Kong: Skull Island - coming 2017

[MIB41]

In that case you'd love it if Godzilla used to live on that island as well...
First they were friends, then they wanted the same girl, then they became worst enemies!

Don't forget Kong developed a drinking problem with berry juice.

[TrekStar]

With these King Kong and Godzilla remakes, why don't they just kill two birds with one stone,
and remake King Kong vs Godzilla? I know it's 2 different studios, 2 different countries, but in today's world
this can be done, and with subtitles for both audiences seeing it, I think it would be interesting.
But most likey the cost would be to much, who would be the actors and where would it be filmed?
so I doubt anything like that would be done. Also there's the old question of Godzilla vs Gamera
maybe that is something to consider? 2 different studios but same country.

[MIB41]

Michael Keaton is now part of this project? I can see it now... With Kong holding him in his paw, Keaton grabs Kong by his chin hairs and says, "I'm Batman."

http://www.superherohype.com/news/326123-michael-keaton-eyes-kong-skull-island-role

[Bruce Banner]

Brief featurette on Skull Island...

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/74897

[torgospizza]

With these King Kong and Godzilla remakes, why don't they just kill two birds with one stone, and remake King Kong vs Godzilla?

I think that's being planned, but I'm not sure how they'll pull it off--the size difference between them is huge.

http://www.slashfilm.com/godzilla-vs-king-kong-2020/

[huedell]

Hmmm...

Not sure how:

I just don't see anything engaging enough to warrant a prequel except to put on a big CGI-fest, which Jackson did to epic/yawning scope with his remake. There's only so many monster moments you can have before you look down at your watch and say, "What's the point?"

vs.

That Godzilla film was a perfect example. The biggest over-hyped bore-fest of 2014. This appears to be aiming for that same audience.

isn't at odds with each other unless you're thinking in the line with my mindset that "monster action" is boring without the surrounding movie being good.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the rock'em sock'em fun of "FX" movies just for the sake of eye candy--- I mean, I like things other than "monster fights" to be somewhat engaging in these films.

People complained there wasn't ENOUGH monster action in Godzilla '14---and that's what confused me about your sentiment.

Also, I happened to actually enjoy my viewing of Godzilla '14.

On the flipside: I'll (admittedly) never seek out to watch G'14 again... I never saw the Broderick version... and I thought KK'05 was pretty "blah".

I lean towards that fans of Kong, Godzilla, and other "jumbo beast attack" movies have unreachable expectations---I mean, since the originals, have ANY of these type movies been all that special to the core fans?

Maybe the Jurassic Park movies are an exception, but I have a hard time lumping Jurassic Park in with the monster classics like KK & Godzilla----I suppose Pacific Rim represents the "fine line" between the two.

[MIB41]

^^^ I think what really stood out to me about Godzilla '14 was the marketing sold it as a Jaws treatment with the massive ocean swells and a kind of effective build to the reveal. That's the impression I had which was further supported by some who had seen it. When I saw the movie for myself, I never really found that comparison to hold much validity. If anything it felt more like a movie about the Praying Mantis-style monster. Plus some of the actors featured so predominantly in the trailers were either killed off early or didn't contribute that much to the overall plot. When Godzilla finally showed up, he looked pretty good, but after such a long drawn out story, he felt a bit late to the party for his contributions. I'm not sure a Godzilla film needed to be 2 hours long. That and I thought the 9/11 scene at ground zero for Zilla was a ill-advised contrivance. So at the end of the day (for me) it felt like a movie that tried to build some additional layers to the legacy, but ultimately didn't craft it in a fashion I found to be all that engaging. Perhaps the limitations of the concept ultimately betrays the added plot points for me. I'm not really sure. But I found the movie to be pretty top heavy on a story that didn't leave me anymore engaged. It was a special effects film looking for a meaning where I guess there shouldn't be one.

