Movies
The Story of How King Kong Changed the Twinkie Game
And now for something a little different. Let’s talk Twinkies!
In case you hadn’t noticed, snack foods have gotten pretty weird in recent years. Brands like Hostess, Nabisco, and Kellogg’s have been working hard to out-do each other in the weird department, unleashing Twinkies, Oreos, and Pop-Tarts with increasingly bizarre flavors. Hell, I just finished a package of Peeps Oreos – and yes, they do alter the color of… certain things.
Unique snack items, of course, are nothing new. Back in ’05, Hostess gave King Kong his very own Twinkies in celebration of the release of Peter Jackson’s 8-hour film; naturally, they were banana flavored. At the time, banana Twinkies may have seemed like an oddity, but if you look back through the history of the spongy cakes, you’ll realize that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The history of the Twinkie is actually quite fascinating. As is Kong’s part in it.
The golden sponge cake with creamy filling was invented back in 1930 by James Alexander Dewar, a man inspired by the strawberry shortcake’s lack of year-round availability; when strawberries were out of season, you see, strawberry shortcake could not be made, so Dewar conceived a similar treat that could be enjoyed all year-round. This is how the Twinkie was born.
And the original Twinkie, believe it or not, was banana-flavored.
From 1930 through 1940, Twinkies were exclusively made with bananas, but that changed when World War 2 began. The war, started in 1939, led to bananas being rationed, thereby forcing the Twinkie to evolve. No longer able to be made with bananas, the company switched over to vanilla creme filling; the modern Twinkie proved popular enough that they never looked back.
So what is King Kong’s place in all of this?
Well, the 2005 release of banana-flavored Kong Twinkies was a huge success for Hostess, who saw a 20% spike in sales during the four-week promotion. They had previously brought back banana Twinkies for other limited time promotions, but none of them proved to be as successful as Kong’s; so successful that Banana Twinkies were soon thereafter brought back full time.
To this day, you can find banana Twinkies on the shelf of your local grocery store. They may not feature King Kong on the packaging, but they’re there, dear friends, because of Kong.
Bow before your king. The King of the Twinkies.
Movies
’28 Years Later’ – Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson Join Long Awaited Sequel
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (Annihilation, Men), the director and writer behind 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later, are reteaming for the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. THR reports that the sequel has cast Jodie Comer (Alone in the Dark, “Killing Eve”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).
The plan is for Garland to write 28 Years Later and Boyle to direct, with Garland also planning on writing at least one more sequel to the franchise – director Nia DaCosta is currently in talks to helm the second installment.
No word on plot details as of this time, or who Comer, Taylor-Johnson, and Fiennes may play.
28 Days Later received a follow up in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which was executive produced by Boyle and Garland but directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, the pair hope to launch a new trilogy with 28 Years Later. The plan is for Garland to write all three entries, with Boyle helming the first installment.
Boyle and Garland will also produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of one-time studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.
The original film starred Cillian Murphy “as a man who wakes up from a coma after a bicycle accident to find England now a desolate, post-apocalyptic collapse, thanks to a virus that turned its victims into raging killers. The man then navigates the landscape, meeting a survivor played by Naomie Harris and a maniacal army major, played by Christopher Eccleston.”
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) is on board as executive producer, though the actor isn’t set to appear in the film…yet.
Talks of a third installment in the franchise have been coming and going for the last several years now – at one point, it was going to be titled 28 Months Later – but it looks like this one is finally getting off the ground here in 2024 thanks to this casting news. Stay tuned for more updates soon!
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