I wonder if those figures reflect the latest revenues in Japan, or China for that matter.   As of the time that I send this reply, neither has recorded their revenues since 9/22/14 at:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=dawnoftheapes.htm

 

It sure would be nice to surmount the $700 million mark.   Let's not forget that our beloved franchise never made it past the first season as a television series, or cartoon one.    All 3 Apes movies since the turn of the century have been blockbusters though, thanks to folks like us dedicated fans.   Nice going!    

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Luckily that's never happened to me. I've always paid for my sex. Al

We can see DVD / Blu Ray revenue reports here:

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.html.htmlNECA's 8" Mego-style figure is due to be shipped in March of next year (estimated to arrive in January by the second and third link's info)...

I was hoping that when they made these 8" figures, they'd look differently from their 7" counterparts, but this Gorilla looks like the already released smaller scale version... Hopefully future releases have different designs, but I'm not counting on it...

Here's the figure:

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NC14917#.VC4ZMxbp9Rw

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=NEC12609&mode=retail

http://www.figures.com/forums/news/64782-neca-planet-apes-mego-style.html"



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.html.htmlI have no opinion either way, I haven't seen "DAWN" yet, and since it's not playing in the budget theater locally, I'll just have to wait until pay-per-view or just buy the DVD outright... (I did buy the "DAWN" novel, but haven't started it yet: I need to finish "Firestorm" first...)





In a message dated 10/2/2014 5:50:32 PM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

Anyway, I think this is a good topic: which is better? It doesn't even have to be "better"; which do you prefer?

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.html.htmlThat's the trouble with too many of today's "franchises", none really have a definite conclusion, they're left too "open-ended" and then you're stuck waiting until the next one to wrap things up...

As far as these rebooted films go, I'm going to guess there will only be one more, to wrap up "Caesar's story" and there'll be a 50/50 chance on anything after that... One thing though, if they do wrap things up with the third film, then everybody who's insisting these reboots will literally lead to PLANET '68 can claim they're right because there might not be a definitive ending, they can lead to anything, so they can say the Caesar films will indeed lead to PLANET...




In a message dated 10/2/2014 10:46:07 PM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

The next script needs to be very good if not better -- and hopefully not just a teaser for the next movie, if there is one.

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X-Men's Armageddon (next film) will be the third and last of the X-Men's First Class Trilogy. So most likely it'll be the same for Apes as both reboots were released in the same years and now same fashion it seems. Al

Smaller is part of the charm - when the flaws get magnified by making them bigger, eh, no. Based on those photos, anyway, I'll stick with the 7" figures.
Kass

I liked Dawn much better. Rise had James Franco in it and he didn't fail to disappoint (sarcasm, there) - he didn't move me AT ALL in the role. Then we had gorillas jumping on helicopters which I know some thought was cool but I did not. I thought it was dumb. I didn't feel much of anything for anyone. I assumed it had something to do with the CGI because I rarely enjoy it, and now I really have to go back and rewatch because of how much better I liked Dawn. 
There was a lot of build in Dawn , I thought, wherein you get to see the kind of leader Caesar is, how he's feeling it out and growing to meet the challenges. There was good acting and good characterization, which may be a quieter thing than gorillas flying at helicopters, but it's absolutely crucial to making me care about the events of the movie as a whole. So I disagree that not much really happened in it. The whole thing with the dam -  how carefully Caesar and Malcolm tried to find a way to cooperate in a fragile situation, Dreyfus and Malcolm and how they ultimately clash, and how Koba seized his chance -  all of that was good (I really liked seeing Koba's development and fall, knowing his past).
Unfortunately Keri Russell was a bit bland for me, which is doubly bad because in a movie with no real focus on female characters, please don't get one in the spotlight and then ... bore me with her. Hell, at least original POTA had Zira.

Kass

Episode 17 The Deception

 

Our latest episode has posted.      Lots of catching up with APES News.

