Just eight days before the national release of King Kong, a 6,000-pound gorilla (a statue, that is) took over New York City’s Times Square Monday to generate excitement for the film’s debut.
Universal Pictures took center stage at Military Island in Times Square, erecting a life-sized sculpture of King Kong with director Peter Jackson and the films cast members in tow. Standing 30-feet-tall and 21-feet-wide, the statue served as the centerpiece for a photo shoot with the film’s cast and crew.
During the event, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave a proclamation to Jackson, declaring Monday as “King Kong Day.” To build buzz around the film, 20 screens spread throughout Times Square in front of storefronts aired three minutes of never-before release footage from the film.
NYC Marketing and NYC Big Events, both of New York, handled.
The stunt was designed to boost excitement around the film’s release on Dec. 14 and recognize New York City’s ties to the film and build it as a world-class destination, said Elena Becker, director of media and account management for NYC Marketing.
In a related event, Universal Pictures aired the world premiere of King Kong across 38 screens at two 42nd Street theatersLoews E-Walk and AMC EmpireMonday night in New York City. The invitation-only screenings, which included a red-carpet experience, drew 8,000 people, including celebrities, NBC Universal executives, the cast and crew of King Kong, New York City officials, sponsors and sweepstakes winners.
“King Kong is a major film,” said Ashley Jacobs, senior VP-marketing for NYC Big Events. “It’s such a major symbol of New York City. We really wanted to bring a New York-sized welcome to Universal and the world premiere of King Kong. What better way to do it than on the largest screenNew York City?”
Universal’s King Kong follows the original 1933 version of the original classic, in which a film director and leading lady search out the largest gorilla in the world and underestimate its size and strength. Dino DeLaurentis produced a remake of the film in 1976 that put King Kong atop the World Trade Center.
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