Kong: Skull Island (Pre-opening interview with the director)

What was the first KING KONG film you remember seeing? 

The 1933 original? 

(Starring Fay Wray from Cardston, Alberta Canada?)

Model for “King Kong” (1933)

Coming soon is a whole new version that promises to be the most unique interpretation of the Kong legend yet, I know I'm planning on seeing it.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts on Why ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Is Unlike Any Other ‘King Kong’ Movie

“One of my favorite reviews that someone wrote on a testing scorecard said that it was like if Jurassic Park had a baby with Aliens, and that baby was adopted by Planes, Trains & Automobiles. That’s such an insane fusion of things, but in a weird way I think it very much represents what this movie is.”

- Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts

skull-island-news:

On March 10, Kong: Skull Island roars to life on the big screen, presenting a brand new take on the King Kong mythology unlike any we’ve seen before. With advance tickets going on sale for Kong: Skull Island today, Fandango hopped on the phone with the film’s director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, to get a rundown on what to expect when this very different kind of monster movie is unleashed this March.

When we spoke to Vogt-Roberts, he was in the middle of a visit to Japan, where he was excited to be showing the finished film to audiences for the first time. “It’s been amazing,” he said of their reaction. “You never know what the response is going to be as you go from culture to culture, but the response here [in Japan] has been so incredible because so many of my influences are very Japanese and anime and [inspired by] video games, and everyone here very clearly picks up on that. They’re really embracing it as a kaiju movie, not just as a Kong movie.”

So if it’s not just another King Kong movie, then what kind of movie is Kong: Skull Island? Let’s find out…

Kong: Skull Island is not your typical blockbuster.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts: The thing that I am most psyched about is that this is a really insane movie, and I mean that in the best way. It’s crazy and it’s different, and hopefully audiences think it feels fresh and that there’s a soul to this film even though it happens to be this extreme blockbuster.

This version is nothing like the original script.
Vogt-Roberts: I wanted this crazy genre mash-up, and I pitched them this idea of Apocalypse Now meets King Kong. The original script had nothing to do with that, and the original script almost in no way reflects the movie that’s on-screen. The fact that the studio let me run with these really crazy ideas and let me build out this sort of wish fulfillment, most insane version of this movie is cool. This is the movie I’d want to see and the movie I think my friends would want to see, and hopefully audiences feel like it’s something they haven’t seen.

But why do we need another King Kong?
Vogt-Roberts: That was my first question, too. When they came to me about the movie, my first response was, awesome; I love King Kong, but why? So that’s when I went away and came up with this 1970s Vietnam War film mixed with monsters, and that became the entry point for me in terms of why this movie needs to exist.

Here’s what separates Kong: Skull Island from the other Kong movies.

Vogt-Roberts: For the first time it’s a new story within the mythology of Kong. It’s not the beauty-and-the-beast story – it’s not a remake of the 1933 film, which is essentially what the ‘70s King Kong was and what Peter Jackson’s King Kong was. I think people are going to be surprised with how many different tones the film plays with, and how it juggles all those tones. There’s a real heart, humanity and pathos that comes out of really funny, laugh-out-loud moments that are mixed with this crazy heightened genre stuff that you haven’t seen on-screen before.

It’s also freakishly relevant…

Vogt-Roberts: I think people will be surprised at how much of a mirror this film is and how relevant the sort of backbone of this story is. When you’re dealing with the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, you’re talking about political scandals, racial riots, the sexual revolution, distrust of the government, a divisive president – [the film] really is this insane black mirror for everything happening in the world today.

Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is clearly an inspiration, but it wasn’t the only influence on the film.
Vogt Roberts: If I were going to break it down for people, I’d say you obviously have Apocalypse Now and just the era of ‘70s filmmaking, with films like The Conversation, too. Also Platoon was an inspiration, and the South Korean film The Host as well. The entire Neon Genesis Evangelion series was a big influence. There’s a huge anime and video game influence in my DNA, and I think it very much bred itself into this film. I think people will be surprised at how the movie feels very much like a throwback and yet very modern at the same time. This movie is not Apocalypse Now, but it is the funhouse version of something like that.

