1105 00:47:37,243 --> 00:47:40,716 that Kong was dead as a property. 1106 00:47:50,034 --> 00:47:51,552 - You know, Peter Jackson of course came on 1107 00:47:51,552 --> 00:47:54,966 and that's a true labor of love. 1108 00:47:54,966 --> 00:47:56,517 It's a remake made by somebody 1109 00:47:56,517 --> 00:47:59,630 who loves the original picture to the point 1110 00:47:59,630 --> 00:48:02,243 of re-staging scenes that were cut out of it 1111 00:48:02,243 --> 00:48:05,792 or maybe not even filmed to put them into this picture. 1112 00:48:05,792 --> 00:48:07,907 And it's technically marvelous, of course. 1113 00:48:07,907 --> 00:48:10,149 - When Peter Jackson told he was gonna make "Kong", 1114 00:48:10,149 --> 00:48:12,507 and he had planned it for years and years and years, 1115 00:48:12,507 --> 00:48:15,349 and he always had said, "I'm not remaking 'Kong'. 1116 00:48:15,349 --> 00:48:16,684 "It's my favorite movie", 1117 00:48:16,684 --> 00:48:18,661 I mean it was his absolute favorite movie. 1118 00:48:18,661 --> 00:48:20,626 "I wouldn't even attempt that". 1119 00:48:20,626 --> 00:48:22,146 He says "Kong" is the perfect movie. 1120 00:48:22,146 --> 00:48:23,412 "I can't do it. 1121 00:48:23,412 --> 00:48:27,320 "All I can possibly do is make it a little bit more, 1122 00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:29,318 "not modern, I'm gonna keep it in the same place it was, 1123 00:48:29,318 --> 00:48:31,188 "but technically I can make it a little better". 1124 00:48:31,188 --> 00:48:34,021 - And what I love is because Peter 1125 00:48:35,187 --> 00:48:38,520 also is such a fan of the original movie 1126 00:48:40,156 --> 00:48:44,141 that you knew that you were in good hands, 1127 00:48:44,141 --> 00:48:47,891 that he would do justice to the great moments 1128 00:48:48,976 --> 00:48:52,121 from the original "Kong" that people really responded to. 1129 00:48:52,121 --> 00:48:54,767 - And he did everything right, 1130 00:48:54,767 --> 00:48:59,665 down to having the tribal dance from the original movie 1131 00:48:59,665 --> 00:49:01,941 as the Broadway show dance in the remake, 1132 00:49:01,941 --> 00:49:04,979 which was just a stroke of genius. 1133 00:49:04,979 --> 00:49:07,157 - I was totally pumped and ready for that movie, 1134 00:49:07,157 --> 00:49:09,048 and when it opened up I thought, 1135 00:49:09,048 --> 00:49:11,089 "This is going to be incredible", 1136 00:49:11,089 --> 00:49:14,065 because it was a gorgeous reconstruction 1137 00:49:14,065 --> 00:49:18,232 of Depression-era New York, and it's just grim and down. 1138 00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:23,754 Yet, as a counterpoint to that was this jaunty music 1139 00:49:23,754 --> 00:49:26,783 from the era, and I thought, "This is gonna be great", 1140 00:49:26,783 --> 00:49:28,707 'cause already it's indicated to me 1141 00:49:28,707 --> 00:49:31,533 that there's gonna be a lot more depth to this. 1142 00:49:31,533 --> 00:49:34,540 - It was the scene in Central Park 1143 00:49:34,540 --> 00:49:36,454 where they're skating on the ice, 1144 00:49:36,454 --> 00:49:40,810 and we're sitting there in the theater and my wife goes, 1145 00:49:40,810 --> 00:49:42,956 "Does he die at the end?" 1146 00:49:42,956 --> 00:49:45,609 And I say, "You've seen 'King Kong'". 1147 00:49:45,609 --> 00:49:47,819 And she goes, "No, I haven't". 1148 00:49:47,819 --> 00:49:48,652 And I ... 1149 00:49:50,956 --> 00:49:53,241 You got a rough 20 minutes coming up. 1150 00:49:53,241 --> 00:49:55,132 - I mean one of the greatest scenes in the movie, 1151 00:49:55,132 --> 00:49:57,990 and I cry almost every time I see it, I tear up, 1152 00:49:57,990 --> 00:50:00,265 and that's where she's doing the sign language to him 1153 00:50:00,265 --> 00:50:02,932 about beautiful and all, and he finally does it himself, 1154 00:50:02,932 --> 00:50:04,940 and it just, it gets you, man. 1155 00:50:04,940 --> 00:50:05,773 - Beautiful. 