Aping effort attracts attention to Kong set

Like moths to a flame, Wellingtonians are being lured to the forbidden lands of film-maker Peter Jackson's King Kong movie set by the massive floodlights installed to keep intruders out.

The Skull Island set is being constructed on land above the Massey Memorial near Shelly Bay in Wellington.

It appears to be a bigger scale version of the Skull Island set at Lyall Bay, also in Wellington, where filming took place last month.

A large, ancient-looking wall dominates and could be the section that Kong will break through.

In the original 1933 movie, Skull Island was a key location and included a giant wall that separated the giant gorilla and dinosaurs from the rest of the island.

In past interviews, Jackson has indicated his enthusiasm for Skull Island scenes, saying he wants it to look like a "jungle from hell".

The huge floodlights used to light the set at night for security reasons can be seen from much of Wellington and have been raising city residents' curiosity.

When a reporter visited the site yesterday, no signs warned people to stay out but on nearing the set a security guard soon appeared, escorting the reporter back to the memorial.

Shelly Bay is just one of several sites within a short drive from Jackson's Miramar studios being used for the King Kong remake.

Land above the movie mogul's Miramar workshops has been leased from Wellington airport to stop people taking photographs of the set below, which includes the SS Venture ship that transports Kong to New York.

According to a Kong fan website, Jackson has bought an old ship and re-designed it to match the studio boat.

Photos published on the website look much like a rusty hulk moored at Shelly Bay.

Last month, at least 20 shipping containers were transformed into a smaller version of "the wall" on a vacant site in Lyall Bay, while a mini-New York appeared to have sprung up in Seaview.

- NZPA