Jackson's Kong is something I could write about for days. It's the only iteration of Kong where the setup in New York is more fascinating than when the ship wrecks on Skull Island. For me, this was a textbook example of the director being too in love with the material to know when to pull back on the reigns. Jackson over indulged at every turn. For a film that could sell such a beautiful environment, Jackson utilized Kong and the dinosaurs like a kid playing in a sandbox. Naomi Watts should have broken her neck about 30 difference places the way Kong flailed her about like a rag doll. The T-Rex's attacking Kong and performing a almost ballet-like performance swinging from vines in a painfully over-choreographed sequence was bizarre. And the bug sequence is something I still skip over to this day because it's just overbearing in gratuitous graphic slime. I also felt like Kong was less effective as a straight on ape. I always believed the '33 and '76 Kongs had unique looks or stances that differentiated them from a common ape. This one was straight out of a zoo which, for me, took the mystique off him. Then add to that the ending where Kong takes a bullet in the back, (by Rick Baker of Kong '76 fame no less), it just feels like the director is in the way of every iconic moment. I can see Jackson's face bleeding into every scene saying, " Did you see THAT?!" It's just overkill.


So when I think about those two films and hear this concept of combining them it just gives me a headache trying to figure out how they will fix the scale discrepancies along with any continuity from the other films. To me Kong will register much better if he's more monster in construct than just a big monkey. The kid in me celebrates this team-up for all the obvious reasons. But then I think about modern movies and how they try to over reach in selling these ideas to the public, I'm hard pressed to believe this movie can be anything watchable. Trying to mix a sequel of Godzilla '14 with a sort of reboot of the Japanese camp classic while offering a nod to Jackson's Kong just sounds like a conceptual cocktail that is pretty hard to swallow. I might need some jungle berry juice for that ride.

[huedell]

^^^ I think what really stood out to me about Godzilla '14 was the marketing sold it as a Jaws treatment ... If anything it felt more like a movie about the Praying Mantis-style monster. ... When Godzilla finally showed up, he looked pretty good, but after such a long drawn out story, he felt a bit late to the party for his contributions. I'm not sure a Godzilla film needed to be 2 hours long ... So at the end of the day (for me) it felt like a movie that tried to build some additional layers to the legacy, but ultimately didn't craft it in a fashion I found to be all that engaging. Perhaps the limitations of the concept ultimately betrays the added plot points for me. I'm not really sure. But I found the movie to be pretty top heavy on a story that didn't leave me anymore engaged. It was a special effects film looking for a meaning where I guess there shouldn't be one.

Your tastes/expectations are as specific as mine---but your articulate reply does justice to them, as I totally get what you're saying. Very interesting to me, as, as I mentioned before, I walked out of the theater decently impressed---all the more because I was just going for the heck of it, Call me a "pushover" but my usually "defensive" wartime attitude was transformed to tears when the nuke analogy climaxed with that military guy's "watch" story. I already had been engaged,and that moment pushed me over the edge emotionally---follow that with Godzilla being a "help" more than hindrance... and it really worked for me.

Ultimately though, you weren't buying it---and I'm not surprised if many others didn't either---I mean, on a similar note, personally, I thought the emotional Gwen stuff worked great in ASM2, but most fans... most people apparently: Did not.

Jackson's Kong is something I could write about for days.. I can see Jackson's face bleeding into every scene saying, " ...Did you see THAT?!" It's just overkill.

And what I felt when I watched that movie was "THIS is what you guys really want to see... right?" referring to fans. Kind of a spin on how I felt watching Batman Begins.,... but, different in it's way. I was very disengaged----but, full-disclosure here--- I saw Kong at home---so, that taints the "POV" a bit. And, with me having more invested in (say) Jessica Lange than the Kong mythos itself, I didn't have much more reaction to the movie overall---yet your Kong thoughts make me kinda want to watch it again with the goal of seeing how your take plays out---even with as negative an experience as we both had.