1156 00:50:05,773 --> 00:50:08,000 - And then when he actually dies, 1157 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:09,829 there's one expression he gets. 1158 00:50:09,829 --> 00:50:11,334 - When you're close on Kong's face 1159 00:50:11,334 --> 00:50:12,726 and you see the the life drowning out of him, 1160 00:50:12,726 --> 00:50:14,070 his eyes glaze over. 1161 00:50:14,070 --> 00:50:16,172 I mean, I don't even know how they did the shot, honestly, 1162 00:50:16,172 --> 00:50:17,767 and make it work the way it did, 1163 00:50:17,767 --> 00:50:19,667 but in his eyes you see him glaze over 1164 00:50:19,667 --> 00:50:20,528 and you know he's gone, 1165 00:50:20,528 --> 00:50:23,355 and he falls out of the scene, you know? I thought -- 1166 00:50:23,355 --> 00:50:25,128 - That part to me 1167 00:50:25,128 --> 00:50:28,443 was really a wonderful thing to put in there. 1168 00:50:28,443 --> 00:50:30,652 - You know, my wife and I went to see "King Kong" 1169 00:50:30,652 --> 00:50:33,097 and by the end she's just balling, 1170 00:50:33,097 --> 00:50:34,639 just weeping, you know? 1171 00:50:34,639 --> 00:50:37,222 It's just like, this is so sad. 1172 00:50:38,072 --> 00:50:41,572 - You know, I'm not a gigantic fan of CGI, 1173 00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:46,764 I much prefer the guys pulling the cables 1174 00:50:46,764 --> 00:50:50,473 and finding really smart ways to do it 1175 00:50:50,473 --> 00:50:52,036 and to marry the two techniques 1176 00:50:52,036 --> 00:50:55,181 instead of one technique sort of overshadowing the other, 1177 00:50:55,181 --> 00:50:57,711 but I thought that "King Kong" did a really good job. 1178 00:50:57,711 --> 00:51:00,036 I hadn't seen that good of an integration 1179 00:51:00,036 --> 00:51:01,483 since "Jurassic Park". 1180 00:51:01,483 --> 00:51:04,151 It's those kinds of things that keep the audience 1181 00:51:04,151 --> 00:51:06,624 in their head guessing, "How the did that?", 1182 00:51:06,624 --> 00:51:08,933 which is what really interests me. 1183 00:51:08,933 --> 00:51:10,072 - They had Andy Serkis, 1184 00:51:10,072 --> 00:51:11,823 who turned out to be one of the greatest mimes, 1185 00:51:11,823 --> 00:51:13,237 I mean, plus a good actor too, 1186 00:51:13,237 --> 00:51:15,883 but one of the greatest mimes I've ever seen in my life. 1187 00:51:15,883 --> 00:51:17,500 And he get all of Kong's moves and 1188 00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:19,146 he hit all the dots and things on, 1189 00:51:19,146 --> 00:51:20,740 maybe when they do that he did everything, 1190 00:51:20,740 --> 00:51:21,919 I mean, really great. 1191 00:51:21,919 --> 00:51:23,981 So that was Kong's personality. 1192 00:51:23,981 --> 00:51:28,136 - I got to work with Andy Serkis on the "Apes" films, 1193 00:51:28,136 --> 00:51:31,824 and the love he has for playing King Kong, 1194 00:51:31,824 --> 00:51:36,309 and also apes and primates in general is just, 1195 00:51:36,309 --> 00:51:37,510 it's really touching. 1196 00:51:37,510 --> 00:51:38,553 - I loved it, you know? 1197 00:51:38,553 --> 00:51:40,166 I mean, I know one of the biggest criticisms was 1198 00:51:40,166 --> 00:51:42,579 it was too long and there was too much going on, 1199 00:51:42,579 --> 00:51:44,758 but I didn't have a problem with that. 1200 00:51:44,758 --> 00:51:46,001 I really enjoyed it. 1201 00:51:47,765 --> 00:51:51,304 - And this picture, technically it's really quite a marvel, 1202 00:51:51,304 --> 00:51:54,216 and the love is in every frame, 1203 00:51:54,216 --> 00:51:55,672 but it's just not, 1204 00:51:55,672 --> 00:51:58,255 it's hard to beat the original. 