|
All the surveys I've seen (plus random sampling of my own among my son's
friends) indicate that most "young people" (who at this point are anyone under
30 as far as I'm concerned... what an ironic turnaround... but I digress...).
Anyway, it seems most "young people" really won't watch old black and white
movies, even if the old fogies keep telling them they are classics and they
don't know what they're missing. Such is youth. Besides, since the only place
the original KONG has played on TV in decades is Turner Movie Classics, there's
a good chance that even a lot of those who might watch a film in black and white
haven't had the opportunity. I doubt that TMC reaches more than 30 million
households in the U.S. (if that). It is a premium "add-on" channel that a lot of
people don't get, even if they have cable, believe it or not.
Like a lot of people, at first I was surprised that Jackson didn't take his
new found wealth and power and strike out with a completely original screenplay
-- but, unlike George Lucas, who really wanted to remake his childhood
favorite of FLASH GORDON but couldn't get the rights and so had to create STAR
WARS instead, Jackson was in a position to actually get the chance to do his
childhood favorite, KING KONG. I don't think many of us with filmmaker
aspiration (such as myself) could resist the temptation to remake one of our
childhood favorites, so I can't fault him for that, particularly since I have
every confidence he would do a great job. Plus, since I believe that the
original *has* in fact been fading from public consciousness over the
years, list so many classics of the '30s and '40s, I was very glad he got
the opportunity to turn the spotlight on it again. For him to invest his own
personal funds in the remastering of the original KONG onto DVD is
certainly not something he had to do -- or something that most would have
done. I believe he did it out of respect and fondness for the original -- and to
help insure that his new version wouldn't become "the only Kong" that young
people knew. I think it is also a way for him to publicly say "Hey, the original
will always be great, no matter what I do with this modern version." I can't
help but respect all of that.
As for his new version, all we can do is wait another 3 weeks and see for
ourselves. I'm betting it will be flamin' fantastic.
-- JR
|
