ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

Be prepared for the next King Kong sized treat!



King Kong is a musical with music by Marius de Vries, lyrics by Michael Mitnick and Craig Lucas, a book by Lucas and additional musical and lyrical contributions by 3D, Sarah McLachlan, Guy Garvey, Justice and The Avalanches.



It is based on the 1933 film of the same name. The original production was mounted in Australia in 2013. A Broadway production is planned for 2018.

The musical, according to the 2013 press notes, "has gone back to the source – the novella of the original film by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace – in this world-first adaptation as a large-scale musical."

Engineered, designed and built by Global Creature Technology in West Melbourne, Australia, the title role was the largest puppet ever created for the stage.



The 2013 press notes stated that Kong was "a highly sophisticated animatronic/marionette hybrid that will be controlled by the integration of hydraulics, automation and the manual manipulation from a team of puppeteer/aerialists. ... A group of 35 on-stage and off-stage puppeteers work to manipulate the large-scale puppet. Several puppeteers are positioned on swinging trapezes and others launch themselves as counterweights off the puppet's shoulders to raise Kong's massive arms as he runs and swipes at planes during the performance. ...



[The musical features] a cast of 49 actors, singers, dancers, circus performers and puppeteers; a crew of 76; and arguably the most technologically advanced puppet in the world – a one-tonne, six-metre giant silverback".



The musical is scheduled to open at the Broadway Theatre for previews on October 5, 2018, with the official opening on November 8.



The creative team includes book writer Jack Thorne, director-choreographer Drew McOnie, and Australian songwriter Eddie Perfect, who replace the former creatives.

From Jack Thorne, the Olivier Award-winning writer of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, comes a thrilling theatrical take on the world’s most epic modern myth.



Directed and choreographed by Olivier winner Drew McOnie, with an electrifying new score by Marius de Vries (La La Land) and Eddie Perfect (Strictly Ballroom The Musical), KING KONG comes alive on Broadway through an innovative mix of robotics, puppetry and stagecraft.



Follow an ambitious young actress and a maverick filmmaker as they voyage from the bustling streets of 1930s New York to an uncharted island to capture the greatest wonder the world has ever seen. At the center of this 21st-century reimagining: a 2,000-pound, 10-story gorilla, and the woman who risks everything to help him. Don’t miss this exhilarating, emotional encounter with a legend that’s always been too big to contain.



For a preview of some of the production and musical numbers here's a few youtube snippets fron the Aussie run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAlRrAKdBNg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8YJwRUTK7Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvVyN67wxH0

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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[mach7]

I might have to check that out!

It will either be great or terrible.

[Bud Brewster]

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I recently called DISH and told the operator that my Epix movie channels rarely showed anything I cared about. But the free HBO / Cinemax weekend I was recently given provided me with a half-dozen movies I set my DVR for and I have been enjoying them for the last few day!

Kong: Skull Island was one of them, and I discovered again just how good this movie is.

While watching the warm-and-fuzzy moments between Kong and a few of the heroic characters, I was again impressed by how much better they were than the schmaltzy crap Peter Jackson inflicted on us in silly scenes like the one where Kongs skids across the ice on his belly (accompanied by lovely chick-flick music) while Ann Darrow lays on his back and giggles like a 12 year old.

Stand back, folks. My lunch is about to make an unannounced return . . .

Everything Jackson's version did wrong, this new version did right. Even the "holding the girl in his hand while battling the monster" is better. It doesn't take it to ridiculous extremes, it doesn't go on-and-one for freakin' ever, and it doesn't put the girl in so much danger that when she eventually survives we roll our eyes and tell our friends we need to go to the snack bar.

In short, this is my 2nd favorite Kong movie. The other two suck for very specific reasons.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Eadie]

from Wilipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong:_Skull_Island#Sequel

the reason Kong is the size he is:

In September 2015, Legendary moved Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and King Kong will appear in a film together. In October 2015, Legendary confirmed that they would unite Godzilla and King Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a release date of May 29, 2020. Legendary plans to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch," that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary’s King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new." While Legendary will maintain its home at Universal Pictures, it will continue to collaborate with Warner Bros. for the franchise.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts had expressed interest in doing a film about Marlow and Gunpei's time on the island, stating, "I keep joking that personally I'm more interested in doing a $30 million version of young John C. Reilly on the island. Just some weird, the odd-ball monster comedy with him and Gunpei."

Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled to be released on May 29, 2020 with Adam Wingard attached to direct the film.
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 184 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ The reason Kong is larger than any of his other incarnations is due to the fact that with the upcoming greenlit Godzilla vs. Kong (2020), Kong would've been too small to fight Godzilla at his more traditional size. This is also why they included the line in the movie that "he's still growing".

Note from me: That line is just begging the advertising agencies to use Kong in on a Wheaties box. I even designed the box for them!

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~ The outfit worn by Bill Randa (John Goodman) replicates the outfit worn by Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham in King Kong (1933).

