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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011): Review by NecroVMX

NecroVMX offers up the following review of 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

RUPERT WYATT: Rise Director Taking on The Equalizer

The 1980s television series The Equalizer is being turned into a feature film by Sony starring Denzel Washington in the role originally played by Edward Woodard. Now according to The Hollywood Reporter, Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt (who also helmed The Escapist) is likely to direct. Says THR, "Setting a director on Equalizer hasn’t been easy. After an initial search, Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) was set to be the man behind the camera but split when he didn’t see eye to eye with Washington. In the last few weeks names such as Pete Berg were on the short list. Washington is playing Robert McCall, the retired intelligence officer who helps the powerless. In the movie version, he is living a quiet life while working at a Home Depot, when one of his acts of kindness gets him embroiled with the Russian mob."

Adds Deadline.com, "The film is a smartly budgeted thriller based on the TV series that will come in around $50 million and is designed to launch the first franchise for Washington, who’ll be paid his customary $20 million. The film is loosely based on the TV series that starred Edward Woodward as a mysterious former covert operations officer who helps people in trouble, and was created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. The film has that basic premise but takes off in its own way, tailored to Washington’s skills. He’ll play a solitary, monastic figure who hates injustice and devotes himself to helping people who are being victimized."

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: HBO Promo

Rise of the Planet of the Apes will be making its debut on HBO on September 15th, and the network has issued a promo heralding its arrival.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: Director Rupert Wyatt Interview

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released last year, somehow we missed this particular interview with director Rupert Wyatt which was conducted by Empire magazine.

STORYBOARDS OF THE APES: The Original Opening of "Rise"

Filmsketchr.blogspot.com scored a nice coup from Rise of the Planet of the Apes storyboard artist Warren Drummond who reveals that the opening of the film was actually a little different. This video put together by the site showcases those storyboards.

filmsketchr.blogspot.com

CAESAR: New Action Figure Coming in July

There's no question that the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes took 20th Century Fox by surprise, which is why there was virtually no merchandise tied in to the film. Now, however, that seems to be changing and the first example of that comes in July with the release of the new action figured based on the Rise version of Caesar. According to Big Bad Toy Store.com, this 5" figure "comes with two different head sculpts, three pairs of hands and accessories." To pre-order, click HERE.

ANDY SERKIS: Video Interview

IGN recently sat down to talk to Andy Serkis for this video interview, offering up this introduction: "You might recognize Andy Serkis from his Lord of the Rings days, but currently, you will see him as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. We had the opportunity to interview him about his role in the movie. See what he thinks as he chats with us about his research for the role, motion capture performances, and believing chimpanzees can live a human life."

WETA'S JOE LETTERI: Hollywood Reporter Video Interview

The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg interviews Weta Digital visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes senior visual effects supervisor points out the subtly involved in working with motion capture.

ANDY SERKIS: Being Denied Accolades of His Peers?

The Sydney Morning Herald has an interesting story about Andy Serkis and his attempts to drive home the fact that motion performance is a genuine form of acting. Notes the publication: "If the Screen Actors Guild award nominations are any indication, Hollywood's acting community isn't ready to honour work in the performance-capture format. Despite a push by Fox Studios for his role as a hyper-intelligent chimp named Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Andy Serkis was omitted from the guild's supporting actor category. Serkis has been an ad-hoc spokesman for performance capture, or motion capture, a technique in which the actions of human actors are recorded and used to animate digital character models. He appears in performance-capture roles in two films this year - as Caesar and as Captain Haddock in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin. Fox has been running ''for your consideration'' trade advertisements in which an image of Serkis in his motion-capture suit is juxtaposed with the finished shot in Apes, where he has been rendered an ape by artists at Weta Digital. ''The Time is Now,'' the ad says in bold type, with a quote from Time magazine film critic Richard Corliss that reads: ''Serkis gives a performance so nuanced and powerful it may challenge the Academy to give an Oscar to an actor who is never seen in the film.'' The guild nominations both cleared and muddied the Oscars picture in one swoop."

SEQUEL TALK: Director Rupert Wyatt on Rise and Its Follow-up

As Rise of the Planet of the Apes captures the imagination on Blu-ray, director Rupert Wyatt takes a look back at the film and provides some thoughts on possible directions for the sequel.