1205 00:51:59,362 --> 00:52:04,112 To the scene, he was last sighted nearly ... 1206 00:52:04,112 --> 00:52:07,358 - Remember there was this time when all the news was a buzz 1207 00:52:07,358 --> 00:52:10,471 that Universal was gonna do a Kong attraction 1208 00:52:10,471 --> 00:52:14,091 where Kong was gonna be as big as Kong was in real life, 1209 00:52:14,091 --> 00:52:16,728 and I was like, "How the hell are they gonna do that?" 1210 00:52:16,728 --> 00:52:20,000 - My first real excitement for "King Kong" 1211 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,473 was when I went to Universal Studios as a kid, 1212 00:52:22,473 --> 00:52:26,306 went on the Tram Tour, and saw this seven-ton, 1213 00:52:27,162 --> 00:52:29,724 30-foot tall animatronic King Kong, 1214 00:52:29,724 --> 00:52:32,557 and it was absolutely mesmerizing. 1215 00:52:34,624 --> 00:52:36,296 I went and had to go on again, 1216 00:52:36,296 --> 00:52:38,571 that was my favorite thing on the tour. 1217 00:52:38,571 --> 00:52:41,769 Later I got a job at Universal Studios playing Frankenstein 1218 00:52:41,769 --> 00:52:44,500 and I would ride that tour, when I first got it, 1219 00:52:44,500 --> 00:52:46,977 just to see that King Kong, 1220 00:52:46,977 --> 00:52:50,119 because it was right in front of your face, it was huge, 1221 00:52:50,119 --> 00:52:52,067 it had the banana breath. 1222 00:52:52,067 --> 00:52:54,181 It was just absolutely, it was stunning to me. 1223 00:52:54,181 --> 00:52:55,139 And it was like, I think it was 1224 00:52:55,139 --> 00:52:58,957 the biggest animatronic for years, in the world. 1225 00:52:58,957 --> 00:53:00,836 - That and also my imagination also was, 1226 00:53:00,836 --> 00:53:02,515 "Wouldn't it be great if the mechanical Kong 1227 00:53:02,515 --> 00:53:03,811 "broke free of the ride 1228 00:53:03,811 --> 00:53:05,705 "and rampaged through Los Angeles? 1229 00:53:05,705 --> 00:53:07,034 "That would be awesome". 1230 00:53:07,034 --> 00:53:10,082 And I lived down from Universal, 1231 00:53:10,082 --> 00:53:13,209 and I saw this big plum of fire 1232 00:53:13,209 --> 00:53:15,321 coming from the Universal lot. 1233 00:53:15,321 --> 00:53:17,224 "Oh, wow, the got fire in the back lot". 1234 00:53:17,224 --> 00:53:19,899 - They had a fire in 2008 and it burned, 1235 00:53:19,899 --> 00:53:20,732 and it was just, I was like, 1236 00:53:20,732 --> 00:53:22,454 "Oh, my God, I can't believe this happened". 1237 00:53:22,454 --> 00:53:26,454 - The Kong ride burned, and it was lost forever. 1238 00:53:27,544 --> 00:53:29,648 And that killed me. 1239 00:53:29,648 --> 00:53:32,030 The hell with heritage of film and television history, 1240 00:53:32,030 --> 00:53:36,057 they killed Kong, they burned it down to the ground. 1241 00:53:36,057 --> 00:53:37,514 It was an accident, I don't think it was arson, 1242 00:53:37,514 --> 00:53:39,402 but I still blame somebody. 1243 00:53:39,402 --> 00:53:41,550 - And they were gonna shell the whole thing, 1244 00:53:41,550 --> 00:53:44,553 and then Peter Jackson came in and did the 3D. 1245 00:53:44,553 --> 00:53:47,273 And, you know, that's cool, but there's just something about 1246 00:53:47,273 --> 00:53:49,615 having something real in front of you 1247 00:53:49,615 --> 00:53:51,603 that massive, you know? 1248 00:53:51,603 --> 00:53:53,686 And that's the size that you think of King Kong 1249 00:53:53,686 --> 00:53:54,961 when you see that. 1250 00:53:54,961 --> 00:53:58,174 So it was really exciting and the childhood memories 1251 00:53:58,174 --> 00:54:00,960 were of that piece at Universal. 