Just in case you thought writing On the Origin of Species was a walk in the park for Charles Darwin, think again. According to the new movie Creation, it turns out that the renowned naturalist encountered more than a few stumbling blocks in the course of drafting the book that would establish the concept of evolution. Not only was he wracked with chronic illness, he was also concerned with how his work would fly in the face of religious doctrine and consumed with guilt over the death of his daughter Anne.
Imagine now if, on top of all of that, Darwin had regularly ducked into a movie theater and gotten a gander at the collection of hitherto-unknown life forms featured in movies. The ones that seem to defy several, if not all, the aspects of his theories. At best, their revelations would've thrown a monkey wrench into the writing process. At worst, they might've compelled the man to forsake his work in favor of a lifetime collecting decorative thimbles.
Fortunately for all our sakes, Darwin remained blissfully unaware of these rarefied beasts. But that doesn't mean we can't take a good look at 'em and see what havoc they might have wreaked in established science in 10 Creatures that Would Have Stumped Darwin.
Posted 01.19.10 by reelz 
Variety reports that Spirit Pictures has purchased the rights to Kong: King of Skull Island, a book written by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland and released at the time Peter Jackson was working on his version of King Kong.
Spirit apparently has plans to adapt the book, which is a prequel telling the story of Kong's fight for survival on Skull Island. The studio acquired the rights with the help of Merian C. Cooper's family members, who own the rights to all Kong material. Cooper directed the original 1933 King Kong movie along with Ernest B. Schoedsack.
In a statement, Spirit's Steve Iles spoke about plans for the project:
We're very concerned with honoring Merian C. Cooper's legacy in Hollywood. We want to make sure that whatever we deliver will honor his memory.
Spirit is also working on War Eagles, a project originally developed by Cooper and creature-feature ubermeister Ray Harryhausen, who designed the effects for many monster movies during the 1950s-1970s. Harryhausen, was a major influence on Peter Jackson, Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers), and Tim Burton.
Cooper and Harryhausen were ready to go into production on War Eagles when WWII began, shelving the project for good. The movie was going to be about a pilot who crash-lands in the arctic and stumbles upon a lost civilization. Arnold Kunert, who is producing both Spirit movies, is optimistic about the project:
It's a combination of all the things that have worked in adventure films for the last 70 or 80 years.
Posted 07.27.09 by reelz