April 2006 

LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Sunday, April 30, 2006

Ray Morton will be signing King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which is being held on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on April 29 -- April 30, 2006. Ray will be appearing at the Dutton's Books booth (Booth 321 -- in front of the Powell Library) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 from 2 - 3 p.m.

For information about the Festival (including schedules and directions), go to:

http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/
 

Rick Baker – Interview
his 1970s gorilla suits
By Scott Essman

 In one memorable week in the spring of 1968, an aspiring 17-year-old makeup artist saw the films 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and PLANET OF THE APES in a suburban California movie theater.  Who was to know that those screenings would change film history over 30 years later?  Of course, the boy was future six-time Academy Award-winning makeup legend Rick Baker, and the makeups he witnessed formed the foundation for the special makeup effects revolution of the 1980s and 1990s.  Throughout his entire career, from Schlock to Planet of the Apes, Rick Baker is known for his amazing gorilla creations.  In this rare interview, he reflects on three 1970s gorilla projects – the 1976 version of King Kong, the Dino suit for 1977’s Kentucky Fried Movie, and the suit he build in 1979 for The Incredible Shrinking Woman. (more)

“THE SCI-FI BOYS”
Peter Jackson, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Ray Bradbury, Rick Baker, Roger Corman, Ray Harryhausen and other legendary all-stars of cinema bring to life the evolution of science-fiction and special effects films from the wild and funny days of B-movies to blockbusters that have captured the world’s imagination.  This is the story of the Sci-Fi Boys who started out as kids making amateur movies inspired by Forrest J Ackerman’s FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine and grew up to take Hollywood by storm, inventing the art and technology for filming anything the mind can dream.  Dennis Muren, 8-time Academy Award® winner, shares his childhood space and monster movies for the first time, as do others in “THE SCI-FI BOYS.”  There’s also over an hour of rare bonus material sci-fi treasures. (more)

 
Box-Office Blockbuster King Kong Roars on DVD
Mega Hit Amasses a King-Sized $100 Million in Consumer Spending. The Largest First Six-Day Sell-Through on DVD in Universal Studios History!
(more)

Peter Jackson Interview by Scott Essman

One cannot imagine a more meteoric rise for a major motion-picture director than that of Peter Jackson, director of the new Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD release of King Kong.  Starting on low-budget horror films in his native New Zealand, including Bad Taste (1987), Meet the Feebles (1989), and Dead Alive (1992), Jackson scored an artistic success with Heavenly Creatures (1994) and moved to a larger canvas with The Frighteners (1996) before gaining international superstardom with his Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003).  Now, with Kong, he faced new technical and aesthetic challenges in both the execution of the classic story and in updating the timeless 1933 original film.  In this exclusive interview, he discusses those challenges and being Kong’s guiding light. (more)