Kong references in King Kong (2005 film)

In the 1933 original, the ship-cook's name was originally "Lumpy" in the script, and was changed to "Charlie" during production, possibly because a Chinese-American actor, Victor Wong, was cast in the part. But the theater programs at the film's premiere screenings at Grauman's Chinese Theater (and possibly other theaters) listed the character's name as "Lumpy" next to Victor Wong's name. (The 1933 film's DVD — in the keepsake tin — includes a reproduction of that Grauman's program.) In the 2005 movie, "Charlie" is renamed "Choy", and Lumpy and Choy are two separate characters this time. In the 1933 film, King Kong is displayed at the Palace Theatre in New York City. Along with the film itself, the marquee makes references to the folktale of "Beauty and the Beast".

A poster for Chang, an earlier movie by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack that provided some of their inspiration for King Kong, is in the background of the room when Denham is listening in on the backers' discussion to scrap his movie. This is the second movie in which Adrien Brody's character has had his life saved by a character played by Thomas Kretschmann, and also the second time Colin Hanks plays a character contending with negative influence from a character played by Jack Black. (The first movies being The Pianist and Orange County, respectively.) When Kong is revealed to the public for the first time, it is Howard Shore, whose score was dropped from the film, conducting the orchestra as the curtain goes up. He ends up being crushed by Kong, as the gorilla leaps from the stage. Fay Wray, the original Ann Darrow, was asked by Peter Jackson to do a brief cameo and say the films signature line, "It was beauty killed the beast." At first she flatly refused, but then seemed to consider the possibility, but passed away soon after. The line went back to the character of Carl Denham (played by Jack Black).

Forbes Magazine asked a small sample of scientists who would win in a battle between King Kong and a Tyrannosaurus rex. The consensus named Kong as the probable victor. Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie suggested shooting the movie in black and white at one point during pre-production. An ad for Universal Pictures is visible while Kong is tearing up Times Square; in actuality, an ad for Columbia Pictures was in the same spot in the 1933 film, but the studio asked for a large amount of money for its use, so effects artists replaced it. In the scene where Jack Driscoll is searching for a place to sleep in the animal storage hold, a box behind him reads 'Sumatran Rat Monkey — Beware the bite!' - a reference to the creature that causes all the mayhem in Peter Jackson's film Braindead (and is also, according to the 1992 film, only found on Skull Island). The humorous line about the Abominable Snowman also makes practical sense for 1933: Bigfoot was still completely obscure, and the Loch Ness Monster was just starting to become world-famous that very year. The Snowman was the most widely-known cryptid at that time. (Not to mention that (a) Kong met and befriended the Yeti in Kong: The Animated Series.) The Wilhelm scream is used (again) for the sailor knocked off the ledge during the Brontosaur stampede. Kong and Lumpy the Cook — both performed by Andy Serkis — share a single scene in the movie, and only one shot in that scene. Perhaps as an in-joke, that only shot that Serkis shares with "himself" has Lumpy shooting at Kong.

The scene for the theatre in which King Kong was displayed in was set in a theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, The Civic Theatre in Queen Street. The title of Jack Driscoll's stage comedy in the movie, Cry Havoc!, is a quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, but might also be the filmmakers' reference to actress June Havoc. (In the end credits, under "Personal Thanks ... for Their Contribution", is the name "June Havoc".) Havoc was a major star performer on vaudeville before successfully going into Broadway, movies, and television. But, she is today much less remembered than her sister, Gypsy Rose Lee, the inspiration for the musical, Gypsy. Ironically, long before Gypsy, Lee's fame began from performing in the burlesque theater, after having difficulty finding success in vaudeville like her sister Havoc. In King Kong (2005), Ann Darrow is recommended to a burlesque theater for a job, which she rejects outright. An anachronistic detail in the 2005 remake, are the girlie pictures displayed at the burlesque theater. Some of the pictures were actually from the 1950s and late 1940s. Perhaps actual 1930s pictures (excluding nudies) would have been too quaint (to today's audiences) to convey the theater's implied sleaziness. Two scenes in the trailer contain music from film composer James Newton Howard's earlier work, Batman Begins, which was released earlier in 2005. The film was released on Monkey Day. During the crossing a Morse Code message is received by the radioman. The actual code message you hear is "Show Me The Monkey".

