Dark Horizons - Hang them Angels, hang them all

Images (C) FOX

28th February 2001 - Its not listed in the main gallery, but 'The Ape Man' went digging around the Apes official site and came up with this great image of Michael Clarke Duncan in costume. After that is something more exciting and was very difficult to obtain - an exclusive shot of the Delta Pod which Leo (Mark Wahlberg) crash lands on the planet in. Expect the high quality trailer link (you can find the Access Hollywood 5.3Mb MOV version available now) and more great exclusive shots from the set tomorrow, followed by storyboards on Friday.

27th February 2001 - The official site is now open for the apes saga and here's an example of some stills from it. Meantime the always reliable 'Orang-Wutang Clan' visited the Sony lot the other week and scored a look at some of the action taking place: Stage 6 had "cable-rigged stuntmen practicing ape running and jumping on huge raised sandlot with bluescreen background", Stage 3 was "a very dark jungle set deep in the forest", Stage 2 is the interior of that crashed desert spaceship set, and finally there was also a "Lava Mountaintop APE head-mouth prison entrance". Got some great material coming up this week I hope including some photos and storyboards. Thanks to 'spydaweb', 'Bentley', 'Age', 'Alex', 'Capt. Roz', ‘James’ & sinemafanatik

26th February 2001 - Independent sources for DH and Coming Attractions confirm that while the much anticipated teaser trailer will hit theatres on Friday, Net surfers get an even earlier look as it'll premiere online at Noon US-PST on Wednesday. Just as interesting is this quote from 'Grand Moff' from within the depths of the Murdoch Empire: "I can tell you that the company is taking a different approach toward promoting the film...rather than showing the trailer first in the theaters, Fox will be broadcoasting the trailer to television stations via satellite on TUESDAY, FEB. 27, meaning you will see it all over the place that night on the news and on entertainment shows (ET, Access Hollywood, etc)". In other words be wary, cause tomorrow we're going hairy (I just scored an official nomination for worst use of a pun in a sentence). With time differences and such, expect a link to the trailer on this page sometime on Wednesday evening US time/Thursday morning Australian time. Thanks also to 'Ricardo' and 'Don'

Standee (C) FOX

21st February 2001 - There's been two confirmations today that'll get fans going ape. First up is the new teaser trailer which aired at the NY Toy Fair the other day. The good news is that FOX has sent out official papers to various exhibitors saying it will be delivered next week and will begin appearing next Friday (March 2nd) in theatres (expect it to hit the Net very shortly after). This Friday however begins displays of a new 7ft standee which you can see a picture of on the left. Thanks to 'Theatrenazi', 'ApesAlive' & 'Captain Roz'

15th February 2001 - Shooting out at the Trona Pinnacles (the big ship/tents set) has just wrapped

14th February 2001 - Yahoo has an article on the footage screened at the Toy Fair.

13th February 2001 - About.Com did an interview with Michael Clarke Duncan and talked quickly turned to that of the gorilla variety: "It's a lot different [than the original]. It's not a spin-off. It's totally different because in the original Planet of the Apes they had a lot of guns. We don't have any guns. We have really foreign weapons like clubs and stuff of that nature". Duncan goes onto to describe two action sequences - one in which he and Kris Kristofferson charge each other whilst Kris carries a lit spear. Another has Duncan's character 'Attar' leaping down some steps, the last of which caused Duncan to tear some ligmanets in his foot. For the full article, click here. Thanks to 'Pulp Man'

12th February 2001 -'Enriquez the Water Bottle' did some jogging around the Trona Pinnacles in Northern California and came across the spaceship set Burton used for filming. Camera in hand he snapped some pics, and here they are.

9th February 2001 - While I can't include them I can say I scored a look at some storyboards today and three scenes can be made out. One great scene has a whole row of gorillas chucking flaming projectiles and bolos (those ropes with heavy balls on the end) but the left arms have elongated 'curved launchers' on them. The second has Leo (Wahlberg), humans and some apes on a cliff looking down on a beach filled with tents when a gorilla guard hears them. The third scene has Leo and the water-averse Ari (Carter) heading out into the surf as he tells her "I won't let go of you". Thanks to 'Tickle Me Orangutang'

5th February 2001 - The latest Film Four guide in the UK had an interview with Helena Bonham Carter during which she was asked about her role as an 'Ape Princess': "I'm not actually an ape princess anymore - they demoted me. I'm not even allowed to keep the crown. But it's great to be an ape anyway - it's very liberating. You could get away with murder, literally do anything 'cos no-one knows who you are - you could be anyone under there. It's tempting to go off and rob a bank or something. You spend so much time in make-up that you start to think about these things". So what sort of things has she been involved in: "It's been fantastic. The other night I was having fireballs thrown at me. I was in the water as a drowning chimp and then Tim says 'OK, we're gonna throw fireballs at you now!' So it's stuff like that. And Tim just has this mad energy - hair and limbs flying everywhere. It's hilarious, sitting about on the set watching little groups of extras walk past practising their ape-walk and knowing they're on their way back from [ape] school". Thanks to 'Jamie'

