Godzilla x Kong: The Real-Life Events That Inspired King Kong (That Birthed Godzilla) (03/27/2024) – Movie tickets in theaters, Broadway shows, London theater and more

As we await the highly anticipated release of Godzilla x Kong this weekend, we’re taking a quick look at the origins of King Kong – and discovering that one of the most famous Hollywood films of all time was somewhat based on reality despite being such a thing. a long tail.

King Kong is one of the most influential films (and characters) in the history of cinema. Although the original film has been remade and adapted several times over the years — Kong’s current cinematic team-up with Godzilla being their third big-screen encounter since 1962 — the original 1933 film remains the standard bearer for all of Kong’s subsequent appearances. . The story of a huge ape who took over a city and fell in love with a beautiful woman is an unforgettable fantasy. Surprisingly, it is not entirely a work of fiction, as what may at first seem like a very long story is actually inspired by true events that occurred only a few years ago.

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Audiences have long flocked to theaters seeking escapism, desiring the thrill of stories that can transport them to new realities, even if only for a short period of time. Few films exemplify this better than King Kong, with its poignant story of a giant ape who fights dinosaurs, falls in love and climbs the side of tall buildings.

Slate’s Dan Slate has revealed how King Kong’s genesis came from a daring 1926 expedition to the East Indies funded by the American Museum of Natural History and led by museum curator William Douglas Borden. The primary goal of the mission was to capture footage of Komodo dragons on the Indonesian islands, which were viewed as mythical and mysterious creatures, and to attempt to bring live specimens back to the United States for the first time. It had been tried before, but proved too difficult to work.

Bearden’s journey was fraught with adventure and danger, just like previous attempts. The adventurer and his small team, which included his wife, a hunter, a photographer and a scientist, captured and photographed Komodo dragons during their journey. They even managed to successfully capture two live dragons and they eventually found their way to the Bronx Zoo.

Many spectators passed by the zoo’s dragon exhibit, fascinated by these large, strange creatures that were very strange to most of them at the time. In addition, the Burden expedition produced a film of their adventures, bringing back the best documentation to date of these living dinosaurs. This film was shown at parties and sports clubs. For many, dragons served as the closest experience people had to seeing a real monster (although dragons are not monsters) with their own eyes.

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One of Borden’s friends was screenwriter Merian C. Cooper. Inspired by Bearden’s thrilling accounts of his adventures, Cooper in turn wove some elements into an upcoming film he was set to direct – King Kong. There are a number of similarities between the real-life expedition and the plot of the film: a group of explorers capture a mysterious monster from a remote island and bring it back to New York City where it is transformed into a popular attraction.

Borden is also speculated to have told a story about watching a Komodo dragon fight a gorilla while he was studying them in the jungle, which became the inspiration for Cooper and his big fight scene in the film… and was a foreshadowing of Kong’s later encounters with Toho Studios. Godzillawhich was inspired by the original story of the giant ape and was a box office success in Japan.

Cooper is said to have drawn inspiration from real-life people involved in the expedition, including Borden’s wife being a counterpart to actress Faye Wray. Furthermore, a subtle reference to Komodo dragons can also be seen in the choice to repeat the letter “K” in King Kong.

Despite the fantastic nature of the King Kong story, it was far from fantasy. Although there’s never a giant ape who falls in love with a stunning blonde and terrorizes a big city, the story is rooted in reality. Its roots can be traced back to a small group of scientists, who successfully brought back specimens and information about a curious animal, all at the same time and inadvertently serving as the building blocks of a classic movie.

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Buy tickets for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire here

Born on the East Coast but currently residing on the West Coast, Andrew Martin has contributed to a variety of newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other media, but is fondly remembered for his master’s thesis exploring the influence of the Boston Red Sox on social identity in New England. He enjoys writing about history, sports, culture and investing and has recently published his first book –Baseball’s Greatest Players: 10 Baseball Biographies for New Readers, A children’s book about the history of baseball.

Basic Andrew

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