Note from me: Aaaaah, I like that! Nice. Too bad he was eaten . . .

~ The scenes with mountains, rivers, and grassy fields were mostly shot in Vietnam, including Ninh Binh and Quang Binh. Jordan Vogt-Roberts and the cast members said they were the most beautiful places that they've ever been.

Note from me: Indeed yes, the locations were really beautiful. They did resemble the great scenes of Skull Island in the 1933 classic.

~ At the premiere in Vietnam, the sixteen-foot-tall display model statue of Kong was engulfed in flames, caused by the model volcanoes surrounding the statue. The fire was extinguished in fifteen minutes, and no one was hurt.

Note from me: This reminds me a little of what happened to Son of Kong . . . except that it was an earthquake that sank the island and drowned the poor little (big) fellow.

Okay, so they aren't that much alike . . .

~ Just as Godzilla (2014) featured characters that worked for Project Monarch and used the term M.U.T.O., so too does this movie, tying both together in the MonsterVerse, which includes Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2020).

Note from me: The trailers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters look pretty damn good. I think I need to rewatch Godzilla (2014). I didn't like it the first time. I'd rather be wrong about that.

~ The Skullcrawlers' history on Skull Island is revealed in Walter R. Riccio's visions.

Riccio says that the Skullcrawlers attempted to invade Skull Island and waged war against Kong's ancestors. When the Iwi first arrived on Skull Island, the Skullcrawlers had wiped out all but the two strongest apes, which turned out to be Kong's parents.

After the 1973 Monarch expedition, Skullcrawlers still inhabit Skull Island, but their population is controlled by Kong, and none of them has grown to the size of Skull Devil.

In another vision, Riccio explained that the Skullcrawlers continued their fight against Kong's parents. One day, the Skullcrawlers attempted to kill Kong's mother who is in labor, but Kong's father kept them at bay. After Kong was born, his mother hid him in a cave and sealed it with rocks before she rushed to aid her mate. Kong then watched as the Skullcrawlers slaughtered his parents.

Note from me: Wow . . . that's quite an ambitious story. I like it.

~ Kong is similar to Godzilla from Godzilla (2014) in several ways: both are the last of their kind, both have a vendetta against their natural enemies (Skullcrawlers/MUTOs) who have killed the rest of their species, and both are portrayed as morally neutral alpha-predators who maintain order and have no personal quarrel with humans.

However, while Godzilla ignores humans and pays them no heed (except when he sees Ford Brody and shows emotion when they make eye contact), Kong recognizes and forms relationships with individual humans either as friends (Conrad and Weaver) or as enemies (Packard). Also, while Godzilla is an adult, Kong is an adolescent, still growing and learning.

Note from me: This is very interesting. In the 1933 classic, Kong was just a beast with a fixation on a little blond doll (Ann Darrow). In the King Kong (2006), Kong and Ann got downright romantic, a ridiculous love affair that ruined the movie for me.

But the new versions of Kong and Godzilla are complex without being sappy and melodramatic. I like it!

~ Bill Randa (John Goodman) says he is the sole survivor of a ship accident involving a monster. This is likely a reference to Godzilla, who we learn is connected to this movie during the after-credits scene.

Note from me: I admire the way the producers of this franchise have a "long game" in mind which will provide consistency and continuity to the series of movies they're planning to make. Bravo!

~ The Mother Longlegs spider could be an homage to the giant spider with crab claws that was cut from King Kong (1933). Also, the Skull Crawlers could be an homage to the two-legged lizard that climbs up the side of the mountain in King Kong (1933).

Note from me: I think this is true, although the giant spider in the 1933 classic did not have crab claws. However, the preproduction sketch for the spider pit scene does show a monster that fits that description (the crab-creature reaching for the man on the rock).





~ Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah appear in an after-credits scene as cave paintings.

Note from me: I've always hated the awful FX in the Japanese monster movies because they were so inferior to the FX in King Kong 1933 and all the movies by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen.

But these new movies create stunning special effects and provide intelligent stories with fascinating concepts which give these creatures the kind of depth that intelligent viewers need to take them seriously.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Do you like Kong: Skull Island?

Of course you do! What's NOT to like?

Would you like to see a few BTS documentaries?

Hey, do monkey's like bananas? Hell, yes!

Good! So, grab a bowl of popcorn or a cup of banana pudding and enjoy these videos, compliments of All Sci-Fi.

I'm SURE you'll have something to reply after watching these! But if you find yourself absolutely speechless, just copy and paste this as a reply.

Wow, Bud! Thanks!
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_Go Behind the Scenes of Kong: Skull Island (2017)


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Kong: Skull Island - VFX Breakdown by ILM (2017)


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_ Kong: Skull Island 'Kong Is King' Extended Featurette


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_ ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Location Behind The Scenes


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_ Kong: Skull Island - VFX Breakdown by Rodeo FX


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Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of Kong: Skull Island


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_______ The Making of Skull Island: Reign of Kong


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____ Behind The Scenes Of King Kong: Skull Island 2017


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Looking at that incredible KK animatronic from the Broadway musical made me think of The Wild Wild West TV series.

