The original Denham was based on Merian C. Cooper, creator of King Kong;[REF] both were brave men of action who made names for themselves filming nature footage in the most dangerous of territories.
Jack Black, who played Denham's 2005 incarnation, found the character to be comparable to Orson Welles in that he will not compromise on how he sees the end result; he based his performance on Welles, even sporting a haircut based on that of the young filmmaker.