Father Geek here with a report from our man Flint about the PLANET OF THE APES flick. Wow, its funny how this stuff comes in. Yesterday I posted a story on this film, an hour later I updated it, then a couple of hours later I updated it again. Now I get this report from a longtime Hollywood spy. It completes the picture a little more, so Apes fans dig in... there is some fun stuff ahead...
Hey There, One of your favorite spies here with a report on the much debated makeup for Tim Burton’s new “Planet Of The Apes.” Hope you don’t mind me weighing in with some observations from a formerly top secret source I know.
A girlfriend of mine is one of the people connected to the video for a “behind the scenes” on the making of the movie which will no doubt air in different lengths and forms next year. (She’s speculating that with all the anticipation for this flick, Fox will probably broadcast a whole special comprised of this footage as well as interviews on their very own network around the time the film comes out.)
This digital footage is being kept under tight lock and key, but I was able to watch quite a sizable unedited portion that was shot at Rick Baker’s shop at her apartment the other night. Some of it was just handheld stuff, walking around showing countless people working on ape appliances. One guy was shown gluing hairs onto assorted arms and headpieces. It looked monotonous and tedious, and apparently the guy’s been doing it forever and going half nuts according to the group I was watching this with. (Incidentally, the makeup dude had real long hair of his own and is reportedly also part of a heavy metal band during his off hours.)
My galpal says that what’s going on at Baker’s place parallels the original workforce from the first “Planet,” which employed legions of troops to make monkeys out of men. She thinks the special will do some “side by side” comparisons, if the Burton camp allows it.
Obviously, security has also remained tight at the shop, so one funny story my amiga shared was that some crazy looking guy crashed Baker’s studio and was running all around making the whole crew nervous. The makeup crew assumed he was either an insane fan or even a homeless person. It turned out to be none other than Rick Baker in disguise, playing a practical joke on everyone for his birthday.
They’ve shot film of various lead actors going through their makeup rituals, but I didn’t get to see any of that since it wasn't being digitized I guess. I did see some shots of actors in their finalized ape makeup, and I must chime in that they certainly don’t improve on John Chamber’s original groundbreaking look.
In particular, I miss the extended “muzzle” from the original POTA flicks, even though what I’ve seen looks to allow the actors more “expression” in their features and articulation. These makeups do resemble more “natural” apes, than the quasi humanized “mutated” simians from the classic films.
My friend said that while it was discussed having extensive hydraulics and other advancements in these new makeups, it was ultimately deemed too time consuming and expensive to utilize, as well as unreliable… which seems a shame.
Tim Burton apparently wanted a “purist” approach to his apes, but my friend claims that any disappointment we might have with them purely on a visceral “first look” level will be lessened once we see them in action. She feels the makeup in general isn’t being done justice judged without the actors behind them. (she called Tim Roth’s work “inspired,” as well as a quite obvious homage to Roddy McDowell. She also offered that Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal is quite “out there.”)
One thing did impress me quite a bit. It was some “extended” arms some of the apes will be utilizing, along with some sort of “puppet monkey hands” attached at the end.
Shown worn on a few performers, it literally elongated their arms so that when they walked “slumped over” in primate fashion, they resembled “knuckle draggers” to coin my friend’s expression. The fingers respond in a very lifelike way, and can actually move and grip like real hands. Coupled with their choreographed movements, Tim Burton’s apes will definitely have a style of walking all their own. (She says they’ve got some great “B roll” shots of “ape actors” interacting with real monkeys, not a scene from the film but strictly more “behind the scenes” stuff of them goofing around, seeing if the actual chimps will bond with their ersatz counterparts.)
Finally, I asked my friend if she knew anything about the now infamous ending of this new version. She wouldn’t shed any light on that, but said there’s a significant amount of humor in this version, some of it along the lines of twisted “Mars Attacks” type stuff and that one particular “joke” will make anti-vivisectionists proud.
Anyhow, that’s about it.
Your Man,
Derek Flint
