King Kong is roaring back to life on Universal's backlot. The company has spent about $100 million to revive the big ape with "
King Kong 360 3-D," an attraction that will become a permanent part of its Hollywood theme park's studio tram tour starting July 1, 2010. Universal is, of course, hyping the attraction as the world's largest 3D projection installation ever produced. Because of the 2008 fire that destroyed the old Kong attraction, a new football field-sized sound stage was constructed to house the attraction, which serves as a drive-in theater that the tram pulls into.
Inside, two massive screens that are 40 feet high (their span is the equivalent of 16 movie theater screens) are used to show the two-minute action sequence that unfolds using Surround Digital 3D projection. The size of the screens is designed to immerse the viewer into the world of Skull Island. The screens curve around the sides of the tram cars, like the hull of a boat, to bring the 35-foot-tall reptiles and 25-foot-tall ape to life. The film and tram are placed on a motion simulator to replicate the movements of the action, while water and air effects are also incorporated. The 3D footage, which Peter Jackson helmed, is projected using 16 projectors at 60 frames per second (rather than the traditional 24 frames per second) to make the visuals seem more realistic and eliminate motion blur and image flickering. Despite the change of locations, sequence was produced as if it's one shot. Sound designer Brent Burge, who created the voice of Kong in Jackson's reboot, oversaw the audio effects for the attraction.
The Kong project is the first theme park attraction that Peter Jackson's New Zealand-based FX shop Weta Digital has created. Company had also produced the computer-generated visuals for Jackson's "King Kong," which Universal released in 2005. The team behind the project opted to do away with the animatronic ape that had resided on Universal's backlot and instead use the 3D technology Weta developed for "Avatar." The new attraction borrows heavily on character designs and plot points from Jackson's King Kong as guests, wearing 3D glasses, find themselves deep in a jungle where they encounter a pack of menacing raptors. Guests are then caught in the middle of a battle between the dinosaurs and King Kong as the ape tries to save the jostling trams from sliding off a cliff. The Weta Company spent nine months producing the ride, considered a short turnaround time for an attraction of this scale and complexity.
New attraction will be feted Tuesday with a red carpet event at which the studio will put a spotlight on the Wildlife WayStation, located near the Angeles National Forest, which has cared for more than 400 injured and abandoned exotic animals, including primates, over the past 35 years. At the event, Jackson will appear in 3D via an enormous HD flat screen monitor to introduce the technology on display in the new attraction. He'll also be a regular fixture on the tram tour, introducing guests to what they can expect during a pre-ride sequence.
More construction is forthcoming as Universal hopes to expand the Hollywood park with 146,000 square feet of new space and attractions, including a "Transformers" roller coaster. Expansion is part of NBC Universal's Evolution Plan, a blueprint for a $3 billion makeover of the 391-acre property. Earlier this year, Universal Parks & Resorts also said it is moving forward with the construction of a new $3 billion park, City Walk and entertainment destination in South Korea, set to open in 2014.
All of this activity has been in the works for years despite speculation that
NBC Universal may one day move to sell off the parks. That speculation may heat up again now that Comcast is poised to take majority ownership of
NBC U from
General Electric. It's not entirely clear how
Comcast feels about the theme park biz. Some industrialists suggest
NBC U is putting cash into the parks to make them more attractive for a potential sale.