So when I think about those two films and hear this concept of combining them it just gives me a headache trying to figure out how they will fix the scale discrepancies along with any continuity from the other films. To me Kong will register much better if he's more monster in construct than just a big monkey. The kid in me celebrates this team-up for all the obvious reasons. But then I think about modern movies and how they try to over reach in selling these ideas to the public, I'm hard pressed to believe this movie can be anything watchable. Trying to mix a sequel of Godzilla '14 with a sort of reboot of the Japanese camp classic while offering a nod to Jackson's Kong just sounds like a conceptual cocktail that is pretty hard to swallow. I might need some jungle berry juice for that ride.

tjacwave50 was the one who brought up the "vs." possibility, and my take on that possibility is that I'll follow your "monster in construct" lead, because, heck, it's a "monster battle" movie idea we're talking about here.

But, as far as the "Skull Island" movie that spawned this thread--- that "childhood" part of me---scarily enough, the part of me that I equate with the dangerously "fluff" attitude of Jackson's "mashing of monsters sandbox" approach---is the very thing that has me interested. When I was a kid growing up in the 70's/80's, the Lange Kong was a bonding viewing for my Dad and I. I enjoyed the movie, but I was dominantly fascinated with that mysterious island with the weird culture (and cool name).

As an adult, I "get" the idea of making a movie inspired on that portion of the original concept, and was intrigued by Gorn Captain's pitch of "If it's a prequel, they could show an expedition to the island that never returned. Show us where Kong got a taste for the ladies..."

Hey! Why not? As is the case many times---the concept is there---now, how's execution going to be?

[palitoy]

Originally Posted by MIB41
Jackson's Kong is something I could write about for days.. I can see Jackson's face bleeding into every scene saying, " ...Did you see THAT?!" It's just overkill.

Oh wow, yeah. Just too much on the screen, totally agree.

[MIB41]

Your tastes/expectations are as specific as mine---but your articulate reply does justice to them, as I totally get what you're saying. Very interesting to me, as, as I mentioned before, I walked out of the theater decently impressed---all the more because I was just going for the heck of it, Call me a "pushover" but my usually "defensive" wartime attitude was transformed to tears when the nuke analogy climaxed with that military guy's "watch" story. I already had been engaged,and that moment pushed me over the edge emotionally---follow that with Godzilla being a "help" more than hindrance... and it really worked for me.

Ultimately though, you weren't buying it---and I'm not surprised if many others didn't either---I mean, on a similar note, personally, I thought the emotional Gwen stuff worked great in ASM2, but most fans... most people apparently: Did not.

I completely understand where you're coming from and envy your ability to find the emotion in that moment. I think if I'm being 100% objective and honest with my feelings, Godzilla has always been one of those character/monsters that has lived in the mind of my inner child. But it's existed in such a way that it's difficult for me to counter balance any enhancement in that recipe. When I think of Godzilla, I imagine this costume actor in a rubber suit bouncing into town like the big sheriff with big eyes and a tail wagging with cocky gyrations backed by the world's BEST roar that screams, "Wanna piece of this?!" He's the ultimate sandbox monster come to play WWF with other like-minded monsters ( or just cause allot of economic upheaval should there be a convenient skyline nearby to contrast with his enormous hide). And I think therein lies the great rub for me. No matter how he's presented, you can't divorce him from doing what people expect which is destroy cities and play throw down with other creatures not vertically challenged. There's a kind of pageantry to his existence that says he must perform these feats just like Jason must dismember witless campers. But because what he does is so fantastical it's difficult for me to get him out of that sandbox into something more...eh...feasible? So I think THAT is why all of this backstory and attempts to make him seem more "historically factual" didn't really resonate with me. I like him in his sandbox.