1252 00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:03,309 It's really, really good memories for me. 1253 00:54:03,309 --> 00:54:06,879 - I wonder how many people "Kong" influenced 1254 00:54:06,879 --> 00:54:08,973 to get into the film business. 1255 00:54:08,973 --> 00:54:11,719 I mean, Ray Harryhausen, I think had a direct influence, 1256 00:54:11,719 --> 00:54:14,154 I think "Kong" had a gigantic impact on him, 1257 00:54:14,154 --> 00:54:15,566 and he ended up actually getting to work 1258 00:54:15,566 --> 00:54:17,233 with Willis O'Brien. 1259 00:54:18,469 --> 00:54:22,656 Me, I mean, that was my introduction to fantasy films, 1260 00:54:22,656 --> 00:54:25,812 to look at film itself, but also fantasy films, 1261 00:54:25,812 --> 00:54:30,075 and I became totally enraptured by special effects. 1262 00:54:30,075 --> 00:54:33,072 When I began making my own films I was a production designer 1263 00:54:33,072 --> 00:54:34,499 who's specialty was special effects, 1264 00:54:34,499 --> 00:54:38,059 and I trace that directly back to "King Kong". 1265 00:54:38,059 --> 00:54:41,726 - Years ago I had come up with a little idea 1266 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:44,980 for a short film, and the whole thing stemmed 1267 00:54:44,980 --> 00:54:48,540 from being on a tram at Universal Studios, 1268 00:54:48,540 --> 00:54:51,869 and I thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be kind of funny if, 1269 00:54:51,869 --> 00:54:54,079 "they never acknowledged or recognized it, 1270 00:54:54,079 --> 00:54:57,886 "but the monster that Universal used were real?" 1271 00:54:57,886 --> 00:55:00,767 And then I had this image in my head 1272 00:55:00,767 --> 00:55:05,689 of a facility in Burbank where all these monsters lived. 1273 00:55:05,689 --> 00:55:08,868 And the first thing that popped into my head was, 1274 00:55:08,868 --> 00:55:10,973 "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a big cage 1275 00:55:10,973 --> 00:55:12,493 "next to the building with King Kong 1276 00:55:12,493 --> 00:55:14,170 sort of sitting in the cage 1277 00:55:14,170 --> 00:55:16,098 with truck fulls of bananas in front of him 1278 00:55:16,098 --> 00:55:18,366 because he's too big to put inside. 1279 00:55:18,366 --> 00:55:22,283 So, they had to find a way to keep him subdued. 1280 00:55:24,095 --> 00:55:27,634 And that was really, that was the actual visual 1281 00:55:27,634 --> 00:55:30,048 that kind of propelled the rest of the short. 1282 00:55:30,048 --> 00:55:31,313 - "King Kong" is partly responsible 1283 00:55:31,313 --> 00:55:33,236 for my career as an artist. 1284 00:55:33,236 --> 00:55:35,991 When I saw the movie and asked my gran 1285 00:55:35,991 --> 00:55:38,457 how was King Kong done and she said, 1286 00:55:38,457 --> 00:55:40,285 "Well, it's made from clay"., 1287 00:55:40,285 --> 00:55:41,586 I mean, that's how she worded it to me. 1288 00:55:41,586 --> 00:55:45,129 So, I went at four years old with a pale and bucket 1289 00:55:45,129 --> 00:55:48,385 to the local riverbank, I took the clay from there, 1290 00:55:48,385 --> 00:55:52,298 and then I came home and made statues of King Kong. 1291 00:55:52,298 --> 00:55:54,265 I was very disappointed 'cause mine didn't move 1292 00:55:54,265 --> 00:55:55,955 unlike the one at the movie did, 1293 00:55:55,955 --> 00:55:58,391 but certainly "King Kong" is the reason why 1294 00:55:58,391 --> 00:55:59,942 I started sculpting. 1295 00:55:59,942 --> 00:56:02,473 - "King Kong" definitely inspired me 1296 00:56:02,473 --> 00:56:04,577 to want to start making movies 1297 00:56:04,577 --> 00:56:07,023 when I was a very, very young man. 1298 00:56:07,023 --> 00:56:08,340 And I didn't just wanna make movies, 1299 00:56:08,340 --> 00:56:12,051 I wanted to make movies that involved big special effects. 