the king of kong : a fistful of quarters is a 2007 american documentary film .

highlighting the popular 1981 arcade game donkey kong , it follows steve wiebe in his attempts to take the world high score for the arcade game from billy mitchell , whom the film presents as reigning champion .

the film premiered january 22 , 2007 , at the 2007 slamdance film festival and has been shown at the newport beach film festival , the seattle international film festival , the sxsw film festival , the tribeca film festival , the true/false film festival , the aspen comedy festival , and the fantasia festival .

the film opened in limited release in the united states on august 17 , 2007 in five theaters , and by september 9 , 2007 , the film had expanded to 39 theaters in the u.s. the film 's original title was simply the king of kong but later received the subtitle a fistful of quarters .

a scripted film adaptation is also in the works .

director seth gordon has said that the movie might be a sequel instead of a remake , telling the story of how the documentary changed both men 's lives , as well as their continuing rivalry .

the film 's dvd release was on january 29 , 2008 .

ed cunningham and seth gordon shot more than 300 hours of film to make the documentary .

the film was dedicated to the memory of doris self , who appeared in the film but died before its release .

the king of kong

the king of kong <EOT> king kong deserves the title of " the eighth wonder of the world . "

kong count # 9 – king kong ( 1932 ) the delos w . lovelace novelization

king kong was one of the first giant monsters to grace the silver screen , with his 1933 dă©but , " king kong . "

the most recent book on the making of the 1933 king kong , which includes the production , exhibition , and distribution of its sequels including the son of kong , king kong versus godzilla , the john guillermin remake of king kong ( 1976 ) , his king kong escapes ( 1986 ) , and peter jackson’s remake of 2005 .

additionally , epoch co . released two more lcd games featured king kong in 1982 , one titled " king kong : new york " and another called " king kong : jungle . "

but i’m here to do just that . see i actually like king kong lives . unashamedly and unironically . after the 1933 original and 1962’s king kong vs godzilla , king kong lives is easily my next favorite kong film . [ 1 ]

king kong was also featured in a number of pinball and pachinko games , including " king kong - the eighth wonder of the world " released by data east in 1990 , a tie - in game to the 2005 " king kong " called " kong : the 8th wonder of the world " for the game boy advance and a king kong pachinko game released in 2007 by taiyo elec co .

this would eventually lead to the 1986 sequel , " king kong lives . "

the simpsons also paid homage to king kong in 1992 ' s “treehouse of horror iii” special .

' they paint me as a son of a gun , ' billy mitchell says of ' king of kong . '

on top of all this , the future of king kong on both television and film looks bright as well .

through the myriad of imitators , rip - offs and wannabes , rko studios released " son of kong " nine months after the first release of " king kong . "

first , that king kong was a part of the public domain , and then second , that king kong was not part of the public domain , and that universal possessed exclusive trademark rights in it .

most king kong stories tell of a group of unwitting colonialists who take kong away from skull island . boom studios’ current comic kong of skull island is different : it tells the story of a group of unwitting colonialists who brought kong to skull island in the first place !

but there is another lost japanese king kong film , 1938 ' s " edo ni arawareta kingu kongu , " translated as " king kong appears in edo . "

according to twin galaxies , wiebe set the top donkey kong score record in spring 2007 . his efforts were documented in the film the king of kong .

the donkey kong high score record has been shattered three times this year with steve wiebe recapturing the title from his king of kong rival billy mitchell .

mario of the deep : the titular episode sees king koopa forcing king neptune and the underwater mermushrooms to loot a sunken ship of its horde of gold coins .

combining super tough materials with leather accents , the king kong tote is perfect for women on the go .

in 1966 , rankin / bass productions and toho started talking about continuing the king kong film franchise , which would get audiences interested in seeing " the king kong show . " toho was eager to work with the character again , especially since king kong vs . godzilla ( 1962 ) was such a huge success . the resulting concept was operation robinson crusoe : king kong vs . ebirah , pitting king kong against a new monster called ebirah . for marquee value , mothra was also attached to the project .

after that , king kong went quiet for a while in the united states , but other parts of the world were still crazy about the eighth wonder of the world , in particular the country that is responsible for king kong ' s rebirth - japan .

king kong fly egg 130 - wipping around , bad reception , many wifi spots . . .

king kong backpacks are in a class of their own . built on a reputation of uncompromising quality backed by a generation guarantee .

" the king kong show " was an animated adaptation of kong ' s adventures , as he encounters and befriends the bond family , who eventually take kong around the world and have kong fight many threatening foes , including monsters , aliens and robots . the design of king kong was drawn by jack davis , who would eventually go on to create artwork for " mad " magazine .

beneath the surface of the release of the two toho king kong films continued the constant battle being fought over the legal rights of king kong and who had control over the character - creator merian c . cooper or the studio that produced the first film , rko studios . according to james van hise ' s " hot blooded dinosaur movies " ( 1993 ) , when cooper found out that rko studios had licensed king kong to toho for king kong vs . godzilla ( 1962 ) , cooper immediately opposed the project and felt his rights to kong were unassailable . in 1963 , cooper filed a lawsuit against john beck and universal studios to prevent the distribution of king kong vs . godzilla ( 1962 ) in the united states . during this time , cooper became aware that rko studios had profited off of king kong for years without notifying cooper ' s estate , mostly through aurora toy sets of king kong .

in this scholarly and thoughtful article , cashill theorizes about the peter jackson remake and argues that the realism of the cgi dissipates the mythic image of king kong .

in 1986 , konami published two kong games based on " king kong lives . " one was called " king kong 2 : ikari no megaton punch " and was released only for the famicom , a system only released in japan . the other game was " king kong 2 : yomigaeru densetsu , " for the msx computer , also only released in japan .

after all the legal trouble involving the name and brand of king kong , it had left companies uninterested in making another kong film , fearing another court case they misused the character .

" king kong lives " would mark the end of kong in cinema for some time . film studios were afraid of another box office bomb and that audiences had moved on from the character .

the other film that rankin / bass and toho agreed on did remain a king kong film and saw the return of the filmmakers that gave us king kong vs . godzilla ( 1962 ) , including ishiro honda , tomoyuki tanaka , eiji tsuburaya and akira ifukube . this lead to the 1967 film , king kong escapes . this plan would include incorporating stories and characters from the television show into the new film , in particular kong ' s most popular villain from the show , mechani - kong , a giant robot built in the shape of king kong . this also meant bringing in mechani - kong ' s inventor , dr . who .

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the king of kong : a fistful of quarters near you .

in the summer of 1968 , universal pictures released the american version of king kong escapes ( 1967 ) on a double bill with a don knotts comedy " the shakiest gun in the west " and opened to mixed reviews , most saying that the special effects were noticeably bad . outside of japan and the united states , king kong escapes ( 1967 ) got a decent worldwide release , but under different names in most countries . its original japanese name was " kingu kongu no gyakushu " or " king kong ' s counterattack . " other foreign names , according to j . d . lees ' godzilla abroad ( 1996 ) included " the revenge of king kong , " " the return of king kong " and " king kong on terror island . " the most interesting name came from germany though , which was translated as " king kong : frankenstein ' s son . "

unfortunately , " king kong encounter " was destroyed in a massive fire in the universal back lot in 2008 and was unsalvageable . but the ride was later replaced by " king kong : 360 3 - d " in july of 2010 .

their plan is to release a remake of " king kong vs . godzilla " in 2020 , with the working title of " godzilla vs . kong . " they wish to " bring together godzilla and legendary ' s king kong in an ecosystem of other giant super - species , both classic and new . "

this would finally clear the way for the 1976 film " king kong " , now just around the corner from its release .

king kong escapes ( 1967 ) takes elements from particular stories of " the king kong show , " as this new cast interacts with kong similar to the bond family did in the television show . in this case , carl nelson and susan watson befriend kong and get him to fight evil forces , in particular mechani - kong . king kong escapes ( 1967 ) also takes several elements from the 1933 film , such as kong fighting a t - rex on the island and performing a similar killing blow . the final battle also takes place at the japanese equivalent of the empire state building , the tokyo tower .

king kong fly egg 130 - wipping around , bad reception , many wifi spots . . . - youtube

" king kong " was released in american theaters on december 17 , 1976 by paramount pictures . it was highly anticipated throughout the year , as advertisements built up the film and the now - iconic poster of king kong at the top of the world trade centers was released to public .

john beck approached toho with the idea of " king kong vs . prometheus . " toho was immediately invested in the project , as the studio had been interested in making a king kong film for some time . but toho wanted to draw more people in the theaters than having kong fight a frankenstein monster , and thus decided that it would be far more profitable if the eight wonder of the world fought the king of the monsters .

and with that , we have reached the end of king kong ' s current history with film and television . but while there are no other kong films , the future is bright for the eighth wonder of the world .

in 2016 netflix released a new original animated series about king kong , entitled " kong - king of the apes , " produced by 41 entertainment and avi arad , the ceo and founder of marvel film studios . in these 13 half - hour long episode series , the year is 2050 and king kong is on the run after destroying most of the alcatraz natural history and marine preserve . it is later learned that kong was framed by an evil genius , who intends to use his army of robotic dinosaurs to take over the world , but the only one who can stop him now is king kong .

when it came to the visual effects for " king kong , " the style of filmmaking had changed drastically since " king kong lives . " now , an entire visual effects team could produce a living breathing king kong through the use of computer generated imagery , or cgi . this method of special effects work allowed for better looking results than using a man in a suit or animatronics , since now king kong could do things that a robot could never do , like jump hundreds of feet into the air on top of a massive t - rex .

my hassle is about king kong . i created the character long before i came to rko and have always believed i retained subsequent picture rights and other rights . i sold to rko the right to make the one original picture king kong and also , later , son of kong , but that was all .

while they had a majority of the rights , they did not own the king kong name and character . the courts ruling noted that the name , title , and character of kong no longer signified a single source of origin . the courts also pointed out that the kong rights were held by three parties :

owns only those rights in the king kong name and character that rko , cooper , or ddl do not own .

