John Beck: Difference between revisions
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John Beck was the | {{Infobox Person | ||
|type1 =Yellow | |||
|type2 =Black | |||
|name =John Beck | |||
|image =Exhibitoraugnov144jaye_0866.jpg | |||
|caption =John Beck in 1950 | |||
|occupation =[[:Category:Producers|Producer]] | |||
|birthday =October 24, [[1909]] | |||
|death =July 18, [[1993]] (aged 83)<ref name="LA"/> | |||
|birthplace =Pomona, California, [[United States]] | |||
|first =''[[wikipedia:One Touch of Venus (film)|One Touch of Venus]]'' (1948) | |||
|notable =''[[wikipedia:Harvey (film)|Harvey]]'' (1950) | |||
|imdb =https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065184/ | |||
}} | |||
'''John Beck''' was an [[United States|American]] film producer who helped facilitate the making of the [[1962]] [[Toho]] film ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' and produced [[King Kong vs. Godzilla#U.S. release|its heavily-altered American version]]. | |||
{{TOC}} | |||
==Biography== | |||
Outside of ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'', Beck's greatest claims to fame are producing the 1950 [[wikipedia:James Stewart|James Stewart]] film ''[[wikipedia:Harvey (1950 film)|Harvey]]'' and his involvement in the 1946 merger between [[Universal Pictures]] and [[wikipedia:International Pictures|International Pictures]].<ref name="LA">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-27-mn-17286-story.html|title=John Beck; Producer Made 'Harvey' and 'The Singing Nun'|author=Obituaries|date=27 July 1993|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> | |||
In 1961, stop-motion animator [[Willis O'Brien]] contacted Beck with a screenplay treatment called ''King Kong vs. Frankenstein'' along with self-drawn concept art, which they made a [[wikipedia:Handshake deal|handshake deal]] to work on together.{{sfn|Morton|2005|p=121}} Beck recruited prolific sci-fi screenwriter [[wikipedia:George Worthing Yates|George Worthing Yates]] to write the script, which became ''[[King Kong vs. Prometheus]]'', and pitched it unsuccessfully to several American studios; Beck would not contact O'Brien any further after that. He found a buyer in [[Toho]], who wanted to substitute [[Godzilla]] for [[Frankenstein]] and otherwise start from scratch. Released in 1962, ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' became a mammoth hit in Japan, convincing Toho to continue producing Godzilla films at a rapid clip. Beck, having secured the rights to the film in the [[United States]], Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel, sold them to Universal for $200,000.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|pp=87-89}} He also produced an English-language version of the film, which was extensively recut and featured new scenes in a United Nations newsroom directed by Thomas Montgomery. After learning of ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' being made, O'Brien contemplated suing Beck for intent to defraud, but did not have enough money for a protracted legal battle and died of a heart attack in his home shortly thereafter. Beck himself died of cancer at the age of 83 on July 18, 1993.<ref name="LA"/> | |||
==Selected filmography== | |||
*''[[King Kong vs. Prometheus]]'' (1961) - Producer [unmade] | |||
*''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962) - Producer [American version] | |||
==Gallery== | |||
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small"> | |||
John Beck.png|Beck at a charity benefit in 1950 | |||
The_Los_Angeles_Times_1993_07_27_page_16.jpg|John Beck in 1966 | |||
</gallery> | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist|width=auto}} | |||
===Bibliography=== | |||
*{{cite book|title=[[King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson]]|last=Morton|first=Ray|date=2005|publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books|isbn=1557836698}} | |||
*{{Cite book|title=Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G"|last=Ryfle|first=Steve|date=1998|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=1-55022-348-8}} | |||
{{Real People}} | |||
{{Comments}} | |||
{{Era|REL}} | |||
[[Category:The Real World]] | |||
[[Category:Real people]] | |||
[[Category:Producers]] | |||
[[Category:Godzilla producers]] | |||
Latest revision as of 13:54, 5 October 2023
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John Beck was an American film producer who helped facilitate the making of the 1962 Toho film King Kong vs. Godzilla and produced its heavily-altered American version.
Biography
Outside of King Kong vs. Godzilla, Beck's greatest claims to fame are producing the 1950 James Stewart film Harvey and his involvement in the 1946 merger between Universal Pictures and International Pictures.[1]
In 1961, stop-motion animator Willis O'Brien contacted Beck with a screenplay treatment called King Kong vs. Frankenstein along with self-drawn concept art, which they made a handshake deal to work on together.[2] Beck recruited prolific sci-fi screenwriter George Worthing Yates to write the script, which became King Kong vs. Prometheus, and pitched it unsuccessfully to several American studios; Beck would not contact O'Brien any further after that. He found a buyer in Toho, who wanted to substitute Godzilla for Frankenstein and otherwise start from scratch. Released in 1962, King Kong vs. Godzilla became a mammoth hit in Japan, convincing Toho to continue producing Godzilla films at a rapid clip. Beck, having secured the rights to the film in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel, sold them to Universal for $200,000.[3] He also produced an English-language version of the film, which was extensively recut and featured new scenes in a United Nations newsroom directed by Thomas Montgomery. After learning of King Kong vs. Godzilla being made, O'Brien contemplated suing Beck for intent to defraud, but did not have enough money for a protracted legal battle and died of a heart attack in his home shortly thereafter. Beck himself died of cancer at the age of 83 on July 18, 1993.[1]
Selected filmography
- King Kong vs. Prometheus (1961) - Producer [unmade]
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Producer [American version]
Gallery
Beck at a charity benefit in 1950
John Beck in 1966
References
This is a list of references for John Beck. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- Morton, Ray (2005). King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 1557836698.
- Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-348-8.
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