1300 00:56:12,051 --> 00:56:13,657 - Inspirational? Definitely. 1301 00:56:13,657 --> 00:56:16,006 I can remember imitating King Kong 1302 00:56:16,006 --> 00:56:18,303 out on the playground after seeing it. 1303 00:56:18,303 --> 00:56:20,981 Everybody banging in their chests and, you know, 1304 00:56:20,981 --> 00:56:23,898 "I'm the biggest, meanest gorilla". 1305 00:56:25,010 --> 00:56:26,361 This is inspiration, 1306 00:56:26,361 --> 00:56:30,709 this is the things that make you want to do something. 1307 00:56:30,709 --> 00:56:32,542 - I wanted to show him 1308 00:56:35,229 --> 00:56:36,762 at his most frightening 1309 00:56:36,762 --> 00:56:39,909 and most ferocious, both at the same time. 1310 00:56:39,909 --> 00:56:43,718 He wasn't in his own element anymore, 1311 00:56:43,718 --> 00:56:45,077 and he was fighting things 1312 00:56:45,077 --> 00:56:46,766 that he had no clue what they were, 1313 00:56:46,766 --> 00:56:49,946 and protecting his damsel in distress. 1314 00:56:49,946 --> 00:56:52,596 You know, "This is mine. Back off". 1315 00:56:52,596 --> 00:56:55,836 So, I had this picture in my head, 1316 00:56:55,836 --> 00:56:58,154 and the whole thing took me about a year and a half, 1317 00:56:58,154 --> 00:56:59,511 of what I wanted it to look like. 1318 00:56:59,511 --> 00:57:02,626 I had no idea it would wind up being this big, 1319 00:57:02,626 --> 00:57:04,889 but I never do when I start something, 1320 00:57:04,889 --> 00:57:06,871 and they all turn into big things. 1321 00:57:06,871 --> 00:57:09,804 - I'm Bob Burns, and this is the original armature 1322 00:57:09,804 --> 00:57:12,547 of King Kong that was used 80 years ago 1323 00:57:12,547 --> 00:57:14,281 to bring him to life. 1324 00:57:14,281 --> 00:57:18,395 What I think with stop-motion guys and animators, 1325 00:57:18,395 --> 00:57:20,145 Kong is such an icon, 1326 00:57:21,448 --> 00:57:23,728 it's done so well for its day and everything, 1327 00:57:23,728 --> 00:57:25,706 I think it's a natural thing 1328 00:57:25,706 --> 00:57:28,927 that if you're a puppet animator you wanna do Kong, 1329 00:57:28,927 --> 00:57:30,792 you wanna animate him at least once, 1330 00:57:30,792 --> 00:57:32,301 you wanna do something with him. 1331 00:57:32,301 --> 00:57:33,318 - I did animated projects 1332 00:57:33,318 --> 00:57:35,191 of both "Mighty Joe Young" and "King Kong", 1333 00:57:35,191 --> 00:57:37,805 and they really came about because of Bob Burns. 1334 00:57:37,805 --> 00:57:40,453 Bob Burns is really the, 1335 00:57:40,453 --> 00:57:42,336 he was the thing that made it happened, 1336 00:57:42,336 --> 00:57:44,080 because I've always wanted to do it, right? 1337 00:57:44,080 --> 00:57:47,026 I'm sure every animators has wanted to play 1338 00:57:47,026 --> 00:57:49,152 with those armatures on film. 1339 00:57:49,152 --> 00:57:51,906 My 50th birthday gift to myself was asking Bob 1340 00:57:51,906 --> 00:57:53,602 if I could animate this thing. 1341 00:57:53,602 --> 00:57:55,703 And he said, "Yes, take it, take it". 1342 00:57:55,703 --> 00:57:57,224 And I took it and I animated here 1343 00:57:57,224 --> 00:58:01,021 at the shop on that weekend, and it was great. 1344 00:58:08,017 --> 00:58:10,153 I put the Kong's armature in the scene 1345 00:58:10,153 --> 00:58:13,099 'cause I wanted to see it with Mighty Joe Young. 1346 00:58:13,099 --> 00:58:15,200 And I know Bob, he said that, 1347 00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:17,242 he always said how hard Kong was to animate 1348 00:58:17,242 --> 00:58:18,752 compared to Joe Young. 1349 00:58:18,752 --> 00:58:20,207 And after I finished Joe Young he said, 1350 00:58:20,207 --> 00:58:22,473 "You've really gotta do Kong next time". 