Komo sambe kong kong!
Woo wooo woo
He lived in the jungle where he was born the king
His great strength made him lord of everything
No creature crossed his path and lived for long
His name, so legend tells us, was king kong
His height was never measured but was great
The jungle shook beneath his mighty weight
His arms were muscled, sturdy as a tree
His chest was thick and wide as it could be
Komo sambe, king kong
Jimmy Castor Bunch-1975
Perfect song to whistle while you work!
We begin on an old corrugated steel fence:
There are the usual yet distinctive sounds that only kids like me quickly identify with. It’s the sound of tennis shoes climbing up a corrugated steel fence. It’s a quick pitter patter when performed by skilled climbers, and Danny and I are classified as such.
On the corner just beyond Overland Avenue, is a climbable old steel fence. With two climbers, it cuts the climbing time in half. It is located just across from Winchell’s Donuts on one corner. It is directly across from my financial institution, better known as Coast Savings. It’s a sidewalk and fence I have traversed back and forth to school my entire life. The other side of the fence here doubles as a storage area. This dirt area long ago had jungle villages and ship docks. They were removed decades ago. The last thing I saw filmed here was a helicopter take off. It was in the opening scene of The Phantom of Hollywood. That was three years ago, now big things are taking place in this same area.
We’re talking things that can be seen protruding above an area with a two-story fence. An orange figure can be seen towering above this old rusty, studio storage area. The MGM auction in 1970 staged out of this area, selling items of every size, shape and era. It’s the land time forgot. But this area is more significant now than it most likely ever was or could have been. Kong is being created back in this corner of the MGM main lot numbered ONE! Tiny holes tease us. We press our eyes against these portholes. We try to figure out what’s happening on the other side of this fence. Two holes occupied with one blue eye (mine) and one brown eye (Danny’s). Our torsos now block the afternoon sunlight rays from shining through these ancient studio fence protrusions.
Where did I park?
“I climbed in over at the Logan’s Run billboard,” I tell Danny. “It’s the old easy fence, no sharp edges, but we will use the push me- pull you method of entry.” Nothing more needs to be said. The temptation of seeing the front side of this giant head and shouldered orange creature is worth the simple risks. These risks could always come out of nowhere. We stop at the corner. We decide to buy some donuts at Winchell’s. The shop’s back door looks up at Kong. Its side door has a view of where we’re going to climb in. This is the official donut shop for all things Kong. I order my usual chocolate chip with sprinkles and an orange frosted donut.
Satisfied, we exit this popular donut shop and cross the street to our front lot entry point. As we get to the billboard promoting Logan’s Run, we prepare to enter. With just one guy, this climb is complicated. You must find places to get a foothold. Hold the edge of the billboard with pictures of actors we met last year on Lot 2. Welcome to my world.
Danny and I take one last look at the intersection and the parking lot of the donut shop. The Culver City Police live at this donut shop. We don’t want to hit the fence with cops eating donuts and drinking coffee across the way. We time it just right. When the coast is clear, Danny cups his hands together. I put one shoe in the palm of his hand. He lifts me upwards, and I secure myself by standing on a fence cross brace. I can now reach down and pull Danny to the top by pulling on his left arm, like a rope. This process takes 10 seconds. We practiced this. We use this technique all the time on these old-style steel and wood fences.
With the sound of a double thump, we touch down inside MGM lot 1. We take cover behind the first things we see. These happen to be trees. Well, they’re going to be, now they’re just metal reinforced shapes in need of skin. Everything needs skin. Kong stands ever present, as if he’s the only head here that has spotted us. One arm is attached as a second foam arm is being put together like a large toy set. Cranes lift oversized parts, Danny and I joke, “Every crane operator in the world seems to work here now.” I had no idea how important cranes are to shows of this magnitude. After a brief cooling off, we sit between haunted looking trees and stage pit covers in this makeshift storage area. We can hear robust Italian dialects that seem to be leading this crusade. We feel safe because we were not seen climbing in. We sit on a pit cover and prop our legs on a foam log.
As we stare upwards at the beast, our minds process what we see, and what we expected to see. He’s orange, like the donut I’m eating, and stiff, like he could blow over. The Italian voices below Kong have a table with various items. These are likely tech prints. Next to that is a coffee pot, along with donuts and water. We laugh as we realize, Winchell’s is going to make a mint off this show.
Some assembly required applies to this toy. We see forms and conclude this is a mold to make impressions. This isn’t the celebrity Kong that we see here. It’s just a stand-in used to fabricate the rubber skin. This rubber skin will be applied to the mechanical version of this same Ape. That version must be stationed somewhere else. This is where impressions are being made, like my dentist whose office is just down the street. With clarity now on what’s going on in this fabrication zone and this frontier/storage area we exit lot 1. Culver City’s skyline is changing rapidly. There are 40 ft apes, 60 ft walls that stretch from here to eternity, and large body parts strewn around. They are like puzzle pieces.
The backlot is even more active. We enter the backlot through a sharp fence. This fence folds like an accordion when nails are removed. Yes, we too have our own main gate. It’s concealed simply by turning a twisted nail that holds it shut. Because of this, it goes unnoticed.
Our gate is behind the Filmways Building. New York Street sprawls in every direction through the glass windows inside this old cartoon building. Danny and I take a break from Kong. We step away from all this preproduction activity. We relax in still plush seats in one of two theaters inside this building. Only a few refracted and stray sunlight rays illuminate the aisle. They lead to a row of luxurious seats where we recline.
Like we own the place, we sit comfortably and stare at a blank screen. It’s as silent as anywhere now on this lot. We imagine Tom and Jerry cartoons playing again, in the dark environment time forgot. We wonder if the last patrons ever to see screenings here knew what the future would hold. The ending credits that were last up on the screen were truly –The End. It’s been abandoned for years; the building has held up well. It has filing cabinets in most of the offices that wrap around the upstairs spaces. The basement contains the theaters. We feel like producers, whoever this Dino De Laurentiis guy is, we love him. Not only has he saved our backlot, but he’s also adding possibly the best chapter ever to its existence.
“Arrivederci to you… Mr. Italian producer guy! “
This dark theater stimulates our imagination. We just went to Laserium last week at the Griffith Park Observatory. Danny and I reconjure up some color trails still in our mind. We sink into these reclining seats. Danny provides the Greg Lake drums on the back of the seat in front of his. The song from ELP – Karn Evil 9 is captured in partial gray smoke effects. This is opposed to a laser light bombardment. Simple smoke exhaust from our lungs creates images, Danny creates sounds, as we immerse ourselves into full-tilt psychedelia.
No truer words have ever been spoken. MGM still delivers the goods, even over 50 years after these gates first opened!
Phantom of the Backlots 