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This article is about the 2005 film. For the tie-in video game, see King Kong (2005 video game).
King Kong

Theatrical release poster

Directed by Peter Jackson
 Fran Walsh
 Philippa Boyens
Screenplay by
 Peter Jackson

King Kong
by
Based on
 Merian C. Cooper
 Edgar Wallace

 Jan Blenkin
 Carolynne Cunningham
Produced by  Fran Walsh
 Peter Jackson

Starring  Naomi Watts

 Jack Black
 Adrien Brody
 Thomas Kretschmann
  Colin Hanks
 Jamie Bell

Cinematography Andrew Lesnie

Edited by Jamie Selkirk
Music by James Newton Howard
 Universal Pictures
Production
 WingNut Films
companies

Distributed by Universal Pictures

 December 5, 2005 (New York City)
 December 13, 2005 (New Zealand)
Release dates
 December 14, 2005 (United States)

Running time 188 minutes[1]

 New Zealand
Countries  United States

Language English
Budget $207 million[2]
Box office $556.9 million[2]

King Kong is a 2005 epic adventure monster film co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson.
It is the eighth entry in the King Kong franchise and the second remake of the 1933 film of the same
title, following the 1976 film. The film stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrien Brody. Set in 1933,
it follows the story of an ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to
mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter prehistoric creatures and a legendary giant gorilla known
as Kong, whom they capture and take to New York City.

Development began in early 1995, when Universal Pictures approached Jackson to direct the remake of
the original 1933 film. The project stalled in early 1997, as several ape and giant monster-related films
were under production at the time and Jackson planned to direct The Lord of the Rings film series. As
the first two films in the Rings trilogy became commercially successful, Universal went back to
Jackson in early 2003, expressing interest in restarting development on the project, to which Jackson
eventually agreed. Filming for King Kong took place in New Zealand from September 2004 to March
2005. It is currently one of the most expensive films ever produced as its budget climbed from an initial
$150 million to a then record-breaking $207 million.

King Kong premiered at New York City on December 5, 2005,[3] and was theatrically released in
Germany and United States on December 14. The film garnered positive reviews, and eventually
appeared in several top ten lists for 2005; it was praised for the special effects, performances, sense of
spectacle and comparison to the 1933 original, though some criticisms were raised over its 3-hour run
time. It was a commercial success, grossing over $556.9 million, and became the fourth-highest-
grossing film in Universal Pictures history at that time and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2005.[2] It
also generated $100 million in DVD sales upon its home video release in March 2006.[4] It won
three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. A tie-in
video game was released alongside the film, which also became a commercial and critical success.

Plot[edit]
In 1933, during the Great Depression, struggling New York City vaudeville performer Ann Darrow is
hired by financially troubled filmmaker Carl Denham to star in a film with actor Bruce Baxter. Ann is
hesitant to join the picture until she learns her favorite playwright, Jack Driscoll, is the screenwriter.
Filming takes place on the SS Venture, under Captain Englehorn, and under Carl's pretense it will be
sailing to Singapore. In truth, Carl intends to film the mysterious Skull Island. Captain Englehorn
reconsiders the voyage, prompted by his crew's speculation of trouble ahead. During the voyage, Ann
and Jack fall in love.

The Venture receives a radio message informing Englehorn there is a warrant for Carl's arrest due to his
defiance of the studio's orders to cease production, and instructing Englehorn to divert to Rangoon, but
the ship becomes lost in fog and runs aground on Skull Island. Carl and his film crew, including
cameraman Herb, assistant Preston, actor Bruce Baxter, and boom operator Mike, explore the island
and are attacked by natives who kill Mike and a crewman. Englehorn rescues the film crew, but as they
prepare to leave, a native sneaks onto the ship and abducts Ann. The natives offer Ann as a sacrifice
to Kong, a 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) ape. Jack notices Ann's disappearance, and the crew returns to the
island, but Kong flees with Ann into the jungle. Carl catches a glimpse of Kong and becomes
determined to film him.

Ann wins Kong over with her juggling and dancing skills, and begins to grasp his intelligence and
capacity for emotion. Englehorn organizes a rescue party, led by his first mate Hayes and Jack, and
accompanied by Carl, Herb, Baxter and Preston. The party gets caught between a herd
of Brontosaurus baxteri and a pack of Utahraptor-like Venatosaurus saevidicus hunting them, with
Herb and several other men killed in the resulting stampede. Baxter and others return to the ship.