. . . and what better competition for godzilla than his old rival king kong ? this would lead to the 2000 animated television show " kong : the animated series . "

a combination of marketing and timing led to moderate success for " king kong appears in edo , " but not with audiences .

not surprisingly the japanese apparently loved king kong lives when it was released there under the title “king kong 2 . ” heisei era godzilla artist noriyoshi ohrai created a knock - out poster for the film – though i also quite like the american poster as well complete with its cheesy tagline – and two official video games based on the movie were developed and released only in japan by konami . these were “king kong 2 : season of the megaton punch” for the famicom and “king kong 2 : revived legend” for the msx . not surprisingly these games pushed the kaiju aspect of kong even further with the famicom game totally discarding the human aspect of the film and instead having players assume the role of king kong as he traverses the globe fighting giant robots in order to save lady kong . now there’s another sequel i’d also like to see !

the men who captured the giant ape king kong return to skull island and find his likewise gigantic but far more friendly son .

shortly after this , richard cooper sold the rights to king kong to universal pictures , outside of book and publishing rights to the character . there was one more instance of king kong legal troubles , involving the creation of the nintendo video game character donkey kong , but the court ultimately ruled that universal was in bad faith for suing nintendo for copyright infringement over their character .

the final result was a fight scene between king kong and a t - rex that took over seven weeks to film .

another guest spot ! in addition to his earlier article on king kong novelizations , justin mullis also submitted this radical thesis on the oft - maligned king kong lives . many thanks to justin for the piece ! without further ado , let’s get controversial !

erb’s book , revised from her earlier 1998 version , comprehensively details global and national interpretations and analyses of king kong , and includes a section on peter jackson’s king kong . it is indispensable for film studies scholars who want to situate the film within competing discourses .

the fugard theatre’s king kong is directed by jonathan munby who directed the fugard theatre ' s production of a human being died that night with noma dumezweni ( the only double olivier award - winning southern african actor ) amongst many other international productions . following king kong munby directs sir ian mckellen in shakespeare ' s king lear for the chichester festival in the uk .

provides the reader with information on the production of king kong and reception of the 1933 film , including animation of willis o’brien . includes reviews , discussions of the writing , interpretations , animation , and an interview with fay wray .

rko studios was not the only company to build off the success of " king kong " in 1933 , as shochiku studios in tokyo decided to make their own movie featuring a giant ape , " wasei kingu kongu , " translated as " japanese king kong . " shochiku studios landed the job of translating " king kong " into japanese for their audiences , and wanted to create a comedic short to coincide with the release .

i would also argue however that king kong lives is every bit as much a kaiju movie in spirit as the giant claw and that in order to fully appreciate king kong lives and everything is has to offer fans of the genre only need to view it as if it is one . seriously , if you’re a kaiju fan who’s reading this article and who doesn’t like kong kong lives but gives king kong escapes ( 1967 . dir . ishiro honda ) a pass ask yourself “why ? ” and ask yourself how much more accepting of king kong lives you might be if the movie had been made by toho rather than hollywood ? [ 2 ]

when producer dino de laurentiis tried to make a sequel to his 1976 “king kong” remake ( which we’ll get to shortly ) , the result was “king kong lives . ” this movie stumbles with the premise : kong didn’t die from falling off the twin towers . instead , he just got hurt really , really bad .

this british film is more of a parody of “king kong” than a serious contender for best kong movie , but it is worth noting for its gender reversal of the story . instead of a giant male ape after a beautiful young woman , queen kong is about a giant female ape after a handsome young man .

however , the newest revival of king kong did trigger another barrage of legal battles to decide who owned the rights kong . according to ray morton ' s king kong : the history of a movie icon ( 2005 ) , the initial legal battles surrounding the 1976 " king kong " and the rights to the character still lingered in the courts . while the three parties of rko , universal and de laurentiis argued back and forth over the matter , colonel richard cooper , son of the deceased merian c . cooper , stepped forward for the cooper estate . shortly after , universal discovered that the copyright of the novelization of the orignal " king kong , " written by edgar wallace , had expired without renewal . universal then claimed that this made king kong public domain and that they should be able to make a movie based on a public domain story without infringing on anyone ' s rights , so long as it stayed within the context of the original story .

the series also spawned two direct - to - dvd movies long after the series had ended , with " kong : king of atlantis " being released in 2005 ( which contained three musical numbers ) , and " kong : return to the jungle " in 2007 , where poachers attempt to catch king kong and put him in a zoo .

more than half a century since the first performance in 1959 , the fugard theatre’s production of this iconic and historic musical has receivedfive star reviews and rapturous audience responses . king kong tells the story of heavyweight fifties boxing champion ezekiel dlamini whose self - appointed ring name was " king kong " to the wildly exhilarating music of todd matshikiza .

it was toho’s third godzilla movie , and fortunately for the good people of japan , when the two giant monsters meet they decide to brawl rather than joining forces to wipe out the entire human population . since both godzilla and king kong seem to survive the movie , a sequel was inevitable : 1967 ' s king kong escapes , also helmed by honda . it featured a battle royale between the robotic mechani - kong and the king himself , and was based off the king kong show , an american / japanese animated series that ran for three years on abc .

according to steve archer ' s " willis o ' brien : special effects genius " ( 1993 ) , shortly after " king kong , " o ' brien came up with the concept of king kong fighting a massive version of frankenstein ' s monster . it wasn ' t until about 1960 that o ' brien proposed his idea to rko studios , with sketches of kong and a new frankenstein ' s monster fighting in san francisco , dubbing it " king kong meets frankenstein . "

there were also several tie - ins to king kong throughout video games , as well as references . konami would reuse the animations and character models from " king kong 2 : ikari no megaton punch " and " king kong 2 : yomigaeru denesetsu " in a crossover game they published in 1988 called " konami wai wai world , " which was only released in japan .

taking place directly after the events of the last film , king kong survived his fall from the top of the world trade centers and was put into a coma for ten years . he was monitored by dr . amy franklin ( linda hamilton ) , who gave kong an artificial heart to survive . however , kong loses so much blood during the surgery that dr . franklin fears kong will die , until explorer hank mitchell ( brian kerwin ) arrives with a captured giant female gorilla , dubbed " lady kong . " the blood transfusion is successful and king kong awakens , only to grab lady kong and escape the complex .

