Monkey Club #001, Annotated
We here at Monkey Club know that our fans have an insatiable hunger for knowledge – that’s why there’s Monkey Club Annotated, a resource where you can find further reading, behind-the-scenes info, and video clips to provide further context on the film we discussed!
Learn about the life of Merian C. Cooper – adventurer, fighter pilot, and King Kong producer who was the inspiration for the character of Carl Denham.
Here’s a detailed LA Times article about Ingagi, the salacious fake documentary whose runaway success paved the way for King Kong.
An extensive collection of trivia about the film from TCM.
King Kong‘s Wikipedia page, as you might expect, is pretty comprehensive, especially regarding the film’s special effects.
A great article about Noble Johnson, who played the chief of the Skull Island tribesmen. He was one of the first prominent black actors and in 1916 formed his own motion picture studio, Lincoln Pictures, which offered non-stereotypical roles to actors of color.
Check out this documentary clip in which special effects pioneer Willis O’Brien’s innovative rear projection technique is explained.
And here’s the lost “spider pit” sequence, recreated by director Peter Jackson using storyboards of the original scene:
