Andy Serkis will be King Kong
Announced in the Hollywood Reported, Peter Jackson has recently signed Andy Serkis on to play the part of King Kong. Like his character of Gollum, from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Serkis will play the man behind the monster. Serkis will provide motion capture reference for the character of Kong, who will eventually be realized as a completely computer-generated creature.
“I expect this time round will be a very different experience for both Andy and myself as we’ll actually get to shoot extended drama sequences together,” Jackson said. “It will be a little weird seeing Andy out of his Gollum gimp suit — and I hope we can both make the adjustment!”
Commenting on Kong himself, Jackson said: “While Andy will provide very valuable onset reference, this doesn’t mean we will be softening Kong by attempting to humanize him. The power of the story lies in the fact that this is a savage beast from a hostile environment, and we don’t intend to compromise that.”
Casting looks to be complete on the film. Other involved include Naomi Watts as the dazzling heroine Add Darrow, Jack Black as Carl Denham, and Adrien Brody and Jack Driscoll the main human action hero.
Production is due to start on this picture in August 2004 in New Zealand with a release date in December of 2005. This will possibly go up against The Cronicles of Narnia. Jackson plans on using most of the same production companies, writers, composers, and producers from his Lord of the Ring Triology team.
