Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a prequel to a cult classic, Planet Of The Apes. But it is yet to identify which Planet of the Apes version: the original with Charlton Heston or Tim Burton's re-imagined version with Mark Wahlberg. As the title suggest and if you seen either previous versions of the movie, it shows how the primates evolve.

The movie is not the type that will make you relax. It is more stressful watching because it is so intense as you witness the experiences of the character, Caesar, the chimpanzee who is gifted with intelligence unlike any primate. The movie is also a good example of ethical issues involving genetic engineering and altering the limitation of a living thing like the chimpanzee.

The chimpanzee is an ideal specie for the movie because of all the primates, their intelligence is closer to humans and also the most aggressive. They are even more violent than the gorillas. To make Caesar more human-like and able to show emotion, the production hired WETA - the award winning special effects team behind James Cameron's Avatar and applied the same effect of Gollum of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Peter Jackson's version of King Kong and cast the same actor who played those characters for the role of Caesar: Andy Serkis.

Another tip, part of the credits credits shows the background that is actually a graphical illustration how the story progresses which is also relevant to the movie and you can follow suit from Charlton Heston and quote his famous line, "You maniacs!...damn you all to hell!" . So, I advise not to leave yet. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes opens August 4 in cinemas and is distributed by 20^th Century Fox.
 Advance screening was held at SM Megamall Cinema 6(2D) last August 2.

FREIDA PINTO IN THE MIDST OF “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto stars opposite James Franco in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” from the Oscar®-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  

The movie, a contemporary view of the planet of the apes mythology finds Caroline, a primatologist who crosses paths with scientist Will Rodman (Franco) when his simian subject, Caesar, a CGI ape played by Andy Serkis further required her expertise.  

“Caroline loves the fact that Will cares for a chimpanzee so much that he almost treats him like his own son,” says Pinto. “She’s dedicated her life to apes, so she absolutely loves them and cares for them with all her heart.”

Due to exposure in the womb to Will’s miracle drug cure, young Caesar displays intelligence and behaviors unusual for an ape of any age.  Inspired by his observation of Caesar’s unexpected gifts, Will surreptitiously obtains enough samples of his serum from the company who shut down his project, and against his better judgment privately continues his research at home, using his father and Caesar as test subjects.  Over time, with the help of the drug, the chimp exhibits incredible cognitive skills and intellect.  At the same time, Charles’ symptoms of Alzheimer’s miraculously go into remission.  Will’s bending the rules of laboratory trials seems to have worked beyond his hopes.  

 “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” explores arguably one of today’s most important issues,” states producer Peter Chernin.  “We have these incredible scientific and medical tools at our disposal, and we’re asking the question, how far do you take them before you’re really messing with nature?  What are the limitations?”

Will Rodman pushes those limitations to the breaking point and beyond, to catastrophic results. But before those dire consequences unfold, we get to know Caesar as a youngster and adolescent who, like a human child, is curious about the world around him.  However, as Caesar matures, his highly-developed intelligence is countered by the aggressive and dangerous protective instincts typical of adult male apes.  Caesar soon becomes too much for Will and Caroline to handle.  Will is reluctant to part with Caesar, who has become like a son; Caroline understands Will’s inner turmoil, but she knows that it is impossible for Caesar to remain with him.  “Caroline insists that every animal needs open space and that you can’t expect a large animal – even a very special one like Caesar – to flourish inside a house,” Pinto explains. “Of course, she loves Will and Caesar, and understands why it’s so difficult for him to part with Caesar.”

Pinto first modeled in Mumbai circuits before gaining her big break when director Danny Boyle cast her as the female lead, Latika in “Slumdog Millionaire.” In a promo interview, Boyle likened spotting her to his discovery of Kelly Macdonald for Trainspotting.  After Slumdog Millionaire’s success, Pinto starred in the title role in Julian Schnabel’s film Miral, followed by Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.  Upcoming is the fantasy epic Immortals, directed by Tarsem Singh. 

Between the years 2006-2007, Pinto anchored Full Circle, a travel show telecast on Zee International Asia Pacific. She went on assignments to Afghanistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Fiji among other countries.  

  “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens August 4 (Thursday) in theaters from 20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

TOM FELTON’S POST-HARRY POTTER ROLE IN “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

Tom Felton In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Harry Potter’s Tom Felton,known for his role as  Draco Malfoy, will next be seen in his post-Harry role in the upcoming event-movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”  His work in the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” marks another inventive villainous turn following his role as the bullying Malfoy for which he was recently awarded an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.

            Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist working within a large pharmaceutical corporation conducting genetic research to develop a benign virus that restores damaged human brain tissue.  He is committed to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, a disease that afflicts his father, Charles (John Lithgow).  Will’s relentless focus has precluded personal relationships, but the connection between his research and Charles’ illness brings the two together, albeit under difficult heart-rending circumstances.  Just prior to the drug company’s commencement of human trials of a promising and potentially lucrative new drug, Will’s simian test subjects suddenly display bizarrely aggressive behavior.  Management deems the research a failure and Will must shut down his program.

Amidst the confusion of the study’s sudden termination, Will finds himself charged with an overlooked newborn infant chimpanzee – a male, the newly orphaned offspring of his most promising test subject.  That young chimp, destined for greatness, is named Caesar, played by capture-performance actor Andy Serkis, marks his greatest art-rending performance ever in CGI.

            Will secretly raises young Caesar as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  “Will must now be a caretaker, not only to Charles, but to this baby chimp,” says Franco.  “As the story progresses Will becomes more of a person and less of a scientist, and starts to care about Caesar more than the success of the drug.”

Over time, with the help of the drug, the chimp exhibits incredible cognitive skills and intellect.  At the same time, Charles’ symptoms of Alzheimer’s miraculously go into remission.  Will’s bending the rules of laboratory trials seems to have worked beyond his hopes. 

However, as Caesar matures, his highly-developed intelligence is countered by the aggressive and dangerous protective instincts typical of adult male apes.  Caesar soon becomes too much for Will. Though reluctant to part with Caesar, who has become like a son, Will takes Caesar to live among other apes within the confines of the San Bruno Primate Sanctuary. But unknown to Will, the “sanctuary” is more like a shoddily run prison – a dumping ground for unwanted or abandoned apes.  It is run by Landon (Brian Cox, who starred in director Rupert Wyatt’s debut feature, the acclaimed The Escapist), and Landon’s son, Dodge, portrayed by Tom Felton. 

In addition to presenting emotionally-engaging photo-realistic apes, the film’s setting is instantly recognizable and relatable.  The movie is an origin story in the truest sense of the term.  Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The powerful and emotional battle that streamed out of the sanctuary’s abuses became a platform for the film’s most climactic scenes. Rupert Wyatt shares:   “We wanted it be a ‘world-stops-spinning’ moment that plays into the whole idea of evolution and where that can take a species.” That defining instant leads to a daring escape, an epic confrontation at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a wrenching and fateful reunion between Will and Caesar – and a revolution that will forever change the planet.”

In a recent chat with Total Film, Felton revealed he’s keen to further expand his range, to join Serkis in CGI circles.  “I bored Andy for hours about how he got into it and how he came to be the godfather of it all,” said Felton “He talked me through a lot of it, and it’s something I’d like to look into.There’s so many scripts that you could have read 20 years ago and you’d have said ‘You can’t physically make that’ but now it’s an option - you can do things that weren’t really achievable.

“In this film you’re going to see such advances in the CGI that you’re going to look back at the old apes costumes and really think ‘that’s history’,”  Felton shares.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens August 4 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

ANDY SERKIS AKA GOLLUM IN NEW ROLE AS CAESAR IN “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

20^th Century Fox’s “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” once again makes it happen first in moviemaking history using photorealistic CGI apes instead of costumed actors created by visual effects house Weta Digital.

”Rise of the Planet of the Apes” combines fantastic storytelling with the next leap in Visual Effects for an emotional and action-packed picture experience unlike any other. Man’s arrogance sets off a chain of events that leads to intelligence in apes and a challenge to our place as the dominant species on the planet.  Caesar, the first intelligent ape, is betrayed by humans and rises up to lead his species’ spectacular freedom and the ultimate showdown with man.  In Caesar, the Oscar-winning visual effects team behind Avatar – have created a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence. 

            Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale where man’s experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.  Amidst the confusion of his study’s sudden termination, scientist Will Rodman (Franco)  secretly raises a young chimpanzee named Caesar (Serkis) as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  Due to exposure in Will’s miracle drug, young Caesar displays intelligence and behaviors unusual for an ape of any age.  Inspired by his observation of Caesar’s unexpected gifts, Will, against his better judgment privately continues his research at home, using his father and Caesar as test subjects.  But he soon discovers, it has taken him – and ultimately the entire human race – on a ruinous path.  

As Caesar matures, his highly-developed intelligence is countered by the aggressive and dangerous protective instincts typical of adult male apes.  Caesar soon becomes too much for Will to handle. Parting reluctantly with Caesar, Will takes the chimp to a simian sanctuary where he could be among his kind.  Though not the physically strongest ape in the facility, Caesar quickly realizes that in order to survive he must assert his intellectual dominance over his new environment.  Caesar soon prevails over the other apes, and at a pivotal and electric moment, Caesar stands up to retaliate against their cruel human handlers.