Oh, and FYI… John C. Reilly’s character steals the movie.
Vogt-Roberts: He’s a character who on the page should break the film. He should completely shatter the reality of the movie, but instead he kind of becomes like Dobby in Harry Potter. He brings this human pathos and emotion, where he’s saying these crazy things but it somehow makes the movie more grounded, as opposed to more insane.

How much world-building is there in Kong: Skull Island in terms of connecting it to Godzilla?
Vogt-Roberts: There’s definitely groundwork being laid for sure, and there’s a larger mythology being built here, but I spent a long time trying to craft something that, unlike a lot of big movies trying to set up franchises and go on 10-minute tangents in the middle of the movie to set up a film that’s coming out years later, I’m really proud that Legendary and Warner Bros. let me build that stuff in the background a bit. To lay the groundwork, but first and foremost my job was to tell the single best version of this Kong story that I could. Obviously I’m servicing a lot of different things and there’s a much larger plan in play, and there are a lot of references – some subtle and some not, and even some Easter eggs – but for the most part it’s just trying to tell the best version of this story.

It’s a film that truly has the director’s mark on it.
Vogt-Roberts: I’m proud that when you watch the climactic battle, and when you watch many of these action sequences, they very much have my stamp on them. You can go, oh, so that’s what happens when we give Jordan Vogt-Roberts millions of dollars and geniuses at ILM to play with. All of the fights and kaiju sequences are things I designed from the ground up before even the script was in place. They’re all unique, have a reason for being, and they’re not sequences you see in other movies.

What about a sequel? Will Jordan Vogt-Roberts return?
Vogt-Roberts: Who knows! Right now I’m gonna sleep for two years, and probably crank out an experimental indie. Then who knows what the future brings…

The best creature in Kong: Skull Island is…

Vogt-Roberts: My favorite creature is probably the water buffalo because it’s the one that broke open our approach to what our creatures were going to feel like; what the vibe was going to feel like. Very spiritual in ways, and inspired by Hayao Miyazaki.

There’s also a monster inspired by a creature from the 1933 King Kong.

Vogt-Roberts: I’m also really proud of the Skull Crawler design because that’s my version of a giant monster. That creature, beyond being a reference to a creature from the 1933 film, is also this crazy fusion of all of the influences throughout my life – like the first angel from Evangelion, and No Face from Spirited Away, and Cubone from Pokemon. It’s this crazy cross-section of what my original take on it would be. I’m proud of all the designs. Hopefully you feel like the creatures aren’t redundant.

Is there a postcredits scene?
Vogt-Roberts: I think people should stick around till after the credits. Why not? It’s only five minutes out of your life…
Kong: Skull Island, starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman and more, hits theaters on March 10.

Coming March 10th is a new Kong movie

kongskullislandfilm:

King Kong Rescues Tom Hiddleston from a Skull Crawler in New Skull Island Clip

You may have already seen the helicopter in Kong's hand but can you spot the giant Water Buffalo?

From WB Japan: Skull Island Behemoth #1 - King Kong!
Height: 31.6 meters
Weight: 158 tons

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(2014 - April 4)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
2 hr. 16 min.
Rated: PG-13 | Gunplay, Intense Sequences of Violence and Action Throughout. Read more
Grade: A-

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, 1 more credit
Writers: Christopher Markus (screenplay), Stephen McFeely (screenplay), 3 more credits
Stars: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson | See full cast and crew


After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.

I tend to agree with the pre-release buzz from the critics that this is the best film of the Super Hero genre to date. Not that this is the best movie to date but the best of its type.

I saw the regular 2D version but on an IMAX size screen in Atmos Dolby sound. It is quite a sound system, it was my first time with Atmos, not that this film utilized it to its full potential but the system itself is very impressive.

I'm not going to go into this in much detail at all. If this genre is to your liking I think you will like the film. If you hate comic books turned in to movies you may not want to go.

 

I'm posting the storyline as it appears on Wikilpedia with a spoiler alert. It does tell you the ending. So if you don't want to know before going...stop reading and go to the movie instead.

