King Kong Classic

From an era where imaginations ran rampant, came King Kong! I can't imagine a modern movie with so much cool stuff packed into it; a giant gorilla, dinosaurs, explorers, savage natives, and a beautiful woman in peril! This weekend, I treated myself to the new DVD release of the 1933 King Kong. It's a beautiful restoration- I haven't seen King Kong in decades, and I've certainly never seen it looking so good. Although dated (not bound by the constraints of political correctness), Willis "Obie" O'Brien's stop motion animation is still awe-inspiring after all these years. Unparalleled in it's scope and execution for decades, I now understand how this movie influenced generations of effects artists and filmmakers.

I recommend the DVD release and I can't wait to see Peter Jackson's take on this tale.

"Too Much Directing Around Here."

If you ever saw Ed Wood, (and you should because it is one of Tim Burton's greatest films) then you may remember Eddie's encounter with the great film director and actor Orson Welles. It was like seeing Mr. Welles alive again on the screen. He was played by the very cool Vincent D'onofrio, the spitting image of Welles:



And the voice of the great Maurice LaMarche (voice of the Brain) was used to seal the effect.

Now, it looks like Vincent D'Onofrio has just made a new 30-minute film that he produced and directed, in which he reprises his role as Orson! It's called "Five Minutes, Mr. Welles".

>>He added, "I have to get more rest. I have been working on a short movie, 'Five Minutes, Mr. Welles,' a fictitious event that happened during the filming of 'The Third Man.' I got interested in it when I was playing (Welles) in 'Ed Wood.'<<

>>A film, which D'Onofrio produced, directed and starred in, is "Five Minutes, Mr. Welles". "It's about Orson Welles, and I really had fun playing Orson, for he is a hero of mine. I just heard that it has been accepted and will be screened in Italy at the Venice Film Festival."<<

I don't know about you, but I would love to see Orson walking around and talking again, and to see Vincent's take on him.