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing king kong ( 2005 ) near you .

the success of these monster movies throughout the 1940s and 1950s would bring about the next time king kong would emerge , as an idea conceived by willis o ' brien .

additionally , a new king kong film is in the works and is set to be released in 2017 , entitled " kong : skull island . " the film will be a joint production between warner brothers and legendary pictures and is set to reboot the kong franchise .

a 1962 film which has godzilla clash with king kong . it was the third godzilla film and remains the greatest box - office hit in the series .

affirming that the king kong novelization and serialization were indeed in the public domain , and universal studios could make its movie as long as it did not infringe on the original elements of the 1933 rko film , which had not yet passed into public domain . universal postponed their plans to film a king kong movie , called the legend of king kong , for at least 18 months , after cutting a deal with dino de laurentiis that included a percentage of box office profits from his remake .

a pharmaceutical company captures king kong and brings him to japan , where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released godzilla .

finally , the biggest example of a king kong video game came in the form of a tie - in to the 2005 film . released by ubisoft in 2005 , they gave us " peter jackson ' s king kong : the official game of the movie " for the xbox 360 . this was the first game ubisoft released for the xbox 360 and was nominated for video game of the year at the spike tv awards that year .

cooper later said , " my hassle is about king kong . i created the character long before i came to rko and have always believed i retained subsequent picture rights and other rights . i sold to rko the right to make one original picture ' king kong ' and also , later , ' son of kong , ' but that was all . "

the ride combines practical effects , such as large tanks of air to simulate kong ' s breath , and computer generated effects that show kong battling dinosaurs . the ride is patterend mostly off of the 2005 film , with a similar design to skull island and kong between the film and this ride . " skull island : reign of kong " uses many of the same technics as one of universal ' s other big attractions " harry potter and the forbidden journey , " where the riders are put in front of a large protector and move with the actions , in this case the movements of king kong .

king kong has had quite the run of animated renderings ever since , including a recent appearance in the lego batman movie . other kid - friendly cartoon kongs : 1998 musical the mighty kong , which has the voices of dudley moore and the little mermaid ’s jodi benson ; kong : the animated series , which spawned a few straight - to - dvd movies and aired on fox kids in the early 2000s ; and current netflix series kong : king of the apes , which is set in the year 2050 and features evil robotic dinosaurs .

the key example of this film changing something from the 1933 film was that , at the end of the movie , rather than climbing the iconic empire state building , king kong now climbs to the top of one of the world trade center towers , which were taller than the empire state building .

urltoken - king of kong : a fistful of quarters is a great documentary / film charting the itense rivalries of classic arcade record high score holders . it focuses in particular on billy mitchell & steve wiebe .

king kong has continued to survive through his many theme park attractions at several universal studios parks , including ones in hollywood and orlando .

so , where does king kong fit into all of this ? magonojyou has a pet ape that he used to kidnap chinami , and the pet ' s name is " king kong . " in fact , this pet ape looks more like a yeti than an ape , according to film historians .

the first of these attractions opened at universal studios hollywood in july of 1986 , months before " king kong lives " hit theaters . this ride , pictured above , was part of the theme park ' s famous studio tour . it involved the tram being confronted by king kong on the brooklyn bridge . called " king kong enounter , " the ride used a massive animatronic kong , built by disney imagineer bob gurr . universal , however , was looking to expand its theme park footprint and to continue to challenge disney . this resulted in the opening of universal studios florida in june of 1990 . one of the rides the park opened with was called " kongfrontation " .

kong caged : lovelace describes kong as being shackled to the floor inside a large cage when he is presented to the public as part of denham’s show , as oppose to the now iconic crucifixion pose from the 1933 film . both the 1968 comic adaptation and dino de laurentiis and john guillermin’s 1976 king kong remake share the cage imagery .

one of those upcoming monsterverse flicks is the rematch , if not the remake , that we’ve been waiting for since 1962 , when ishiro honda’s king kong vs . godzilla debuted .

the fourth film in the new monsterverse cinematic universe that began with 2014’s godzilla is also essentially a remake of 1962’s king kong vs . godzilla . opens may 29 , 2020 .

ah , the power of it . ah , the superpower ! hail to the power ! hail to the power of kong ! and petrox !

these masks were composed of a plastic skull over which were placed artificial muscle groups activated by rambaldi ' s cables which entered the costume through the feet of the kong model , with a latex skin over the top of the plastic skull . these masks used hydraulics to move , which required a team of operators working off - set with control boards . finally , baker put contact lenses over the eyes of the masks so kong would resemble a gorilla . baker wore the king kong suit and performed as kong throughout most of the film .

but the most difficult part of filming " king kong " was combining the live action sequences with the stop motion scenes , while making it seem like the actors were in the same place as these monsters .

so why did they make a king kong film five years after the films initial release ? part of it was most likely due to " king kong " being rereleased in japanese theaters in 1938 , and zensho cinema wanted to make their own film that would build off the success of this release simply by claiming their ape was giant .

the battle for king kong and its resolution made headlines . many ran articles in february of 1976 quoting universal president sid sheinberg , such as the anderson herald , as he stated : " our agreement permits mr . de laurentiis to make the best possible film , and permits universal to select the best possible approaches to its king kong venture . universal intends to produce and release a king kong film under optimum production and distribution conditions , subsequent to the de laurentiis film release . "

the king kong suit , however , had a more difficult time being accepted , especially by tsuburaya , according to donald f . glut ' s " classic movie monsters " ( 1978 ) . he rejected the first suit sent his way for the legs being too long and kong being far too fat . several other designs were used before the final concept was created for kong , though the end result was the birth of the largest king kong to this date at 147 feet tall in the movie .

due to the success of " king kong , " rko studios wanted to capitalize on its success immediately , and thus green - lite a sequel as soon as possible .

the world of donkey kong competition is one of the most intriguing in retro gaming , so if you want a bit of insight into the original kong off last year , check out our interview with tournament host richie knucklez .

however , less than a month after his ruling , judge manuel real made a subsequent ruling , stating that all the rights in the name , character and story of king kong ( outside of the 1933 film and " son of kong " ) belonged to the cooper estate . this would become known as the " cooper judgment " and was a massive victory for richard cooper , as it proved what merian c . cooper had said for years about king kong .

the film was titled king kong vs . godzilla ( 1962 ) because , at the time filming began , king kong was more popular in japan than godzilla , so it made sense to give him top - billing . also , given that godzilla was considered a villain at this point in time , it was also decided that king kong would triumph over godzilla , but leave enough ambiguity to suggest that godzilla is still alive for future films .

but what truly stands out about king kong is that he has such a powerful legacy that has lasted this long . the first " king kong " came out 83 years ago , when talking pictures were still perfecting their craft and charlie chaplin ' s character of the tramp was the most recognizable image in the world . yet , here we are in the age of computer generated imagery that can bring anything we can image to life , and we still want to see king kong duke it out with godzilla . that is the definition of a classic .

rather than wait for any legal battle to settle , de laurentiis rushed into making his king kong film instead . pouring millions into the budget , and spurring up advanced advertisements , de laurentiis made his project known to the public . faced with lengthy legals battles and the prospect of launching a king kong film immediately after paramount pictures already did , universal canceled their project under a mutual agreement with de laurentiis for a percentage of the profits from the paramount pictures film and the rights to make a king kong movie at a later date .

there were 25 episodes of " the king kong show " before it was cancelled in 1969 , but it was successful enough that rankin / bass felt they could extend the kong franchise further by reaching out to an old friend : toho . . .

lakeman was not the only player in the hunt for the donkey kong record in recent times .

the switch from king kong to godzilla is quite clear in ebirah , horror of the deep ( 1966 ) , as godzilla performs many actions throughout the film that are uncharacteristic for him , but common place for kong , such as godzilla gaining strength from electricity ( a power kong had in 1962 ' s king kong vs . godzilla ) , protecting the native girl from another monster , and throwing rocks at the titular ebirah , a giant lobster , rather than using his signature atomic breath .

king kong has also faced his share of down sides , in particular the constant legal battle over the brand and who owned him - merian c . cooper , rko studios or the public . in a way , the court case might have hurt kong in the long run , because it deterred other companies from wanting to do anything with king kong , or else they might get into more legal trouble at points in history .

cooper plainly did not obtain any trademark rights in his judgment against rko , since the california district court specifically found that king kong had no secondary meaning .

according to " chronology of zensho films ( in japanese ) " ( 2002 ) , the film was released by zensho cinema as a two - part drama about the giant kong kong appearing in japan ' s edo period , often depicted as a feudal period filled with samurais . posters of " king kong appears in edo " show kong grasping the damsel in this film , chinami , in the palm of his hand and swatting the men trying to rescue her .

when tsuburaya heard that toho wanted him to do the special effects for a king kong film , he dropped every project he had worked on to support this film . tsuburaya had been a massive fan of the special effects used in " king kong " since he was a kid and considered it an honor to work on this film .

since hollywood has always known the importance of cashing in on one’s hot property , an insta - sequel followed : 1933 ' s son of kong , helmed by cooper’s king kong co - director ernest b . schoedsack . in son of kong , denham ( armstrong again ) returns to skull island on a treasure hunt and meets “little kong”—a smaller , much jollier , ultimately way less compelling version of his father . box office success did not repeat .

richard cooper filed a cross - claim towards rko , saying that while the novelization rights had not been renewed , the cooper estate still had control over the plot and story of " king kong . "

king kong is brought in by an evil ruler to dig for precious gems in a mine when the robot mechakong is unable to do the task . this leads to the machine and the real kong engaging in a tremendous battle that threatens to level japan .

the 1932 film shares much with king kong , though its lack of a monster ( unless man is the true monster ? ) made me hesitate to include it here at first . however , it’s worth noting because it’s an underrated and influential classic ( films from hard target to zodiac to predator draw inspiration ) , and because of its ties to the king kong production .

