The days are getting hotter and so is POTA. The calendar tells us the new movie "War 4" will be here in 2 months.

And the final trailer is said to be coming this week, in time 4 Fox's new "Alien" movie. 5/21 will also mark the 50^th anniversary of the start of filming the original POTA. A lot of 50ths this summer.

Ape on!

We'll be getting the final trailer Tuesday but this 1 minute "teaser" is blow away. A surprise visit from a classic POTA actor and a promise that this movie will have a finality. Just wow.

collider.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-final-trailer-teaser/

Looking good Jeff!

I am putting together a Classic Planet of the Apes Merchandise book.

Anyone here got any firm dates on releases?

As far as I recall it was the movie, a novel (for each movie – did the sequel novels get a release as the movies did or did they all come with the wave?), Soundtrack, Topps cards, but other than that it was insider stuff like lobby cards, original posters, press books, that Teacher's Guide…..

The Japanese comic beat the Curtis mags!

Then the Curtis mags.

Any input?

Michael

(when are you guys going to get on Facebook????)

Looking good but more of the same. No Heston stuff. Hopefully the Heston one will be on the blu-ray.

Digging Woody's "Natural Born Killers" vibe.

collider.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-final-trailer/

You're kidding, right? There was a ton of merchandise. Toys, games, parachutes. Check out your collection.

Yeah I should have been more clear.

I'm talking about the sequence of events, and trying to find out what could be considered merchandise.

What I'm referring to here is "the Lean Years on the Planet of the Apes".

Very little was initially available.

There is very little information also.

This is all further complicated by the APJAC copyright date being the same for all years released too.

I know overall it was lean, then came a few items but when were they released?

I can tell you when they were NOT released, and look at the Curtis mags advertisements, but nothing to say these are advertising forthcoming or new products…..they may just be advertising an old product.

The book will hopefully help us to relive those years and it would be nice to know what was released when.

In a nutshell there was little, then there was lots, then there was too much, then nothing, then a little, then lots of the WRONG (2001) thing……..etc.

I don't want to waste time on things that have been flogged to death either (Mego, Mego, and did I mention Mego?) but I do want to mention it.

Not all will be answered and readers will be invited to a website to interact and hopefully supply more answers (or questions, knowing my luck!).

Jeff – do you recall the Ape Chronicles list? Did you compile that? And if so – how? It's the list we collectors turned to for MANY years.

Cheers

Michael

Almost everything came out with the TV show. The original movie had versions of Boulle's novel and the soundtrack. Beneath had two versions of it's novel and the soundtrack. I think the last 3 novelizations came out at the same time around the time of "Battle"? Posters, lobby cards came out with the movies to promote them. Everything else came with the TV show or after, including the magazine (1974 – 77).

Terry did the list (he liked lists).

Just ignore the APJAC copyright. Arthur was dead and Fox owned the rights but they continued to put that on there even though his family didn't make a dime.

"Beneath" did have a comic book (Gold Key) released with it, but the Marvel comic book also came out with the TV show. There was that merchandise book released in the '90's. I'll have to dig it out to see if there's more info.

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According to the book (Sauseville), most of the stuff came out between 1973 and '74. 1973 was the Go Ape marathon, which was the start of the push to kids. I don't think there was much worldwide back then, just what dribbled out. The UK had their own Mego packaging, etc. I think the novelizations and a few other things were '73 and then the big push was '74 when they thought the TV show would be a huge hit.

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Yeah, I meant covers.

I have both "Beneath' covers. The first came out with the movie (the Nova one) and has a 1970 date. The second (Cornelius and Ursus) came out in April 1974 with the blitz. I remember being in a local store (GemCo) as a kid and they had a display of the books for the movies when the TV show first came out. I was allowed to pick one and I chose "Beneath" because of the Ursus picture (I was big on Urko). My guess is the Nova cover is kind of "busy" so they redid it with cool close-ups of apes that would appeal to kids (worked on me).

Fifty years ago today (5/22/67) the original POTA started filming. Let me repeat that. No, I won't. Although Heston's diary sez 5/21, John O'Callaghan's meticulous book "Simians and Serialism" has us covered. Turns out 5/21 was a Sunday (as it was 50 years later) and according to union rules they couldn't film on a Sunday. So that's that. Also, the final budget sez 5/22.