The Plot

(via Wikipedia)

Two years after the events of The Avengers, Steve Rogers lives in Washington, D.C., continues to work for the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and struggles to adapt to contemporary society. After meeting and befriending former Pararescue war veteran and PTSD counselor Sam Wilson on a morning jog, Rogers is called to help save a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel from Algerian pirates led by Georges Batroc. Aboard, he discovers fellow agent Natasha Romanoff extracting data from the ship's computers, something Rogers was not briefed on. At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury introduces Rogers to Project Insight; three Helicarriers linked to spy satellites and designed to preemptively eliminate threats.

Due to heightened encryption, Fury is unable to access the data Romanoff recovered. On his way to rendezvous with Maria Hill, he is ambushed by assailants disguised as police officers, led by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier. Fury escapes, sneaks into Rogers' apartment, and informs Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. After Fury hands Rogers the USB flash drive with the data from the ship, he is gunned down by the Winter Soldier. Rogers gives chase, and his neighbor reveals herself as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agent 13. Fury appears to die in surgery, and Hill recovers the body.

The next day, Rogers is summoned by senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce. When Rogers withholds Fury's information, Pierce brands him a fugitive. Hunted by the agency, Rogers meets with Romanoff. Using data in the flash drive they discover an old S.H.I.E.L.D. underground base in New Jersey. There, they activate a supercomputer containing the preserved consciousness of Arnim Zola, who reveals that since S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after World War II, HYDRA secretly operated within its ranks, sowing chaos across the world in the hope that humanity would willingly surrender its freedom in exchange for safety. Rogers and Romanoff narrowly escape death when a S.H.I.E.L.D. missile destroys the bunker.

They enlist the help of Wilson, and acquire his old "Falcon" winged-flight exoskeleton. After deducing that senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell is with HYDRA, they interrogate him until he reveals Zola developed a data-mining algorithm that can identify individuals who might become future opponents to HYDRA's plans. The new helicarriers will sweep the country, eliminating these individuals with their satellite-guided guns.

En route to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, they are ambushed by the Winter Soldier. In the fight, Winter Soldier loses his mask and Rogers recognizes him as Bucky, his old World War II comrade. They are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. but are rescued by a disguised Hill. She leads them to a hideout where they discover Fury is alive and planning a mission to prevent Pierce from launching Project Insight by replacing a chip within each Helicarrier to override their satellite control.

After members of the World Security Council arrive for the Helicarriers' launch, Pierce holds them hostage and reveals HYDRA's true motives. Rogers and Wilson storm two Helicarriers and replace the controllers, but the Winter Soldier destroys Wilson's suit and confronts Rogers at the third. They fight, with Rogers trying to revive Bucky's memories. Meanwhile, Fury and Romanoff confront Pierce and force him to unlock access to S.H.I.E.L.D's database so Romanoff can expose HYDRA's motives to the public by leaking classified information.

After a brief conflict, Fury shoots Pierce dead. Aboard the third Helicarrier, a wounded Rogers replaces the final controller, allowing Hill to override the satellite operation and have all three vessels destroy one another. The Helicarrier carrying Rogers and the Winter Soldier crashes into the side of the Triskelion, where Wilson battles compromised agent Rumlow, who had earlier tried to capture Rogers.

Rogers falls off the vessel into the river. Slowly remembering his past, the Winter Soldier pulls Rogers from the water before disappearing. With S.H.I.E.L.D. in disarray, Fury destroys the last traces

of his identity before heading to Europe in pursuit of HYDRA's remaining cells under the cover of his apparent death. Romanoff appears before a Senate subcommittee and later gives Rogers a dossier on the Winter Soldier program. Both Rogers and Wilson decide to track down the Winter Soldier.

A mid-credits scene takes place in a HYDRA lab, where Baron von Strucker is keeping Loki's scepter and two prisoners: one with superhuman speed, the other with telekinetic powers. In a post-credits scene, the Winter Soldier visits the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution to learn of his past.

On the set behind the scenes

 

 

 

Cast

        Chris Evans                                       Scarlett Johansson   

Steve Rogers/Captain America           Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow 

 

Sebastian Stan                                    Anthony Mackie 

Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier                     Sam Wilson/Falcon        

   Robert Redford                                  Samuel L. Jackson  
   Alexander Pierce                                       Nick Fury