Tuesday, January 31, 2006

How many siblings did King Kong have?

Who were King Kong's parents?

No, really. How did that 25-foot gorilla come to be on that island in the first place? Did he begin life as a normal chimp, blowing up to monstrous size as a result of atomic radiation? Is he a genetic freak? The result of a rare glandular problem? Or is there a 25-foot Mr. and Mrs. Kong, and a whole bunch of Kong siblings, clomping through the jungle in search of 10-foot bananas?

Inquiring minds want to know.

At least one of our colleagues did. He pointed out that the lack of biological accounting for Kong is one of the holes in Peter Jackson's $207 million "King Kong" remake.

Actually, there is a hint: At one point, Kong is shown with a number of what look like gorilla skeletons, indicating that he may be the last of his species.

But the real answer, of course, is that a movie in which a 25-foot ape falls in love with a 5-foot burlesque dancer, climbs to the top of the Empire State Building and is shot down by fighter planes is not exactly an exercise in Euclidean logic.

Makes you think, though.

For one thing, it makes you think about all the other movies that have left you with loose threads, unresolved story lines, unanswered questions. In a word: holes.

Here are some of our favorites.

What does The Ring do?

Everyone in "The Lord of the Rings" wants The Ring. Civilizations rise and fall because of it, armies clash, trees pull themselves up by their roots and traipse across Christopher Lee's patio. The Ring, we are told, is the essence of pure power. It will make anybody supreme over all the Earth.

But what does it do?

The one attribute we are shown -- that it makes the wearer invisible -- hardly seems the kind of thing that brings down empires.

Take me to your leader.com?

Aliens in giant spaceships invade Earth, destroying the White House, the Empire State Building and other photogenic national monuments in "Independence Day." Luckily, computer geek Jeff Goldblum is on hand, with his trusty Macintosh laptop, to save the day by creating a computer virus that disables the mother ship. Aliens from another galaxy use Mac? As several real computer geeks pointed out at the time, Mac isn't even compatible with most Earth systems.

"Rosebud": Who hears it?

"Rosebud," the last word on the lips of a dying millionaire, triggers the plot of "Citizen Kane," by common consent the greatest film ever made. For the entire film, everybody is obsessed with this mysterious word and what it might mean. Only problem is, no one heard it. At the beginning of the film, Kane (Orson Welles) says "Rosebud," drops the souvenir glass ball that shatters on the floor, and only then does a nurse come in and cover over the lifeless Kane.

What happened to Miss Gulch?

Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" runs away from home because Miss Gulch has threatened to kill her dog, Toto. In the land of Oz, with the help of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and a very bad Wizard, she learns that "there's no place like home." And so she wakes up, teary and grateful -- but Miss Gulch is still out there. Does she come back the next day, take repossession of Toto and have him gassed? The movie doesn't say. But it seems likely, doesn't it?

What happens to Dracula's wives?

An oldie but goodie. Dracula, played by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 classic, leaves his three wives in his castle in Transylvania in order to prey on the civilized world. He is finally tracked down by the intrepid professor Van Helsing to a cellar in London and staked through the heart just in time to save the heroine from a fate worse than death. But what happened to Dracula's wives? Presumably, they're still back in Transylvania, enjoying the local blood supply.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

BRODY'S LITTLE DOG HELPS HIM WITH KING KONG CHARACTER

Oscar-winner ADRIEN BRODY used the memory of losing his beloved Chihuahua CEELO to inspire him for the desperate chase scenes in new movie KING KONG.

The actor was forced to leave his little pet with friends while he filmed King Kong in New Zealand and he missed him dearly.

That and memories of losing the dog, a gift from his girlfriend, helped him get into character for scenes in which he was looking for his big screen love interest NAOMI WATTS.

He explains, "He was the emotional basis for the scene when I was searching for Naomi's character. She's lost in the jungle and I'm calling for her... That was very real to me.

"I've had scenarios where Ceelo has f**king disappeared on me, run away, what have you. It's the most frightening, frustrating thing because he's so small."

Friday, January 13, 2006

The Real King Kong???? Could it be???

Peter Jackson's King Kong is set on a mysterious, uncharted island. He might as well have shot it in Kerala.

Or so it would seem, if — and that's literally a big if — claims by a team of amateur anthropologists are proved true.

The team claims to have discovered footprints of a "giant-man" who had a shoe size of 29 inches, lived in a shelter 50 metres high and weighed well over 400 kg.

Going by the footprint size, the creature may have been as tall as 17 feet, which would make it easily the "largest human form to roam the earth".

Read more at King Kong in Kerala?

King Kong Arrives To China

Director Peter Jackson's 145-million-dollar remake of King Kong is expected to debut in mainland cinemas today. The third version stays true to the original plot while adding in many special effects. Our reporter Shanshan takes a detailed look at the film.

A film director and his crew on a visit to a mysterious island discover the existence of a legendary giant gorilla named Kong. Troubles come when the island natives capture the crew's leading lady as a sacrifice to the monster.

But it is the attention of the beautiful woman that soothes Kong long enough for him to be subdued by the explorers and brought back to New York, where his bleak future involves being put on display for humans' entertainment.

The film boasts an all-star cast including Adrien Brody, Jack Black and Naomi Watts and earns the New-Zealand director a bumper 20-million dollar paycheck. But money isn't the only thing that drew actor Jack Black to the film. The tale of the giant monkey King Kong has a special place in his heart.

"To me it's about what a nine-year-old boy imagines magic could be…"

In a departure from his usual roles, funny man Jack Black plays the over-zealous filmmaker who captures King Kong.

"I remember thinking to myself while I was watching 'Lord of the Rings'…And then I got the call from King Kong…"

Australian star Naomi Watts is lead actress, and did her ample share of screaming as did the heroines in the previous two versions.

"I did a lot of screaming in King Kong. I think I screamed a lot…"

King Kong has already grabbed more than $200 million in North America, and in Hong Kong it's also been the box office ruler for quite some time.

On the mainland, the film debuts in mid January, when many domestic films also rush to capture the Spring Festival film market. But given the attraction of the storyline and dazzling special effects, insiders are still confident the film's box office earnings in China are expected to surpass 100 million yuan.