King Kong Meets Stanley Park on July 29^th

July 21, 2005 (No. 58) - The Vancouver Park Board's Monsters in the Meadow series will screen King Kong, Friday, July 29th at 9 pm. The screening will be outdoors in Ceperley Meadow located between Stanley Park's Second Beach Pool and the red fire engine near the Beach Avenue entrance. The outdoor film series is a return to yesteryear for the Park Board when they offered free flicks under the stars at Sunset Beach. Participants are asked to bring their own blankets or folding chairs to sit upon and a flashlight to make for an easier exit following the film. Parking is limited.

Voted one of the greatest and most famous classic adventure-fantasy (and part-horror) films of all time, King Kong was co-produced and directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, both real-life adventurers and film documentarians. King Kong is the story of a beautiful, plucky blonde woman (Fay Wray) and a frightening, gigantic, 50 foot ape-monster which is the metaphoric re-telling of the archetypal Beauty and the Beast fable.

The film was shot during the spring and summer of 1932 in the confines of the studio. Due to their limited budget for sets, Cooper and Schoedsack used the jungle locale from the latter's previous film The Most Dangerous Game (1932) - an adventure film that also starred Fay Wray. When released, it broke all previous box-office records. Its massive, money-making success helped to save RKO Studios from bankruptcy.

This remarkable film received no Academy Award nominations - it would have won for Special Effects if there had been such a category. The film contained many revolutionary technical innovations for its time under the creative eye of cinematographer Eddie Linden (rear projection, miniature models about 18 inches in height, and trick photography, etc.), and some of the most phenomenal stop-motion animation sequences and special effects ever filmed, by chief technician Willis O'Brien, famed for his first feature film The Lost World (1925). A wildly dramatic musical score by Max Steiner enhanced the action of the story.

The public should be advised that the movies will be canceled if high wind or rain occurs. Call the Monsters info line the evening of the performance for cancellation/rain dates information at 604-473-6205.

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For further information, contact: Carol DeFina, Communications Coordinator at 604-257-8440.

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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