So what did they film? From 5/22 to 6/5 it wuz the astronauts trekking across the desert. As has been noted before the studio thought that wuz ridiculous but in "Behind the POTA" Mort Abrahams recalls asking director Frank Schaffner why he was so particular about that sequence. According to Abrahams, Schaffner told him, "It sets the mood, the tone and the objective of the film. We're going, we don't know where we're going. We have no idea of what's going to happen. And that sets the body of the film".

The desert stuff was a notoriously awkward start to the filming, a lot of effort for a sequence people thought was unnecessary (certainly it's hard to imagine it being filmed for a movie today). According to Heston, one of the astronauts fainted from the heat on the first day (Jeff Burton, "Dodge") which often reached 120 degrees. Heston mentions the first day of filming got off to a late start because of problems with the fake beards. And Roddy notes in "Behind", "The location was desolate and treacherous (Glen Canyon in Utah and Lake Powell). Camera and sound equipment arrived by helicopter, foot and mule pack team".

In the end I feel the "desert trek" was a signature sequence in the film that adds to the mystery and awe of the film. It wouldn't have been the same without it and I'm glad Schaffner took the time to get it right.

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Any ideas what this is?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Signed-Letter-5-Film-Clips-Bill-Woodruff-Planet-of-the-Apes-Charlton-Heston-/162528962249?roken=cUgayN

Michael

Though NECA's awesome apes won't touch "War For the POTA", Funko's cute figures has the license. I saw this on Al's awesome "War" twitter (twitter.com/war4apes): director Matt Reeves sez he wants this figure. It's "Bad Ape" (the chatty ape in the trailers played by Steve Zahn) but he's wearing clothes. Is this the clothing style of apes to come? Looks like the classic look with a modern twist. No evidence it's a gag ape.

Popbot.com.au/shop/planet-of-the-apes/war-planet-apes-bad-ape-pop-vinyl/

Wow, good catch. So the first ape to wear clothes is obviously not something the filmmakers are keeping secret.

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"Revelations" by Greg Keyes (who also wrote the "Dawn" prequel "Firestorm") comes out 6/6/17. It also provides us the name of Woody Harrelson's colonel: Col. McCollough.

titanbooks.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-revelations-9126

The original POTA finished shooting it's epic Arizona and Utah footage 50 years ago today, 6/5/67. Originally scheduled for 10 days, the desert shoot for POTA lasted 13, shooting every day but Sundays (per John O'Callaghan's "Simians and Serialism"). The pressure was on the whole way, with the studio fretting it was a waste of time and money (and went over schedule to boot). Studio head Richard Zanuck threatened to pull the plug. But producer Mort Abrahams ran interference and got the director the time he needed to shoot what turned out to be very important shots that gave the movie weight.

They filmed not only the astronauts' trek but also the first ape shots, showing Roddy McDowall (Cornelius), Kim Hunter (Zira) and Lou Wagner (Lucius) in the deep desert. Charlton Heston commented in his 5/31/67 diary entry: "… finishing off the apes on location, which is a blessing. The makeups are only just bearable for them and the more days off they can get the better they'll be. I'm impressed at how well Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter act in the makeup; you can actually read emotion through those animal faces".

The desert shoot went from May 22 – June 5 1967. It was off to California for the rest of the film.

The Jane Goodall Institute and "War For the POTA" have teamed up to help apes. They're using the film as a way to teach folks about the situation simians are in. They've released a video (which includes footage from the movie I haven't seen) and have named a sanctuary at the Institute's Congo rehabilitation center "Caesar's Home".

superherohype.com/news/398535/jane-goodall-institute-names-new-sanctuary-after-planet-of-the-apes-caesar#/slide/1

This should do it.

superherohype.com/news/398535-jane-goodall-institute-names-new-sanctuary-after-planet-of-the-apes-caesar#/slide/1

The original POTA production returned from the desert and started shooting like normal people 50 years ago today. Well, kind of normal. The mornings were devoted to doing the ape makeup and shooting would go from 10 AM – 7 PM, a little late for Charlton Heston's taste. His diary entry for 6/7/67: "The usual problems attendant on moving back on stage from a location. The prop truck isn't back yet, the crew has to shake down. In addition, the makeups are so rough for the apes, their calls are so bloody early, that we've decided to start at ten in the morning and finish at seven in the evening. Personally, I'm not delighted with this plan, but it makes sense overall. I was unconscious through most of the scene today and thus had little to contribute, but Frank shot it well".