Images (C) FOX

1st February 2001 - They wowed us a while back with all five of the first batch of shots from "Tomb Raider", now Set Online have got a new still, an on-location photo (not pictured) and a high quality shot of the second poster artwork. Thanks to 'Rodrigo'

30th January 2001 - American Mule have posted up a "promotional studio one-sheet" for the Burton remake which doesn't contain anything new apart from the new design for the spaceship.

24th January 2001 - Staff at an LA hospital yesterday got a bit of a shock when a full sized ape was rushed in for a sprained ankle - turns out it was Michael Clarke Duncan in costume, but its currently not known how serious the injury is. Meantime the biggest news of the day that's monkey related is that FOX's Belgian site had a copy of the official synopsis which has since been translated by Tim Burton Collective and just click those links to check it out. Does sound similar to the classic film but with more plot related to the beginning. Thanks to 'Gary Gray' & 'Mike'

Image (C) FOX

16th January 2001 - The things you can find on eBay these days, last time it was that great teaser poster - today I'm breaking something a little different. Up for sale right now are some blueprints to one of the sets of the upcoming "Planet of the Apes" remake. These papers are official and real folks, the set iself (labelled The Temple of David) is rather unusual - some kind of a spaceship, but the interior is built like a cave dwelling (click the thumbnail and head to the base of the page to see it). Shooting on the external 'desert crashed spaceship' set begins this Thursday, while in related news - more of those 'questionable' ape pics can be found again online here. Thanks to 'The Insider', 'SS' and JoBlo.

8th January 2001 - A local reliable source claims to have just confirmed that George Clooney will indeed be in the 'Apes' movie but in the form of an uncredited cameo as one of the ape army generals rallying the troops.

4th January 2001 - Move over teaser poster. American Mule, the guys who scored all those "Josie & The Pussycats" pics the other day, have landed the biggest scoop yet it seems on Tim Burton's 'Apes' remake - nice, studio lit posing shots of actors in full ape makeup and costume. The outfits match the recent shots of make-up less extras - trouble is the color scheme is, well 'bleeeeh!!' best sums it up under the direct lighting (shots in daylight have the bright reds looking more like dirty browns). Still, something about the pics and the shots seems a little off - but check 'em out above and judge for yourself. The site will also be relaunching soon to include fresh scoops. Thanks to 'Adam'

Image courtesy CA

28th December 2000 - Coming Attractions took a few days off over the holiday but came back with a punch yesterday evening US time with some awesome shots of the giant crashed spaceship set mentioned the other week, along with some photos of extras in basic outfits and sans prosthetics. Thanks to 'JC'

22nd December 2000 - Two theatre workers have confirmed the current "Planet of the Apes" teaser poster (better quality shot can be found here) will be displayed in theatres up to and including the President's Day Weekend, so expect the next one in February right after the holiday. With the film still five months away from that date, this seems likely there'll be at least one more if not two teaser posters.

20th December 2000 - A cinema employee has answered those rumours about there being three POTA teaser posters - "I just got my Planet Of The Apes teaser one sheet and in the bottom corner it says "Version A". The only reason studios do this is to differentiate between multiple versions"

19th December 2000 - The Tim Burton Collective has just run an interview with actor Glenn Shadix (Otho in "Beetlejuice") and the subject of his role in "Planet of the Apes" was brought up. Aside from spending three hours in the makeup chair each day, he also talked about the ape school where the actors learned to mimic the creature's movements: "Ape school is a trip. We stretch and warm up and then learn specific movements and posturing. I play an Orangutan and my posture and movement is different from that of a chimp or a gorilla. There is a lot of preproduction work with our make-up which includes personalized Ape dentures that require some getting used to as well as some work with how to handle props in an appropriately ape-like manner using our "ape extremities" We also spend time examining Ape psychology in terms of how it affects behavior and movement". For the rest of the interview, click here. Thanks to 'Mike'

15th December 2000 - 'Rouge Ewok' visited the set of his much bigger & hairier cousins to swing in with this report:

"I'm sure there are much closer "inside" reports on the production of "Planet of the Apes" out there but, as a fan, I'd like to contribute to the buzz without giving too much away. I haven't been able to catch much at the Studio, but here it goes:

The "Apes" crew have not only taken over the far corner of the Lot but trailers, trucks and tents have spilled onto the parking lot across the street from the Studio (traffic is periodically stopped by security allowing cast or crew to cross). There is a lot of energy around the stage as extras have been coming in by the shuttle-load.