on may 6 , 2015 , universal also announced that they were working on a new king kong attraction , that would be known as " skull island : reign of kong " that would open in the summer of 2016 in their islands of adventure in the orlando theme park . the ride has had a few soft openings for advanced crowds , and the ride is similar to " king kong : 360 3 - d , " as you are transported on a small truck through skull island , along with a group of cave explorers , where you encounter and are chased by dinosaurs , only to come face - to - face with king kong .

both legendary pictures and warner brothers are prepared to sign on to do more king kong films in the future if " kong : skull island " does well financially , but have already taken a large step towards something bigger .

the family that befriends kong has three principal members , professor bond , the father of the family , the teenage daughter susan bond , and little bobby bond that kong saves from a t - rex in the first episode . there is also the returning character of captain englehorn from the 1933 film , who transports kong and the bond family around the world . the bond family also has the reoccurring villain of dr . who ( not the british one ) , a mad scientist bent on conquering the world and intends to use king kong to reach his goals .

even if you ' ve never so much as eaten a single ghost in a game of ms . pac - man , king of kong is still a remarkable ( and remarkably hilarious ) film .

since then , universal has largely owned the rights towards king kong . while rko studios still owned the rights towards the first two films , dino de laurentiis owned the rights of his kong films ( although de laurentiis eventually sold those rights to studio canal ) , and the cooper estate owning the book and publishing rights , universal was allowed to do as they pleased with the character . this led to king kong becoming a major attraction at universal ' s theme parks .

to cut costs , o ' brien reused as many old animatronics and miniature sets that he could salvage , in particular from both " king kong " and " creation " including an aluminum frame - work for king kong that would be used for little kong and many of the same monsters . o ' brien was also forced to cut corners on the stop motion animation to give these scenes a more cartoonish feel .

this court case kept filmmakers from pursuing more films starring king kong for some years . it wasn ' t until 1975 that interest in a new kong film would appear . . . only to cause another legal battle .

for king kong : our furry friend has left quite the legacy throughout film and television . one that has always been on the pioneering edge of special effects , whether that was stop motion animation in the 1930s , large - scale monster battles in the 1960s , massive animatronics in the 1970s or paving the way for motion capture in the 2000s , king kong has helped to aid the next step in movie effects .

as for king kong , his popularity was once again growing and american studios were fascinated with bringing him back to american audiences . but since the last time kong was made in the states , a new form of media had become just as popular as the cinema - television .

for international releases , rankin / bass were in charge of the dubbing process for king kong escapes ( 1967 ) , but universal still retained the rights to king kong , so they would release the film in the united states . rankin / bass decided to have different voice actors dub over the lead roles for the american release of king kong escapes ( 1967 ) , with veteran voice actor paul frees handle most of the male roles , including dr . who . rhodes reason got to re - dub over his lines , but rankin / bass decided to not have linda miller re - dub her lines .

after rko sent cooper many ideas for titles for the film , including " kong : jungle beast " and " kong : the jungle king . " eventually , cooper and ruth rose simply referred to the film as " kong . " selznick approached cooper about this , saying that with a one - word title like that , audiences might get the film confused with docudrama ' s at the time like " grass " and " chang , " both films cooper had produced earlier in his career . this caused cooper to add the word " king " to the title , leading us to the now famous title of " king kong . "

television the king kong show ( 1966 ) . in this cartoon series , the giant gorilla befriends the bond family , with whom he goes on various adventures , fighting monsters , robots , mad scientists and other threats . produced by rankin / bass , the animation was provided in japan by toei animation , making this the very first anime series to be commissioned right out of japan by an american company . this was also the cartoon that resulted in the production of toho ' s godzilla vs . the sea monster ( originally planned as a kong film ) and king kong escapes . kong : the animated series ( 2001 ) . an animated production set many decades after the events of the original film . " kong " is cloned by a female scientist . this show , coming a few years after the release of centropolis ' godzilla : the series repeated at least two of the monsters ( although with vastly different backgrounds ) seen in the godzilla series . a direct - to - dvd movie called kong : king of atlantis , based on the 2001 series , was released to try and cash in on the 2005 movie . both the series and the movie were then included in toon disney ' s " jetix " group for a time , also to take advantage of the 2005 movie ' s release . a year later , a follow up direct - to - dvd film was released called kong : return to the jungle . the king kong suit from king kong escapes appeared on ike ! greenman episode 38 called greenman vs gorilla . due to copyright reasons king kong ' s name was changed to gorilla .

this turn of events led to two parties approaching rko to get the rights to make a new king kong film . on one side was de laurentiis and the other universal , each approaching rko with a $ 200 , 000 licensing fee but with different percentages on the earnings ( 3 % from paramount pictures , 5 % from universal ) according to " king kong : the history of a movie icon " ( 2005 ) . paramount ended up signing a contract while universal claims they had a verbal agreement to the same effect . around this time , both finally discovered that two king kong films were being made , " king kong " at paramount pictures and " the legend of king kong " at universal . both unhappy with this turn of events , a court battle ensued . universal struck first and sought $ 25 million in damages from both de laurentiis and rko . de laurentiis counter - sued for $ 90 million in damages on the grounds of copyright infringement .

a crew of explorers and filmmakers set out to investigate the myths of the legendary creature king kong . traveling to skull island , they discover a land unaffected by time as kong lives with dinosaurs that have been hidden and protected from man for centuries . as the crew struggles to survive on the treacherous island , they eventually capture kong through his fascination with a beautiful woman . taken back to new york , it may only be a matter of time before kong escapes his confines .

“the original production of king kong united audiences of all races – at the height of apartheid - and was a celebration of south african talent , ”says daniel galloway the executive director of the fugard theatre . “we have been delighted to see that audiences from all walks of life and across several generations have enjoyed the 2017 production which is itself a celebration of our outstanding local talent . ”

as for the special effects involved in " king kong , " special effects developer rick baker and creature designer carlo rambaldi took a cue from films like " jaws " and decided to bring kong to life using large - scale animatronics .

there has also been at least one children’s book adaptation of the original king kong . first published in 1983 and then again in 1988 by random house this version was based on the lovelace novelization but rewritten for children by judith conaway with accompanying illustrations by michael berenstain . conaway was not the last to rewrite lovelace’s prose however . in 2005 writers joe devito and brad strickland also rewrote lovelace’s 1932 novelization and published it under the title merian c . cooper’s king kong : a novel . the point of this was apparently to improve upon lovelace’s original as well as to bring the novelization into the same narrative continuity as devito and strickland’s own original prequel kong novel kong : king of skull island .

according to august ragone " eiji tsuburaya : master of monsters , " ( 2007 ) , the result was a black - and - white silent comedic short that used " king kong " as a backdrop to its story , as the main character dresses up in an ape costume in trying to woo his girlfriend and plays king kong for a vaudeville theater .

denham , who ? : actor robert armstrong played movie mogul carl denham in the 1933 film , but in lovelace’s 1932 novelization the character is just called denham with no first name . this is one of the surest signs that you’re dealing with a kong adaptation that is using the novel as its basis and includes both the 1968 and 1991 king kong comic adaptations and 1998’s the mighty kong .

massive mechanical arms would be built by baker and rambaldi also , used to fit jessica lange in the palm of kong ' s arm . like the masks used for kong ' s face and the giant mechanical kong , the arms used hydraulics , and required another large team of operators to handle its movement .

but kong would be saved in the form of a new challenger , in an entirely different setting and vastly different period of filmmaking .

then we have the video games that tied into the " kong : the animated series " television show . in 2002 , bam ! entertainment released a tie - in for the game boy advance , while mga entertainment released another in 2003 for their own electronic handheld that also came with a small figurine of king kong . also , majesco games released a tie - in to the straight - to - video animated film " kong : king of atlantis " in 2005 for the game boy advanced by the same title .

in the original script , the gorilla is named " kong " . the film was then entitled the eighth wonder and press booklets were sent off to thousands of movie theaters in 1932 to excite the theatre owners into placing " the eighth wonder " onto their advertisements . the " king " was added to the title by studio publicists . apart from the opening titles , the only time the name " king kong " appears in the picture is on the marquee above the theater where kong is being exhibited , and the marquee was in fact added to the scene as an optical composite after the live footage of the theater entrance had been shot . however , denham does refer to kong in his speech as " a king and a god in the world he knew . " the giant gate used in the 1933 movie was burned along with other old studio sets for the burning of atlanta scene in gone with the wind . the gate was originally constructed for the 1927 biblical epic the king of kings . it can also be seen in the bela lugosi serial the return of chandu .


unstoppable is a 2010 american disaster thriller film directed and produced by tony scott in his final film as director before his death in 2012 .

the film stars denzel washington and chris pine .

the film , loosely based on the real-life csx 8888 incident , tells the story of a runaway freight train and the two men ( washington and pine ) who attempt to stop it .

the film was released in the united states and canada on november 12 , 2010 .

it has received mostly favorable reviews from film critics ; it garnered a " certified fresh " rating on rotten tomatoes based upon aggregated reviews , and a rating of " generally favorable reviews " at metacritic .

the film was nominated for an academy award for best sound editing at the 83rd academy awards , but it was beaten by inception .

unstoppable ( 2010 film )

unstoppable ( 2010 film ) <EOT> copyright 2010 - 2018 roobla , all rights reserved . terms , privacy and cookies - sitemap

20th century fox ( 2010 ) ( netherlands ) ( theatrical ) ( through warner bros . )

twentieth century fox c . i . s . ( 2010 ) ( russia ) ( theatrical )

, so it might be impossible for 2010 to keep pace with 2009 over the next three days .

tony scott’s last film unstoppable stars denzel washington and chris pine , based on the true story of a runaway unmanned train .

usa 2010 . dir tony scott . with denzel washington , chris pine , rosario dawson . 98min . 35mm . 12a

unstoppable might not be adrenaline fuelled , but it is an extremely watchable flick .