With regards to AMS2, I stand with you. Now, I totally "get" why people didn't like it, because it certainly took liberties with the villains. Plus the overall structure of the story was not your standard superhero read. But I immediately caught the thematic tools the director was using through the whole film about timing and how much fate played a role in that. I found that to be a fascinating angle to play on the death of Gwen Stacy. And it helped build an emotional quality to that final scene. I didn't care for the Green Goblin though because he reminded me too much of Evil Ed in the 1985 horror classic "Fight Night". I was waiting for him to say, "Brewster, you're so cool!"

And what I felt when I watched that movie was "THIS is what you guys really want to see... right?" referring to fans. Kind of a spin on how I felt watching Batman Begins.,... but, different in it's way. I was very disengaged----but, full-disclosure here--- I saw Kong at home---so, that taints the "POV" a bit. And, with me having more invested in (say) Jessica Lange than the Kong mythos itself, I didn't have much more reaction to the movie overall---yet your Kong thoughts make me kinda want to watch it again with the goal of seeing how your take plays out---even with as negative an experience as we both had.

You'll probably never find a bigger Kong '76 fan than me. I absolutely adored that film when it first came to theaters and even took my little Kmart audio cassettes and recorded the movie the first time it came on television back in the late 70's. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I sat there listening to that movie imagining all the images from the film. I love the soundtrack by John Barry and love the relationship between Kong (Rick Baker) and Dwan (Jessica Lange). I understood Lange was playing Dwan in the spirit of Fay Wray but I think some people took that too literal and transposed that as a acting deficit on her. Hopefully her Oscar awards later changed some minds as to the intent here.

That film also introduced me to Jeff Bridges who has gone on to be one of my all time favorite actors (Fisher King, Big LeBowski, Crazy Heart, Fabulous Baker Boys, True Grit, Etc). I love him in everything he does. He has a real "every man" quality to him that resonates in each of his characters. I would also add, you need to see this movie on blu ray. I have the French copy which allows you to watch it in English by picking Australian. You can watch all the special features in Japanese. Wonderful making of feature on that one. But the best part is the film is cleaned up and looks beautiful. Looks more the way it did when I saw it in the theater than those terrible transfers that have existed forever on VHS and DVD. Less separation with the blue screen effects.

tjacwave50 was the one who brought up the "vs." possibility, and my take on that possibility is that I'll follow your "monster in construct" lead, because, heck, it's a "monster battle" movie idea we're talking about here.

But, as far as the "Skull Island" movie that spawned this thread--- that "childhood" part of me---scarily enough, the part of me that I equate with the dangerously "fluff" attitude of Jackson's "mashing of monsters sandbox" approach---is the very thing that has me interested. When I was a kid growing up in the 70's/80's, the Lange Kong was a bonding viewing for my Dad and I. I enjoyed the movie, but I was dominantly fascinated with that mysterious island with the weird culture (and cool name).

As an adult, I "get" the idea of making a movie inspired on that portion of the original concept, and was intrigued by Gorn Captain's pitch of "If it's a prequel, they could show an expedition to the island that never returned. Show us where Kong got a taste for the ladies..."

Hey! Why not? As is the case many times---the concept is there---now, how's execution going to be?

My inner child celebrates this with you. It's just my adult brain that has trouble wrapping all of these concepts together. If they take the attitude To Ho Productions did with their original, it could work to great effect. But my fear is they will try and make it seem real and I'm more for the make believe approach. If they can just have fun with it, I can too. That is my basic hope.

[Bruce Banner]

[Gorn Captain]

I'm actually kind of excited about this. Wonder how Kong will look?

[hedrap]

He's huge, apparently. Biggest Kong evah.

Wasn't sure how the Kong/Godzilla fight was going to happen, but that should explain it. Skull Island has to be Monster Island.

How crazy would it be for them to remake the Kong v Pterodactyl fight and have the natives call it Radon? Or a T-Rex called Gorosaurus?

[Gorn Captain]

Will he look like a regular gorilla, or something more like 1933 Kong?

[monitor_ep]

This Kong is big enough to take on Godzilla.