Fortunately Keri Russell played the key role in saving the life of the protagonist (Caesar), and quite possibly of his chronically ill mate (Cornelia).   She was comparable to Dr. Zira on that front and perhaps exceeded her.   While not as outspoken, Ms. Russell undoubtedly played a role behind the scenes as a supportive step mother.  I fondly recall how pleased she helped make Malcolm feel after seeing her step son teach the Orangutan (Maurice) about what "hanging out" (etc.) mean(s).

      Dawn, as a movie, didn't need the baggage of an obstructionist feminazi vociferously muddying the waters of the film's goals (showing interactions between her husband, Gary Oldman's character, Caesar & Koba).  Maybe she could have been the movie's token female bad-ass, but the lack of one added to the film's credibility.   And considering how incredible the film's premises were to begin with, coming back down to Earth on some fronts added to the movie's appeal.    

   As for the loss of Koba, I thought it was rather tragic.  He is a very sympathetic character who went overboard.   PTSD gets our veterans compensated and offered all sorts of perks & subsidies.   It got Koba executed by one of his own, though.   Exile might have been far more interesting, especially considering how some would have followed or subsequently defected to his camp.   Might you agree?

A good weekend to all from Houston,   :-)       

I did say I had empathy for Koba, right? His past was horrific. Treating a living being as a monster could very well create a monster, and therein lies my sympathies. But your arguments defending him are asinine and irrelevant. He was a killer and even a coward with the way he attempted to assassinate Caesar.

I would argue that the Zira had a strong will and definite, strong character as opposed to Ellie.

So we can have talking apes but ha ha, bad-ass women are too far-fetched? Good God, out of exasperation I have to say it - do you live in a cave?

The notion of having a female with facets other than as caregiver (which you so highly praise, and which was the only thing needed for a female, apparently, for you to find her relevant) is "baggage" and earns the extreme and hotbed label of  feminazi? I ... don't know what to say, really. I find your viewpoint profoundly insulting to women. Given the strong language/labels used in your reply, I'd guess it's a sore spot for you. Very revealing. It'd be pointless to discuss it further with you, I think.

I stand by my assessment. I'm equally sure you'll stand by yours.

I feel like somebody flung feces at me. Let me just go wash my hands.

Kass
  

I enjoyed both Rise and Dawn. Dawn with the slight edge over Rise. Enjoyed the characters, the story and the twist turns. Great storytelling. Al

Spock killed for the greater good, at the end of Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan.    Koba was determined not to let the humans take over the apes, and killed arguably for the greater good as well.   I respect them both, in different ways.   

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Wow, Taylor would be 90 years old today.   Sort of.   I mean if he hadn't traveled into the future and all.  :-)

I chatted briefly with Charlton Heston in person and will always remember the experience very fondly.   It was during the Fall of  1991, at U.Va. (where I'd helped get him selected as the Va. Festival of American Film's actor of the year, which meant his movies were shown for days in various venues around Charlottesville.   Anyhow when we met, he seemed thrilled to find out he was my favorite actor of all time...But then he seemed taken aback (in a pensive, albeit astonished) way when I followed up that comment by showing him my childhood POTA book that I'd kept for decades, and he suddenly realized that his portrayal of Taylor was what had won me over.    It seemed like wheels started churning in his mind, maybe recalling Oliver Stone's (and others') interest in reviving the franchise and deciding it was time to encourage such a revival.   A decade later he was on the silver screen as Thade's father.   Our contributions as fans have a cumulative effect and I thank all of you here for your own roles in helping to keep the beloved Apes franchise (my lifelong favorite) alive.

A good weekend to all from Houston...(where George Taylor likely trained).

.html.htmlI'm not taking sides and am certainly not trying to start a "flame war", but I just want to say, in my opinion, "the youth" will be attracted to APES (or not) based on its merits as a film or franchise, not because of what someone posts on an egroup...

