OK real quick my dad worked for Gulf and Western; it no longer exists, but when you see 'A Paramount Picture' on all those movies with the mountain; it said 'A Gulf + Western Company'; which is a long way of saying my dad told me about the King Kong.
The studios expected it to be THE film. ALL The research showed this would make gazillions, the special effects; it would be like the first Jurassic Park, basically. Blow everyone and everything that came bfore it off the map in the 'big beast' genre.
Oops.
He also said four years later the studio was in a huge fight because they had a film that few thought was funny, all old toilet humor jokes; they had shot it on a lark with all b-movie talent for next to nothing; was it even a bother to release?
That was: Airplane.
Guess it shows the studios didnt know shit about what people like even back then.
[Edit: Oh Yeah; after King Kong came out; I think it was her big 'debut', Jessica Lange was labeled a complete no-talent zero with no future whatsoever in acting. People believed the 'Suzanne Somers' like airhead act. Guess she proved them wrong, I'd say]
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This message was edited by Mike Teacher on 3-30-04 @ 5:58 PM