I have greatly enjoyed my collaborations with Howard Shore, whose musical themes made immeasurable contributions to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. During the last few weeks, Howard and I came to realize that we had differing creative aspirations for the score of KING KONG. Rather than waste time arguing with a friend and trying to unify our points of view, we decided amicably to let another composer score the film. I'm looking forward to working with James Newton Howard, a composer whose work I've long admired, and I thank Howard Shore, whose talent is surpassed only by his graciousness.