MOVIE director Peter Jackson has gone bananas.
Not only is he hard at work finishing the hotly anticipated remake of the 1933 classic “King Kong,” he’s also lending a helping hand to the upcoming original film’s DVD set.
On Nov. 22 – three weeks before Jackson’s $150 million “Kong,” starring Jack Black and Naomi Watts, hits screens – Warner Home Video will release two versions of Merian C. Cooper’s original black-and-white action adventure for the first time ever on DVD.
In addition to the two-disc special edition (retailing for $26.99), there’ll be a collector’s edition ($39.98) featuring a collectible tin, a 20-page reproduction of the original souvenir program given out at theaters and postcard reproductions of the first movie posters.
Both versions will include a seven-part documentary called “RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World,” which Jackson is helping to produce.
It’s the perfect project for a man who owns one of the largest collections of “Kong” memorabilia in the world, including original film props like spears and the model of Kong that was used in the scene when he falls off the Empire State Building.
One of the highlights of the documentary will be a segment on the famous “spider pit” scene, which was mysteriously deleted from the final print of the movie before its theatrical premiere in New York.
The special edition DVD will also include extras like a documentary on “Kong” creator and director Cooper, trailers from his other films and a commentary by stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen, actress Terry Moore and visual effects man Ken Ralston.
Rounding out the “Kong” madness, video gamers can look forward to the mid-November release of “Peter Jackson’s King Kong,” the official game based on the movie. It will take players deep into the film with cinematic style effects – you’ll battle for survival on Skull Island, playing in the first person as Jack Driscoll and switching to play Kong in the third person, as he taking on T-Rexes and giant insects.