Peter Jackson's 1st Draft King Kong Script (1996)

ANOTHER AXOLOTL charges out of the swamp ! It comes straight at HERB,
who has no choice but to abandon his CAMERA and quickly back away ...
The AXOLOTL lunges at the CAMERA & TRIPOD, SWALLOWING IT with one gulp!

BAM BAM! BAM! PEEK blasts the AXOLOTL with his TOMMY GUN. It slumps to
the ground DEAD . .. it's mouth hanging open.

There is a stony silence as DENHAM lurches to his feet. He GLARES AT
HERB ...

DENHAM
(yelling)
Jesus, Herbert! How could you be so careless? Do you know how much
those things cost?

TEARS well in HERB'S eyes ... the man is deeply hurt by this criticism.

HERB
I'll be pleased to cash in my life insurance, Mr Denham. Buy you a new
camera, sir.

Is having a TANTRUM.

DENHAM
(yelling)
I don't want a new camera! Herb ... I want you to crawl into the fish
and recover my equipment!

HERB
Right you are, Mr Denham!

HERB removes his jacket and cap ... he takes his glasses off and puts
them in his pocket. He crawls into the mouth of the AXOLOTL ... DENHAM
holds his feet and PUSHES HIM DOWN the CREATURE'S THROAT.

HERB (CONT'D)
( muffled)
Just a bit further, Mr Denham ...

I can see the pan handle!

DENHAM pushes him further in ... only his knees are sticking out of the
AXOLOTL' S MOUTH ... The creature' s TORSO is BULGING GROTESQUELY as
HERB wrestles to free the camera.

HERB (CONT' D) (CONT'D)
( muffled)
Ok! Pull us out' Hard now - the
Magazine's stuck in the pancreas!

AT THAT MOMENT ...

The AXOLOTL'S JAWS CLAMP SHUT! It was ONLY STUNNED!!!

A MUFFLED SCREAM emits from DEEP INSIDE the creature as it REARS UP.

DENHAM
Holy ****!!!

The AXOLOTL PULLS AWAY, and VANISHES INTO THE WATER!

DENHAM turns back to the SHOCKED GROUP ... he is holding HERB'S
ARTIFICIAL LEG.

DENHAM (CONT'D)
I'm gonna dedicate this movie to Herb Cooper - the world's greatest
cameraman!

He thrusts the LEG at a SAILOR.

DENHAM (CONT'D)
Make sure this gets back to his wife and kids.

The SAILOR NODS.

DENHAM (CONT'D)
I'm calling a wrap. We're heading back to the ship.

JACK
What?

DENHAM
The girl's dead, Driscoll. There's no point continuing on.

JACK addresses the SAILORS.

JACK
Who's With me? NOBODY steps forward.

SAILOR 1
You're mad, Driscoll.

SAILOR 2
It's hopeless.

JACK
Come on. Fellas. Come on!

PEEK
In it for you? ... is she that good in bed?

JACK punches PEEK to the ground! He has one last scornful look at the
DENHAM and the SAILORS ... then turns and heads into the JUNGLE ALONE.

DENHAM
Dinosaur munchie traveling!

The SAILORS chuckle.

EXT. JUNGLE GLADE - DAY

A PACK OF UTAHRAPTORS are feasting on a DINOSAUR CARCASS, intent on
stripping every last piece of flesh off the bones. A RAPTOR suddenly
looks up, alarmed by a NOISE ...

WHACK! KONG'S FIST smashes down on his head, KNOCKING HIM OUT! The
other RAPTORS turn to flee ...

WHACK! KONG'S FOOT stamps down on another ... He grabs another by the
head, SNAPPING IT'S NECK with a quick flick.

The surviving RAPTORS scurry into the JUNGLE ... KONG sits down,
placing ANN on the ground. She looks and frightened and exhausted. KONG
starts eating the DEAD RAPTORS like someone with a KFC craving!

EXT. LOG CHASM - DAY

WIDE SHOT KONG hungrily eating in the distance ... ANN is visible at
his feet.

JACK crawls into the FG! He peers out from behind a bush ... KONG is
about 150 feet away, on the other side of a NARROW CHASM. A HUGE TREE
has fallen across the CHASM ... creating a LOG BRIDGE.

JACK hurries towards the LOG, carefully staying low and ducking from
bush to bush.

The CHASM is deep, maybe 100 feet to the bottom - a VINE ENTANGLED
MORASS. JACK carefully starts to cross the LOG BRIDGE ... it is covered
in wet moss and quite slippery. He is totally vulnerable ... He watches
KONG carefully, but the Gorilla is seemingly focused on his RAPTOR
finger food.

JACK is over halfway across when KONG casually GLANCES IN HIS DIRECTION
... JACK throws himself forward on the log, trying to stay out of sight
behind a bulky lichen covered STUMP. He carefully sneaks a look at KONG
... who is still peering over towards the LOG.

EXT. SWAMP BEACH - DAY

DE, PEEK and the last 4 SAILORS are still on the SWAMP BEACH, gathering
What remains of their equipment together.

They TURN IN UNISON ... as a TRICERATOPS lumbers towards them along the
beach! These are 30 foot long Rhino-like DINOSAURS. DENHAM and the
SAILORS step back warily as the TRICERATOPS slowly wanders past them
... not paying them any attention.

CLOSE ON The TRICERATOPS innocently steps on PEEK'S TAPE RECORDER,
instantly CRUSHING IT.

BAM! BAM! BAM! The TRICERATOPS FAT.T.S DEAD ... PEEK advances forward,
his TOMMY GUN smoking ... a look of disbelief on his face as he looks
at the MANGLED REMAINS of his beloved EQUIPMENT!

PEEK
That cost me seventy-five bucks!

PEEK kicks the DEAD TRICERATOPS.

AN ANGUISHED BELLOW.LOW! WHIP PAN onto 3 more TRICERATOPS, including a
LARGE BULL, ROARING WITH GRIEF!

DENHAM and the SAILORS react with horror as the TRICERATOPS CHARGE! ...
They move with surprising speed ... HUGE HORNS lowered for the kill!

BAM! BAM! BAM! PEEK fires, but the bullets RICOCHET off the BONY FRILL
that surrounds the TRICERATOPS'S head!

The GROUP turns and flees into the JUNGLE!

EXT. JUNGLE GLADE - DAY

KONG and react to the sounds of GUNFIRE and MEN YELLING. KONG SNARLS
... he scoops ANN up and places her HIGH in the BRANCHES OF A DEAD
TREE, some 30 foot off the ground.

KONG bounds away towards the CHASM!

EXT. LOG CHASM - DAY

JACK is still clinging to the LOG ... he turns at the SOUNDS of the
APPROACHING SAILORS ...

PEEK rushes out of the JUNGLE first, followed by DENHAM, the SAILORS
and 3 ANGRY TRICERATOPS! A SAILOR trips and is immediately ENGORGED by
a TRICERATOPS'S HORN!

PEEK races onto the LOG in a blind panic, followed by the 3 surviving
SAILORS and DENHAM ... PEEK only just realizes JACK is in his way and
almost collides with him ... PEEK looks up suddenly and SCREAMS!!!

WHIP ONTO

KONG STANDING at the end of the LOG BRIDGE, towering above PEEK! He
beats his chest, ROARING FIERCELY! The SAILORS are trapped on the LOG
BRIDGE between the enraged TRICERATOPS on one side and the enraged KONG
on the other!