Premiere of ‘King Kong 360’ 3D at Universal has Pythons, Tigers, and Kevin Smith, Oh My!

Posted on June 30, 2010

Diane here and fresh off the red carpet premiere of Universal Studios’ Hollywood latest attraction, King Kong 360 3D. If you have a chance to swing on by this summer, it is worth the wait.

Yesterday while walking among a 360lb Bengal Tiger, a 13 foot Python, a feisty monkey, and tribal dancers who kept on telling me to touch their dinosaur bones I became entranced with the world of Skull Island and a gorilla who’s eaten one too many Big Macs.

I was not alone, The Office’s Craig Robinson, Oscar Nunez, and Kate Flannery, along with Kevin Smith, Yvette Nicole Brown of Community, Wayne Brady,Wanted and King Kong’s Thomas Kretschmann, and a very shy Christopher Lloyd were all there sampling the gourmet apps and reveling in a filmed introduction to the experience by none other than a slimmed down Peter Jackson in 3D.

When I finally climbed on a somewhat wet tram, I was thrilled. Universal has completely redone the entrance to the soundstage by reusing the old falling bridge gag and making it a part of Skull Island – how very green of them. As the tram drove into the soundstage we were plunged into a pit of darkness and the sound of booming drums. Suddenly our tram was surrounded by a luscious and very humid 3D jungle environment.

We were not alone. Huge T-Rexs roared at and rocked our tram not unlike many Hollywood film producers. Thankfully King Kong was there to save us. Well, he didn’t as much save us as wrestle the T-Rexs Hulk Hogan style on the side of, on top of, and all around our tram while splashing us with water (or was that spit?).

After an endless battle, the adventure was over and the lights were turned on. What once was a savage landscape was instead two very large IMAX screens on either side of us.

If King Kong 360 3D is a future forecast of theme park attractions, then I’m all for it. The next step would be walking into a fully immersive environment and taking on all comers, not unlike the X-Men’s Danger Room. With the premiere of this ride, I may not have to wait long. Be sure and stay tuned to The Flickcast for a comprehensive video report from the scene that will rock your world.

Diane Panosian

Today I seek a world in which women from across the land can unite in their geekiness. A land where Princess Lea reigns alongside her ever-rakish Han Solo, a growly Hugh Jackman can’t seem to find his flannel shirt, and Wonder Woman saves the world and comes home to find her man has baked cookies. It took me 20-odd years to figure out I am a writer. Apparently all those years in childhood spent pretending to be Lois Lane and writing mock newspapers never elicited one eureka. In high school I was editor of the school paper, but even then, I sought the path of a graphic artist. In my professional career I wrote numerous proposals for DVD and Blu-ray extra value content. Crafting concepts using Stan Lee-isms felt like play to me and yet I thought of myself as a producer. Not until one very rainy day when the streets were flooded and boredom hit me like Thor’s hammer did I call up Chris and tell him I wanted to write. I guess whatever gets your creative juices flowing while enduring the onslaught of boredom should be repeated. It didn’t take me nearly as long to figure out I was a geek. I was surrounded by my brother’s inked pages of Captain America from a very young age. I would often look for my beloved action figures only to find them captured by my brother for use as “inspiration”. Whenever he took a break I would sneak in and rescue my toys with the stealth of a mutated ninja cat. Strangely the next morning a new rescue mission would have to be hatched. From then on, I watched copious She-Ra and Spider-man cartoons, learned about alternate realities from Back to the Future, and read the soup opera that was X-Men comics in the 90’s.