I could easily imagine just such puppet being created by Dr. Loveless to wreak havoc on Jim & Artie in one of the bad doctor's mad schemes.

[The Spike]

Yeah. That was an unconventional encounter.

So here we have it, part two of the franchise reinvention of the beloved iconic creatures of cinema lore. After the 2014 redux of Godzilla was something of a tonal misstep, it's unsurprising to find this version of the King Kong legacy going all out blockbuster popcorner, and with that it succeeds - kinda.

Plot is wafer thin, bunch of humans from various professions rock up at the uncharted Skull Island, each with differing levels of interest as to what might be there. Of which they quickly find out is a whole heap of trouble - big trouble!

It's clear that the makers, fronted by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, are trying to blend crowd pleasing mayhem with thoughtful observations of not only the period the pic is set (1973), but also of man's inherent propensity for stupidity. On the surface, the battles and creature feature carnage in general, are wholly entertaining, but it's sometimes just too ridiculous for its own good. Even worse is that it's shallow, with no real substance of note, particularly where the characters are concerned, rendering a very admirable cast as one note players in the monkey maze.

However, irritants aside, the pic is great fun, with enough excitement and quippy dialogue to make the time spent on Skull Island worthwhile. Be it man versus beasties and the alien terrain they traverse, a popcorn muncher it be. There's some sly humour within (Tricky Dicky Nixon going down), and the nods towards Coppola and Cameron et al are pleasing as punch. You may have to lower expectation levels to not let the problems it has drag you down, and for sure it's not hard to understand why a lot of folk hate it, but it's not a disaster, far from it.

One does hope, though, that the next instalment in this series goes up another couple of notches, for Kong, Zilla and the other monster gods deserve it. 7/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[johnnybear]

I haven't seen the Skull Island version myself, but I did like the Peter Jackson version! My only problem and you all know what that is...it was too damn long!!!! And those extras...!!!
JB

[Bud Brewster]

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Johnny, this a classic example of people's taste can vary quite a lot. I think you're going to like Kong: Skull Island, and I'll admit that I was surprised how much I liked it when saw it.

But when I watched Jackson's King Kong I was pretty unhappy with many of the plot elements that actually insulted the original.

Like the way he gave the romantic deck scene between Jack Driscoll and Ann Darrow to the ham acto character, Bruce Baxter, and had him deliver Driscoll's lines to Ann just to show us how corny they were . . ."by today's standards".

And Jack Black plays the intrepid filmmaker and adventurer as a smarmy little opportunist who is desperate to prove he's not a weeny.

But all that's minor compared to the way they took this famous scene —





— and turned it into this.





King Kong, sitting on the floor like a fat, dejected child.

And just to make matters worse, the music they used for the stage show is actually the Max Steiner's score for the native ceremony in the original. So, a stirring and dramatic scene from the original is replaced by a Broadway extravaganza.

It seemed like yet another jab at the great classic.

_____________Kong Escapes From The Theater


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

I still think the Broadway play was true to the original vision of O'Brian. Of course some variation was required to update the story to the 21'st Century!

The musical told the story from a modern musical, emotional point of view.

I saw it on Broadway and came away transfixed, and totally in love with the way the story was told!

KING KONG is truly a story of unconditional love and the connection we have with the physical world and all the denizens we share it with!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[tmlindsey]

I liked the Jackson film but it was far too long and needed to be tightened up in the editing/story so it wasn't so self-indulgent. But it is far superior to Jackson's original script

For me, Kong: Skull Island is just the filmmaker's obvious infatuation with Heart of Darkness and re-working that story to fit in Kong. I've watched it a couple of times and, like with Godzilla 2014, it just leaves me with "meh".
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[mach7]

I did go see King Kong on Broadway back in 2018.

Not a bad show, it mostly followed the 1933 movie, with some character changes.

Kong, himself was spectacular.

Photo's were not allowed until after the show was over.





The puppeteers are the 1st photo.
The cast is the 2nd, Anne is taking her bow.

[Gord Green]

The Kong musical originated and opened first in Austraila in 2013.

The Australian production took five years of planning and over five months of rehearsals.

Its director, Daniel Kramer, said that it took "three years of auditions and workshops" before performances began. He added, "It's tempting to focus on the spectacle of King Kong himself.

But it is only through the humanity of the life around him – the people of New York City, the comic megalomania of filmmaker Carl Denham, the stubborn opposition of first mate Jack Driscoll, and the grace, beauty and power of our leading lady, Ann Darrow – that he truly takes life."

The musical, according to the 2013 press notes, "has gone back to the source – the novella of the original film by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace.
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[mach7]