Could the scene be the blood transfusion?

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No, not that Nova. Nova from the new "War For the POTA" movie. Fox has created a video salute to her which includes some new footage.

Also, the film will be screened for free June 19 in various locations. See below for your chance (but it's probably already full like mine is).

slashfilm.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-screening-and-clip/

WETA's Dan Lemmon tweeted tonight (June 8) that the last "War 4" FX have been delivered. The film screens 4 the lucky few June 19. That's a wrap.

https://twitter.com/danlemmn/status/872973638865100800

50 years ago on 6/13/67, Charlton Heston let his freak flag fly. Heston noted in his diary: "Today was a horrible day. I'd caught a cold, something I almost never do while working. I felt lousy when I came to work, and worse every time that damn fire hose hit me, topped off when I had to scream the last speech of the sequence, dripping and hose-battered. The hoarse rasp I was able to produce is really ideal; this is the first scene where we hear Taylor speak after his throat wound. Frank's staging is very telling. The cage stuff looks good in dailies, the ragged blanket's appropriately ratty and unheroic".

The "cage stuff" was almost done, the first things shot in the studio.

Fox has released their second "intro" clip and poster of new "War" characters. The first was for the new Nova and now this one makes the acquaintance of Bad Ape, who seems like the shape of ape to come (wears clothes, talks fluently). New footage but I guess nothing spoilery to those who have seen the trailers.

collider.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-clip-bad-ape/

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Heston sez Maurice Evans made his debut as Dr. Zaius 50 years ago today as they finished up the cage stuff on 6/14/67. They completed filming Taylor's escape from the cage and then did Zira introducing Dr. Zaius to Taylor ("Yes, amusing, a man acting like an ape!"). Heston noted, "His orangutan makeup is excellent, and he is learning how to use it".

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Don't be blue, just cause you're not crew.

twitter.com/bunnybattleaxe/status/875407893180235777/photo/1

Critics have seen "War 4 the POTA" and though reviews are embargoed until 6/26, their comments suggest it's another winner. Duh, winning! Is it a dud? Hey, aren't you listening?

Fox is definitely not hiding it. The first audiences get to see it Monday (are you going?) so what does that mean for any surprise ending? People will be chattering on twitter like a bunch of monkeys for a month before it's released. Either there's no big surprises to spoil or they've held back a final scene. Probably word of mouth comes first because it's up against the second weekend of Spider-Man. But relax and know that "War" is another good one.

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Here's the responses to what I guess is the first critic screening of "War". No spoilers.

slashfilm.com/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-early-buzz/

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Here's the listing of tracks for the "War" soundtrack. Giacchino's groan-inducing titles are in full evidence. But it must be said that the music is getting raves from early screenings.

filmmusicreporter.com/2017/06/24/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-soundtrack-details/

Peter Chernin could be seen as the godfather of Nu Apes. He dug the original films as "relevant and timely almost to any time in history" and as the head of Fox in the early '90's he got the ball rolling on a new "Apes" movie which eventually led almost a decade later to POTA2001. Meanwhile, Chernin went from running Fox to running the parent company News Corp. as Rupert Murdoch's #2. As part of his retirement package he got a sweet producing deal for his company Chernin Entertainment. Though he's had other hits, Nu Apes ("Rise", "Dawn", "War") are really his movie company's signature productions so far.

In a rare interview on Apes, Chernin talked about the uncertain life after Caesar. Whatever Caesar's fate in the movie, it's no secret that his story is concluding (with trailers and TV commercials calling it "the End"). He sez, "Well, what I would say is that it is – and I recognize this is a little bit hedging – meant to complete this Caesar arc. It was meant to complete a story… I think people will find this an incredibly satisfying finale".

But why should knowledge stand still? What about the future? Chernin insists they are having those discussions right now: "From the moment we started this, we looked at this as one story, as one trilogy, and so we have never thought about doing (a crazy "Escape"- like turn). We've been thinking about what subsequent Ape movies might look like, and we've been doing a lot of talking over the last 6 months about what other Ape movies we might do. There may be things that are more radical but this has always been driven by one narrative arc and, frankly, by a specific group of characters… I'd be shocked if we ever did something this tonally, wildly different as they did in some of those early movies".

