SUBMITTED BY Kit-Kat

November 4, 2005 —

The Golden Derby blog had an interesting bit up regarding the Oscar hopeful King Kong:

With one fist clutching Naomi Watts, expect to see a big hairy ape use his other paw to grab Best Picture bids at the Golden Globes and Oscars.

Impossible, you say? Especially at the Oscars where voters usually prefer snootier, arty fare like Lost in Translation, The Hours and In the Bedroom?

Ha! That's usually true, but I stand by this prediction anyway - shoulder to shoulder (or shoulder to ankle) with King Kong.

Here's why: for starters, the movie is directed by Peter Jackson, who's proven he can get academy voters to gobble up popcorn pix. Not only did Lord of the Rings: Return of the King win Best Picture, but it tied the all-time Oscar record and actually topped it by becoming the biggest undefeated champ in the kudo's history.

Sure, King Kong is in trouble Down Under as Jackson replaces its music composer at the last sec and the pic appears to be running out of control, spilling over 3 hours in length. But it's obviously great even without a final, polished score. Recently, Kong got a rousing ovation from a screening audience in New Zealand, which saw the pic with only a temp, rough score in place. And in terms of its length: Has everyone already forgotten that Return of the King was 3 hours, 21 minutes long?