I've spotted a few "humans" in costume which somehow reminded me of the wardrobing in "Waterworld". Some costumes flattered arms and biceps which could reflect slavery but leather adornments made them appear a little aggressive - just an impression (we all know how things can read differently on film). Both Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter have been spotted frequently. A girl I work with claims Markie-Mark himself checked her out while riding by on his bike... Okay Bonham, a little love over here please.

What I've seen of the set is just nuts. The best word I can use to describe it is SCALE. Months ago (before I knew what the set was for), I saw them digging into the ground on that stage (Stage 30). As it stands, the stage is 4 stories high and the set occupies all of it. Huge rock faces have been erected along the walls and I've seen several monolithic statues being sculpted in construction areas. For several months, various kinds of foliage havebeen carted into the studio - and I don't mean shrubs and ferns. Everything on the set looks overgrown with the stuff and, true to Burton's form, it all kind of twists, contorts and perverts with plenty of tentacle-like vines accentuating the theme."

Poster Image (C) FOX

14th December 2000 - A lucky streak on teaser posters it seems. "Harry Potter" international one sheet yesterday, today a first look at the US domestic teaser one-sheet for "Planet of the Apes". Not as clear a scan though, this is a webcam shot of it - the real life baby is now up on E-Bay apparently. Thanks to 'Hargon' and 'Chris'.

11th December 2000 - "This is either a scoop about Planet of the Apes or the next Roswell incident!! A good friend was going camping recently in the desert near Death Valley in a place called Trona. When they arrived at the Trona monuments, about a half an hour through the desert ,away from the town, they discovered a huge space ship crashed into the side of a mountain. Apparently they were quickly approached and told they needed to keep away because they were filming the new Planet of the Apes there. Find a nearby hilltop and a good telescope and you might be able to see it happen live."

16th November 2000 - Planet of the Apes started filming the airship scenes with Mark Wahlberg at the LA SONY studios this week Nov. 13-17, sightings of apes in 'Ghengis Khan' type suits have been seen on the lot also.

7th November 2000 - 'Smilin Jack Ruby' visited the Sony lot the other day and got to check out the secretive Stage 30 where POTA is shooting. No cameras were allowed, which is a shame as it sounds wild with the look of the film being more jungle/beach oriented than the very 'rocky' original. I'll let him explain: "Stage 30 appears to be some sort of valley. The sides of the valley are very high and rise all the way up to the top of the stage (about three stories) and are gray in color. There appear to be doorways and designs of all different kinds carved into the rock faces. It’s not like there’s just one doorway like an isolated temple, either - there are "carved" doorways in multiple locations and the designs are on the rocks and beside the doorways. The designs, however, are not elaborate or extensive, just subtle bits that might be three feet high with nothing more than a squiggle or a couple of lines framed in a box. Another thing is the stairs. There is at least one set of wide carved stone steps. It’s not really like stairs, but the kind of wide steps that lead up into a governmental building or something. The actual stairs aren’t particularly high, but that’s probably not all that important. Now, the foliage is prevalent and hanging down from everywhere and there’s obviously more coming as outside the stage, there were rows of new plants waiting to be brought in and added on. The vines that are already in the building and have been used to dress the set are draped over the large gray rocks that make up the sides of the valley area. Long brown vines are coiled on the tops, but green, broad-leafy plants are being used as well and are set up throughout the set". There's a lot more, so click here to check it out.

11th October 2000 - You can never be too buff or too rich? Well Mark Wahlberg has destroyed that old cliche. With Tim Burton's upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes" set to begin shooting next month, the crew is hard at work in pre-production with sets on the LA sound stages going up every day. iFUSE reports that a problem has arisen in regards to Wahlberg's physique - seems that Burton asked the actor to tone up a little bit for the movie - trouble is he took the advice a little too far and got too buff. Now Burton and FOX execs have asked the actor to shed a little muscle before he begins work on the movie which will not resemble the look of the 1968 original movie "in any way", rather opting for a "original vision, with ape creatures galore, gallivanting in a Tim Burton funhouse" according to a source. Thanks to 'Leslie'

29th September 2000 - That may be the official title now, but indications keep solidifying that it may not have been at one point. After FOX's official confirmation here this week that PotA is the definite title, many dismissed "The Visitor" namesake as just Net rumour. However 'Smilin Jack Ruby' has found out that signs around Stage 30 at Sony indicate the project with "The Visitor" name is shooting there. Could it be a "Blue Harvest"-like fake title? or more likely a previous working title? You decide. Thanks to SJR

18th September 2000 - 'The JonsterMonster' has this scoop on Tim Burton's upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes":

"Theres six soundstages being used for the pic. Anywhere from forests to small ponds are being made in them. He said its very dark and gloomy like his other films. Also it has a 150 million dollar budget so far. They are also filming in Kuaii and Lake Perris here in So Cal.