With Matt Reeves taking off for "Batman" and box office results awaited, who knows about the future?

nerdist.com/war-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-peter-chernin-franchise-future/

Today is the day that Fox has blessed for reviewers to post their reviews of "War" (um, the latest POTA movie). So give a visit to your favorite film critic or watch the link below.

rottentomatoes.com/m/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes/

Not only did "War 4" have the longest production time of any "Apes" movie, a full 3 years, but it's also the longest "Apes" movie. "War" is 2 hours and 20 minutes, beating "Dawn" by 10 minutes. In the old days the Ape movies used to get shorter and the apes looked worse. Almost 50 years later it's the reverse.

But we all know that length doesn't matter, it's what you do with it. ; )

This one provides some new epic shots as well as some blood (remember all the years fans pined for the censored version of "Conquest"?). Bloody ape faces for all!

youtube.com/watch?v=9Zpli12JBZA

Here's the trailer for Andy Serkis' first movie as a director. I don't know about you, but as a POTA fan I will be forever grateful to Andy for taking POTA seriously and leading the way portraying an ape with modern CG. Though Andy is fully committed to motion capture with his own Imaginarium studio, and his motion capture movie "The Jungle Book" is due next year, his first movie "Breathe" is a straight forward, non-FX movie (as far as I know) about a guy dealing with polio. It's based on the parents of one of Andy's Imaginarium partners and is a personal story to him. Maybe this will bring him the Oscar people want for him.

And who knows, Andy may direct a POTA movie some day. That would seem to be almost a certainty.

deadline.com/2017/06/andy-serkis-breathe-opening-night-london-film-festival-andrew-garfield-claire-foy-trailer-1202121809/

Al has been a big booster of POTA on the internet forever. If you are hungry for Ape news there's no need to go any further. His current tweeter is twitter.com/war4apes .

Fun fact: A l has already seen "War", that @#$%!

On July 12, movie theaters will be showing all 3 Nu Apes movies, including the new "War". Viewers at RealD 3D locations will get a special gift (and it probably isn't ape poo flung at them).

apesmovietickets.com/showtimes/

According to Charlton Heston's diary, 50 years ago today he was hanging upside down in a net and they wouldn't take their stinkin' paws off him.

7/6/67: "A helluva long day, in the course of which I was finally brought to earth as Taylor. Having evaded clubs, whips, horsemen, crowds, they tripped me ass over tea kettle into a thrown net and hoisted me high. It should make a damn good sequence; shooting it took about all the stamina I was relieved to discover I can still muster. It's surprising the perspective an experience like this gives you. Upside down in a net, a man isn't worth much".

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Your friends at "Entertainment Weekly" have provided a track from Michael Giacchino's "War For the POTA" soundtrack. It happens to be the end credits, a good choice since end credits tend to reprise the main themes of a movie.

Sounds pretty good. Nothing jumps out. I heard a little "Dawn" reprise there and interesting vocals at the end ("Lord of the Rings"ish). But definitely an "off to war" feel.

ew.com/movies/2017/06/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-michael-giacchino-score/

The "War" mongers have hit New York, where "War 4 the POTA" will premiere Monday night. Will the Statue of Liberty be in the background?

POTA week begins!

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"War For the POTA" is one of the best reviewed movies of the year, but I like what Brian Tallerico, a reviewer at rogerebert.com, sez:

"A shockingly memorable movie, the kind that gets better as you dissect and discuss how much it does right after the lights have gone up".

rogerebert.com/reviews/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-2017

Most summer movies get worse after they are thought about, so that's a good sign. I guess we'll know soon.

Um, hello? Is this on? There's a new POTA movie opening today (double checks what kind of group this is).

Now, watch like apes!

It's been a tough summer for Hollywood franchises at the box office, with new installments opening lower than their predecessors. And POTA is looking no different. "Rise" was a question mark whether it would work (believing in CG apes) and when it opened to $55 million and got a worldwide take of $482 million it was deemed a risk that worked. "Dawn" wuz even more a rise at the box office, with a $73 million opening and $711 million worldwide.

