Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's novelization will be published in paperback, e-book, and audio book on April 16 via Titan Books. The film hits theaters on March 29.

The 320-page book is written by Greg Keyes (Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong novelizations), based on the screenplay by Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean), Simon Barrett (You're Next), and Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy).

The almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla face a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. The latest epic will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Pre-order Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

We could have seen Barbossa dance

So I was dicking around on the POTC wiki and in doing so discovered one of the early screenplay drafts of Dead Men Tell No Tales written by Terry Rossio, who wrote for all the POTC films, as well as Aladdin, The Road to El Dorado, Shrek, and Treasure Planet. There are some less stellar works in his biography, too, but overall I respect Terry Rossio as a writer immensely. If you listen to his commentary tracks, you can tell he cares and thinks deeply about characters and motivations and telling a good story. And you guys, this early screenplay draft of his--there is some gold in there.

Like, it's flawed, for sure. But it is so much better than the actual fifth film, to which the screenplay bears essentially no resemblance. And you guys, it has so much Barbossa.

Things we were robbed of by not seeing this screenplay come to fruition:

Barbossa getting his leg back

Barbossa dancing to celebrate getting his leg back, and being good at it

Barbossa falling madly in love* and attempting to woo a lady (*supernaturally induced)

Barbossa reciting poetry in said attempts to woo

Barbossa being a huge fucking romantic, all dramatic speeches and vows

^^ He follows that up by destroying Blackbeard's magic sword to prove his devotion

Barbossa cleaning up good

Barbossa acknowledging that love is madness (correction mine; the screenplay means to say "Marty")

Barbossa getting married and being a total drama king about it

I love it so fucking much, you guys. We could have seen Barbossa dance!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) Review

The titans that are Godzilla and Kong must actually work together to protect their own existence as well as the world when a deadly threat which was deeply hidden begins to resurface. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) Review

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literally sobbed over Captain Barbossa's hugely underrated character development towards the end of the franchise

CB was the epitome of piracy from the very beginning and Ronning showed how the captain found his soul without ever even having one.. A pirate's unconventional treasure.

I love it because the entire series he is portrayed as this character whose selfish actions significantly impact the main characters but in the end, unexpectedly, HE is greatly impacted

and after watching 5 three hour movies with him as simply a character that aids the film's plot - he is given a touching story in the last one that contradicts his whole persona and the audience FEELS it

what makes it even better is the writers (Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio) incorporated this into the film based on a fandom-made idea from the internet

KEEP WRITING & EXPRESSING YOUR IDEAS & INTERESTS

it may just turn into something that everyone gets to experience and enjoy!

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003, Gore Verbinski)

08/04/2024

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 film directed by Gore Verbinski; produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and distributed by Buena Vista International.

Created and written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, the film is the first chapter of the Pirates of the Caribbean series and inspired by the Disney Parks attraction of the same name. The main cast includes Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Orland Bloom, Kevin McNally, Jack Davenport and Jonathan Pryce. Positively received by critics and the public, the film received several awards and five nominations for the 2004 Oscars (best leading actor, best make-up, best sound, best sound editing and best special effects).

Caribbean, circa 1720. Little Elizabeth Swann and her father, Governor Weatherby Swann, are in the English ship HMS Dauntless taking them to Port Royal, when a little boy named Will Turner is brought aboard. When Elizabeth notices that Will has a gold locket with a skull engraved around his neck, she takes it from him and hides it because it may be proof of Will's piracy.

On the day of his investiture, Norrington declares himself to Elizabeth, who however, suffocated by her too tight corset, falls from the battlements of the fort and ends up in the sea; by doing so, she activates the medallion, which attracts the Black Pearl, i.e. the ship seen eight years earlier. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is saved by a bizarre character who has just arrived in the city, the pirate captain Jack Sparrow, who, chased by the guards, manges to escape by shielding himself with Elizabeth hut then, finding shelter in Will's blacksmith's shop, clashes with him and ends up imprisoned. That same night, the crew of the Black Pearl attacks Port Royal, seeking Elizabeth's gold locket; the latter is captured and taken aboard the ship to meet Captain Barbossa. Through parley, Elizabeth asks the pirates to leave the city in exchange for the medallion and introduces herself as Elizabeth Turner, wanting to hide her identity as the governor's daughter.

(Archive) Animated movie of the day: Shrek (2001)

Originally posted: January 17th, 2023

Despite my admiration for many of their films, it's no secret I have some quite critical views on Disney, among them their attempt to hegemonize both entertainment as a whole and the popular understanding of classical fairy tales. Which is why a film like this is such a significant moment in animation history: it utterly humiliated them at their own game in the most embarrassing way possible which in turn opened a gamut of possibilities for western animation.

