FILM
GODZILLA VS. KONG – BIGGER THAN EVER, TOGETHER AGAIN AT LAST By KEVIN H. MARTIN
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures except where noted. TOP: Scanline was responsible for the initial skirmish between Godzilla and Kong, when the fire-breathing lizard-king attacks a vessel transporting the mighty ape, inverting the aircraft carrier. While significant fluid dynamic and sims were required, hand animation was also required to sweeten the procedural work. OPPOSITE TOP: Weta handled many ‘Hollow Earth’ shots as well as some of the more character-heavy Kong moments, owing to their experience with both fur and creature animation. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) OPPOSITE BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: The design of Godzilla, which had evolved from the 2014 reboot film to its King of the Monsters sequel, was retained for Godzilla vs. Kong, directed by franchise newcomer Adam Wingard, pictured here on set. (Photo: Vince Valitutti)
When, as a youth, Visual Effects Supervisor John ‘DJ’ Des Jardin saw the 1976 remake of King Kong, he was at first unaware that most of the scenes featuring the great ape were done with Rick Baker in an ape suit. “It was only later I found out about how the giant 40-foot ape built by Carlo Rambaldi was only used in a few shots,” he admits, “as it was too big to articulate a practical one, except for the full-scale hand holding Jessica Lange. With our Godzilla vs. Kong, prosthetic monsters would have been even more impractical, given these creatures are nearly 10 times the height of that Kong.” Godzilla vs. Kong marks the fourth film in the Warner/Legendary Monsterverse – the third with Godzilla, following Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and the second with Kong, taking place decades after the set-in-the-’70s Kong: Skull Island. While the premise vaguely matches Toho Studios’ King Kong vs. Godzilla, the plot actually hinges more on human machinations and manipulations. These range from keeping Kong captive in a kind of Truman Show-style menagerie, to arranging for the titular battle, in the hope that whichever creature proves victorious will be sufficiently weakened by combat to then succumb to their own champion when loosened upon him. Keeping with their approach on previous Monsterverse entries, Legendary’s selection of Adam Wingard to direct reflected an inclination towards low-budget and indie-minded filmmakers. To better prep for the assignment, Wingard rewatched the Godzilla oeuvre in its entirety, re-grounding himself in a film series he had often watched as a youngster, but this time with an eye toward delivering something he hadn’t previously attempted – a feature that didn’t carry with it an ‘R’ rating.
30 • VFXVOICE.COM SUMMER 2021
PG 30-33 GODZILLA VS. KONG.indd 30
5/3/21 4:42 PM