As Weta Digital utilized its state-of-the-art tools to render photo-realistic apes, the world’s foremost performance capture artist, actor Andy Serkis, came aboard the project to infuse Caesar with nuance, emotion, soul, wisdom and heart.  Serkis’ contributions to the movie cannot be overestimated, says Wyatt: “Andy Serkis is our generation’s Charlie Chaplin.  By that I mean he’s one of the very few actors around who has fully embraced the available visual effects technology because he completely understands the full potential of what it can achieve. I think some actors are intimidated by performance capture because they think it’s separating their performance from the actual reality of the film, when quite the opposite is true.  Andy understands that every little nuance – every breath, every little muscle movement that he gives on camera is visual exposition.  Film is primarily a visual medium and if you are able to have your character tell a story with a minimal amount of words, then that’s ideal.” 

Caesar’s character arc takes the chimp from a newborn to an adult and the leader of a revolution.  Serkis, who gave acclaimed performances as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and as Kong in King Kong, notes that “Caesar is one of the most formidable roles I’ve undertaken, both physically and emotionally. It’s one thing to play a chimpanzee, but to play one from infancy to adulthood – and a revolutionary leader – well, that’s quite another. But it was irresistible to me as an actor.

By the film’s second act, “Caesar becomes a prisoner,” says Serkis. “He gets taken away from a loving environment and feels rejected.  He’s questioning his identity.  Then he finds the strength to lead and unite the other apes and I think it’s then that he moves into kind of the third stage… which is the revolution.  He uses his intelligence to galvanize these apes and then his strength and power to lead them.  It’s an extraordinary journey for me, as an actor.”

Weta Digital devised a new portable performance capture rig, which could be set up in different kinds of locations. For the first time ever, notes visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon, “we were able to get those performances in direct sunlight.”

Weta Digital’s – and the entire production’s – biggest challenges came during the filming of the film’s climax, which unfolds on, above, along and beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.  The scene, depicting an epic battle between man and primate, features elaborate stunts, fire, explosions, helicopters, hundreds of cars and extras, and an atmospheric San Francisco fog – as well as the culmination of all the drama, emotion and character interactions.

This scene and the film’s other big set pieces are always in the service of its emotional core and resonant themes.  Sums up Andy Serkis:  “It doesn’t feel like a visual effects-driven film.  It feels like a powerful emotional story with a big backdrop.  The action and spectacle work seamlessly with the drama.  And that’s why I think it’s really powerful – because the ‘wows’ aren’t in your face.  It’s all about finding realism and truth.”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens August 4 in more than 100 cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

PLANET OF THE APES RISING

A new social order is about to take place, threatening humans in the event-movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” starring James Franco (127 Hours), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and Tom Felton (Harry Potter).

            Orchestrated by director Rupert Wyatt and Peter Jackson’s filmmaking empire Weta Digital, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” breaks anew new grounds in moviemaking history using photorealistic apes instead of actors in costumes exposed to natural setting.  Pushing the boundaries beyond movie making techniques used in James Cameron’s “Avatar,” the movie is a completely new take on 20^th Century Fox’s most beloved and successful franchises.  Owing much of its genesis to Avatar, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” for the first time uses technology that allows audiences to emotionally engage with a lead character, a chimpanzee named Caesar (portrayed by Andy Serkis, ’Lord of the Rings’ trilogy’s Gollum), who does not actually exist. 

            James Franco plays Will Rodman caught in the middle of an epic battle where the upended destinies of man and primate meet.  As a scientist working within a large pharmaceutical corporation, Gen-Sys, conducting generic research to develop a benign virus that restores damaged human brain tissue, Will is committed to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease that afflicts his father, Charles (John Lithgow). When Will’s research test subjects suddenly display bizarrely aggressive behavior, the company shuts down his program. 

            Will finds himself charged with an overlooked newborn male chimpanzee most promising of his test subjects destined for greatness named Caesar.  Will secretly raises young Caesar as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  As the story progresses, he becomes more of a person and less of a scientist.  This in turn leads Will to Caroline (Pinto), a primatologist who serves as Caesar’s vet, and who becomes a key player in both their lives.

            “Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about our civilization reaching a point of no return,” says director Rupert Wyatt.  “Events unfold through the eyes of Caesar, a super-intelligent chimpanzee who at a young age sees humans as being capable of wonderful things, like art and reason. And then he begins to see humanity’s dark side – oppression, bigotry, and the ostracizing of what and who we don’t understand. Another key theme is humanity’s hubris – our arrogance in thinking that we can twist, push, cheat, or circumvent the laws of nature, without consequences. The movie pits humans against nature – and against themselves – leading to a resolution that sees humans and apes on the path that will take them to a new and shocking world order.”

“The film taps into our most primal fear of the Alpha of our planet being usurped – literally letting another species take over the world – and asks how would that play out,” concludes Rupert Wyatt.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” shows in more than 100 screens across the Philippines from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.