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March 14th, 2010
Joe Letteri working on King Kong 360 3D Attraction
On behalf of Universal Studios Hollywood, please join us in congratulating special effects wizard Joe Letteri, who won his fourth “Achievement in Visual Effects” Oscar® this week for his work on “Avatar.” Up next for Letteri is this summer’s King Kong 360 3D attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, where he is serving as Senior Visual Effects Supervisor!
Many of the advances in 3D technology he helped create for “Avatar” will be employed in the new King Kong attraction, said Letteri. He went further to say, “King Kong 360 3D is going to feel like 'Avatar' but it will be happening all around you."
King Kong Re-Emerges In A Fierce New 360 3D Attraction in 2010
At Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.
King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge on the famed and newly upgraded Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour in summer, 2010 as a thrilling and ground-breaking 360 3D multi-sensory marvel, a new signature attraction for Universal Studios Hollywood.
The new King Kong attraction, based on the Oscar®-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film, will combine thrilling visceral effects with the world’s largest Surround Digital projection system to create a next-generation theme park experience.
Larry Kurzweil, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios Hollywood, said: “King Kong has been an integral part of Universal Studios Hollywood for decades and, after last year’s fire, we knew he had to be resurrected for our Studio Tour guests. We’re very excited to announce that not only are we re-introducing King Kong, but we’ve completely re-imagined the experience and will incorporate this legendary icon into a truly innovative Studio Tour attraction.”
In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and will be transported— via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection —deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island. They’ll survive a close encounter with a swarm of monstrous bats, only to be confronted by the terrifying presence of Kong himself. Suddenly, an enormous, ravenous 35' tall dinosaur will challenge Kong and guests will feel their trams jolt, roll and shudder as they find themselves caught in the middle of a ferocious showdown between the great ape and the giant lizard. The action will immerse guests in the battle between the two colossal predators.
A previous King Kong attraction was introduced at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1986 and remained a much-admired part of the Studio Tour until it was destroyed last year.
King Kong, known as “the eighth wonder of the world,” has been called “the experience for which movies were invented.” Since first appearing on the screen in the 1933 original classic, “King Kong” has been re-made twice, each time on a tremendous scale, earning a total of seven Oscar and three Golden Globe® nominations.
Most recently, the 2005 version took the best elements of the original “King Kong” story and adrenalized them with up-to-the-minute effects magic and the alchemic talents of a superlative group of filmmakers, cast and crew. Released to critical acclaim in late 2005, “King Kong” was a worldwide box office hit and, with DVD sales, earned well over $700 million, becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Pictures history.
The arrival of the new King Kong experience will follow major enhancements to the Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood will introduce an upgraded Studio Tour experience this summer, transforming its trams into "mobile movie theaters" with state-of-the-art flat-screen high-definition monitors and digital playback systems. The new high-definition monitors will feature commentary from filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Stephen Sommers, along with insight from such personalities as Al Roker, Nancy O’Dell, Billy Bush and Whoopi Goldberg. Clips from numerous movie and television productions, corresponding to sites visited along the Tour route, will add a new dimension to the tour of backlot attractions, sets and facades, capturing how they were transformed for various productions.
