Planet of the Apes
Because we absolutely needed one, 20th Century Fox is planning another Planet of the Apes film. The project, currently titled “Genesis: Apes,” has long been rumored to be in development. Apparently this film will be a remake of the fourth Apes film “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.” But it had been over a month since we had heard anything about this film. Many people thought the project was dead. But during a break session in a marathon showing of the five original Apes films on the Fox Movie Channel, Fox’s production chief Tom Rathman spoke about the project. Rathman appeared on camera and had the following to say:
“We are very close at Fox on a new Apes script – this one a kind of prequel story before the first story, with a return to the social thematics that mark the first one, but with an entirely contemporary setting – Earth 2009.”
Oh Joy! I just cannot wait to see this! (Can you detect the sarcasm in my words?) Seriously people, why are the braniacs at 20th Century FOX destroying another classic property? Wasn’t the last Apes debacle enough? That film ended up as one of the only works of the great Tim Burton that I dislike. Please, at least tell me there will be no more Mark Whalberg. Normally, I am a fan of his. But he was terrible in that movie. Okay, I will say this. The film looked good (as is expected from a Tim Burton film) The costumes were well done. In fact, the costume design was nominated for several awards from several organizations, including BAFTA. All that said, why oh why are we getting another Apes film? Well, you can thank Blu ray sales for this one folks. The series was recently released on Blu ray and they have been selling incredibly well. And if there is a chance to squeeze some extra cash out of a property already owned by a studio, you know they will do it. As far as I’m concerned, you can file this one under “Who Cares?”
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November 30, 2008
#1
Yeah Jon, I read that the story is going to focus on super smart chimps that are being trained for the military. One of the chimps can talk,,,
Its a complete role reversal disguised as a prequel…
Could be a decent rental, I didn’t mind Burtons remake until Walhberg mated with that female money. Wtf??? A little over the monkey bars…
And what was with that ending?
November 30, 2008
#2
Yes, I read that too. But I couldn’t find anything that confirmed that. It is a Prequel for sure though.
That was one of my biggest problems with the movie, the mating with the monkey. Just a little too odd for me. I actually like Tim Roth as the villain, he was good. Just when you compare it to the originals, which I grew up loving, it couldn’t hold a candle to those movies.
I’ll give the studio credit for trying to make a slightly original story out of this remake. It just seems too confusing for me. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
November 30, 2008
#3
Um…Mark Wahlberg’s character NEVER mated with the female chimp. I’m not sure what film you guys were watching, but that never happened in the film.
And it has yet to be revealed if this film is even related to that one or not. It could be an entirely new reboot.
In any case, Chud didn’t break this story–ProductionWeekly.com did, back in August 2008, two months before the Chud article.
November 30, 2008
#4
So he didn’t “Shock the Monkey?”
I thought he did,,,,oops.
^
Yeah I have read that this film won’t have any connections to the Burton epic…
November 30, 2008
#5
Yeah, I couldve sworn he did too. At least I remember some sexual tension… At any rate, I’ll go back and watch the film. Thanks for pointing that out.
I apologize, I don’t think I was very clear on my point in the article. I didn’t mean to imply that the new movie would be connected to the Burton film. I just brought that up as an example (in my own humble opinion, of course) of how bad a new Apes film could be in comparison to the originals. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
I WILL go back and watch the film to confirm a lack of Man/Monkey love!!!
December 1, 2008
#6
Sadly i am one of those rare individuals who as of yet has expierenced the orginal Planet of The Apes series. The only one that I have seen is the Tim Burton remake/reboot (or whatever you want to classify it as), which i found enjoyable, though i really dont recall any cross breeding taking place, though there was abit of sexual tension I remember.
But as someone who has never seen any POTA films, too me this sounds like overkill, on an already dead franchise and Fox’s attempt as trying to regain lost ground from a terrible year for them. I honestly just don’t see this working. They tried to revive the franchise (with Burton’s flick) and it failed (from a numbers stand point), Leave well enough alone.
December 1, 2008
#7
Okay, I did my due dilligence. I watched the film again. 790, we were wrong about mating, but there was in fact some pretty clear sexual tension there. It wouldn’t be to hard to infer that was a possibility.
But Dandy you were absolutely right and I apologize for our mistake! Thanks for setting us straight!