9 ) doesn ' t look like it , no . otherwise i suppose the film would be called stoppable instead of unstoppable , and who ' d watch a film called stoppable ? i mean really .

“unstoppable” is rated pg - 13 ( parents strongly cautioned ) . very rapid transit .

box office report : ‘megamind’ stalls ‘unstoppable’ to win weekend with $ 30 . 1 mil

there is a “what happened to the main cast post the film” bit at the start of the credits , nothing else during the credits of unstoppable .

pg - 13 for sequences of action and peril , and some language . ( rating bulletin 2131 , 7 / 28 / 2010 )

a movie opening at # 1 automatically makes it an instant success ? i had no idea . then i look forward to reviewing unstoppable 2 : still unstoppable in 3 years .

unstoppable is a 2010 american action thriller film directed by tony scott , written by mark bomback , and starring denzel washington and chris pine . the film , loosely based on the real - life csx 8888 incident , tells the story of a runaway freight train , and the two men ( washington and pine ) who attempt to stop it . it was scott ' s final feature film before his death in 2012 .

box office report : ‘megamind’ stalls ‘unstoppable’ to win weekend with $ 30 . 1 mil | urltoken

means 2010 is off last year ' s pace by 13 % . year - to - date , 2010 still has a more than $ 300 million lead at $ 9 . 14 billion to $ 8 . 84 billion , so a one - week stumble like this is hardly reason to panic .

there ' s a gut - level simplicity to " unstoppable " that works despite all its clichés .

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing unstoppable near you .

but perhaps the most incredible aspect of unstoppable is the speed and detail to which news media portrayed in the film gain information about the incident and those involved as it unfolds .

unstoppable was expected to take in about the same amount of money as the taking of pelham 123 , another tony scott film involving an out - of - control train starring denzel washington . pelham took in $ 23 . 4 million during its opening weekend in the united states and canada . unstoppable had a strong opening night on friday november 12 , 2010 , coming in ahead of megamind with a gross of $ 8 . 1 million . however , megamind won the weekend , earning $ 30 million to unstoppable ' s $ 23 . 9 million . unstoppable performed slightly better than the taking of pelham 123 did in its opening weekend . as of april 2011 , the film had earned $ 167 , 805 , 466 worldwide .

box office : no . 1 ' megamind ' stops ' unstoppable ' | company town | los angeles times

unstoppable suffered various production challenges before filming could commence , including casting , schedule , location and budgetary concerns .

this was tony scott ' s final feature film before his death in 2012 .

denzel washington , right , and chris pine play engineers trying to halt a runaway train in the new film " unstoppable , " based on a true incident that occurred in ohio in 2001 .

“the relentless ‘unstoppable’…explores the mechanics and uses of suspense to modulate an audience’s response to narrative , ” nolan said .

. ouch . 2010 is still ahead of 2009 at $ 9 . 36 billion to $ 9 . 14 billion , but that lead isn ' t safe given the sharp drop - off we just suffered . hopefully we will get back on the winning track soon . even single - digit loses will ensure 2010 sets another box office record .

this weekend’s big - budget blow - it - all - up action film unstoppable , about an out - of - control locomotive hauling deadly cargo , claims to be “based on true events . ”

did during its debut in wide release , although it could be close for the latter . combined the two films could make more than the top five did last year . if so , 2010 should win big over 2009 , but it will be the last win for 2010 , and it still might not be enough to maintain its lead over 2009 in the end .

chris pine and denzel washington in runaway train action adventure unstoppable . photograph : 20th century - fox / everett / rex features

and there ' s no way to sugarcoat that . year - to - date 2010 still has a lead over 2009 , but that lead is now under 2 % at $ 9 . 78 billion to $ 9 . 63 billion . this means in less than a month 2010 ' s lead has been cut in half . this is not a good sign going forward .

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urltoken - follow us ! unstoppable hits theaters on november 12th , 2010 . cast : denzel washington , chris pine , rosario dawson , jessy schram , kevin dunn an engineer and his conductor are in a race against time . they ' re chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town . unstoppable trailer courtesy 20th century fox .

unstoppable received positive reviews from film critics . rotten tomatoes gives it a score of 86 % based on 177 reviews , with an average score of 6 . 9 / 10 . the film is " certified fresh " , and the critical consensus is : " as fast , loud , and relentless as the train at the center of the story , unstoppable is perfect popcorn entertainmentâ€”and director tony scott ' s best movie in years . " metacritic gives the film a score of 69 % based on reviews from 32 critics indicating " generally favorable reviews

change in the number of cars 1206 is suppose to haul . in the beginning of the film

ridley scott’s seminal thriller was another film nolan referred to as an “established classic of tension . ”

luckily , having dabbled in the area with his remake of the taking of pelham 123 , tony scott has decided to focus all his energy on putting this injustice right . his imminent denzel washington - fronted unstoppable is all set to make action films about trains fashionable again . but before unstoppable is released , let ' s take a look at its trailer to see what the film is actually about . and remember , unstoppable is based on a true story , so all of this definitely happened . . .

the movies of 2010 will likely be looked back on as recession - era specials . the global financial meltdown sent a chill up and down the hollywood backbone – never the sturdiest of spines to begin with .

how this managed not to go direct - to - dvd ( and actually get a wide distribution rather than just a handful - of - theaters dump ) is one of 2010 ' s great cinematic mysteries .

during wwi , lewis milestone , a recent russian émigré to the us , made films for the signal corp , and this experience undoubtedly informed his 1930 hollywood masterpiece , all quiet on the western front . film historian kevin brownlow ( who interviewed milestone about his film career in the 1960s ) will be joined by film professional mamoun hassan to discuss – alongside film clips and a rare trailer – the history and achievement of what is considered to be the greatest anti - war film of all time .

nolan referred to henri - georges clouzot’s high - octane film as an “established classic of tension . ”

tony scott’s last film , starring denzel washington , is a thrilling ride with a runaway freight train .

' ali & cavett : the tale of the tapes ' : film review | sxsw 2 . .

“most of the other films in this series fall into two different but overlapping categories . from established classics of tension like the wages of fear ( henri - georges clouzot , 1953 ) and alien ( ridley scott , 1979 ) through to the more recent ticking - clock nail - biters speed ( jan de bont , 1994 ) and tony scott’s final film , the relentless unstoppable ( 2010 ) , our season explores the mechanics and uses of suspense to modulate an audience’s response to narrative .

though not to be confused with latest cd from the country band , rascal flatts , the new movie unstoppable aims for a similarly blue - collar demographic .

this isn ' t groundbreaking fare , mind you . but unstoppable muscles through its story of peril with crafted intensity and a few well - placed grins .

the $ 35 - million opening of his latest film confirms the star ' s record for delivering solid hits .

it could be a strong weekend at the box office with two wide releases , both with the potential of earning more than $ 100 million , perhaps a lot more in one case . this is great news for 2010 , as this week

2 . unstoppable ( fox ) new [ 3 , 207 theaters ] friday $ 8 . 1m , saturday $ 9 . 9m , weekend $ 23 . 5m

unstoppable is a 2010 thriller based on a true story that stars denzel washington and chris pine as rail men who put their lives at risk to stop an unmanned speeding train from derailing and causing a mass casualty event . unstoppable was the final feature directed by tony scott ( whose life tragically ended when he jumped from a los angeles bridge in 2012 ) and was his fifth and final collaboration with washington , who previously starred for the director in crimson tide , man on fire , déjà vu ( 2006 ) , and the taking of pelham 123 ( 2009 ) .

adrev for a 3rd party ( on behalf of fox film music corp . ( fox music ) ) ; adrev publishing

now here’s some very interesting film - loving news , as mr christopher nolan will be curating an upcoming film season at the bfi southbank in london with movies that have inspired his upcoming ww2 epic dunkirk , which opens on 21 july .

the filmmakers thought that all it would take to make a movie is some special effects , but this film only goes to show what most people already know : a film shouldn ' t be designed around something meant to be an afterthought .

opened with on its own . actually , that ' s not the worst case scenario , as it is pretty damn likely . even if that does happen , there is a lot more depth this year and 2010 might still earn a solid win overall .

