Production
The movie was a quickie production meant to capitalize on the upcoming release of King Kong (1976). Several plot elements, such as a giant gorilla's relationship with an American actress, are essentially lifted from the King Kong story. In fact when the film was announced it was going to be called The New King Kong as it was advertised by a teaser poster. When RKO got wind of this, they filed a $1.5 million dollar lawsuit against the company. Because of the lawsuit the title was changed to A*P*E and the tagline "Not to be confused with King Kong" was added to the theatrical posters and movie trailer. However the company was able to get away with using King Kong's name not only in its native South Korea but also in some international markets where it was known as Super King Kong and King Kong Returnsrespectively.
The film's title A*P*E stood for (Attacking Primate MonstEr) and was to spoof the acronym title of M*A*S*H, a show that was based in Korea where this film was produced.
The movie pitted the titular giant ape against a huge great white shark, meant to take a shot at Jaws, a movie made a year earlier about a giant shark. A famous cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland even addressed this scene.
The film hit North American screens in October 1976, a couple of months before the release of King Kong (1976).
Read more about this topic: A*P*E
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The production of obscurity in Paris compares to the production of motor cars in Detroit in the great period of American industry.”
—Ernest Gellner (b. 1925)
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“... this dream that men shall cease to waste strength in competition and shall come to pool their powers of production is coming to pass all over the earth.”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)