@Metallicat
As much as I loved the original POTA films, I couldn’t guarantee you would enjoy them as much as I have. I have noticed, especially with the younger generation, that they are real hit or miss with people. But all of the older people I know, that watched them when they first came out, loved them. And I know I did, but enough people my age and younger have said they didnt. So I can only say you may want to rent one or two, see what you think, and go from there. I did mention there were some great things about the film, it wasn’t bad. Just when compared to the originals. And there were some real pieces of social commentary in those films, there was a hidden message. I didn’t find much of that in the remake/reboot.
All that said, you are dead on about them milking their dead franchise for all its worth. All studios do that. Its one of the driving forces behind the reboot/remake (for other reasons and examples of remake/reboots, btw, check out my article on Hollywood killing the classics. Here on the site, for anyone interested!) The studio already owns the rights to the franchise, so they don’t have to shell out money for that. It saves some cash there. Less people are required for the writing process and the creative team if studio’s already have a film/multiple films to draw inspiration from.
This is a sad trend that I don’t see ending anytime soon. Look at Star Trek. Just when you think a franchise is dead… A dead franchise is like a person on vacation. They’ll be back. Eventually.
December 1, 2008
#8
I’m of the school that believes that the end isn’t a time paradox, as some have described, but rather a parallel similitude development. Given you start with the same initial conditions genetically reengineered apes continue to advance beyond design into a species able to out compete man. The parallel is designed to startle that both worlds ended up with a hero figure with the same name and face, that of the ape character Thade. The ending with the 21ST century ape civilization aligns the movie more with Boulles’ original story.
Ari, the character played by Helena Bonham Carter merely kissed Wahlberg’s character, much as Taylor kissed Zira in the original. The story perhaps led people to believe that there was competition between Ari and Daena for Cap. Davidson’s affections. It seems likely, but pure conjecture on my part. The apparent tension leads to an interesting emotional dynamic that given those circumstances, would probably leave me just as anxious as Davidson, to get back into space, lest the Ape get some funny ideas. It’s a rather base interpretation of the story, given that other societies have a far more openly serious and complicated attitude towards love. Familial, spiritual, or the love you feel for a pet vs the nature of the love you would feel for your wife.
This is a terrible situation for the genre of Science Fiction to find itself in. It’s still popular but the manufacturers are unwilling to take risks and the expense of something new. People like Asimov, Baxter, Clark, Dick or Lem have written clever entertaining books that still lack some essential piece that the studios could inject into them as they adapt scripts for movies. Sadly too little of that is being done in favor of this, yet another Apes movie.. I guess maybe the audience has to take the risk that the studio won’t. Eschew the remakes and hope that studios will get the idea rather than stop making SciFi. altogether.
December 1, 2008
#9
Once again Old Man, you amaze me with your ability to find deep meaning where I saw none. To put your point into words in a way that I never could. Bravo.
I hope they never stop making sci fi movies, but I don’t think even if we all managed to properly boycott these films, that studios would get the proper message. I think, as you put it, they would eventually see the genre as being “dead” and the films would slow to a near stand still. I don’t think sci fi will ever go away completely. As long as people have imaginations and curiosities about what is out there and what the future could hold, we will find sci fi on the screens somewhere.
December 1, 2008
#10
Old Man, (IMO)
The studios have a policy of not going to deep into Sci Fi, they don’t want us to start asking why were not doing these things in space. Like in Star Trek ???
^
Jon,,,
Remember the franchise is only as dead as the studio wants it to be.
The fans didn’t abandon Star Trek , Paramount abandoned the fans… Even blamed us for not supporting, “Nemesis”.
The only reason it made 20 mil opening weekend was because of the fans ,,,
December 2, 2008
#11
I wasnt implying fans abandoned Trek. What I was trying to get across was that it would seem to be a dying franchise. The last movie sucked, for both non fans and Trekkies. There hasn’t been a quality version of the show on the air for a while. The fan base will never go away, but it seemed as though it may be the end of Trek for a while. But as long as there is a chance for some cash, the studio will keep on trying. Another Trek movie coming out when the recent past seemed so bleak.
I am a hardcore Trek fan. I have been all my life. I was there to see Nemesis. I helped it make that money, and I will be there for JJ’s Trek too. Just like the millions of other fans that will be there filled with hope and excitement.
You know what I’ve really enjoyed doing lately? I’ve been watching re-runs of TOS on TV Guide channel. First time seeing full episodes since I was a kid. And I am enjoying the show on a whole new level. There is so much there that I just didn’t understand at 10.