There was no actors with any make up but he did meet Rick Baker. He said he saw a bunch of the masks on the wall. They are flesh colored with ape like hair. He did see some stunt doubles with the below the neck costumes on......which are very very muscular. He said the mask are so good it looked like someone ripped faces of people and hung them up. Also very realistic....cause Baker is the best."

15th August 2000 - Another special guest was makeup guru Rick Baker whose been employed on Tim Burton's upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes" and is hurrying, along with a day & night crew of 75 professionals, to complete 500 sets of prosthetics by the time production begins in October. Baker confirmed there'll be NO animatronic apes in the film either including the crowd sequences. Baker also has some interesting comments about various other projects such as the aborted "Creature from the Black Lagoon" remake which you can read about right here. Thanks to 'SJR'.

9th August 2000 - Word coming from the 'Planet of the Apes' remake project is turning a little more twisted with each day. Back on Sunday, Matt Drudge reported on his radio show that the studio is infuriated with Burton as "the human-ape romance in the movie is not done briefly, rather it is a major part of the movie's story" and the studios want all that stuff out (can't make merchandising money if the kiddies can't see it) or Director Tim Burton might get the can. Then yesterday the IMDb reported that there is a planned love making scene betweeen the ape princess (Helena Bonham Carter) and the human pilot (Mark Wahlberg) which has once again upset them - after all beastiality doesn't come under a PG-13 rating. Thanks to 'Kemper Boyd', Aint It Cool & Coming Attractions

28th July 2000 - George Clooney has been in the UK doing "The Perfect Storm" promo circuit and sat down with Channel 4 where he confirmed he may have to delay shooting a new upcoming project he's doing with Mark Wahlberg ("Ocean's Eleven" probably) because of Wahlberg's commitment to Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" remake.

21st July 2000 - The BBC reports that Tim Roth is having a hard time selecting his next project. If the part in "Harry Potter" wasn't enough, he's now been offered the part of the head ape (Dr. Zaius I think) in Tim Burton's upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes". Thanks to 'Dan' & 'BE'

11th July 2000 - Here's a rather juicy rumour from the 'Dos System' about the upcoming remake:

"A friend of mine is doing session work with Rick Baker. Well, Rick has been busy prepping sketches and design for the upcoming "Visitor" project, which you know is the new "Apes" film. Well, on Wednesday they had a special guest - Paul Reubens. Paul was in to have a lifecast (facial casting) made. Rick supervised it and it took a couple of hours - start to finish. Rick spent about thirty minutes more with him off the floor reviewing the Cornelius/Chimpanzee sketches. Lifecasts are required for all foam latex appliance "glued" facial makeups. It ensures a perfect fit of the appliance to the actor's features. Rick summed it up with his staff afterward as " keep a lid on this, it's not official yet". But.....it looks like Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee) is set to play Cornelius. If so....that's pretty cool."

29th June 2000 - Its time for some juicy but unconfirmed sci-fi gossip. Matt Damon may be considering it, but now Mark Wahlberg is rumoured to be up for the role of 'Leo' in Tim Burton's "The Visitor" - a remake of the classic sci-fi flick "Planet of the Apes". Whether this 'Leo' is the lead character or a supporting part is unknown. Thanks to 'Franky', 'Jeff' & 'Paul'.

10th July 1999 - Screenwriter William Broyles ("Apollo 13", "Cast Away") is currently writing the latest script for the 'Apes' remake, but his appointment came after numerous attempts from other writers were knocked back. The most recent writer to receive the kickback before Broyles was onboard was Sam Hamm ("Batman", "Monkey Bone") who wrote an entirely different take on the story. 'MuvieMan7' read Hamm's draft and gives his review of it, the 'Apes' project which might have been but isn't:

19th April 1998 - 'Bootsie' drops in a bite-size rumour that the legendary James Cameron is considering Director Michael Bay ("The Rock", "Armageddon") to helm the upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes" which Cameron is producing and will hopefully begin production soon. Thanks again 'Bootsie'

8th January 1998 - Seems everyone, from E! News to Variety has confirmed that Cameron will be producing (not directing!!!) the upcoming re-make of "Planet of the Apes". Cameron told the French press that he was interested in the project, but will rewrite the screenplay to suit his own tastes. Thanks to 'Mr. Black', 'CMAN', 'Dan the Man'.