You can rest assured this was born out of spite, mind you: despite being part of the Disney Reinassance of the 90's, Jeffrey Katzenberg's run at the House of the Mouse was quite a mess and ended in decidedly unfriendly terms, so one of the productions lead at his newfounded company Dreamworks was based on the 1990 children's book by William Steig that shared said said views. The hero is anything but handsome, the fairy tale creatures and characters are portrayed in incredibly unflattering ways, and the common tropes associated with the more saccharine interpretations of these tales are lampooned in a decidedly mean spirited way. And it's hilarious. But more importantly… it was kind of needed.

Even beyond the surface level(and some admittedly rather disingenuous) criticisms of Disney, it's disdain for traditional beauty is frankly admirable. It dared to challenge a lot of the harmful superficiality and expectations of normalcy of those films, and as such, of the ideals attached to them. Sure, some of the comedy falls flat on it's crassness and a few of it's parodies are INCREDIBLY dated. But there's a reason why it resonated so strongly with it's generation and survived to be a series of films that still keeps going to this day, with memes that seem to never end. It wasn't just early 2000's edge, it truly had a heart behind the snark.

In the words of William Steig, few years before his death at 95: "It's vulgar, it's disgusting — and I love it!"

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

I might’ve been a little starved for blockbusters the first time I saw Godzilla vs. Kong and rated it. In my defense, it was during the pandemic and the other movies I was able to see during lockdown were mostly disappointments. Reviewing the film again, I recognize that the human’s plot is undercooked while everything with the monsters is spectacular. Well, at least the movie knows where its priorities stand and considering what its audience wants to see…

When Godzilla suddenly attacks Apex Cybernetics’ Pensacola facility, conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) becomes convinced they somehow provoked the titan. Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) - an avid fan of his podcast - shares his suspicions. They rope her friend Josh (Julian Dennison) into investigating and confirm their fears aren't entirely unfounded. After the attack, Apex insists mankind needs to develop a weapon against Godzilla and asks Monarch to give them access to Kong. They believe the titan ape can lead them inside the vast caverns below our world to a power source formidable enough to take down the king of the monsters.

Though Godzilla’s name appears first in the title, this film is about Kong much more than the radioactive dinosaur. It’s a good choice, as the ape is resourceful, an underdog in this fight and intelligent enough to communicate with Monarch via sign language. Godzilla might’ve protected the Earth/humanity in the previous movies, but was it really a heroic character, or was the nuclear reptile just killing its rivals? Kong, on the other hand, has actual human friends. Even though the Iwis we met during Kong: Skull Island have been wiped out (seems like a missed opportunity), Kong still has a link to them in the form of Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a deaf-mute Iwi survivor adopted by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Nonetheless, his situation gives him a very relatable quest: he wants to know if there is a new family for him out there.

One-half of the human's story fares fairly well. With the help of Apex Cybernetics, Dr. Ilene Andrews, along with Jia and hollow-earth scientist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) follow Kong into this hidden world beneath our feet that houses all sorts of monsters and an ancient rivalry between Kong and Godzilla (seems wacky, but it does lead to some fun developments). These characters are following Kong on his journey so when the 8th wonder of the world is put in danger, they are too. The other humans, however, feel like they only appear to deliver exposition or to give us some familiar faces. You could easily re-jig this story to remove them.

But of course, you didn't come to this film for the human element. Yes, kaiju films are better when the "tiny" protagonists are compelling, but if there's one aspect of this movie director Adam Wingard had to get right, it was the Godzilla and Kong stuff. I'm happy to say you won't be disappointed. The Titan battles are varied, clearly shot, tense and action-packed. You get three rounds between Kong and Godzilla, with a clear winner at the end that will leave fans of either camp satisfied. I know a lot of purists will say a Godzilla film isn't the same without rubber suits, but this picture does so much with modern special effects. Varied locations, varied angles, moves no human could do, etc. That last brawl in the neon-lit Hong Kong will make you say "wow!".

There have been a lot of Godzilla films since the character appeared. Some have been dramatic, others comedic or somewhere in the middle with an emphasis on dumb fun. None have featured action scenes as good as the ones in Godzilla vs. Kong. Even if you only have a passing interest in the characters, the highlights are strong, strong enough to make you forgive the parts that could've been strengthened. It's not even a guilty pleasure; it's gargantuan fun. (On Blu-ray, March 27, 2024)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Trailer

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse continues with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The story will delve into the histories of King Kong and Godzilla as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and a colossal threat hidden within our world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. Adam Wingard directs from a screenplay by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater. The story is by Rossio, Wingard, and Barrett.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits theaters on April 12, 2024.

Our favorite line we wrote for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL is one we didn't write.