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more filmmakers should take these mundane situations with mundane people and turn them into absolutely blown - up nail - biters ( but for me , more like whole finger - biter + ass - clencher ) . it ' s just so well executed for the film it ' s trying to be . scott ' s final film turns out to be the ultimate popcorn film .

the third movie in the " toy story " franchise crossed the $ 1 billion mark in 2010 and made disney history as pixar ' s highest - grossing film of all time . the success of " toy story 3 " helped push a fourth movie into disney ' s animated movie plan . after a couple of delays , " toy story 4 " is now expected in 2019 .

the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

the film , co - starring denzel washington and chris pine , paints the rail company as the greedy antagonist , out to make decisions based on the bottom line and not on people’s lives . in the film , that company is called “avvr . ”

packed with stunts that would make even tom cruise grimace , unstoppable is an adrenaline - fueled action flick that leaves you at the edge of your seat until the very end .

unstoppable is a pure thrill ride from beginning to end . well - staged action , strong performances and great direction make it one of the most exciting films of the year .

2 . " unstoppable " ( 20th century fox ) : the runway - train thriller sped to $ 23 . 5 million . a solid , if not spectacular , open .

the movie “ unstoppable ” is inspired by a true - life event , and although a good bit of it is historically accurate , the movie does often get factually derailed .

marysville resident jon hosfeld has something in common with superstar actor denzel washington . both have stopped a runaway train . the difference is , hosfeld did it for real nine years ago in ohio , while washington does it hollywood style in his new adventure film “unstoppable , ” which was inspired by hosfeld’s true adventure .

. but the rest of the chart was not as strong , leading to three - day declines of 3 % from last weekend and 6 % from last year with $ 183 million . over five days , the box office pulled in $ 264 million , which is again 3 % lower than last year . 2010 ' s lead over 2009 has been cut to 2 % at $ 9 . 66 billion to $ 9 . 46 billion , which is not enough to assume 2010 will come out on top in the end , but it should be close .

nolan cited gillo pontecorvo’s war film as “a timeless and affecting verité narrative , which forces empathy with its characters in the least theatrical manner imaginable . we care about the people in the film simply because we feel immersed in their reality and the odds they face . ”

an outcast new york city cop is charged with bringing down harlem drug lord frank lucas , whose real life inspired this partly biographical film .

" megamind , " which is tracking similarly to dreamworks animation ' s " how to train your dragon , " had enough stamina to avoid being overrun by denzel washington ' s " unstoppable . "

. this is the largest worldwide opening ever , and it is enough to put the film in the top 200 after one weekend of release .

when tim burton ' s take on the original disney classic hit $ 1 billion at the box office in 2010 , it was only the sixth ever film to do so . in the years since , more than 20 other films have joined the club — but the sequel to this live - action " alice in wonderland " was not among them . " alice through the looking glass " ( 2016 ) grossed $ 299 , 500 , 000 worldwide .

either way , " unstoppable " will need a strong second weekend and continued strength from overseas to be a big winner for 20th century fox , which livingston didn ' t think would be a problem .

, a film that is supposed to begin production this fall . to the studio ' s relief , pre - production has resumed over in pittsburgh .

unstoppable may be a predictable , unsubtle and clichéd variation of speed , but that doesn ' t stop it being the most exhilarating thriller of the year . strap yourselves in for one hell of a ride .

it has to be said that there’s enough legitimate goings on to keep unstoppable’s claim up as a true story , but the real - life incident was so brief ( the runaway train is eventually stopped ) that before the film even begins you are left to wonder how this has been tenuously stretched out into 100mins . one with a sense of déjà vu too .

. it became only the 56th film to reach $ 600 million worldwide , and some analysts are now predicting $ 1 billion is more likely than not .

, our target film , will be an a - list release . in order to win , one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for

" the ballad of narayama " is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…

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. that film should win the weekend with relative ease ; in fact , it should earn more than the rest of the wide releases combined . plus , it is this week ' s target film in our box office prediction contest . in order to win , one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for

christopher nolan ' s follow - up to " the dark knight " had became the 13th film in history to reach $ 1 billion in 2012 . this achievement was remarkable , especially given concerns that the movie ' s success would be dampened after the aurora theater shooting took place during a midnight screening of the film .

the freight train pulls out of a siding with no engineer on board and accelerates to 70 m . p . h . , and you see how tony scott ' s " unstoppable " gets its title . the movie is as relentless as the train , slowly gathering momentum before a relentless final hour of continuous suspense . in terms of sheer craftsmanship , this is a superb film .

it wasn ' t so long ago that , after putting in years building up his career , denzel washington finally cracked the $ 20 - million star salary club . but now he ' s taking a sizable pay cut to star in the upcoming 20th century fox film " unstoppable " after the studio threatened to pull the plug on the picture in order to get its costs down .

and here we begin with the seemingly unstoppable success of marvel universe movies . " captain america : civil war " was a blockbuster hit in 2016 , and the first movie of that year to rake in $ 1 billion .

the season will include a special preview screening of dunkirk on thursday 13 july , which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself . nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film , and , as one of the few cinemas in the uk that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film , bfi southbank will screen all the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm . in 2015 nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist tacita dean at the bfi london film festival to discuss the importance of celluloid as an artistic medium , and he consistently shoots on film despite the industry’s move toward digital .

will likely finish number one and thus is this week ' s target film . in order to win , one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for

variety reported on monday that denzel washington had dropped out of the tony scott - directed unstoppable , which will co - star chris pine ( star trek ) . the actor was said to be looking at other projects for the fall .

" unstoppable " was not cheap . according to one person familiar with the production , the movie cost about $ 100 million . a studio executive downplayed that number and said the cost was between $ 75 million and $ 85 million .

a truly enjoyable film , very exciting , but a railway man especially a driver , can pick holes in it – even from aussieland . so just enjoy ! kevin .

deathly hallows is already the fifth - biggest movie of the past 12 months after avatar , toy story 3 , alice in wonderland and inception . the film ' s only direct competition at the weekend came from previews for dreamworks animation ' s megamind , which will be included in the film ' s opening figures on this blog next week .

landing at number 10 is machete , the robert rodriguez mexploitation film that began as a trailer in tarantino ' s grindhouse double - bill . with £90 , 000 from 158 screens , the film is the lowest - grossing title inside the top 10 since gainsbourg propped up the chart with an £87 , 000 weekend tally back in early august .

there’s trademark scott imbedded here , but you’re better off remembering him through his substantially better 90’s / early - 00’s films because with this being more often than not unwatchable , unstoppable is strictly for fans of him , washington , or pine .

ever since man on fire , tony scott has shown little regard for his audience’s senses . he assaults them on a regular basis by throwing out every abrasive edit possible . my personal favorite was when he decided to change fonts on the subtitles while a character was reciting a phone number . clearly , that moment needed an extra emotional punch . after taking the same kind of approach with domino , deja vu , and the taking of pelham 1 2 3 , i held out little hope for his latest film , unstoppable . however , i must bestow upon him higher praise than i ever thought i would : unstoppable is surprisingly tolerable . it’s not a smart movie , or even a particularly exciting one , but it at least doesn’t over - saturate every color and will hold a shot for more than half - a - second . throw in strong chemistry between leads denzel washington and chris pine , and you have a film that is better than it should be , especially when that film is by tony scott .

over the weekend , while another film came within a rounding error of doing so . this left the overall box office down nearly 20 % from last weekend , which combined with

not a bad triple set for denzel fans but as all fans of this great actor know there are many better films they could include instead of unstoppable . the siege is quite the surprise of a movie which i regard highly in the denzel filmography and man on fire speaks for itself in being one of the great films of the late tony scott . certainly worth the money but i would have taken unstoppable out and put something like crimson tide in instead . either way god love denzel washington .

" we never thought we ' d be no . 1 , " said bert livingston , general sales manager for 20th century fox , which financed the movie along with dune entertainment and ingenious film partners . the audience for the movie was divided evenly between men and women , with 35 % younger than 25 and 65 % older . in international box office , " unstoppable " took in $ 18 . 2 million from four markets .

unstoppable is based on true events i’ve never heard of about train engineer frank barnes ( denzel washington ) and conductor will colson’s ( chris pine ) brave attempt at trying to stop the unstoppable – a runaway train going speeds in excess of 70mph carrying toxic chemicals that are sure to explode from derailment once the train enters a town that has a turn that is only able to handle speeds under 30 mph . sounds exciting right ? it would be if you were able to follow the action without having a seizure .