This version of the film is set in the original film's then-contemporary setting of 1933. The background under the main titles at the beginning and end of the movie is the same as the background of the 1933 RKO film. When Denham is considering who to play the part before meeting Ann, he suggests "Fay," but his assistant Preston replies, "She's doing a picture with RKO." Music from the 1933 original comes on, and Denham mutters, "Cooper, huh? I might have known." Fay Wray starred in the 1933 film, which was directed by Merian C. Cooper and released by RKO. The 2005 remake, in a different way, also quotes the fake "Arabian proverb" about "beauty and the beast" that Merian C. Cooper made up in his 1933 film. The end credits of Peter Jackson's remake concludes with a dedication to the stars and creators of the original movie (Wray, Armstrong, Cooper, Schoedsack, O'Brien, and Steiner, but excludes Cabot), and refers to them as, "The Original Adventurers of Skull Island." The name of the boat Denham and his crew take to Skull Island is the Venture, just as in the original film. In the original, a bystander mentions that the Venture has so many men aboard, there's no place to sleep. The 2005 version makes light of this comment by having Driscoll boarded in an animal cage in the hold. Both versions have the story about the Norwegian ship finding a castaway from Skull Island, but is told very differently in each film. During the ship voyage, Denham films a conversation between his stars Ann Darrow and Bruce Baxter. The dialogue used is from the meeting between Ann Darrow and Jack Driscoll in the original 1933 film. The first line of the 1933 film, "Is this the moving picture ship?" is included in this version, spoken this time by Ann. The original Max Steiner score can be heard peppered throughout the movie, with the most notable cue accompanying the "Kong on Stage" scene. In the original, Denham — unlike Ann and Driscoll — is never seen making any physical contact with Kong in the entire movie, even when he gets close enough to do so. Peter Jackson's movie kids around with that detail by having Denham going, "I am touching the beast! I am actually laying my hand on the 25 foot gorilla!" The scene in which Ann tries to steal an apple, and a deleted scene in which Denham films Ann and tells her to scream at an unseen danger, are recreated from the original film.

Another deleted scene in the 2005 remake comes just after the rescue party escaped the Brontosaurus stampede: they then try to cross a swamp on some improvised rafts, and are attacked by a water creature called a Piranhadon. This is similar to the raft scene in the 1933 original, which led to the (very inaccurate) Brontosaur attack there. During the pileup that concludes the Brontosaur stampede, a couple of the men's screams are from the original film. At the diner, Denham assures Ann, "I'm on the level; no funny-business." This line was in the 1933 movie. Denham's movie camera is the same model Bell & Howell 35 mm in both the 1933 and 2005 films, but is considerably more battered and weather-beaten in the remake, reflecting his desperate and less-successful status compared to the original movie. Kong's New York stage appearance looks very much like a re-enactment of the sacrifice scene of the 1933 film, including the posts the 'beauty' is tied to and the nearly identical performance and costumes of the dancers. Both times Carl Denham assures his theater audience that everything is all right because Kong's "... chains are made of chromed steel." The line before Kong breaks his chains, "Let him roar. It makes a swell picture," is in both films, but is spoken by Denham in the remake. The Pepsodent, Chevrolet, and Coca Cola advertisements in New York's Times Square are present in both films. Grenade-type bombs are glimpsed among the bottles of chloroform in the Venture's hold. The bombs are identical to the "gas bombs" from the 1933 movie, and were reported to be original 1933 Kong props in Peter Jackson's own collection.