1351 00:58:22,473 --> 00:58:23,857 The main thing I wanted to do was 1352 00:58:23,857 --> 00:58:26,664 do this overlay of the armature on the original film, 1353 00:58:26,664 --> 00:58:28,791 so I came up with whatever the technique 1354 00:58:28,791 --> 00:58:31,215 I needed to that using my computer. 1355 00:58:31,215 --> 00:58:33,625 I just wanted to make 'em move again, 1356 00:58:33,625 --> 00:58:36,113 and it turned to be so rewarding. 1357 00:58:36,113 --> 00:58:38,729 - He took the armature, and actually used the film 1358 00:58:38,729 --> 00:58:40,613 and put the armature in the film. 1359 00:58:40,613 --> 00:58:43,046 So when you see a move you see the armature move too. 1360 00:58:43,046 --> 00:58:45,196 I think it's the most fascinating thing I've ever seen. 1361 00:58:45,196 --> 00:58:47,311 I mean, I take that as incredible. 1362 00:58:51,821 --> 00:58:54,281 But every animator who wants, 1363 00:58:54,281 --> 00:58:55,660 it's just something you wanna do. 1364 00:58:55,660 --> 00:58:57,297 That's the thing you strive for. 1365 00:58:57,297 --> 00:58:58,680 If you can do Kong sometime, 1366 00:58:58,680 --> 00:59:00,849 even in a commercial or whatever you may do it on, 1367 00:59:00,849 --> 00:59:03,105 you feel you've done something. 1368 00:59:03,105 --> 00:59:05,222 - I think the weirdest thing I've ever saw Kong 1369 00:59:05,222 --> 00:59:08,542 was when you would see cartoons of Kong 1370 00:59:08,542 --> 00:59:10,709 in the pages of "Playboy", 1371 00:59:12,292 --> 00:59:15,023 because, you know, at 15 years old 1372 00:59:15,023 --> 00:59:16,719 you're not looking through "Playboy" 1373 00:59:16,719 --> 00:59:18,270 for the comics necessarily. 1374 00:59:18,270 --> 00:59:21,541 And then, for me, to suddenly see Kong, 1375 00:59:21,541 --> 00:59:24,322 it just seemed dirty and cheap. 1376 00:59:24,322 --> 00:59:26,497 Even now, "I'm here to see Kong do Playboy", right? 1377 00:59:26,497 --> 00:59:29,146 But that was wrong, to put Kong in a "Playboy" magazine. 1378 00:59:29,146 --> 00:59:32,178 It was just an incongruent place for him to pop up. 1379 00:59:32,178 --> 00:59:34,230 - I mean, King Kong is everywhere. 1380 00:59:34,230 --> 00:59:37,550 You know, I see him on mugs, I see him on t-shirts, 1381 00:59:37,550 --> 00:59:38,728 he's in cartoons. 1382 00:59:38,728 --> 00:59:40,482 He is the pop culture, 1383 00:59:40,482 --> 00:59:44,227 the biggest icon of all the creatures ever created. 1384 00:59:44,227 --> 00:59:46,963 - In the Disney cartoon "Frozen", 1385 00:59:46,963 --> 00:59:50,917 I was sitting in the theater with my daughters, 1386 00:59:50,917 --> 00:59:52,647 and there's a giant snowman 1387 00:59:52,647 --> 00:59:56,360 that actually looks a lot like Kong, but he's a snowman. 1388 00:59:56,360 --> 01:00:00,934 And he's chasing the hero and heroine down a hill, 1389 01:00:00,934 --> 01:00:04,209 then they do exactly what Jack Driscoll and Ann Darrow did. 1390 01:00:04,209 --> 01:00:06,230 It's beautiful, it's right out of "King Kong". 1391 01:00:06,230 --> 01:00:09,184 That was really, that was a pleasant surprise. 1392 01:00:09,184 --> 01:00:12,352 - That's makes it always come to life in every generation, 1393 01:00:12,352 --> 01:00:15,141 even though they don't see the actual movies. 1394 01:00:15,141 --> 01:00:19,181 - He's iconic in his own way as Karloff's Frankenstein. 1395 01:00:19,181 --> 01:00:21,003 I mean, instantly recognizable. 1396 01:00:21,003 --> 01:00:24,399 If you do a big gorilla and place him 1397 01:00:24,399 --> 01:00:28,249 anywhere near the Empire State building or with a dinosaur, 1398 01:00:28,249 --> 01:00:30,087 people automatically says it was Kong, 1399 01:00:30,087 --> 01:00:32,770 or a gorilla with a girl on his hand. 1400 01:00:32,770 --> 01:00:35,897 - One of the things that I think has really 1401 01:00:35,897 --> 01:00:38,037 supported the Kong legend is 1402 01:00:38,037 --> 01:00:41,037 that Kong is not a simple character. 