TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) are teaming up to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Hollywood’s tallest, darkest leading man: KING KONG. The celebration will begin Monday, April 7, at 8 p.m. (ET), when TCM presents the original 1933 classic, which stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot. Then on Friday, April 11, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), TNT and TBS will simulcast director Peter Jackson’s Oscar®-winning 2005 remake, starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody.
“KING KONG is an excellent example of how having a portfolio of networks like ours provides outstanding programming opportunities,” said Ken Schwab, senior vice president of programming for TBS and TNT.
Charles Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for TCM, added, “Through our celebration of KING KONG’s 75th anniversary, we will be able to bring the past and present together in a way no other company can do.”
In addition to the April 11 simulcast of Jackson’s acclaimed blockbuster, TNT will present encores of the film Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). TCM will follow its April 7 presentation of the original 1933 version of KING KONG with four other movie classics celebrating their 75th anniversary: Dinner at Eight at 10 p.m., Little Women at midnight, 42nd Street at 2 a.m. and Queen Christina at 3:45 a.m.
As a build-up to the network television premiere of Jackson’s film, fans of his The Lord of the Rings trilogy can catch all three of those Oscar-winning films on TNT the weekend prior to KING KONG, with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring airing Friday, April 4, at 8 p.m.; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers airing Saturday, April 5, at 8 p.m.; and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King airing Sunday, April 6, at 8 p.m.
