4 Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll
|
 KING KONG
PRODUCTION NOTES
4Casting Kong:
Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll
4Filming Kong:
4Other Stuff:
|
|
 Jackson, Walsh and Boyens went even further afield with their take on the character of Jack Driscoll (who in the 1933 version is the rough-and-tumble first mate to the captain of the Venture).
Jackson shares, “I do want to remake the original film-I don't want to create a new vision of King Kong. I want to honor the original story. But we do have very different characters in our film. We couldn't quite figure out how we could have a macho, sort of he-man hunk in the Jack Driscoll character, which is the role that Bruce Cabot played. We couldn't quite figure out how you end up with two macho guys on the same film… because you've got Driscoll and you've got Kong. We didn't really want to go down that road. And we thought it would be more interesting to play against that.”
Once again, Jackson and the writers turned to other artistic figures of the time for inspiration, transforming Driscoll from an adventurous seaman to an intellectual, New York playwright, one who pens stage works of social consciousness and relevance… someone along the lines of Eugene O'Neill, Clifford Odets or Arthur Miller. (One of O'Neill's works includes a character by the name of Jack Driscoll, and it is rumored that O'Neill was a friend to one of the filmmakers involved in the original film version.) But as socially relevant works don't sell as well as escapist entertainment in 1933, Driscoll has agreed to moonlight as the screenwriter of the latest exciting action yarn from his friend, Carl Denham.
“We thought of that approach first, without really thinking of an actor,” Jackson continues. “We just thought about changing the character. When we started to think about casting that particular character, Adrien Brody was right at the top of the list. We were in London, there for the BAFTA awards. Adrien was shooting up in Scotland, and he flew down and met with us in the hotel; he agreed to do it.
|
But the sensitive playwright doesn't stay the armchair adventurer once he sets foot on Skull Island. “When the circumstances arise, Driscoll becomes a man of action. It's a fairly tough role to play. We'd obviously seen a lot of films that Adrien had done, and The Pianist had come out a couple years before we started our film. And we thought that he would be just absolutely wonderful for the role. So again, for the third time, it was a case of our first choice agreeing to do the part. That's a fantastic thing when you've got your dream cast in these roles,” Jackson comments.
Brody remembers his London filmmaker meeting: “I'm a fan of the original film. I remember it from when I was younger, but I also revisited it before I met with Peter and actually had notes and was ready to discuss what I thought could be improved upon the original, even if they weren't going to hire me. I heard that Peter wanted to meet me, and I was shooting a film in Scotland. We ended up meeting in London, and apparently they were very interested. Normally, when there's a meeting, there are a number of other people being considered for the role, but they basically said, `We're trying to work this all out, but you are who we'd like to play this role.' That was pretty amazing.”“What I had been looking for,” Brody continues, “was a leading role that wasn't stereotypically the leading man `action hero' guy, but is capable of that. And I've always wanted to get involved with something that is a kind of timeless fable, in a sense.”
Much like Watts, Brody was drawn to the expansiveness of the project, but his commitment was cemented by the filmmaker's belief in the reality underlying the fantasy of the tale. He provides, “One of the many things that impresses me about Peter, Fran and Philippa is that they are really focused on the reality of the circumstances within this unrealistic world, down to the connection between the characters. I never lacked faith in any way, because Peter's proven himself. He has this vision, and you have to expand your thought process to exist within that and forget all of your surroundings and imagine yourself in another world.”
4Next Page: Captain, Assistant, Orphan, and Others...
POSTER STORES
Black Light Posters Band Posters Vintage Posters Art Posters Cinema Posters Car Posters Wall Posters
Travel Posters Sports Posters Motivational Posters Animals Posters Vintage Posters Trends & Lifestyles
King Kong website is created and designed by Zebra Publications International, © 2006
This is a completely unofficial site with educational purpose. No copyright infringment is intended.