Besides, when has (what is considered by some) "profane" language ever turned a kid off from liking an APES film? From PLANET onward, they just about all had "swear words" in them, even the TV series had "damned" in it... I don't think the few "swear" words turned anyone off then, now, or in the future... (Again, these are opinions, and yours might be different.)





In a message dated 10/3/2014 8:52:16 PM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

Your selection of profane language for these forums is unfortunate, since we want to inspire our youth to become interested in the franchise too.     

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.html.htmlYou're probably aware of this, but in case you weren't, NECA's first APES figure to be released in the 8" scale is going to be Taylor:

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NC14915


(I don't know if they're going to eventually do a Taylor figure in the 7" scale... My guess is they will, but so far any "sneak peaks" at upcoming waves don't show any indication of it...)




In a message dated 10/3/2014 8:08:15 AM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

Smaller is part of the charm - when the flaws get magnified by making them bigger, eh, no. Based on those photos, anyway, I'll stick with the 7" figures.

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.html.htmlYou're not alone: I did not like him in the role...


In a message dated 10/3/2014 8:16:08 AM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

Rise had James Franco in it and he didn't fail to disappoint (sarcasm, there) - he didn't move me AT ALL in the role.

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I don't love many of the larger action figures (I'd call them dolls but I don't want to get all the men here worked up;) - I think the bodies often look clumsy or unrealistic. I would say because they're poseable, maybe that's a reason for the distortion, but I like the NECA 7" figures and they're articulated, so...

My favorites have always been the  2000 Medicom 6" figures, though I like some of the cutesy figures as well - love the Funko Pop! figures and the Kubricks, too.

Anyway, the facial sculpt of the George Taylor figure doesn't look bad at all! I like it. It's the figure itself.

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Name an apes movie that has referred to excrement, let alone anything resembling one's claim that another's disagreement with one's criticism of Dawn is akin to having it thrown at one.   The silence is deafening.

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It wasn't your criticism of my viewpoint of Dawn that was offensive to me. It was the blatantly breathtaking sexism, which I didn't want to discuss with you because it was, as I suspected, completely unconscious on your part. Doesn't make it less offensive.

If you think talking about feces is disgusting, then you're one delicate soul, or one unfamiliar with diapers, which I would not be surprised in the least to find out.

What about sexism, might that drive new viewers away? It's a thought, isn't it?

Kass

 

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Share with the group precisely what I had written that you claim is such "blatant sexism", as well as the previous (anti-Dawn) passage of yours to which my rebuttal was a direct response.   

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Not sure what this comparison is in aid of. If she's comparable to any character in the old films, it's Lisa, not Zira.

 

In a message dated 10/3/2014 2:13:08 P.M. Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

I would argue that the Zira had a strong will and definite, strong character as opposed to Ellie.

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I kinda think the 'blandness' people see in Ellie vs. Stevie is directly related to the primitive Dawn vs. Battle Caesar. If Ellie emoted like Stevie did while Caesar is as early in his evolution as he is, she would have looked 'hammy'. Just a theory...

>>>If Ellie emoted like Stevie did while Caesar is as early in his evolution as he is, she would have looked 'hammy'. <<<

That's an excellent point that you raised.   Indeed, Dawn seemed geared towards making the viewers sort out the facts and realize that sometimes folks pursue strategies unnecessarily violently.   Had Ellie advocated pacifism more overtly, the mental challenges that helped make the movie so alluring might not have been as substantial.   Ellie was there to be discovered, not endured.   Even her husband held back with his pacifism preachings until the eve of human attack.    Dawn's a fine movie and I hope War on the Planet of the Apes will be in 2016.   Will Caesar survive what comes next?

.html.htmlThis link shows the three figures coming in NECA's classic APES series three:

http://megomuseum.com/community/showthread.php?98790-More-NECA-classic-APES!!&p=1167263#post1167263


The CONQUEST figures are awesome, but Julius seems a bit out of place with them... It should have been Julius, Taylor, and Lucius in a wave/series, and then Caesar, Slave Gorilla, and a Slave Orangutan in their own series/wave... But, however he's released, it's good that Julius is finally getting a figure of his own...<.html<.html

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.html.htmlThis book sounds like it's going to be a good one...

