As Peter Jackson’s brand new retelling of King Kong prepares to makes its world premiere in New York tonight, the New Zealand director has had the added boost of Mayor Bloomberg declaring it official Kong Day in the city. Quite what this means for the millions bustling through the snowy streets on their way to work is anyone’s guess — notoriously cynical New Yorkers have sensibly not been required to don monkey masks for the day — but the film will be viewed by over 8000 people in a host of cinemas that surround Times Square for the launch event. The city’s famous neon-smeared tourist trap features heavily in the movie.
Meanwhile, in a hotel a few blocks away, Jackson and his cast have gathered to express their feelings on the completed epic. The director, visibly exhausted, smirks when his wristwatch alarm goes off, “That’s for New Zealand, it’s 6.30am there, I should be getting up. All I really want to do is sleep!” Although, he finished the last shots on the movie literally minutes before getting on the plane last Monday — a spectacular vista of Kong clambering up the Empire State is officially the last shot off the production line — he claims this is nothing to do with enforced brinkmanship, but the simple ethos that the longer you spend on a movie the better it will be. “There was never a concern that I couldn’t hand a movie in, you just push for it to be as near to perfect as possible.”
And he is satisfied this is movie he wanted to make, although still feels too immersed in the whole process to have a clear perspective on it. “Talk to me in a few months,” he says. “I’ll know then.”
At least, the film seems to have gone down well with the entire cast. “We always talked about the fact that we could be making a classic,” adds Jamie Bell, who plays disconsolate cabin boy Jimmy. “And this will be a classic. It was a privilege and an honour to be a part of this man’s dream.”
When Naomi Watts, who does a career defining job as heroine Ann Darrow, saw the fruition of all her work in creating a delicate, moving relationship with this forlorn CG creature, she found it nearly overwhelming. “It was emotional,” she says. “Peter has created something truly beautiful.”
Even the man who has conceived and shot the movie, found Kong’s fateful death heartbreaking. “I couldn’t watch it more than once,” admits Jackson. “The thought of watching him die again and again was too much. I left the dubbing guys with my notes and went to get some air.”
The film, clocking in at a cool three hours, is already gathering approving murmurings around town, particularly for its emotional power, and Jackson can now finally relax that he has done the original film, his favourite, complete justice. All there is to do now is attend the huge party on a nearby pier involving Skull Island decor and a 30s style club, in the company of his close friends and a few thousand others.
Jack Black, meanwhile, remains the only cast member yet to view the film. He’s waiting to see it tonight. “I’m doing it properly,” he quips. “It’s like with a bride, you shouldn’t see her before the wedding night.”
The only thing that is worrying him is the performance of his digital double, used when even the stunt man wouldn’t take the risk. “If the robot acting isn’t up to the quality of my own,” he joked, “I may be forced to sue.”