If "War" continued that progression it could come close to the storied $1 billion mark. But it's looking like it's going backwards to "Rise" levels. As of Saturday the prediction is a $58 million opening (in line with what Fox expected). It will probably beat Spider-man, an achievement in itself, but some were hoping the great reviews would push it more in the "Dawn" realm and beyond. Also iffy is that "War" is a tough watch and that might cut into repeat viewing and word of mouth. Fox seemed to understand that and cut the budget to $150 million from Dawn's $170 million to accommodate Matt Reeves' ambitious story.

Where it will stop, nobody knows but the violence could wind up with "War" doing less than "Rise". Would that be a deal breaker for more "Apes" movies? I don't think so. Look no further than Fox's revamped "X-Men" movies, which have had a similar trajectory. "First Class" came out the same year as "Rise" did (2011) and made less ($353 million worldwide); "Days of Future Past" did slightly better than "Dawn" in 2014 ($747 million worldwide) and then "Apocalypse" reverted back to $543 million worldwide (about where "War" will land if current trends hold up). And Fox is continuing with "X-Men" so these numbers seem acceptable to them.

Overall, Nu Apes has done well but there seems to be a block that keeps it from joining the ranks of the top franchises (or join the Oscar winners) despite all the acclaim.

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In these days of movie universes, one series in a franchise isn't enough. Fox spun off Wolverine from the X-Men, Bumblebee will get his own movie separate from the Transformers, etc. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox is thinking of giving Bad Ape (the cute as a button comic relief in "War") his own movie. I don't know where they got that but HR has always been the Newsweek of movie info (with Variety as Time) so maybe it's true. It does make diabolical sense.

Bad Ape stuck out like a sore thumb as the relief valve in a very heavy movie and some felt he upstaged Andy Serkis' Caesar. Maybe he can start a business making winter jackets for the other apes and we'll finally get some clothes on them.

Psst! This link has spoilers.

hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/war-planet-apes-how-can-survive-more-movies-1021558

For those who haven't seen "War", thar be spoilers in this link.

For those who have, director Matt Reeves and Andy Serkis talk the ending. Reeves is off to do "The Batman" and doesn't rule out a trilogy so he might be gone awhile. Serkis would love to reconnect with him on Apes down the road (box office willing) but sez he's not burned out, and would consider continuing, maybe even directing some Apes movies.

It's all up in the air right now until Fox decides what they're going to do, but it's hard to imagine these continuing without Serkis and WETA. That Serkis wants to continue is a big victory on the road to more Apes.

latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-planet-of-the-apes-caesar-ending-20170717-story.html

They credited "Rise" authors Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver as the "creators". I'm cool with that. We know where it came from and they acknowledge the originals and wanted to pay homage. But Apes was deader than a doornail to Fox thanx to Tim Burton until they came up with "Rise" and really nurtured it for years. Without them these 3 reboots wouldn't exist. They fought for producer credit and even though they didn't write "Dawn" and "War", I'm sure they were treated well with creator/producer credits. Meanwhile writing "Jurassic World" and "Avatar 2" – Apes has been beddy beddy good to them.

We won't get a nuclear war because scientifically the virus is more believable. Both basically work as magic to create the POTA. It's hard to make it work as a direct prequel without it, but we assume it will end up as a similar kind of world. They could even remake the original if they wanted to but they've said they wouldn't touch it.

They were going for a kind of religious feel as Caesar's mythology is born. The crosses, the Moses nod at the end. I enjoyed that stuff, especially considering Heston's many religious movies (which they studied). POTA has always rocked the religious angle.

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Is "War" a good model for future POTA movies? They got tight on the budget so they could tell a more challenging story. Matt Reeves sez over half the budget on an Apes picture goes to the FX. Dawn cost $170 million; they cut the "War" piggy bank to $150 million, giving Reeves more freedom to tell his story but that money came out of the production budget, not FX.

A lean, mean budget on future movies with the freedom to tell interesting stories sounds right for Apes and in the tradition of the original films. They were not expensive movies and were known instead for their potent stories (for those who got it). Fox has been able to tell quite a few "X-Men" stories over the years by keeping reasonable budgets. Apes has kept pace with X-Men's worldwide take so it seems doable.

"War" stayed pretty much in one location but it was shocking what they got away with, as big franchises go. A continuation of that, please. I'd rather have a solid string of movies than trying to go "bigger and better" each time. The folks running POTA seem very smart so I think that's the way they will go, box office willing (which it doesn't seem to be at the moment but fingers crossed).