The remaining party members continue through the jungle when Kong attacks, making them fall into a
ravine where Carl loses his camera. Kong rescues Ann from three Tyrannosaurus-like Vastatosaurus
rex, bringing her to his den in the mountains. The remaining rescue party are attacked by giant insects
in the ravine, resulting in the death of Hayes and most of the rescue party, but Preston, Carl, Jack, and
Hayes' apprentice Jimmy are rescued by Baxter and Englehorn. Jack searches for Ann alone, while Carl
decides to capture Kong. Jack finds Kong's lair and accidentally awakens him, but escapes with Ann.
They arrive at the wall with Kong pursuing them. As Ann begs the crew not to harm him, Kong kills
several sailors, but is subdued when Carl knocks him out with chloroform.

In New York City that winter, Carl presents "Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World" on Broadway,
starring Baxter and an imprisoned Kong. Ann, who refused to take part in the performance, is played by
an anonymous chorus girl. Agitated by the chorus girl not being Ann and flashes from cameras, Kong
breaks free from the chains and wrecks the theater, bursting out and through it and rampages through
 the streets of New York in search of Ann, and chases Jack before encountering her again. The U.S.
Army attacks, and Kong tries getting Ann and himself to safety by climbing to the top of the Empire
State Building.

Six Navy biplanes arrive, which Kong fights, downing three of them, but is mortally wounded from the
planes' gunfire and falls from the building. As Jack reaches the top of the building to comfort and
embrace Ann, civilians, policemen, and soldiers gather around the beast's corpse in the street, one
bystander commenting the airplanes got him. Carl makes his way through the crowd, takes one last
look at Kong and says, "It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast", before he walks away.

Cast[edit]

 Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, a struggling vaudeville actress who is desperate for work. Carl first meets
her when she tries to steal an apple from a fruit stand. Further into the voyage, she falls in love with
Jack and forms a special relationship with Kong.

 Andy Serkis as Kong (motion capture), a 25-foot (7.6 m) tall prehistoric ape who resembles a mountain
gorilla and is around 100–150 years old.[5][6] He is the last of his species, Megaprimatus kong,[7] and
the possible descendant of both the Chororapithecus and the Gigantopithecus.

 Serkis also plays Lumpy, the ship's cook, barber, and surgeon. A brave sailor, he warns Denham about
rumors he has heard about Skull Island and Kong.

 Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll, a screenwriter who falls in love with Ann. He unwittingly becomes part
of the voyage when, while delivering a script to Denham, he is deliberately delayed by the latter before
he can get off the Venture. He is the only member of the crew who agrees with Ann that Kong should
be left alone.

 Jack Black as Carl Denham, a film director who obtained the map to Skull Island. Due to his debts,
Carl starts to lose his moral compass and obsesses over his film to the point that he disregards safety.

 Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Englehorn, the German captain of the Venture. Englehorn shows a
dislike for Denham, presumably because of his obsessive nature.

 Colin Hanks as Preston, Denham's neurotic but honest personal assistant.

 Jamie Bell as Jimmy, a naive teenager who was found on the Venture, wild and abandoned.

 Evan Parke as Benjamin "Ben" Hayes, Englehorn's first mate and a mentor to Jimmy, who leads Ann's
rescue mission because of his army training and combat experience gained during World War I.
 Lobo Chan as Choy, Lumpy's best friend and a janitor on the Venture.

 Kyle Chandler as Bruce Baxter, an actor who specializes in adventure films. He abandons Ann's rescue
mission but brings Englehorn to rescue the search party from the insect pit, and is given credit for
rescuing Ann during the Broadway display of Kong.

 John Sumner as Herb, Denham's loyal cameraman.

 Craig Hall as Mike, Denham's soundman for the journey.

 William Johnson as Manny, an elderly vaudevillian actor and colleague of Darrow.

 Mark Hadlow as Harry, a struggling vaudevillian actor.

 Jed Brophy and Todd Rippon appeared in the film as crew members.

In addition, director Jackson appears with makeup artist Rick Baker (who had portrayed Kong and
designed makeup for the 1976 version) as the pilot and gunner on the airplane that kills the title
character, his children appear as New York children, The Lord of the Rings co-producer Rick
Porras and The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont appear as a gunners in the other
airplanes, and Bob Burns and his wife appear as New York bystanders. Frequent Jackson
collaborator Howard Shore makes a cameo appearance as the conductor of the New York theater from
where Kong escapes. Shore was initially set to compose for the film before his exit.

Watts, Black, and Brody were the first choices for their respective roles with no other actors
considered.[8] In preparation for her role, Watts met with the original Ann Darrow, Fay Wray.
[9] Jackson wanted Wray to make a cameo appearance and say the final line of dialogue, but she died
during pre-production at 96 years old.[10] Black was cast as Carl Denham based on his performance in
the 2000 film High Fidelity, which had impressed Jackson.[11] For inspiration, Black studied P. T.
Barnum[12] and Orson Welles. "I didn't study [Welles] move for move. It was just to capture the spirit.
Very reckless guy. I had tapes of him drunk off his ass."[13] The