King Kong 1976

King Kong is a 1976 American adventure monster film, directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 film about a giant ape who is captured and taken to New York City for exhibition. It stars Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange, and features mechanical effects by Carlo Rambaldi and makeup effects by Rick Baker, who also portrayed King Kong. It is the fifth entry in the King Kong franchise. The idea to remake King Kong was conceived in 1974 by Michael Eisner, who was then an ABC executive. He separately proposed the idea to Universal Pictures CEO Sidney Sheinberg and Paramount Pictures CEO Barry Diller. Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis quickly acquired the film rights from RKO-General and subsequently hired television writer Lorenzo Semple Jr. to write the script. John Guillermin was hired as director and filming lasted from January to August 1976. Before the film's release, Universal Pictures sued De Laurentiis and RKO-General alleging breach of contract, and attempted to develop their own remake of King Kong.