The success of his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy allowed Peter Jackson to make the film of his dreams.
The phenomenal success of Lord of the Rings opened the doors to international fame for Peter Jackson. Revealed by his low-budget gore comedies in the 1980s, the New Zealand filmmaker was awarded the Oscar for Best Director in 2004 for the final part of his trilogy, The Return of the King.
And if the adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s novels was a long-term project for the director, the latter nevertheless had a childhood dream that the success of his trilogy then allowed him to realize. Because the film that Peter Jackson wanted above all else to make is a remake of King Kong!
At the age of nine, the future director discovered the very first King Kong film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper. A cinematic shock which gave rise to his ambition to become a film director: “The impact was such that I decided on the spot to become a director. I said to myself: ‘I want to make cinema, I want to be able to make films like King Kong’.”
Universal Pictures
A first film made at 13!
A few years later, he borrowed his parents’ family camcorder to shoot a short King Kong film using a model of the Empire State Building and plastic dinosaurs. In 1996, having become an acclaimed director, Peter Jackson attempted to begin work on his remake, but the project was ultimately abandoned a few months before filming began for budgetary reasons.
The New Zealand filmmaker then fell back on the adaptation of Lord of the Rings, another project dear to his heart. Filming for the trilogy spanned more than a year, then several years of editing and post-production. A (very) long-term job, but at the end of which Peter Jackson decided to immediately continue with the production of his new version of King Kong.
Universal Pictures
A film that breaks all records
The director’s international reputation allowed him to raise the largest budget of all time for a film ($207 million), but also the largest fee ever received by a filmmaker until then ($20 million, bonuses and incentives). not including).
Focusing on the great spectacle, with moments of bravery in the confrontation between King Kong and the dinosaurs or even the ascent of the Empire State Building, Peter Jackson’s version was also conceived as a love letter to the 1933 film The cast of the remake brings together Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody, but also Jack Black and his “muse” Andy Serkis.
Released in theaters on December 14, 2005 (two years almost to the day after The Return of the King), King Kong grossed more than $556 million at the worldwide box office – revenues that do not take into account the significant revenues generated by the sale of DVDs (more than 100 million dollars) and various derivative products.
The film King Kong directed by Peter Jackson will leave the Prime Video catalog on January 31.
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