1403 01:00:41,911 --> 01:00:45,641 He is not a one-dimensional or two-dimensional character, 1404 01:00:45,641 --> 01:00:47,224 he is very layered. 1405 01:00:48,481 --> 01:00:50,619 - He was a character you could identify with, 1406 01:00:50,619 --> 01:00:52,544 and he was severed from all the other monsters, 1407 01:00:52,544 --> 01:00:55,869 and I think that's why he lives on, 80 years later. 1408 01:00:55,869 --> 01:00:57,387 People still loves King Kong. 1409 01:00:57,387 --> 01:01:01,840 - When Kong dies you're sad, it's terrible, it's a tragedy, 1410 01:01:01,840 --> 01:01:05,052 even though he's just slaughtered hundreds of people 1411 01:01:05,052 --> 01:01:06,649 you still feel for that big gorilla, 1412 01:01:06,649 --> 01:01:09,266 'cause everything he did he did out of love, 1413 01:01:09,266 --> 01:01:11,105 and who cannot relate to that? 1414 01:01:11,105 --> 01:01:11,977 - People would say to Cooper, 1415 01:01:11,977 --> 01:01:15,324 "You can't make Kong so brutal. 1416 01:01:15,324 --> 01:01:17,127 "The audience will lose sympathy for him", 1417 01:01:17,127 --> 01:01:18,850 and Cooper said, "Nope". 1418 01:01:18,850 --> 01:01:20,467 He said, "The more brutal I make him, 1419 01:01:20,467 --> 01:01:22,010 "the more the audience is gonna cry 1420 01:01:22,010 --> 01:01:23,320 "when he falls of the Empire State building 1421 01:01:23,320 --> 01:01:24,280 "at the end of the movie". 1422 01:01:24,280 --> 01:01:25,344 And he was absolutely right. 1423 01:01:25,344 --> 01:01:28,206 - I cry every time I watch it, 1424 01:01:28,206 --> 01:01:30,652 in every version of the film. 1425 01:01:30,652 --> 01:01:34,048 It always, always breaks my heart. 1426 01:01:34,048 --> 01:01:36,446 - Everybody that watches it can 1427 01:01:36,446 --> 01:01:39,391 overlay it with their own interpretation. 1428 01:01:39,391 --> 01:01:42,269 I tend to take Merian Cooper at his word 1429 01:01:42,269 --> 01:01:43,669 that all he wanted to do was make 1430 01:01:43,669 --> 01:01:46,021 the greatest adventure movie ever known, 1431 01:01:46,021 --> 01:01:50,117 and he wasn't trying to have tons of subtexts in it. 1432 01:01:50,117 --> 01:01:53,734 But if you read any of the volumes of material 1433 01:01:53,734 --> 01:01:56,023 written about "Kong" in the years since, 1434 01:01:56,023 --> 01:01:57,394 every subtext known to man 1435 01:01:57,394 --> 01:01:59,937 has been applied to it by one observer or another. 1436 01:01:59,937 --> 01:02:02,810 - There's some moment that clicks in your memory 1437 01:02:02,810 --> 01:02:05,153 that just kind of associates whatever's going on 1438 01:02:05,153 --> 01:02:06,522 to something in "Kong". 1439 01:02:06,522 --> 01:02:11,119 There's so much stuff than you can just connect to. 1440 01:02:11,119 --> 01:02:14,752 And anybody watching it picks up on something 1441 01:02:14,752 --> 01:02:16,652 that relates to them personally. 1442 01:02:16,652 --> 01:02:18,528 The next guy is probably not gonna see, 1443 01:02:18,528 --> 01:02:20,971 but it means something to that person. 