The scene in which Kong breaks the V-Rex's jaws, and then plays with it, mimics a similar moment in the original 1933 film. After the crew captures Kong on the beach, Denham speaks the line: '"The whole world will pay to see this! We're millionaires, boys! I'll share it with all of you. In a few months, his name will be up in lights on Broadway! KONG, THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!"' The same line is in the original 'Kong.' The Bruce Baxter character is based on the actor Bruce Cabot, who played Jack Driscoll in the original 1933 film. In an interview Peter Jackson did with Fay Wray when preparing for making the movie, she described Cabot as a vain ladies man, more interested in chasing women than acting. Actor Kyle Chandler portrays Bruce Baxter as both spitting image and parody of Cabot. Elevated subways are shown, but not attacked. Kong ignores them during his rampage through the city. The shots, lighting, and music emphasize the Empire State Building. In the finale atop the Empire State Building, Peter Jackson has a small role as one of the pilots who shoots down Kong. This is a reference to the original, in which Merian C. Cooper has a similar cameo as a pilot. Ernest B. Schoedsack also appeared with Cooper as his rear-gunner. In Jackson's film, Rick Baker, who played Kong (in a rubber suit) in the 1976 remake, also does a cameo with the biplanes. The last line, in which Carl Denham reflects that 'it was beauty killed the beast', remains the same in both versions (though unlike the original, he does not say it to anyone in particular, and nobody in the entire crowd actually hears him).

The 2005 version follows the overall pattern of the original film closely, but changes some details and adds considerably more background and depth to the characters. Unlike the original, the existence of Kong is unknown to Carl Denham before he reaches Skull Island; his reasons to look for the island is to film a land unknown to modern eyes. Along with his desire for fame, fortune and acceptance by his peers, his motivation to capture Kong later in the film is also linked to the deaths of his cameraman and sound recordist, and the destruction of his camera and all his footage. The remake does not explain where and from whom Denham got the map and coordinates of Skull Island, nor who made the map or found the island in the first place. (The "prequel" novel, King Kong: The Island of the Skull, fills in those missing pieces of information, but the novel's status as canon is currently unclear.). In the 1933 version, the natives look rather like Papuans, and speak a (fictional) language akin to Indonesian, which Captain Englehorn was familiar with and able to translate. The natives in the 2005 version are not clearly linked to any real culture. The fates of the other sacrificial women before Ann is unrevealed in the 1933 original. The 2005 remake shows a pile of human bones along with necklaces like the one Ann was given to wear, only a short distance from the wall, suggesting Kong killed them (Lumpy the Cook, upon finding the bone pile, exclaims "They've been ripped limb from limb!"). However, in the case of Ann, he shows an interest in her hair (which is unlike that of the natives) from the start, which may be his reason not to kill her. Statues and effigies that resemble gorillas are visible on the rocks along the coast, and on the ruins scattered all over the island, hinting at a deeper connection with the long-dead civilization than was shown in the 1933 original. Kong is depicted as a more physically accurate (while very stylized) gorilla in the 2005 version than in either the 1933 original or the 1976 version (both completely stylized instead of realistic). Jack Driscoll is changed from the ship's first mate to a playwright and Denham's screenwriter. Also, in the 1933 version, Jack Driscoll is a brawny, brash character, while in the 2005 rendition, he is a lot less built-up, quieter, and seemingly more intelligent. In the 1933 film, Ann Darrow was simply terrified of Kong, and was depicted as a naive-innocent (and somewhat as a dumb blonde). The 2005 remake depicts Ann as seemingly coming from a life of long and difficult experience, and displaying surprising inner courage and ability to think fast in situations. Most significantly, Ann comes to understand and sympathise with Kong, and even feel affection. The 1933 film's Darrow never seems to grasp that Kong is protecting her, and that her survival on Skull Island depends on Kong's protection. Rather than being a successful director as in the 1933 version, Denham is depicted as a struggling one with little to no support or respect for his efforts. And while both versions of Denham are reckless risk-takers, the 2005 Denham crosses over into criminal action and close to callous disregard.

