King Kong (franchise)
King Kong is an American monster media franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as television, novels, comic books, video games, attractions, and other merchandise. The franchise is centered on King Kong, a giant ape living on a primordial island inhabited by prehistoric creatures. The original film King Kong was co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack and was released on March 2, 1933; it was a box office success, despite opening during the Great Depression. The film's stop motion effects by Willis H. O'Brien revolutionized special effects, leaving a lasting impact on the film industry worldwide.
Twelve films have followed since the franchise's 1933 debut, with Kong typically serving as a benevolent and, at times, violent protagonist. Ownership over each film varies since Kong was licensed to various studios, but the original 1933 film and its sequel were produced and owned by RKO Radio Pictures. The films were inherited by Warner Bros. in 1996.
The franchise has had several hiatuses and revivals, and it has inspired other genre films during intervals, such as Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, Mothra and Jurassic Park.
History
1930s
In 1933, RKO Pictures produced and released King Kong; it became a box office success despite opening during the Great Depression, earning $90,000 in its first four days. The film's success spawned a sequel nine months later, Son of Kong, as well as what became a multimedia franchise, spanning remakes, reboots, books, videos games, attractions, parodies and references.The film grossed $10 million at the box office and earned an additional $2.5 million when it was re-released in 1952. The film revolutionized special effects, specifically stop motion, that left a long lasting impact in the film industry worldwide, with effects animator Willis H. O'Brien largely credited for pioneering the medium. King Kong is widely regarded by critics and journalists as a masterpiece and a signature facet of American cinema, and is cited as one of the greatest monster films ever made. King Kong was selected by the National Film Registry for preservation.
1960s
In the early 1960s, O'Brien developed a story outline titled King Kong vs. Frankenstein, supplemented with water-color illustrations and sketches, in the hopes of igniting interest for a potential production in color. Impressed with O'Brien's pitch, RKO attorney Daniel O'Shea granted O'Brien permission to use the character and introduced him to independent film producer John Beck to help secure studio funding. Despite hiring George Worthing Yates to adapt O'Brien's outline into a full screenplay and meeting with several studios and directors, Beck failed to sell the project in Hollywood and reached out to foreign studios.Beck succeeded in striking a deal with Toho Co., Ltd., the producers behind Godzilla. However, Toho was mostly interested in licensing King Kong from RKO and Beck rather than acquiring O'Brien's story. As a result, Frankenstein/Prometheus was replaced with Godzilla and the project was redeveloped as King Kong vs. Godzilla. Beck's deal with Toho was done without O'Brien's knowledge or consent. His representative prepared a lawsuit for unauthorized use of O'Brien's ideas in the film. However, the lawsuit was dropped due to attorney fees, and O'Brien died on November 8, 1962.
Unlike King Kong, the special effects in Godzilla were accomplished with suitmation and miniature sets, also known as tokusatsu. King Kong was portrayed by Shoichi Hirose and Godzilla portrayed by Haruo Nakajima; stop motion was also used in a few brief scenes.
Toho theatrically released King Kong vs. Godzilla on August 11, 1962, in Japan and it was a box office success, having sold 11.2 million tickets during its initial theatrical run. It earned in distribution rental earnings. The film became the second-highest-grossing Japanese-produced film in history upon its release and was the fourth-highest-grossing film released in Japan that year, as well as Toho's second-biggest release.
Because Toho was so eager to acquire King Kong, they had agreed to let Beck retain exclusive distribution rights for the United States, Canada, Alaska, the United Kingdom, and Israel, while Toho retained exclusive distribution for the Far East. Beck's contract also granted him the right to produce his own version. Beck commissioned a heavily localized version with new footage using American actors and replacing Akira Ifukube's score with stock music from Universal Pictures' library. Beck sold his localized version to Universal International, who made a deal to retain copyrights to the American version for 40 years.
The American version of King Kong vs. Godzilla was released in the United States on June 26, 1963. The Japanese version remained unavailable officially outside of Japan until 2019, when American distributor The Criterion Collection included both Japanese and American versions in a Blu-ray set collecting the Shōwa era Godzilla films.
In 1966, American studio Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment acquired the rights from RKO to produce an animated series and a new live-action film. A joint venture between Rankin/Bass and Japanese studio Toei Animation, The King Kong Show premiered on ABC in September 1966. Around that time, Rankin/Bass made a deal with Toho to co-produced their King Kong film that would have been promotionally tied to The King Kong Show. Toho presented a script titled Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah, but Rankin/Bass vetoed the script and Toho proceeded without Rankin/Bass; King Kong was replaced with Godzilla and the film was redeveloped as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep.