Wasn't Joe Russo working on an updated editon of "POTA Revisited"? Any word on that one?




In a message dated 10/13/2014 2:36:27 PM Central Daylight Time, PotaDG@yahoogroups.com writes:

Happy Columbus Day! Chris Columbus ("Harry Potter") wuz one of many directors to take a crack at a modern POTA movie, which will probably be mentioned in the new book "POTA: the Evolution of the Legend", which is published Tuesday. It's the first nonfiction book about POTA authorized by Fox and is said to include much groovy stuff from Fox's archives. I guess it could be considered the first coffee table book of the whole franchise (there wuz the Rise/Dawn "Art of"). Not much to say until we see it 4 ourselves. But it's written by Joe Fordham (who has a long history with the FX industry journal "Cinefex" and wrote their current "Dawn" article) and Bond, Jeff Bond, known for his writing about film music (he wrote the liner notes for the acclaimed rereleases of the POTA and "Beneath" scores). Lookin' good.
 
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/books/planet-of-the-apes-evolution-of-the-legend-exclusive-first-look/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2781617/Never-seen-photos-glimpse-scenes-Planets-Apes-franchise.html"

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This book sounds like it's going to be a good one...

Wasn't Joe Russo working on an updated editon of "POTA Revisited"? Any word on that one?




In a message dated 10/13/2014 2:36:27 PM Central Daylight Time, PotaDG@yahoogroups.com writes:

Happy Columbus Day! Chris Columbus ("Harry Potter") wuz one of many directors to take a crack at a modern POTA movie, which will probably be mentioned in the new book "POTA: the Evolution of the Legend", which is published Tuesday. It's the first nonfiction book about POTA authorized by Fox and is said to include much groovy stuff from Fox's archives. I guess it could be considered the first coffee table book of the whole franchise (there wuz the Rise/Dawn "Art of"). Not much to say until we see it 4 ourselves. But it's written by Joe Fordham (who has a long history with the FX industry journal "Cinefex" and wrote their current "Dawn" article) and Bond, Jeff Bond, known for his writing about film music (he wrote the liner notes for the acclaimed rereleases of the POTA and "Beneath" scores). Lookin' good.
 
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/books/planet-of-the-apes-evolution-of-the-legend-exclusive-first-look/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2781617/Never-seen-photos-glimpse-scenes-Planets-Apes-franchise.html"

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It's been more or less that close for the last couple of weeks now. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we're just being teased. Conspiracy Theory :)

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There is a Facebook group dedicated to the new release of the book. Joe Russo posted that it's been delayed a bit because Gross got a Star Trek book writing opportunity that he's working on. No new official release date yet, but Joe has also been posting a bunch a pics that he took at the time he did all his first interviews. 

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Thanks for the advisory!  :-)

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.html.htmlAre you referring to "Planet of the Apes: The Evolution of the Legend" or do you mean the "Art of Dawn & Rise"?

I'm planning on buying the "POTA: Evolution" book, but will probably skip the "Art of Dawn & Rise" book... I'm not all that interested in the new franchise*, so if I buy the book related to that, it'll be from the closeout bin/reduced rack... I'd rather buy a product related to the real APES films, not the rebooted franchise...

* The rebooted franchise is okay, but I'm not going to buy anything and everything having to do with it... I'm sure I'll buy the DVD of "Dawn", I have the "Dawn" novel and "Firestorm" and I may buy a few (or all of) the Neca "Dawn" figures, but other than that: Probably not... (I may buy the upcoming comic mini-series too, but that'd probably be the end of it...)






In a message dated 10/16/2014 9:13:02 PM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

Got the Planet of the Apes coffee table book today.  Anybody else?

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Exactly what Jeff said!

