King Kong, the world’s most iconic ape, is climbing off the silver screen and onto the Great White Way. Global Creatures, an Australian company currently producing "Walking With Dinosaurs," is working on a stage adaptation of the classic Hollywood film complete with a “20-foot-tall, animatronic incarnation” of Kong.

Unlike the ending to the classic film, the proposed robot Kong will most likely not break free of its chains and run amok in downtown New York. However, the state-of-the-art special effects may not be enough to carry the play. “Lennon,” a 2005 musical based on the life of the iconic Beatle, failed to draw an audience despite having a 15-foot-tall laser-wielding Ringo Star. (Variety)

I remember my dad taking me on the original King Kong ride at Universal Studios Florida. It wasn’t a big deal, just a monsterous hydraulic monkey shaking your tram around. The cool part about it was it transported you to a world only seen on the screen, or at least someone made their best effort to put you there. Then you could bond with your dad over movies he was too old for and you were too young for.

When a fire on the Universal backlot destroyed the California equivalent of that ride, it became a mixed blessing. The new, revamped, bigger, badder King Kong 360 3-D was designed by Peter Jackson, based on his 2005 remake of the movie. Universal Studios premiered the ride, which opens this summer, with a Kong themed party on the backlot. There were snakes and monkeys and tigers from the Wildlife Waystation, tribal drummers and free trams through the new attraction.