King Kong (1995 film)

King Kong is a 1995 American monster adventure film produced by Frank Bronfman, Stephen C. Fairfax, Giorgos Spanos and Saul Anderson, written by Bronfman and Fairfax and directed by Jean-Bernard Christiansen. 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, where they encounter a giant gorilla known as Kong, whom they capture and take to for exhibition. It is the second remake of the 1933 film of the same title, following the 1976 film.

The idea of a second King Kong remake was conceived in 1988 by Giorgos Spanos and Spiros Manousakis, shortly after they purchased RKO Pictures. After Frank Bronfman and Steven C. Fairfax pitched their own idea for a King Kong remake to RKO, the decision was made to merge the two remake proposals into one, with Jean-Bernard Christiansen being hired to direct the film. Filming for King Kong took place in from September 1994 to April 1995. The film featured CGI effects by and animatronic and puppet effects by Thomas Hallsten.

King Kong premiered on November 20, 1995 at and was released on December 1, 1995 in the United States and Canada. The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics; it was praised for the special effects, performances, sense of spectacle and comparison to the 1933 original, though some criticisms were raised over weak writing. It was a commercial success, grossing over $304.3 million at the box office. It was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects.

Filming
Principal photography started on September 2, 1994 at in. The Carolco Studios housed most of the interior filming, while the native village, the Great Wall and some New York City street sets were constructed on the backlot. The SS Venture scenes were mostly shot onboard a full-scale mockup constructed in a farmer's field rented by the production crew, which were backed by a green-screen so the ocean could be added in post, other scenes of the Venture used the MV Good Day, a former offshore radio ship, which had been redressed to resemble a 1930s-era steam cargo ship. The scenes were shot in the Port of Wilmington. The Skull Island scenes other than the ones in the native village were shot on. Most of the New York scenes were shot in the downtown areas of, and , as well as on the aforementioned street sets on the Carolco Studios backlot in Wilmington. Scenes set in the Broadway theater from which King Kong makes his escape were filmed in the Aycock Auditorium, now the UNCG Auditorium, at the, with the in Durham used for the exterior.

The film's budget climbed from an initial US$53.5 million to US$75.5 million over visual effects work plus the production receiving a subsidy from the.

Visual effects
The character of King Kong was created using a mix of CGI from and animatronic and puppet work by Thomas Hallsten, with his rampage through New York and the sequence where he climbs the  utilizing miniature sets of 1930s New York City constructed in a soundstage at the Carolco Studios.