December 2, 2008
#12
Oh that wasn’t directed at you Jon,,, I guess I shouldn’t have put your name up,,, doah 790!
Its just that overall Paramount has blown Star Trek out of the water, really just to get rid of Rick Berman…
Its very political…
December 2, 2008
#13
You guys bring up some interesting points. 790, I think your right, that the politics and “the not invented here,” attitude definitely plays a part in the decision about what gets made. Jon, I have to say I was one of those that went out too, and spent the extra dollars and saw “Nemesis” in a theater in support of the franchise. It indeed was very underwhelming. Why shouldn’t it have been? The story, the personal face-off between two leading characters has been exploited since “Wrath of Kahn.” How many movies now? After that and “Enterprise” I thought hiatus time, big time for Trek. It amazes me though, how people are getting wound up about the new Trek! Given all the Trek movies made about a Nemesis, no pun intended. It’s the same dang story!
Perhaps that’s a bit harsh. We don’t know the motivations of Nero unlike Shinzon, Kahn, Cmdr. Kruge, Dr.Soran, or even Sybok or why he’s decided to go back in time etc. I hope I’m dead wrong about the story, and it encompasses something bigger, like the ultimate reunification of Vulcan and Romulan culture. Such a milestone would bring a new dynamic to “Star Trek” and leave big potentials for future stories. It would give us some closure to Spock’s diplomatic career too.
If they were smart they would use the opportunity to get Nimoy and maybe even Shatner to record some bits and pieces in character, in secret, to pop down in stories in the future, when they’re literally not around anymore. I think that the technology is advanced enough that you could pull something together, passable in other contexts. Would it be worth doing? Depends, if you have enough foresight to take the risk, it could pay off. The actors could even blaze a new trail for what it means to earn residuals. Posthumous earnings for ones family.
Science Fiction won’t completely go away, Yeah I agree with you Jon, your right. After all, we still have the western genre still around awaiting a new take on a story. I hate the thought we’ll end up going through a dry spell. Something like the late 60’s early 70’s before “Star Wars” took off. All things seem cyclical, so it shouldn’t surprise. Just a pity I won’t get to see a movie about “Vacuum Diagrams” or the Xeelee. I guess I’ll have to be satisified with that horrible planet of the apes, OH wait, that was our planet, DOH…
Thanks for the compliments Jon. I try to give the best I got and have fun doing it. Feynman said; “The whole point of life is to have an adventure.” Far be it from me to say he was wrong. May the adventure never die.
December 2, 2008
#14
I really hate the politics. Can’t people just stand behind their work, good or bad? Stop trying to pass the buck.
I actually love the idea of reunifying Vulcan and Romulan culture, if for no other reason than to leave a nice little “easter egg” to fans of TOS and give Spock a nice ending. And I think Shatner is too full of himself to ever go back to Trek now. But if it was possible, it would be fantastic to get the two together to record bits for future films/television. That would be really cool, shouldn’t be too hard (except for getting Shatner on board) and would be a great treat for the fans.
As for the future of Science Fiction, everything goes through a dry spell or two. Hollywood seems to me to be an endless series of peaks and valleys. One thing becomes popular and we see a hundred films coming out that are just like it. Then it just stops, goes away for a while. But I don’t think anything goes away forever.
This is fun. Best part of the business!
December 9, 2008
#15
Now available from Hasslein Books…
Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology, by Rich Handley
322 pages–covering the entire Planet of the Apes saga, including the films, TV series, cartoons, novels, comics and other tales, and even a number of unpublished works.
http://www.hassleinbooks.com
December 11, 2008
#16
Hmmm, a christmas gift for the true POTA fan? Excellent. Now all I have to do is find someone bored enough to read all of that!
December 11, 2008
#17
Lol,,, Jon,,,!
I think that Hasslein link is pretty cool,,, that’s a lot of interesting info on the Planet of the Apes films,,, nice,,,
I always loved the TV series. Have it on dvd,,,
December 11, 2008
#18
Thanks, 790. :)
December 11, 2008
#19
I know, hey I did say how much I loved the original movies. I just think that they could’ve sold it better. That was a real boring description of their product.
December 12, 2008
#20
No prob,,, Hasslein, I actually knew the casting director on “Planet of the Apes,” Eddie Foy,,,
Hollywood legend that guy!
He moved out of town and havnt seen him in years but he’s a great guy. He told me that they made that film for kids… He would always say that,,, ;-)