In the original movie, Carl Denham and Captain Englehorn are old friends. In the remake, Denham and Englehorn are working together for the first time, and Englehorn can barely tolerate Denham. Peter Jackson took the character of burly, gruff, lovesick sailor Jack and split him into three characters: Bruce Baxter, the vain yet kind-to-Ann actor, Ben Hayes, the grim, tough first mate of the ship, and Jack Driscoll the shy and lovesick playwright. Both films have the character of Weston, the theatrical agent. In the original film, Weston represents Denham, while in the 2005 film, Weston has no connection to Denham, but is consulted by Ann for an audition in Driscoll's play. The 2005 film emphasises the poverty of Depression-era New York more than the original, though this is probably due to the fact that the original came out during the Depression, so audiences in 1933 were quite aware of Ann's plight at the beginning of the film where she steals the apple. The 2005 film puts emphasis on the Depression to create the setting for people who are not familiar with the Great Depression. The 2005 film includes a sequence in which the explorers are attacked by giant insects after Kong makes them fall into the chasm. This is based on a sequence that was cut from the original film (as it was felt to distract from the battle between Kong and the Tyrannosaurus) and has been lost ever since. What remains in the 1933 film implies that all the men were killed immediately by the fall, while the 2005 film goes to great detail to show how some of them had their falls broken without serious injuries. Peter Jackson has recreated the original bug sequence for a special feature on the DVD of the 1933 film. The battle between Kong and the three Vastatosaurus rex (killing one with a boulder) is not only based on the original film's Tyrannosaur battle, but also a scene in the original script of the 1933 film, in which Kong battles against three Triceratops, with Kong using boulders as weapons. It is unknown whether the battle against the three Triceratops was ever actually shot (for unlike the original's chasm sequence, nothing of the Triceratops scene has been found except sketch drawings), but it was included in the novelization of the original film. Kong is seen overtly killing fewer people in the 2005 film, however the fates of the many he has put in harm's way (such as the women he mistakes for Ann or the numerous automobile accidents he causes) are not disclosed to the audience. The scene in the theatre, with the mocking of Kong, who eventually escapes, is prolonged, and has a much darker feel than the 1933 version. Kong savagely bites several people to death in the 1933 film, and does the same thing at least once in the 2005 film.

For decades, writers have commented on the 1933 Kong's very poor ability to distinguish individual humans (i.e. briefly mistaking dark-haired women for Ann Darrow). The 2005 Kong is shown to be very capable of recognizing individual humans, and not just Ann (while still making "honest mistakes"). The most significant case of Kong being able to recognize people is when he spots Jack in New York and furiously chases him, almost killing him in the end. Son of Kong (also 1933) made clear that there were repercussions for both Carl Denham and Captain Englehorn for the King Kong debacle, but never even mentioned Jack Driscoll or Ann Darrow whatsoever. Perhaps with this partly in mind, the 2005 film shows Driscoll receiving no public credit or acknowledgment from Denham for his part in Kong's capture, which might have ended up sparing Driscoll from blame and publicity afterwards. As for Ann Darrow, perhaps the perception of her as a victim of "the monster" shielded her from receiving blame as well. A notable difference however at the end when the line "No, it was beauty that killed the beast" is said by Carl Denham, with a sense of irony. In the original he is sympathetic for Denham was a more likeable character: here he is very reprehensible.

The 1933 original gives no explanation why Kong climbs the Empire State Building. Both remakes provide explanations for why Kong climbs up their respective buildings. In both remakes, just before Kong appears for the first time in front of Ann or Dwan, there are shots from Kong's point-of-view as he pushes through the jungle towards the wall. In the original, there is no POV from Kong before he appears. The elaborate stage show featuring a re-enactment of the offering of a woman to Kong, complete with an adventurer in safari helmet, is not in the original version but is seen in the 1976 version and the 2005 version. The relationship between Ann and Kong in the 2005 remake is closer to the relationship of Dwan and Kong in the 1976 film than to the original. In the 1933 film, Ann is deathly afraid of Kong, cannot wait to be rescued and joins in the gawking at him on Broadway. In 1976, as in 2005, Kong is intrigued by his fair-haired captive because she has no fear in confronting him. As a result, she develops an affection for the beast and is saddened at his demise. In both remakes, she uses his fascination for her as a way to calm him down with her mere appearance.

