Naomi Watts: Gollum's Barbie Doll

Moving Pictures: With King Kong, was this your first experience with green screen and were you ready for the demands of that?
Naomi Watts: It was intense - seriously, since I'm not very big. I'm sporty and athletic, but I was getting beat up a lot because they would have these men in Lycra blue suits posing as a thumb or a finger or a piece of a dinosaur, and they were pushing and pulling and poking things at me. When I was strung up on the altar, they were pretending to be Kong and smashing things...it was like I was a true athlete for that period of time, which I'm not, and my body's never been set up for that; I was getting injured almost every week, and I can tell you I will not be running out to do an action movie any time soon... the stuff with Kong and the dinosaurs all came in the last three months and it did nearly kill me.

MPM: How does working with Peter Jackson compare with other directors you worked with?
Naomi Watts: How his mind can hold so much - it's beyond me. He is a genius. He has so many things to consider...the labor that goes into it. When you first go to meet him, he gives you a tour of the Weta Workshop... and they show you how the special effects were made, the detail that went into the costumes and the armor. The hours and hours of labor that go into it is extraordinary, and it all starts with him. He sees everything, every step of the way.

Peter fell in love with the original version when he was nine years old and that was his defining moment; that's when he knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. Apparently he tried a few times at the age of ten or so (laughs). His passion was monumental, and it was so great to be around that from day one. And they really pumped up the female character. She's no longer the damsel in distress; she's more of a feisty survivor with a sharp wit. It's interesting because it's set in that time when talkies were just starting off, so it was a great platform for a woman's voice... 1920 was when women were able to vote, so there was a lot for women to say.

MPM: You met Fay Wray, didn't you? Can you share any impressions of that meeting?
Naomi Watts: We had dinner uptown. She was very lucid; she had moments of being very quiet and seemed quite fragile, and then she'd pipe up and say something and show you she hadn't missed a beat. She cracked a few jokes and was saying to me, "You're not Ann Darrow. I'm Ann Darrow!" (laughs). I was thinking, "Oh no, she doesn't want me to play the part..."

MPM: Did she give you any advice on how to do the scream?
Naomi Watts: No, she didn't. I didn't ask her about that. I should have.

MPM: Do you think that beauty makes a difference in the world?
Naomi Watts: It has its ups and downs, beauty. I don't think that's why King Kong falls for her. It's not an external thing. These two people...(laughs). These two beings connect. In a way, they're like kindred spirits. They've existed alone for so long and sort of have a bit of a negative outlook on things, a feeling of doom within them both, and they find a way to exist together and take care of each other. It sounds ridiculous, but it does happen between the two of them. And it's not about the idea that she's the beautiful golden girl.

MPM: Did anything funny happen during the filming of Kong? I know Andy Serkis was running around in the monkey suit.
Naomi Watts: Oh, yeah. And when he was running around doing his stuff, we had to get the scale right as there's not much difference in size between him and me. So when I was trying to look at him, he was in a, ummm, scissor lift or whatever; it's a metal contraption. And when he was looking at me, he would hold a Barbie doll (laughs). -MPM

Also see "Gorilla of Your Dreams" parts I and II: A Brief History of Simean Cinema and Adrien Brody: Action Hero at Last