1444 01:02:20,971 --> 01:02:23,088 - I think it hits home for a lot of people 1445 01:02:23,088 --> 01:02:24,412 for a lot of different reasons, 1446 01:02:24,412 --> 01:02:25,495 and I think that's also it, 1447 01:02:25,495 --> 01:02:28,294 it's not a one-shot deal. 1448 01:02:28,294 --> 01:02:31,294 I think people find in it, you know, 1449 01:02:32,546 --> 01:02:34,098 things that they like 1450 01:02:34,098 --> 01:02:36,099 and things that mean something to them. 1451 01:02:36,099 --> 01:02:38,898 - It really for me it's about the sentimentality 1452 01:02:38,898 --> 01:02:40,653 of who King Kong is, 1453 01:02:40,653 --> 01:02:42,857 and we've grown up with him, 1454 01:02:42,857 --> 01:02:44,907 and it's like then we pass him down to our children 1455 01:02:44,907 --> 01:02:47,135 and they appreciate the beauty of cinema 1456 01:02:47,135 --> 01:02:48,623 and where it all started. 1457 01:02:48,623 --> 01:02:50,888 - So we pass that down from one generation to the next, 1458 01:02:50,888 --> 01:02:53,018 that's why he lives on and on. 1459 01:02:53,018 --> 01:02:55,358 - Well, you know, like Frankenstein and the wolfman 1460 01:02:55,358 --> 01:02:59,518 and Dracula and other characters from the early '30s, 1461 01:02:59,518 --> 01:03:03,188 they've been passed down from generation to generation. 1462 01:03:03,188 --> 01:03:06,861 And also merchandise and the entry, 1463 01:03:06,861 --> 01:03:10,331 to a point where they become a part of pop culture 1464 01:03:10,331 --> 01:03:12,814 partly because it's been voiced upon us. 1465 01:03:12,814 --> 01:03:16,993 But it's voiced upon us because kids like it. 1466 01:03:16,993 --> 01:03:19,503 And King Kong is very popular with kids, 1467 01:03:19,503 --> 01:03:22,204 as all giant monsters are. 1468 01:03:22,204 --> 01:03:24,522 And he was the granddaddy of them all. 1469 01:03:24,522 --> 01:03:26,769 And he's a monkey, and kids love monkeys. 1470 01:03:26,769 --> 01:03:30,766 - Kids really relate to King Kong on two levels: 1471 01:03:30,766 --> 01:03:33,712 one, you feel like King Kong, 1472 01:03:33,712 --> 01:03:35,341 you're just a very primal being, 1473 01:03:35,341 --> 01:03:37,159 you don't have a lot of shading 1474 01:03:37,159 --> 01:03:39,826 in your sort of thought process, 1475 01:03:40,722 --> 01:03:43,254 and you're also like Ann, you know? 1476 01:03:43,254 --> 01:03:44,456 Everybody's bigger than you, 1477 01:03:44,456 --> 01:03:45,774 everybody who's bigger than you 1478 01:03:45,774 --> 01:03:47,550 they can just pick you up and move you 1479 01:03:47,550 --> 01:03:49,476 if they want you to be moved. 1480 01:03:49,476 --> 01:03:51,890 - I think Kong is important to the culture 1481 01:03:51,890 --> 01:03:53,208 because he's an icon. 1482 01:03:53,208 --> 01:03:56,272 I think once something becomes established as an icon 1483 01:03:56,272 --> 01:03:59,272 and it becomes an element of parody, 1484 01:04:00,121 --> 01:04:03,796 it becomes an element of, in a way, sophisticated comedy, 1485 01:04:03,796 --> 01:04:07,313 or even as it's used in political reasons. 1486 01:04:07,313 --> 01:04:09,765 If you can look at something like Kong becomes an icon 1487 01:04:09,765 --> 01:04:12,623 and he can become useful to editorial license, 1488 01:04:12,623 --> 01:04:14,144 he represents things. 1489 01:04:14,144 --> 01:04:16,579 And he's been around through generations, 1490 01:04:16,579 --> 01:04:19,696 he's kind of, he's a grandfather into our society now, 1491 01:04:19,696 --> 01:04:22,193 he's always going to be an element 1492 01:04:22,193 --> 01:04:25,610 of a huge highly successful monster movie 1493 01:04:27,192 --> 01:04:28,640 and monster character. 1494 01:04:28,640 --> 01:04:32,657 - But he's come down the pike unscathed 1495 01:04:32,657 --> 01:04:36,824 after all the remakes and the copies and the imitations, 1496 01:04:38,633 --> 01:04:40,600 and he's an original. 1497 01:04:40,600 --> 01:04:42,929 And still with us, and will be for, 1498 01:04:42,929 --> 01:04:44,907 I think, many generations. 1499 01:04:44,907 --> 01:04:46,759 - And I will just say after all this: 1500 01:04:46,759 --> 01:04:50,092 Long live the king, long live King Kong.