The sympathetic depiction of Kong in the 2005 version is more similar to the 1976 remake than the 1933 original. In the 1933 film, Kong is arguably depicted as a simple monster justly destroyed by the machines of civilized man (although many viewers find him sympathetic despite the upbeat tone of the film's ending). In contrast, the 1976 film indicates Kong's fate is linked to 'civilisation's exploitation of the natural world, personified by the Denham equivalent, Wilson, who is killed by Kong, a comeuppance to be expected in a pro-environment film; in addition, the "good" characters of the 1976 version end up rooting for Kong on the basis that he was plucked from his natural environment against his will. Similar themes are found in the 2005 remake, which makes the audience sympathise with Kong's plight (although Denham does not die at the end).As in the 1976 version, reporters/photographers stand on the fallen Kong's chest. In both versions it is Jack who discovers that the natives have captured the girl. The search party still have their weapons at the log bridge in both remakes, and both times they unwisely start shooting while standing on the log instead of going back across first. Both versions have the first mate killed during the "Log Scene". Both remakes specifically use chloroform to subdue Kong. The original is vague as to what "gas" was used in the bombs. In the 1976 version the ship which discovers Skull Island, the "Petrox Explorer", sails from the Indonesian port of Surabaya. In the 2005 remake, the Venture has "Surabaya" (of the Netherlands East Indies in 1933) labeled as its home port. Although not referred to by name in the movie itself, in the official novelisation one of the "Venture" crew members who dies on Skull Island is named Carnahan. Carnahan was the name of the first mate in the 1976 version. Ironically, these comparisons are probably completely unintentional, as Jackson has said that they were "pretending that the 1976 version didn't exist". As in the 1933 film, there is no explanation of how Denham transports King Kong from Skull Island to New York on a tramp steamer apparently not much larger than him. In separate interviews, Jackson assured the public that the ship was large enough to hold Kong and that as to how Kong would be transported, he never planned on showing it. He said that Cooper, creator of the first Kong film, did the same because he "was no fool." However, in the same interview Jackson speculated that Denham and crew would merely have picked Kong up between all of them and heaved on board. There are some other subtle hints, such as photographs of the Venture crew hauling elephants on board with cranes, as well as a tracking shot across the ship's large deck. It is also not shown how Kong was transported through New York and put onto the stage. Unlike in both the 1933 original and the 1976 remake, the natives are never seen again in the 2005 remake after the rescue party force their way to the wall to rescue Ann. As in the 1933 film, there is no explanation of Kong's origin. Unlike the 1933 film, however, bones of huge gorillas are visible in his cave, implying that he is the last surviving member of his species, an explanation that director Peter Jackson has offered in interviews. Where the name Kong originated, and was that name given to the giant gorilla(s) by the primitive natives or the lost ancient civilisation, and if it had a specific meaning to the people who chose it, all remain mysterious. (Kong, or Cong, has different meanings in various regions of the world, but is also a Chinese surname.)

Unlike the 1933 film, there is no explanation in the remake of how Denham got the map to Skull Island. In addition, while in the original the Norwegian ship's captain made the map from a dying castaway's description, the 2005 film includes the castaway and Norwegian ship story, but didn't connect them with Denham's map (so far). (Full explanations are provided in the prequel novel, King Kong: The Island of the Skull - of questionable canon - and the film's official novelization.) There is no exact origin of the natives of Skull Island, but considering the ancient ruins scattered all over the island, there was once a prosperous and powerful civilization on the island. Judging from the island's state, the state of the natives and their living circumstances, and their sacrifices to Kong, it is possible that they were almost wiped out off the island. Peter Jackson and his crew describe the Islanders in their movie as descendants of unknown peoples who were stranded on Skull Island centuries after the unknown ancient civilization and all its people were wiped out, and have been squatters on a tiny sliver of the island ever since. According to the special feature on the 2005 Kong DVD (Skull Island: A Natural History), the island has been sinking (hence the craggly terrain of the Island), and the wall was created by a higher civilization to keep animals out of the interior of the island, which is why all of the structures of the civilization are only seen once the characters go inside the island. As the island sank, the animals were forced closer and closer to the wall. Eventually, they made their way into the interior, and the civilization's people were destroyed by the island's predators. The island sank to a point where the water level was almost up to the wall, leaving small stretches of coast where the descendants of stranded sailors lived. Thus, the wall changed its role, from keeping the animals out, to keeping the animals in. Therefore, the race seen in the film is in no way related to the higher civilization, and, as stated in the 1933 film, have no idea how the wall was made. The "higher civilization" (1933 film quote) that built the wall, and all the ruins, still continues to remain mysterious.