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As we know, there's an opening for a new Apes director. Matt Reeves has served POTA well; he almost seemed born to it, riding roughshod on the FX to make sure they were as good as they could be. But now he's moved on to Batman and has suggested he'd be open to a trilogy. Meanwhile, Andy Serkis and Co. are still excited about doing more POTA and the great reviews certainly aren't a hindrance (the box office looks weak right now but I'm confident when the final worldwide tally is complete it will be a survivable $500 millionish or more). Apes does as well as Fox's X-Men that they have been continuing for over 15 years. And "War" is so heavy duty that I wouldn't discount some Oscar noms, maybe even Best Picture (when you're done laughing maybe we can continue).

So come September we'll probably be hearing some director names bandied about. Tradition holds that probably whoever is chosen will be someone we've never heard of. Who heard of Rupert Wyatt or Matt Reeves before Apes? I knew of Reeves based on his association with J.J. Abrams but most people hadn't. Now he's a hot director.

We tend to imagine famous directors taking over Apes but usually young and hungry directors are picked who will accept corporate suggestions. Though I will say to the credit of Fox and the production company Chernin Entertainment that they have been very director friendly and the result is what's being called one of the best movie trilogies ever. Ev-ah!

Which brings me to the main point: who will fill Matt Reeves considerable shoes? Dunno. But my vote goes to Oliver Stone. Hey, get back here! Stone and Chernin and Apes (oh my!) go back 25 years. Chernin wuz the head of Fox in 1993 when Stone was announced to head up a new Apes (nobodies like Peter Jackson and Adam Rifkin had made attempts but they were knocked off the board when Stone said yes). That wuz Stone's magic moment when he wuz getting decent budgets to do the kind of political movies he wanted to, so he was more a producer of Apes then but with an option to direct. But he wasn't happy with the script that resulted and lost interest (the '90's was a graveyard of terrible Apes scripts).

Fast forward almost 20 years. Tim Burton did the remake, it did pretty well but it wasn't well regarded. Fox had absolutely no interest in giving Apes a second chance until Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver hit on the prequel idea that became "Rise". Apes fan Peter Chernin, who went from running Fox to being #2 of the whole News Corporation, had retired to pursue his own company, which included a sweet production deal with Fox. His company wound up with the gig to produce "Rise" and any Ape sequels ("Rise" took a big risk, asking people to believe in CG apes, so sequels weren't a given). According to "Rise" director Rupert Wyatt, one of the first directors Chernin asked wuz Oliver Stone.

OK, so here we are again with an Apes movie looking 4 a director. Obviously there's interest from Chernin in Oliver Stone but for Stone is the third time the charm? To be honest, I'm doubtful but with all his Apes history I would love it (while admitting the prospect of current Oliver Stone isn't as exciting as '90's Oliver Stone). And here's some more groovy factoids about Stone and Apes:

Apes refs in Stone films: That first time Stone wuz involved in Apes he wuz finishing "Natural Born Killers" (starring Woody "War" Harrelson); indeed, his NBK producers got him involved in Apes. Right before that film's cafeteria scene, a loudspeaker announces that the prison will be showing "Escape From the POTA".

In Stone's latest feature "Snowden", the title character is reacquainted with a colleague, who shows him around the NSA Hawaii location while wearing a POTA T-shirt. This is the place where Snowden will do the deed and it's interesting that he's shown around by a guy wearing a POTA chimp T-shirt ( POTA chimps would be perfect Oliver Stone characters, insiders who go against the powers that be to do what they feel is right).

Charlton Heston wuz a big Oliver Stone fan and in his autobiography called him "one of our best filmmakers". Heston lamented that because of their politics he would probably never be in an Oliver Stone film; Stone heard that quote and cast him in "Any Given Sunday" (1999). The film also did a tribute to his "Ben Hur".

A Stone "Apes" movie could be a nice counterpoint to his ancient history epic "Alexander" (the Great). In terms of Stone's filmography it would give him a film of mankind's past and one of mankind's future. "Alexander" also has a nice early turn from Toby (Koba) Kebbell as well as a fun moment where Alexander's men battle a "tribe" of monkeys. Stone has edited 4 versions of the movie; the original version that flopped in theaters was lacking. I prefer the 3^rd version "the Final Cut". Though the movie is considered a flop it wuz popular enough on home video for Warner Bros. to keep asking for more versions to sell.

