A Big Gorilla Weighs In [Hollywood blows $207 million on gorilla movie]

The New York Times ^ | October 27, 2005 | Sharon Waxman

[XJarhead]

I thought the trailer for the new King Kong was spectacular.

I agree. A gigantic "wow" feel to it. I loved the original, but the remakes have all stunk. I bet this one breaks $250M domestically, over $600M internationally, and tons in DVD's and merchandies.

[WillamShakespeare]

LOL! Oh that`s right, the Warriors was remade too..lol! "Warriorrrs, come out to plaaay!" It`s true, they are remaking everything from the `70`s..Didn`t they also do a remake recently of the Exorcist as well? I wouldn`t be suprised if a remake of the Godfather is next, Tom Cruise as Vito Corleone..."I want inquiries...of the enemies of Scientology" or Leonardo DiCaprio as Luca Brasi "Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child or a feminine child and may the enviornment not be further polluted by cow methane."

[RogueIsland]

Peter Jackson deserves a success after the diligence he put into the LOTR movies. Why do you wish ill on this venture?

Especially since, from the few bits I've seen, the guy has gone out of his way to pay respect to the original. This doesn't look like the work of a guy looking to just cash in on a franchise title.

[Psycho_Bunny]

You never know. Jackson clearly knows what he's doing.

That's exactly what I said about Tarantino after Reservoir Dogs and Shyamalan after The Sixth Sense; both of whom have gone on to create progressively worse crap after their explosively brilliant, first serious films. 

The fact that Jackson is choosing to follow-up LotR with a totally banal, 80-years-past-it's-prime story like King Kong only makes me worry he's going to follow in the footsteps of Tarantino and Shyamalan.

I'm sorry, I loved Godzilla and Rodan as much as the next kid but there was never a time that I thought King Kong was anything other than creepy.  Bad creepy.  Had I seen the original back when it first came out, I'm sure I would have loved it but King Kong is a movie that could only work in a certain time, with a certain audience...and it's hard to imagine that time and audience being now.  No matter who directs it.

 

[Borges]

Pulp Fiction was great! And Jackie Brown was terrifically unexpected.

[DoctorMichael]

Hollywood tends to put allegory that matches their Politics in their movies, some of which is blatant, some is subliminal. For example, Spielberg used the Aliens in WAR OF THE WORLDS to suggest that we should have stayed out of Iraq and NOT have deposed a genocidal dictator like Sadaam. His message and the use of Tim Robbins as a gun-toting Right-wing nut was that, like the microbes killing the Aliens, the situation would have taken care of itself and that our aggression is unfounded.

Therefore, if I were to write this script I would portray King Kong this time around NOT as a sympathetic character, but instead as a mean, chaotic, Uncivililized, Neanderthalic beast that should have been left on his island in his natural state of beastiality; whose presence in a large Western city is inimical to that city. In other words, the transplantaion of this Brute to a modern-society setting proves to be dangerous to the unsuspecting people of that Civilization.

King Kong, in this case, would allegorically stand for ISLAM.

Just my two cents.

[oremites]

Has anyone noticed that the top movies at the box office over the weekends are getting $12-$15 million?

It use to be that weekend box office recepits for the top grosser where in the $40 million range on an average weekend.

That's because it's the slow season for movies. There's a reason that the big movies are released in the summer or Thanksgiving/Christmas.

[Rastus]

I didn't see Big Fish in the theaters because of her. When it dropped down to below $10 on DVD, I went ahead and got it. I'm glad, because it was good in spite of her.

[Age of Reason]

I love the 1933 original. The originality of that movie is what is impressive.

I agree.

There are some movies that shouldn't be remade.

It would be like someone painting Leonardo's Mona Lisa again.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I think Wal-Mart may offer this, too?

LOL. Wal-Mart discontinued this because Netflix was kicking their behinds.

See what happens when businesses innovate instead of complaining like other companies do against Wal-Mart.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Totally agree. If there's one good thing the 70s produced, it was excellent filmmaking.

I might just subscribe to Netflix to rent or buy some rare gems. I'm a huge Al Pacino fan and I never seen his movies like "Dog Day Afternoon" or "The Panic in Needle Park." Unfortunately, my stupid video store doesn't have these, not even in VHS.

[Borges]

That's false about WOTW. The screenwriter said that's how people may interpret it in different parts of the world. You can't help that. Have you seen the movie? The allegorical element was much closer to 9/11.

[Borges]

'Dog Day Afternoon' answers the age old question: can you make a movie about people being bored and not make a boring movie. Answer: It's pretty hard. Anyway the first half is great.

[DoctorMichael]

Have you seen the movie?

No. I will rent it eventually; Maybe.

I draw my illustration from Threads on this topic here at FreeRepublic.

[Rastus]

I enjoyed it, and I'm not a Tom Cruise fan, nor have I liked Spielberg in years. The funny thing is, they gave their leftist line to the nutty guy; it's Robbins who says, "History shows us that occupations never work!" He's certifiably insane at that point--not the best vessel for a message you want to sell.

[DoctorMichael]

......Robbins......not the best vessel for a message you want to sell.......

;-)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Glad to hear it! I'm impressed as all heck with Netflix. They deserve all the success that comes their way. :)