The film was an instant smash-hit and earned $89,931 in four days.The RKO studio was almost bankrupt at the time, but King Kong saved it. The giant ape gave the thunderstruck filmgoers of Depression America a whole lot more to think about than their own melancholy state.And Skull Island? It was a studio mock-up, I’m afraid, and you can’t visit there, nor see the Great Wall behind which the Kong once lurked. David Selznick had it set alight during the making of Gone with the Wind, to give a bit more oomph to the Burning of Atlanta sequence.. Like most successful people, ask Jack Black his recipe for making it to the top and he’ll tell you to do it just the way he did “Be a writer or a director Be the one who pulls the strings.

Don’t just be a puppet in someone else’s thing,” is his advice for aspiring actors. “I never would have got this going if I hadn’t done some writing and directing of my own. If not for my band Tenacious D, I wouldn’t have got High Fidelity Without that I’d never have done The School of Rock. So I attribute all my success to having taken a more active role in other things.”

Black can afford to reflect on his changing status. Before playing the music-obsessed Barry in the film version of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, he and his friend Kyle Gass were mainly “taking a more active role” in Tenacious D, a Spinal Tap-esque comedy-rock band consisting of Gass and Black on dual guitars.

Add a little of the stock and give it a good stir over a low flame. This will remove any residue from the tray and begin the thickening process. Transfer everything into a large saucepan, cover with the rest of the stock and some cold water if the stock doesn’t cover the bones and add the peppercorns, thyme and bay leaf. When they are a nice golden-brown colour, add the tomato pur?then the flour and stir well with the bones and vegetables in the roasting pan Return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes Remove the roasting tray from the oven to the hob. Roast the bones, goose giblets and the vegetables and garlic for about 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured, giving them a good stir every so often.

This recipe should make enough for Christmas Day, so scale up the quantities accordingly for large batches to store in the freezer.
500g chicken, or duck bones, or a mixture, chopped into small pieces, plus goose giblets 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped f 2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 1 stick of celery, roughly chopped 1 leek, trimmed, roughly chopped and washed 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped 1tsp tomato pur?1tbsp flour 2 litres chicken stock (a good cube will do) 6 black peppercorns A few sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf Pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. I’d strongly recommend getting in some extra chicken wings, necks and bones to make the gravy up a couple days before. Try to keep a good supply of gravy in the freezer for roasts and quick sauces. With goose, or any poultry come to that, you’ll never have enough giblets and neck to flavour your gravy, so bring in reinforcements. Put the almonds on a tray lined with foil and dust with the icing- sugar mixture and cook under a medium grill, turning them every so often and don’t take your eyes off them, until they are caramalised. Cut the quince into 6 wedges and arrange in one large, or individual bowls with the tamarillos and other fruits, pour the pomegranate syrup over and scatter the almonds on top Serve with thick cream, ice cream, cr? fra?e or mascarpone..

It’s always a good idea to get ahead by having gravy, or at least the basis for it, already made. Beats scrabbling around after the meat’s cooked and leaving it to wait for the liquid in the roasting tin to take on some flavour. Meanwhile put the pomegranate seeds in a saucepan with the cooking syrup and grenadine, bring to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes then leave to cool. Once cool, carefully remove the skin from the tamarillos and cut in half.