It's like the opposite of Joe Russo's book - that was all info but let down by the presentation (not his fault) ... this is all presentation let down by the info.

Dave

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.html.htmlYou're right about them not using the long Roddy McDowall interview stuff in "Behind/POTA", but if you've ever watched the 35th Anniversary edition of PLANET with the audio commentary on, they do use some Roddy "sound-bites" from the long interview in the audio commentary... While using "sound-bites" from Roddy & Kim, and John Chambers and Natalie Trundy was "okay", I would have preferred real audio commentaries from surviving cast/crew/etc. ("real" as in someone talking in real time while the movie's going on)...

Film commentaries could be/would be good things to add to future reissues of the films on DVD, but at this point there's not too many people left to do audio commentaries... Maybe Lou Wagner, Linda Harrison and Buck Kartalian (if he'd be up to it) for PLANET, Natalie Trundy and Linda Harrison for BENEATH, Natalie Trundy, Bradford Dillman, and Eric Braeden <like that'd ever happen> for ESCAPE, Don Murray, Natalie Trundy, and composer Tom Scott for CONQUEST, and the least popular of the sequels seems to have the most survivors that could do commentary: BATTLE has Bobby Porter, Natalie Trundy, Austin Stoker, and Paul Williams to do audio commentaries... Of course they could also have William Creber do commentaries for the films he worked on, and they could do interviews with surviving extras, make-up artists, film crew, stunt people, etc... But of course, all of this will probably never happen...

I'd guess your remark that there's plenty of stuff that didn't make the cut for BEHIND is probably what they'd end up using since it's already been bought and paid for... They might want new stuff for their DVDs, but I can also see them *not* wanting to put much cost & effort into it...

In a message dated 10/18/2014 2:49:09 PM Central Daylight Time, veetus@... writes:

I rewatched "Behind the POTA". At this point all I can do is be grateful. Everybody is dead except for Natalie Trundy, Linda Harrison, William Creber and Eric Greene. What a gift to have all those people talk about POTA. We are entering a time when POTA is a big deal and Fox will want some new stuff for their DVDs. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff that didn't make the cut (there was a long Roddy interview on the special edition "Behind" DVD that none of which ended up in "Behind"). I reckon that stuff would be a wealth of bonus material for future DVDs. I would also love if "Behind" was redone in HD. Something to consider as we head toward the 50th anniversary.

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Post-Dawn: what the future holds in store for the POTA reboots (or not):


http://whatculture.com/film/5-directions-planet-of-the-apes-3-can-take.php

Which scenario do YOU prefer?


Cheers from Houston... :-)

We agree to disagree about the value of bringing back Koba.   

Please visit our Facebook page for the book PLANET OF THE APES REVISITED
I have been posting personal photos I shot of POTA celebrities and artifacts from our years of research.
There will be more to come as well as updates on the upcoming revised edition of the book.
By the way, we wholeheartedly recommend PLANET OF THE APES EVOLUTION. It is the deluxe, hard cover coffee-table type book,similar to what  I initially envisioned for PLANET OF THE APES REVISITED.
It does not replicate our material from REVISITED and will be a nice companion piece to the revised edition of REVISITED when it is released.

So please visit our Facebook page and LIKE us if you enjoy what you find

Planet of the Apes Revisited - Book

 

.html.htmlI haven't even seen DAWN yet, but from the little I know about it, I'd tend to agree with you on this... Once a character is dead, leave him (or her) be dead... It's not like there's a shortage of apes in those films to take Koba's place as the "bad ass" ape...

It could end up being more interesting to have a new "threat" instead of the same one (who'd have the same motivations, etc...)



In a message dated 10/19/2014 4:34:36 PM Central Daylight Time, pota@yahoogroups.com writes:

I really don't see the point in bringing back Koba.  They should move on.

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Is it a mistake to bring back Koba for the next movie installment?

