Editing King Kong vs. Godzilla (section)

===Conception===
[[File:KongvsFrank.jpg|thumb|left|A painting done by [[Willis H. O'Brien|Willis O'Brien]] for the proposed ''King Kong Meets Frankenstein''. The project evolved into ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'', with Godzilla replacing the giant Frankenstein's monster as King Kong's opponent.]]
''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' had its roots in an earlier concept for a new ''[[King Kong (franchise)|King Kong]]'' feature developed by [[Willis H. O'Brien|Willis O'Brien]], animator of the [[King Kong|original stop-motion Kong]]. Around 1960,{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=80}} O'Brien came up with a proposed treatment, ''King Kong Meets Frankenstein'',{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=361}} where Kong would fight against a giant [[Frankenstein's monster]] in [[San Francisco]].{{sfn|Archer|1993|pp=80–83}} O'Brien took the project (which consisted of some concept art{{sfn|Ackerman|1966|pp=58-60}} and a screenplay treatment) to [[RKO]] to secure permission to use the King Kong character. During this time, the story was renamed ''King Kong vs. the Ginko''{{sfn|Glut|1973|pp=242-244}} when it was believed that Universal had the rights to the Frankenstein name. O'Brien was introduced to producer John Beck, who promised to find a studio to make the film (at this point, RKO was no longer a production company). Beck took the story treatment and hired [[George Worthing Yates]] to write the screenplay for the film. The story was slightly altered and the title changed to ''King Kong vs. Prometheus'', returning the name to the original Frankenstein concept (''The Modern Prometheus'' was the alternate title of the [[Frankenstein|original novel]]).{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=80}} The November 2, 1960 issue of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that Beck had even asked a filmmaker named Jerry Guran (a possible misspelling of filmmaker [[Nathan Juran]]'s pseudonym Jerry Juran) to direct the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|pp=80-81}} However, the cost of [[stop-motion animation]] discouraged potential studios from putting the film into production. After shopping the script around overseas, Beck eventually attracted the interest of the Japanese studio [[Toho]], which had long wanted to make a ''King Kong'' film.<ref name="Universal Blu-ray">{{cite web|title=KING KONG VS GODZILLA and KING KONG ESCAPES on Blu-ray from Universal|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/02/07/king-kong-vs-godzilla-and-king-kong-escapes-on-blu-ray-from-universal/|archive-date=February 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208074816/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/02/07/king-kong-vs-godzilla-and-king-kong-escapes-on-blu-ray-from-universal/|url-status=dead|access-date=April 3, 2022|website=SciFi Japan}}</ref>{{refn|According to special effects director [[Teruyoshi Nakano]], [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] and [[Eiji Tsuburaya]] wanted to make a [[King Kong (franchise)|''King Kong'' film]] for Toho as early as 1954 because he was "world-famous".{{sfn|Homenick|Rainey|2005|pp=53-54}}|group="note"}} After purchasing the script, they decided to replace the giant Frankenstein's monster with [[Godzilla]] to be King Kong's opponent and would have [[Shinichi Sekizawa]] rewrite Yates' script.{{refn|The concept of a giant Frankenstein Monster would be used later by Toho in ''[[Frankenstein Conquers the World]]'' (1965) and its sequel ''[[The War of the Gargantuas]]'' (1966). O'Brien, however, was never credited for the concept.{{sfn|Morton|2005|p=131}}|group="note"}} The studio thought that it would be the perfect way to celebrate its 30th year in production.{{sfn|Keibunsha|2001|p=92}}{{sfn|Woods|2005|p=119}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=67}} It was one of five big banner releases for the company to celebrate the anniversary alongside ''[[Sanjuro]]'', ''[[Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki|Chūshingura]]'', ''[[A Wanderer's Notebook|Lonely Lane]]'', and ''Born in Sin''.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=186}} John Beck's dealings with Willis O'Brien's project were done behind his back, and O'Brien was never credited for his idea.{{sfn|Shay|1982|pp=69-70}} O'Brien attempted to sue Beck, but lacked the money to do so, and on November 8, 1962, he died in his home in [[Los Angeles]] at the age of 76.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=81}} O'Brien's wife Darlyne later cited "the frustration of the ''King Kong vs. Frankenstein'' deal" as the cause of his death.{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=111}} [[Merian C. Cooper]], the producer and Co-Director of the 1933 ''King Kong'' film, was bitterly opposed to the project, stating in a letter addressed to his friend Douglas Burden, "I was indignant when some Japanese company made a belittling thing, to a creative mind, called ''King Kong vs. Godzilla''. I believe they even stooped so low as to use a man in a gorilla suit, which I have spoken out against so often in the early days of ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]''".<ref>L. Tom Perry Special Collections. [[Brigham Young University]]. Cooper Papers. Box MSS 2008 Box 8 Folder 6</ref> In 1963, he filed a lawsuit to enjoin distribution of the movie against John Beck, as well as Toho and Universal (the film's U.S. copyright holder) claiming that he outright owned the King Kong character, but the lawsuit never went through, as it turned out he was not Kong's sole legal owner as he had previously believed.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|pp=361–363}}