Jackson’s the Man

How is a serious journalist meant to start a story about a ten-foot popcorn sculpture of King Kong? (don't be rude, we pride ourselves on our professionalism here at Empire Online). It seems that the Odeon in Leicester Square wanted to celebrate the 70th anniversary of King Kong with a bit of style. So what better way to do it than to commission the world's largest popcorn sculpture in the world and then get the King Kong maestro Ray Harryhausen to unveil it? "King Kong started my career," Harryhausen told Empire Online, "so it will always have a place in my heart." And everybody else's - everyone knows who the grumpy monkey is, and if they don't then they soon will with Peter Jackson's plans for a King Kong remake. "If anyone's going to do it, then he will," Harryhausen enthused. "The last remake was quite a disappointment. It lost all the fantasy and King Kong is one of the greatest film fantasies on the screen." Jackson will be employing the latest technology to portray the beast, something that Harryhausen is looking forward to seeing. "CGI is remarkable, but is not the be-all and end-all. What's important is what interests the public. If you can do it with a yo-yo, then why not! It shouldn't define everything. CGI doesn't make a better film, it's the stories that make the film." Harryhausen fans will be pleased to know that the man himself will be giving a talk at the University of Teeside, which you can attend free of charge. True it's not until January 28 2004 but that gives you lots of time to free up your calendar.