15 December 2005
Thursday 15 December 2005 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is directing King Kong. Can the 1933 classic be remade, or is the project a poisoned chalice? Paul Allen investigates.
Programme details
Paul Allen will be discussing Peter Jackson's new film King Kong with the veteran film maker Ray Harryhausen, who saw the original version of the film in Hollywood in 1933, and the film critic Kim Newman. They'll be talking about the enduring appeal of Kong - who has now appeared in at least 7 films - and how the 1933 version which used models in stop-motion animation and the 2005 version which uses the latest computer generated imagery compare.
The 1933 King Kong was made just five years after The Jazz Singer, the first 'talking' picture in Hollywood . Kaufman and Hart's play Once in a Lifetime, now revived at the National Theatre in London, is the story of a trio in a vaudeville act who see Al Jolson speak for the first time and realise that the 'talkies' are going to be the new gold rush. Susannah Clapp will be reviewing the first night of Once in a Lifetime at the National.
And the television executive David Liddiment will be in the studio to talk about his new documentary for Channel 4, Who Killed the British Sitcom? which looks at television sit-com from its heyday in the 70s to today and examines the forces which have led to its decline - the shift to reality television, declining budgets and the desire for immediate ratings success.
Ismail Kadare, the Albanian author, became the winner of the first International Booker Prize earlier this year. Julian Evans will be reviewing his latest novel, The Successor, a psychological thriller about the mysterious death of the man chosen to be the future leader of his country.
Additional Information:
King Kong is on general release certificate 12A.
The Successor by Ismail Kadare is published by Canongate.
Who Killed the British Sitcom? is on Channel 4 on January 2 nd 2006.
Once in a Lifetime is at the National Theatre in London.
