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Serkis Visits Gorillas
1 September 2004 (WENN)
Actor Andy Serkis stunned his King Kong co-stars by flying out to Rwanda to spend time with gorillas - to prepare him for his role in the remake. The Lord Of The Rings star is so determined to adopt the right mindset ahead of the big budget Peter Jackson film, he's willing to trying any method to enhance his understanding of the movie. And actress Naomi Watts - who will play Fay Wray, the object of giant gorilla King Kong's desire - is astounded by Serkis' dedication to his work. She says, "He's extraordinary, the amount of research he's done. He brought back incredible tapes of gorilla behavior that we need to get very familiar with."

'King Kong' Star Fay Wray Dies at 96
10 August 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Fay Wray, who appeared in more than 70 films dating back to the silent movie era but who is best remembered as the captive of King Kong in the 1933 classic, died in New York Monday at the age of 96.

'King Kong' Star Fay Wray Dies
10 August 2004 (WENN)
Actress Fay Wray, best known for her role in 1933 movie King Kong, died on Sunday. She was 96. Born Vina Fay Wray in Alberta, Canada, on September 15, 1907, she was one of six children. Her family moved to the United States when she was three years old. Wray was barely in her teens when she began her silver-screen career as a extra. She went on to be regularly cast as a heroine in silent movies, scoring her breakthrough in 1928's The Wedding March. In the early 1930s she made a number of horror movies, including Doctor X and The Vampire Bat, and became known as Hollywood's first "scream queen". After those movies, Wray won praise for her King Kong character's combination of sex appeal, vulnerability and lung capacity as she was stalked by the beast to the top of New York's Empire State Building. But her career fell into decline following King Kong and she retired from movies in 1942 after her second marriage. In 1953, she made a comeback in character roles and made movies until 1958 and worked in television into the 1960s. Wray had a daughter, Susan, by her first marriage to John Monk Saunders, and two children, Robert and Vicky, with Robert Riskin.

Actress Fay Wray Dies at 96
9 August 2004 (IMDb News Flash)
Fay Wray, the stunning beauty who tamed the legendary beast in King Kong, died Sunday at her Manhattan home; she was 96. According to a close friend, director Rick McKay, Wray passed away quietly, "as if she was going to sleep." Canadian-born but raised in Los Angeles, the diminutive actress (her full name was the exotic Vina Fay Wray) appeared in a number of silent films in the 20s, including Erich Von Stroheim's The Wedding March, which showcased her beauty and brought her larger fame. Other notable films of the era included The Legend of the Condemned opposite Gary Cooper, Josef Von Sternberg's Thunderbolt (the director's first sound film), and The Four Feathers, which introduced her to Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack, the team that would make King Kong. Though she made a startling 11 films in 1933, Wray will be remembered always and forever as Ann Darrow, an unemployed actress who takes a job in a movie filming on a strange island and finds herself the love object of a giant ape. Mixing sex appeal with vulnerability, and a pair of lungs that wouldn't quit, Wray established herself as the first "scream queen" and the iconic image of her held in Kong's giant fist (in actuality an eight-foot mechanical arm) became one of the most enduring and legendary images in cinema.

Alas, Wray's follow-up films were less than memorable, and she left the screen in 1942 to marry writer Robert Riskin (It Happened One Night). She made a return in the 50s in small roles, usually playing a teen ingenue's mother (as she did in Tammy and the Bachelor), but gave up moviemaking by the end of the decade and appeared sporadically on television through the 60s. Her last appearance was in the 1980 TV movie Gideon's Trumpet opposite Henry Fonda. In 1988 she published her autobiography, On the Other Hand, and was the guest of honor at the 1991 ceremony marking the 60th birthday of the Empire State Building; she wrote, "Each time I arrive in New York and see the skyline and the exquisite beauty of the Empire State Building, my heart beats a little faster. I like that feeling. I really like it!" Wray is survived by three children, including daughter Victoria Riskin. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Naomi Watts Will Play Fay Wray's Role in New 'King Kong'
4 December 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Director Peter Jackson has disclosed that he's close to signing Australian actress Naomi Watts to play Ann Darrow in his forthcoming remake of King Kong. The role was originally played by Fay Wray in 1933. Wray is now 96 and lives in the Century City area of Los Angeles, once the site of the 20th Century Fox backlot, which was abandoned when the studio began shooting in actual locations. Jackson's King Kong is likely to be shot entirely in New Zealand. In an interview with today's (Thursday) Wellington Dominion Post, Jackson expressed confidence that Watts would sign on. "Naomi's the only person that we've really approached," he said.

McKellen To Join 'King Kong'?
28 November 2003 (WENN)
Lord Of The Rings legend Sir Ian McKellen is eager to reunite with director Peter Jackson on the set of upcoming remake King Kong, after the film-maker hinted there was a role for him. Jackson has reportedly signed up his Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers star Andy Serkis for a lead role in the highly-anticipated movie, and now McKellen is desperate to join the project. And according the veteran actor, Jackson has already implied a part is available if he wants it. He says, "He did say he might have something for me to do in King Kong, and I hope that's true." Shooting on the film, starring Naomi Watts in the role made famous by Fay Wray, is due to begin next year.