Terror and technical wizardry on 'Kong' set

Naomi Watts looks fearful.

Naomi Watts puts on her best scared face on the set of the new King Kong movie.

Universal Studios released the photograph from Peter Jackson's $200 million remake of the 1933 classic yesterday.

Watts, an Academy Award nominee, plays love interest Ann Darrow.

Adrien Brody, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his work in The Pianist (2002), is Jack Driscoll.

Jack Black plays the other lead, showman Carl Denham.

Filming of scenes set in New York is taking place on a specially-constructed set in Lower Hutt.

Designers used photographs from the US Library of Congress and other sources to create a 1930s version of the city, including Broadway, Times Square and Fifth Avenue.

Only the first one or two storeys of each building has been constructed. The rest will be shown using computer-generated effects.

Post-production work will take place at Jackson's new $55 million high-tech facility, Park Road Post, in Miramar, Wellington.

King Kong is scheduled for release in December.