On Location - 2003 April 30, 2003 by Terry Rossio

This is how it goes, some days, when you're a writer working on set of a major motion picture: 6:15 A.M., my writing partner, Ted Elliott and I get called into director Gore Verbinski's office after a 30-minute morning commute to work via ferry along the coast of St. Vincent (yeah, sure beats the 405 at rush hour). Gore explained there was a change planned for that day's shooting. The stunt guys had figured out a brilliant way to pull Johnny Depp out of the water onto the moving ship -- but it meant Depp had to land back near the ship's wheel. The script had called for him to land mid-ships and move toward the wheel. The new staging meant Depp's character had to say something to order his crew away, and leave him alone for the final shot -- And this was the end shot of the movie, could we come up with a command that was interesting, meaningful, a bit more profound than "Back to work, Mates!" Sure. Ted went off to talk to the captain of one of the film's working ships, the Lady Washington, and try to scare up some authentic nautical commands. I went to find Depp and warn him that some new dialogue was coming. Johnny was cool with it, and even had suggestions -- as research for the role, he'd been reading stories of seafaring men, he said, so "How about something like, 'We venture forth over waves of adversity beneath clouds of adventure, always searching for that elusive shore of our dreams...?'" "Right," I said... "Uh, something just like that. We're working on it."

So I go hook up with Ted on the Lady Washington, and they've come up with some possible phrases. There were a few that weren't right at all -- chief among them, I recall, was "Put the wind to our aft!" That's just not a line you want to use to end a movie. We all liked the phrase, "To stations! Let go, and haul to run free!" I particularly liked the 'run free' part, it seemed appropriate for Depp's character, who considered his ship a symbol of freedom.

So we run that line past Gore, he stares off into the distance, says "I dunno, I get kind of a BORN FREE vibe out of that, maybe something else?" So, back to the Lady Washington. On the way we get the message from a PA via walkie-talkie that Depp wants us to meet him in make-up, but the ship is on the way, so we stop off there first, to try to find another line. Now I will always remember this: We hear a shout, look over, and there's Johnny Depp racing toward us full speed from the make-up trailers, only half in costume, waving a piece of paper over his head. He's shouting -- I kid you not -- "I've got it! Got it!" He races full speed toward the gangplank, and let me tell you something about gangplanks, they're not very sturdy. Whenever we went across the production was careful to have a sailor on either end, one to help you on, the other to help you down onto the ship. Depp wasn't waiting for that -- he bounded onto the gangplank, it bounced him into the air, and light as a feather he came down on it, bounced up again, and landed gracefully on deck. Hey, that's why he gets the big bucks. He comes up to us, breathless, says "I got it." and shows us the paper. Well, with a build-up like that, from your major star, you'd better hope that it's good. We look at the paper, and beneath a bunch of crossed-off efforts, it says -- "Bring me that horizon!" Ted and I look at each other. "That's pretty good," Ted says. Hell, it was really good. We put it together with the previous line and it sounded great, "Let go and haul to run free! Bring me that horizon!" We took it to Gore. He thought about it for all of half a second, said "That's pretty good. That's really good." Now he even liked the 'run free' lead-in, too. So by mid-morning we were rehearsing. The only thing left was the first line, the reference to the crew. Depp gamely tried our first effort, which I think was something like, "What are you looking at, you rickets-ridden layabouts! Back to work!" After spitting that out a few times he came over and demanded a better line. We worked through a few -- Depp's candidate was 'starving maggots' but I pointed out that seemed like a contradiction -- and then Ted came up with "scabrous dogs." So, the end line of the movie was finally set: JACK SPARROW: "What are you lookin' at, you scabrous dogs? Back to work! Let go and haul to run free! Bring me that horizon!" As of this writing, I don't know if the movie is good, or if the lines made it in, or even if they work the way they should. But if the film is good, it's fun to think that the final line of the film was written the day it was shot. I hope it does work. I hope the movie is great. Because I've got something pinned above my desk. The scrap of paper Depp was waving as he raced out of the trailer, that he wrote the line on -- I kept it, of course. It has our favorite line in the movie -- one we didn't even write!

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#NowWatching The Puppet Masters (1994) 🛸🧠🚁

“𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝. 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢.”

Podcast: The Beast & Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Greetings Programs!  This week on the show, we’re diving into a heady French Science Fiction film, La Bete (The Beast), starring Lea Seydoux and George MacKay, which will be in Canadian cinemas this week.  Then we move on to the latest entry in the legendary Monsterverse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.    We have a lot to say about each of them, so let’s dive in!  Join us! Continue reading…

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The Mask of Zorro (1998)

My rating: 5/10

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (12A): Writers Throwing Monstrous Shit Against The Wall.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire". #GodzillaxKong. Dire nonsense of the crashy-bashy kind. 1.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (2024). There are films that make me love cinema. And then again, there are films that make me despair for cinema. Guess which category “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” falls into? Even the title is nonsensical…. what is it supposed to even mean? Godzilla vs Kong? Godzilla multiplied by Kong? Godzilla meets a really cross Kong?…

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