" the social network , " and not " wall street : money never sleeps , " turned out to be the zeitgeist movie of 2010 . after what most of us have been through , who wants to observe the fictional gordon gekko wheeling and dealing and damaging his way back up the ladder ? watching him get his comeuppance , or , even worse , his redemption , is irrelevant .

scott was a technical virtuoso , implementing a dizzying array of techniques including time lapse , shooting at six frames a second and using high - speed film . from man on fire onwards he utilised cross - processing to heighten colour , and photo - chemically manipulated his film stock . this experimentation produced what he called the “mistakes that inspire… the magic that comes from accidents . ”

, and the same weekend last year was a disappointment to begin with . 2010 still has a lead over 2009 , but that lead is down to 1 . 5 % at $ 9 . 90 billion to $ 9 . 75 billion , and by this time next weekend , that lead could be cut in half . and by the end of christmas weekend , it could be gone entirely .

a queasy counter - revolutionary note was struck again at the conclusion of crimson tide , when gene hackman ’s nuke - happy submarine commander , who for the whole film has been ready to vaporise russia any second now , is entirely absolved of wrongdoing by the military and positioned as the film’s hero – the message being , he’s basically a good guy if a little old - school .

hollywood’s more serious stabs at realist fiction emulate the social and psychological nuances of the 19th - century novel , and no one has taken american film further down that road than stroheim . shot on location in san francisco and death valley , the film was cut to less than a third of its original nine hours , but remains extraordinary for its unflinching vision of the corrosive power of money .

all quiet on the western front is rightly recognised as one of cinema’s most enduring and emotive portrayals of the tragedy of the great war . this epic film concerns a generation of german schoolboys who – exhorted by their patriotic teacher – enlist enthusiastically but are ultimately destroyed in the war . based on erich maria remarque’s classic novel , the film proved highly controversial and was banned in many countries .

two train operators must stop a runaway train . the opening credits claim that this film is based on a true story , but there are moments that are so implausible that i thought tony scott was pulling a coen brothers ' fargo on me . real or not , the film is exciting and fun and perfect for all of scott ' s gimmicks - - his ever - moving camera , quick cuts , big ( unrealistic ) explosions , hyper - masculine dialogue . it ' s all predictable but enjoyable , much like 1994 ' s speed . overall , this film is unsubstantial fun .

tony scott , denzel washington and harry gregson - williams are at it again with their latest title unstoppable . this time denzel is trying to stop a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals . if they can’t stop the train in time , the consequences will be disastrous . nothing new here , but i do look forward to the harry gregson - williams score and hoping it will bring me something new like spy game , man on fire and deja vu was at the time . what will the unstoppable soundtrack bring ? let’s find out .

terror on a train ( 1953 ) there ' s a bomb on a british train , threatening not only the passengers by a nearby naval shipyard . a demolitions expert ( glenn ford ) has to work quickly in this 72 - minute film . it ' s one of four films that quebec city - born ford made that year , including fritz lang ' s film noir the big heat .

one of its stars , michael ironside , remembers being menaced in a bar by two disgruntled air - force cadets who had signed up because of the film and since discovered that life in the military wasn’t quite all that top gun had been made it out to be . the film was blatant propaganda , as it had to be if it was ever going to get made in the first place .

the 2001 incident upon which the film is based happened with the company csx . yes , that csx , of the “how tomorrow moves” commercials touting “ a ton of freight… a gallon of fuel . ”

" black panther " crossed this milestone in just 26 days after breaking the record for best february opening weekend of all time . this movie is the 16th disney film to gross over one billion dollars .

" unstoppable , " which is washington ' s second recent foray into the runaway - train genre ( anyone remember his remake of " the taking of pelham 1 , 2 , 3 " with john travolta ? ) , took in $ 23 . 5 million , good enough for second place .

tony scott surely went out with a bang for his final film . unstoppable is a non - stop thrill ride moving at the exact same pace as the runaway train all throughout the movie . i think scott ' s pacing in this is very strategically in line with the train . it is really only the first five , maybe ten minutes where the train isn ' t in motion . scott spends very little time building up his characters before the graves stakes are out on the line . this is much to the film ' s advantage , as scott utilizes the chatty banter between washington and pine to help establish their characters to such a remarkably fleshed - out degree throughout the course of their journey . scott gradually draws the duo together…

arriving so soon after the nov . 2 elections , unstoppable would seem to uncannily embody the mood reflected in the results ; life seems fractured and out of joint , there ' s a testiness in the way people relate to one another , friction between classes is worse than before and the future looks bleak . and yet one senses an innate , underlying optimism ; perhaps the nation is down , but it should never be counted out , with the film suggesting that the common people can deliver the goods as they always have .

while every film in the market fell by 50 % and skyline plunged 82 % , red managed to go one better with a catastrophic plummet of 90 % , crashing from 6th place to 20th . the drop is surprising given that , previously , red had consistently outperformed the market with relatively modest dips . evidently it proved particularly vulnerable on this occasion to a fresh intake of adult - skewing thrillers . the film has accumulated a healthy £6 . 91m .

tony scott brings a true event to the big screen in the most tense and dramatic way possible . unstoppable presents the typical - scott - crazed direction along with a nerve - racking plot that gets you from start to finish , and not to mention denzel and chris ' stellar duo . 4 . 5 / 5

some of the interview’s most fascinating moments are basquiat’s memories of his hand - to - mouth existence after running away from home as a teenager . born to parents who were of haitian ( his father ) and puerto rican ( his mother ) descent , he rebelled against a middle - class background for reasons that remain unclear . a seemingly embattled relationship with his father , an accountant , is referred to but not explored . the film takes the heady view that his flight from home was the necessary odyssey of an unstoppable rimbaud - like visionary .

full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .

acting under the cover of a hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film , a cia agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six americans in tehran during the u . s . hostage crisis in iran in 1979 .

ah yes , the unstoppable box - office power of the " transformers " franchise . according to the wrap , " age of extinction " ( the fourth movie ) was made specifically with international audiences in mind — and it paid off . almost a third of the total box - office revenue came from china alone .

, with 12 nominations , including six in seven of the most prestigious categories ( best picture , director , screenplay , and the four acting categories ) . but it was far from the only multi - nominated film on the list .

while the threat of fire was real , had the csx runaway jumped the tracks in kenton — or beyond — and its two carloads of phenol had ruptured , unstoppable amps up the threat by quadrupling the phenol car - count and by placing the sharp curve atop a trestle next to a tank farm in a big city .

the season will run from 1 - 31 july and is personally curated by the award - winning director . it’s set to offer audiences an unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of ww2 . there will be a special preview screening of dunkirk on thursday 13 july , which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself . nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film , and as one of the few cinemas in the uk that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film , bfi southbank will screen all the films on 35mm or 70mm . in 2015 nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist tacita dean at the bfi london film festival to discuss the importance of celluloid as an artistic medium , and he consistently shoots on film despite the industry’s move toward digital . here , the director sums up his programming choices for this exclusive season :

unstoppable – tony scott ' s second train - related thriller in 16 months – debuted with a solid £1 . 71m , including previews of £442 , 000 . the result is almost identical to the taking of pelham 123 ' s opening salvo of £1 . 78m , including previews of £311 , 000 . both films star denzel washington , scott ' s favourite actor , with crimson tide , man on fire and déjà vu numbering among their earlier collaborations . 20th century fox , unstoppable ' s distributor , would have hoped to beat pelham 123 and might have done so had snow and frost not buffeted the box office in many parts of the uk and ireland .

unstoppable was inspired by the 2001 csx 8888 incident , in which a runaway train ultimately traveled 66 miles ( 106 km ) through northwest ohio . led by csx transportation sd40 - 2 # 8888 , the train left the walbridge , ohio , rail yard with no one at the controls , after the hostler got out of the slow - moving train to correct a misaligned switch , mistakenly believing he had properly set the train ' s dynamic braking system , much as his counterpart ( dewey ) in the film mistakenly believed he had properly set the locomotive ' s throttle .

on paper , universal faced a more straightforward distribution and marketing task with its george clooney hitman thriller the american . however , given a modest debut of £412 , 000 ( admittedly on fewer screens than both unstoppable and london boulevard – see chart below ) this appears not to have been the case . presumably , director anton corbijn ' s candid insistence the film was " european " rather than american was believed by cinemagoers . in the us the picture opened in september with $ 16 . 7m , which should equate to a uk debut of around £1 . 7m . takings subsequently dived across the atlantic as word percolated that the american didn ' t deliver the accessible entertainment expected of the hitman genre . the film may escape the same fate here as this fact has already been taken into consideration by the audience .

but in its incidental portrait of discontented and discounted working stiffs who live marginal lives on society ' s sidings and are angry to varying degrees , the film carries an unexpected weight and could connect with middle american audiences in a big way .

