New composer takes on 'King Kong'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Director Peter Jackson has dumped composer Howard Shore and the New Zealand Symphony from "King Kong" less than seven weeks before the film's premiere.

Shore got three Academy Awards for his work with Jackson on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but the two could not agree on the soundtrack for King Kong, leading Jackson to replace him with U.S. composer Newton Howard, The Dominion Post said Sunday.

Shore's sudden ouster means none of the recording already done by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra will appear in "King Kong," the newspaper said.

Howard has little time to come up with two hours worth of music with a premiere date of Dec. 5 looming, the newspaper noted.

The new score will reportedly be recorded in Los Angeles.