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MONKEY BUSINESS

July 26, 2003

When Kong finished–a couple minutes shy of 4am–I gotta say that I felt a little deflated. The campy special effects that were state-of-the-art for 1976, feel painfully rudimentary with the hobbits and godzillas and shit of this era.

But I’ll say this, up until you actually see Kong, it is an amazing movie. The anticipation that builds, it sets you up so well. The exotic quality of naive prospectors getting into trouble on a “discovered island” is the best. The dynamics that build between Jeff Bridges’ “good” scientist role and Charles Grodin’s “bad” developer role set the approach to the island up perfectly. So bold and greedy. Grodin is the perfect rat.

The gate with the large, oiled bar is one of the best shots in movie history. Wild islanders–fearing something–offering up a sacrifice through the biggest set of doors imaginable. I remember being scared shitless at this point, so long ago. What was coming out of the woods? What was so big?

I was just 3-4 years old when I this movie came out, so I don’t know if Mom and Dad took me to it. Prob’ly not. I do remember the “Kong” craze that swept the nation. I even had my own version of “King Kong face” down pat, where I would get my underbite going real sinister, up over my top lip, like Kong himself.

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While looking for Kong links I came across a interesting blip: Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame) is slated to direct a new version of King Kong, with production starting in 2005. Whoa. I can only imagine what the beast will be like this time around, doctored up with CGI and such.

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