As a Stone fan I enjoyed in Matt Reeves' Apes movies that many Stone actors took central roles. In "Dawn" there's 2 Stone cold assassins: Gary Oldman (Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK") and Toby Kebbell (who assassinates Alexander's dad). In "Dawn" both take terrorist actions, with Kebbell's Koba trying to assassinate Caesar. Then there's Woody Harrelson in "War". He's been compared to Col. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" but it's not a far cry from his character in "Natural Born Killers" (both even shave their heads on screen). Don't know if Matt Reeves is a Stone fan but these roles kind of leaped out at me considering Stone's history with Apes.

In the end what interests me now about a Stone Apes film is what interested me then. He's a talented filmmaker who takes risks commenting on society and that's what Apes has always been about. And it would be fun for it to come full circle 25 years later. Now seems the best chance for it to happen. Stone is no longer the hot commodity he once was. It's hard for him to get the political movies he digs financed. Is it possible he's ready to pull a Rod Serling and make his social points through disguised sci-fi? I doubt it but I'd dig it.

One last thing that suggests to me Stone is ready for Apes. He recently did the 4 hour "Putin Interviews". It's a given he doesn't trust the U.S. intelligence agencies and worries that all the emphasis on Russia as the bad guy will lead to nuclear war. Climate change also worries him. Stone seems ready for a big picture look at the planet and what we could do to ourselves. For those who feel Nu Apes needs a dose of nukes, Stone might be your man.

That's my take. Who do you want to direct Apes next?

Though he's got a bat in his belfry, Matt Reeves is still passionate about Apes and wants 2 continue in some capacity, whether as a producer or an advisor or coming back as a director down the road: "It's not something to be turned away from lightly".

He also sez the first cut of "War" was 45 minutes longer; half of that was pacing and half was about 20 minutes of cut scenes.

collider.com/matt-reeves-war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-interview/

The current worldwide tally 4 "War 4 the POTA" is $225 million. That's almost halfway to the $500 million mark I believe will determine it's fate (give or take; I'm sure Fox is factoring in that it's a tough story that doesn't lend itself to repeat viewings, plus the glorious reviews).

The question is whether people are tired of primitive apes in trees. Will the stories be more compelling to audiences once the apes are in charge or is there just a ceiling for Apes popularity? More adventure and less social commentary (awww!)?

In the end a familiar and popular franchise is a hard habit to break. The movie biz is tough enough without more or less sure things. And Fox in particular tends to keep their franchises going come what may. "War" is scheduled to pass Fox's problem child "Alien: Covenant" ($233 m. ww) this week.

You can't keep a good "Planet" down!

boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=planetoftheapes16.htm

Happy 89^th birthday to Don "Breck" Murray! I'm enjoying him as one of the main characters on the new "Twin Peaks". His son Christopher is an actor and played Officer Olsen on the show.

This month Don went to Comic Con for a panel on the revival.

Dougie: "win Peaks".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0n6GXNbVLQ

The legendary primatologist Jane Goodall gave her review of "War":

"The series POTA makes people think about the apes and perhaps our relationship to them. And anything that makes us think about our own humanity in relation to the rest of the animal kingdom is important. I think the series has helped. It really makes one think about the flaws in our own humanity. How do we dare to behave this way toward other living beings?

"These movies, of course, make use of human actors who've learned to behave like the apes and I have to say I am very impressed with the way that some of the chimpanzee postures and gestures, the way they move – the actors have done a superb job.

"I think that people for a very long time have been absolutely fascinated with apes because they are our closest living relatives and in so many ways their behavior mirrors our own. And so, when you take it one step up you create a kind of ape that is even more human than apes actually are. It makes people think about our relationship to the other apes and what is it about us that makes us different. And why is it we behave as we do toward other living beings?

"I found Caesar a character that haunted me. So when I came away from the movie I found I was thinking about Caesar. And thinking about the sacrifice that he made to help the other apes. It was a very, very moving film for me. For several weeks after the movie I was thinking about Caesar. I was thinking about the whole scenario. It has such a very powerful story. There is a great morality in it. And it certainly made me think about how many humans behave in a much less humane way than the character of Caesar in the POTA. Extraordinary, really. But I think people will love it."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlvjTEL1UP8

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