Here are some pros & cons that I can think of, to which you're perfectly welcome to add or subtract:

PROS:

*Koba serves as a great example for parents to use when advocating that their kids treat animals better, because animals have feelings too.

*Koba also serves as a great example for animal rights activists who seek to personify their messages on behalf of voiceless yet living objects of their appreciation.

*Meanwhile, anyone who has to cope with sympathetic dissenters in their organization (be it familial, entrepreneurial, governmental, civic or otherwise) can learn some lessons from how Koba increasingly rebelled and was brutally attacked by Caesar during a time of verbal confrontation. Can you imagine how much better things might have been if Caesar had put the "support the humans' endeavor to restore power" issue to a vote within the Apes community? Even the youngest sentient simians could have had a say, sort of like Scots ages 16-18 recently got to vote on Scottish secession:

http://www.seceder.com/Scotland

Instead, Caesar used brute force to humiliate and hurt Koba in front of others, before Koba ultimately shot Caesar. I've had folks tell me that Koba merely cared about himself, but I think he cared about apes' survival while realizing that without a team, apes are neither together nor strong. Sure he killed Ash most brutally, but the U.S.A. regularly executes those who are perceived as social cancers. He didn't execute Maurice and others from Caesar's inner circle though. He even reached out to Caesar's son, right?

*Koba generates instant enthusiasm among anyone who is having the Apes reboot described to them as part of an effort to get them to care enough to actually view the reboot's installments. There have been plenty of series out there about nonhumans interacting. How many have anyone even remotely interesting & sympathetic like Koba though? He helps our beloved reboot be unique, and relevant to modern societal issues too. Only when medical experimentation on animals ceases, and we've become vegetarian or we otherwise eat meat that doesn't come directly from killed animals:

http://www.new-harvest.org

can we finally say that Koba's not as relevant as he currently still is. |

O.K., now on to some cons:


CONS:

*Koba's presumably dead. But so is Sigourney Weaver's character Grace in the blockbuster movie Avatar. She's nevertheless reportedly coming back for the Avatar sequel, due out in December of 2016. Meanwhile her revival in the Alien movies didn't stop folks from buying tickets including for the eventual prequel Prometheus (which admittedly didn't include her but still rode on the Alien movies' coattails). Incidentally does anyone doubt that we'll be seeing more of the supposedly deceased Anakin Skywalker in the J.J. Abrams installments of Star Wars?

Next:

*The interaction between Koba and Caesar is becoming a "been there; done that" struggle. But one can say the same about the wildly successful Star Wars installments. Nothing says that the entire War on the Planet of the Apes movie has to focus on Koba, either. But Caesar could soon realize that it's best to keep one's friends close and one's enemies closer. Imagine if Koba goes into exile, starts his own society and antagonizes the humans' military forces to the point of wanting to do as Gary Oldman's character did by exterminating every last one of the simians (including Caesar's more peaceful tribe). Koba could help spell out how important it is not to overly generalize, just as we shouldn't assume that all folks from the Middle East are aspiring terrorists. Perhaps it's no surprise that Dawn, made by Americans with a message for Americans, has brought in over 70% of its box office revenues OUTSIDE of the U.S.A.? The Chinese seem especially
intrigued with how we're experiencing internal dissent regarding foreign invasions. China claims never to have invaded a foreign land, by the way (although some could say China became as large as it did by doing so centuries ago, especially regarding Tibet).

Thank you for having considered my thoughts. I for one am very pleased (and relieved) that Koba will reportedly return. I don't want War on the Planet of the Apes to fall victim to the statistic that sequels typically earn just 66% of the originals. The perpetrator of this briliant scene is good for at least a few hundred million in ticket sales:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itnj-k0TRB0

Does anyone here not know of anyone analogous to Koba? The interaction involving such characters is part of the human condition that the POTA movies are so good at exploring in detached yet engaging ways (without being overly political).


What role do you think Koba should have in the next Apes movie(s)?

Cheers from Houston (where Astronaut George Taylor presumably trained)...

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