Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Things that suck: Rattling Kong's cage

Anyone remember the 1993 John Goodman vehicle "Matinee"? Bad movie, good concept - small-time movie promoter tries using props & special effects within the movie theater during a showing to create a sense of fear...

Now try going to the biggest movie premiere of the decade, one which features gargantuan fight scenes between giant creatures...and then the walls start shaking...part of the show? Nah...just an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale...
King Kong gets extra-special effects as quake rattles screening

Movie director Peter Jackson is the king of special effects but even he was outdone when the audience was shaken and stirred by an earthquake during a preview screening of his new blockbuster "King Kong". The quake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale hit Wellington about an hour into the film and at first it was difficult to tell what was happening.

The theatre was already filled with the sound of the roaring of the sea and scraping metal as onscreen a ship belonging to the eventual capturers of King Kong was smashed against the rocks of the sinister Skull Island.

However it soon became clear that the technical wizardry of the maker of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy did not extend to shaking the seats and walls.

But the show must go on. The tremors stopped after a few seconds and after some nervous laughter, the audience stayed planted in their seats as the three-hour screening continued uninterrupted.

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