King Kong: Part of a New Genre?

Peter Jackson's most recent cut of King Kong, now in post production, was APPROVED by Universal Studios with a 3 hour running time- a rarity of notable proportions. The studio called it a masterpiece (hype?) and with pride compared it to the epic Titanic. However, apparently unlike Kong, Titanic had to battle its way to theatres. No one was confident back in the bean counting rooms. James Cameron foreited his directorial fees plus change from his own pocket. The studios were on the brink of bankruptcy, financing a project that seemingly never stopped shooting, building, and flooding. There were tons of extras. The sets were massive, unprecedented. Everyone was on the line. No one could believe it was 3 hours. The graves were already dug for Paramount and 20th Century Fox. Upon its release it grossed $600 million domestically, $1.8 billion worldwide, swept the Oscars, and had the highest selling soundtrack in movie history- ultimately, it became the most successful film ever. A tale made for Hollywood. King Kong slid right on through with its 3 hour length. Are they really that confident? One must remember, Jacksons last films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy (in case your blind, deaf, and living underground) were all much longer than the average hour and a half adventure and each of them did quite well. Is there a new genre, the "real epic adventure" started by James Cameron and reenforced by Peter Jackson? Personally, I hope the rarity of making 3 hour blockbusters conjures up a forgotten notion. The one that says the more effort and sincerity that goes into a film, the better it will do. Of course, some action adventures don't deserve 30 minutes. The danger of making them longer by dogma is that we'll all just end up with longer versions of the same old crap. Does King Kong deserve it's length? We'll see. And as for going over budget, Jackson was offered a deal- the studio would split the extra costs with him down the middle. He said no. He's paying for it all himself. According to the studio, additional costs add up to $32 million. Jackson says they're off, it's not that bad, and only a few digital effects are left for payment. The tale will be told on Dec. 14th.

Based On and Bested By a True Story

New York Times: "WHEN the Boston Red Sox captured the American League Championship Series last year, the writer-director team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly realized 'Fever Pitch,' their film about a die-hard Sox fan, had a problem: the perennial losers were on their way to an ill-timed win. So the Farrellys dug in and changed their ending. This year, several have been struck by similar twists of fate. And the people making and marketing those pictures must cope with the fact that sometimes reality bites. Some examples:"