In September 1966, Toho had sent Rankin/Bass a proposed synopsis for a new film titled King Kong Escapes, which was loosely based on The King Kong Show; though some elements from Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah remained such as over-the-top villains from an unnamed nation, illegal production of fuel for nuclear weapons, and scenes in the South Seas. The proposal was accepted and filming began in spring 1967, with Haruo Nakajima playing King Kong via suitmation. Toho theatrically released King Kong Escapes on July 22, 1967, in Japan but failed to match the box office success of King Kong vs. Godzilla. Universal Pictures released an English dubbed version in the United States the following year; similar to what they had done with King Kong vs. Godzilla, Universal made a deal to retain the copyright of the American version for 40 years.
1970s–1980s
Accounts vary as to the genesis of the 1976 remake. Producer Dino De Laurentiis has claimed it was his idea to remake King Kong after seeing a poster of the 1933 film in his daughter's room. Michael Eisner, then-vice president of ABC, equally claimed to have conceived the idea of a remake in December 1974 after watching the 1933 film on television, and casually mentioned the idea to Sidney Sheinberg, then-president and CEO of MCA Inc. and Universal Pictures, and Sheinberg also mentioned the idea to Barry Diller, then-president of Paramount Pictures. Sheinberg and Diller soon began developing their own King Kong remakes simultaneously, both unaware of the other's project. Diller hired De Laurentiis to produce on behalf of Paramount, while Sheinberg hired Hunt Stromberg Jr. to produce for Universal. On April 15, 1975, Universal's attorney Arnold Shane and De Laurentiis met with RKO's attorney Daniel O'Shea to negotiate in acquiring the rights; Shane and De Laurentiis were unaware of each other's appointment. Despite not signing documents, both parties left believing they had secured the rights for their respected studios. However, Paramount had signed their deal with RKO the following month and soon learned about Universal's own film after they announced Joseph Sargent to direct and Bo Goldman to write the script, titled The Legend of King Kong.Universal and Paramount soon engaged in litigation. Universal insisted that a verbal agreement was made with RKO, demanded $25 million in damages from De Laurentiis and RKO, and asserted that the material was in public domain by then since Universal published a novelization of the King Kong story in the 1930s. De Laurentiis countersued for copyright infringement, demanding $90 million in damages and pushed his film into production while also publishing ads that jabbed at Universal. In January 1976, negotiations were made to potentially have both studios co-produce a single film and share profits, but De Laurentiis rejected Universal's proposal of using their script and controlling the merchandise. Litigation ended that same month after De Laurentiis agreed to pay an undisclosed percentage for Universal's cancelled film, with Universal vowing to produce their own King Kong film at an undetermined date.
Carlo Rambaldi lead an effects team that built Kong's giant hand and a 40 foot tall robot of Kong, its construction overseen by Glen Robinson. Like the Toho films, an ape-suit was used to bring Kong to life, with special make-up effects artist Rick Baker portraying the character. The 40-foot robot cost roughly $2 million, while the giant hand and suit cost an additional $400,000, and a full-sized static Kong made of styrofoam, used for one scene, cost $300,000. The production was a rushed venture since the studio set the film's release date for December 1976 and De Laurentiis' persistence to beat Universal. As a result, delays occurred due to props and mechanics malfunctioning; two full-scale right hands produced by mistake; director John Guillermin's tyrant-like behavior on-set; the budget inflating to $24 million and marketing costs of $10 million, figures unheard of at the time. Paramount theatrically released King Kong on December 17, 1976, and grossed $90 million. Despite mixed reviews unfavorably comparing the remake to the original, the film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, shared with Logan's Run.
In 1977, De Laurentiis stated that a sequel to the 1976 remake would "definitely" be produced. However, development on a sequel was impaired by the remake's disappointing box office results and legal complications over the ownership of the King Kong character. Writer Steven Pressfield stated that various scripts were written that he described as "embarrassing". Despite initially skeptical of a female Kong, De Laurentiis ultimately approved of Pressfield's and Ronald Shusett pitch of Kong put in a respirator and restored with an artificial heart. Guillermin returned to direct the sequel after finances collapsed for a film adaptation of Tai-Pan with Sean Connery. The film was announced in October 1985 and filming began in April 1986 in Tennessee for a December release later that year. King Kong Lives was theatrically released on December 19, 1986, by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and was met with a poor response. The film flopped at the box office, grossing $4.7 million in the United States and Canada, and was panned by critics.