there ' s nothing stunningly original about the central ( only ) plot ; driverless train loaded with toxic chemicals speeding towards heavily populated area , another train loaded with school kids etc . etc . this film could easily be relegated to the already swollen ranks of dire channel five afternoon movies but that is never going to happen - this film is absolutely brilliant . if you were feeling cynical then you could just tally up all of the standard action movie tick boxes ; they ' re all there - experienced old - timer , new recruit , corporate bean - counters , broken marriages , police cars crashing , stuff going bang and , of course , a huge train . it is , however , totally impossible to not enjoy this film . the cast are superb , the pace is absolutely relentless , the tension builds steadily to an almost unsustainable level and , despite an utterly predictable ending all you can say as the credits roll is ` wow , what a fantastic film ' .

observe the trees in the background of the film . it was shot over the course of september to november hence , there are scenes with green trees , fall colors , no leaves , then green leaves , then no leaves . see more »

like most of his films , tony scott’s unstoppable assaults the senses . all manner of cinematic loudness and flashiness is presented onscreen with a concentration on momentum more than pesky notions of character development or authenticity , leaving the cast to pick up the pieces . thankfully , scott has a strong director - actor relationship with denzel washington ( this is their fifth collaboration ) , who stars alongside star trek ’s chris pine . given his stars and the rather straightforward disaster - aversion scenario , not to mention the pg - 13 rating , and this is scott’s most accessible film in over a decade .

“unstoppable , ” is about a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals . an engineer and his conductor is pitted against a train in a race against time . they’re chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town .

this is a comparatively restrained version of a tony scott film , at least next to his last few over - the - top releases ( domino and man on fire come to mind ) . after his heyday between top gun and crimson tide , scott’s action movies have become absurdly scattershot with manic editing and bloated running times . but unstoppable tones down the flickery light show and keeps the runtime just over 90 minutes , returning a mid - 1990s version of scott’s direction to the screen . after scott’s train - themed flop last year ( the taking of pelham 1 2 3 ) , fox opted to contain the director some by cutting his budget , including his salary and that of star denzel washington by more than half each . good idea , given that scott hasn’t had a film that’s earned its budget back at the box office since 2004 .

militarism wasn’t just an aesthetic for scott . it was a way of working . “i’m a good general” , he said . he shared with his elder brother ridley a sense of film as military operation : “i’m like patton” . top gun became the cinematic cultural equivalent of bruce springsteen’s song ‘born in the usa’ . the boss’s anthem for forgotten vietnam vets may have been misappropriated by the reaganite right , but tony scott had scored a direct hit . the film was to define the rest of his career .

train 777 is on a runaway course and is carrying tons of dangerous chemicals . if no one stops it , the train will eventually derail , most likely in a populated area , and lots of people will die . because the train company’s countermeasures are useless , veteran train operator frank ( washington ) and rookie conductor will ( pine ) are the only people who have a chance of stopping it . unstoppable is a suspense film with only one bullet in its gun . the train has to keep moving or else there’s no more crisis . speed made the smart decision of having the non - stop bus as only the meat of the movie , but surrounding it with the elevator situation at the beginning of the movie and the chase on the subway at the end . unstoppable is all train , all the time and you know the train can’t be stopped and can’t do significant damage until the finale . at one point , there’s another train on the track full of innocent schoolchildren , but you just shrug . in a pg - 13 major motion picture , most moviegoers aren’t going to be thinking , “yeah , the film might become the non - stop thrill - ride version of the sweet hereafter . ”

justified criticism aside , you would have to be spectacularly humourless as well as disinterested in film aesthetics not to find anything to appreciate or admire in scott’s filmography . his worst films aren’t ‘so bad they’re good’ ; they’re at once incredibly good and incredibly bad .

despite such mind blowing scenes , it’s hard to watch any of it because tony scott decided to drink a keg of red bull and jolt cola before each day of shooting . seriously , unstoppable will give you a splitting headache by the time it’s over . i thought michael bay was the king of the ‘sweeping camera’ shot but somehow tony scott ups that technique by using it one time almost every thirty seconds . he also abuses the ‘zoom’ button like it’s a russian mailorder bride , slamming on it repeatedly . every single scene in unstoppable has either a swoop , a zoom in , a zoom out , an overhead shot , or the camera shakes for no goddamn reason . here’s a breakdown of what scott wants from his dop :

he was a filmmaker completely willing to sacrifice continuity . testament to this is the illogical shifts in location and weather that mark his work . as he noted of unstoppable , the runaway train seems to traverse an unlikely range of territories and meteorological conditions . “we go from full green to snow , ” he admitted . “no - one seems to have noticed yet ! ”

based on the true story of journalist gary webb . the film takes place in the mid - 1990s , when webb uncovered the cia ' s past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the u . s . that was . . . see full summary »

by all accounts , including the official final investigation , csx acted responsibly and swiftly to bring its engine to a stop . but it’s understandable why the company might not want to relive the incident by approving its brand for use in the film . ( trailer below )

the 2015 prequel to " despicable me " focused only on the overall - wearing minions the world had come to love . people clearly appreciated the yellow henchman ' s standalone film , since neither of the two " despicable me " movies have breached $ 1 billion .

of course , unstoppable robs audiences of the usual disaster movie explosion in the finale , resulting in an anticlimactic finish as the runaway slows to a gradual halt . but at least the filmmakers can say they stuck somewhat to the true story , even though nearly every other detail about the actual event was hollywoodized for the sake of entertainment value . despite that , scott delivers an exciting and fast - paced ride that audiences will enjoy , largely due to the affability of his two leading men . had two other actors been cast , no doubt the film wouldn’t have worked in the contrived - yet - effortless way that it sort of does .

written and directed by tamra davis ; di - rectors of photography , ms . davis , david koh and harry geller ; edited by alexis manya spraic ; music by j . ralph , adam horovitz and mike diamond ; produced by ms . davis , mr . koh , lilly bright , stan - ley buchthal and ms . spraic ; released by arthouse films . at film forum , 209 west houston street , west of avenue of the americas , south village . running time : 1 hour 30 minutes . this film is not rated .

for all of you suspense and action lovers , this is the film for you ! i went to go see it and i was thrilled ! it made me so excited ! definitely must buy ! ! ! but would like to see a hd version . . . .

in june 2007 , 20th century fox was in negotiations with martin campbell to direct the film , and he was attached as director , until march 2009 when tony scott came on board as director . in april , both denzel washington and chris pine were attached to the project .

i’m not sure when tony scott went crazy . his earlier films like revenge , true romance , etc . were masterfully shot and managed to keep the tension high while telling a compelling story . but his last few films – taking of pelham 123 , domino – have been so woefully bad that it appears as if scott abandoned all the things he learned and decided to try and make the camera and editing the most exciting parts of the story instead of the actual story itself . pelham was one of the worst movies of last year . will this year’s tony scott train movie unstoppable be a better film or a total train wreck ? was that a trick question ?

washington had been attached since april to reteam with scott and play a veteran engineer who jumps into a locomotive with a young conductor ( chris pine ) to stop an unmanned runaway train loaded with toxic cargo . written by mark bomback , the film is loosely based on true events .

that ' s not quite how the runaway was stopped 9 years ago in western ohio , nor was the real incident thought to have started , as shown in the film , with a renegade engineer who couldn ' t be bothered to hook up his train ' s airbrake system .

in unstoppable , denzel washington has the starring role of a veteran railroad engineer whose successful pursuit of the runaway in his own locomotive slows it down just enough so that it doesn ' t derail in a populated area and release highly toxic cargo . his greenhorn conductor , played by chris pine , then rides a pursuing pickup truck to the runaway ' s locomotive and leaps aboard to stop it .

10 . denzel washington made a cool hand at the controls as the engineer , didn’t he ? it was the oscar winner’s fifth film collaboration with director scott . when mr . scott replaced the original director in a 2007 coup , mr . washington agreed to work with his friend again .

also in april 2017 , walt disney studios announced that its live - action remake of " beauty and the beast " had officially passed the $ 1 billion mark for global box - office sales . its total revenue makes " beauty and the beast " the highest grossing film of 2017 .

even though the effects this alien invasion has to offer are top notch , every minute feels like a student film . the minimum of dialog or character development show that someone wanted to create cool action scenes and alien attacks but knew little about how to tie them into a story . so while the look of the film is major league , it never manages to grip you or make you care much about anything that ' s going on . at least the ending is somewhat surprising and fresh , but may infuriate viewers for all kinds of other reasons . wasted opportunities all around .

runaway train ( 1985 ) the bad cargo this time is human - a couple of escaped prisoners ( jon voight and eric roberts ) who , along with a sleeping train employee ( rebecca de mornay ) are racing through alaska without an engineer . as with unstoppable , there ' s a tight curve and a chemical plant ahead . the script is based on an original screenplay by japanese master akira kurosawa .