FILM 1948: PLANET OF THE APES

FILM 1948: PLANET OF THE APES

TRIVIA: Mark Wahlberg joined the film after meeting with Tim Burton for only five minutes. He was so anxious to work with Burton that he agreed to play any part. Wahlberg dropped out of the role of Linus in Ocean's Eleven (2001) to do this film.

Michael Clarke Duncan had sprained his ankle during filming, and was forced to go to the hospital in his full gorilla make-up.

In order to star in the film, Tim Roth declined the role of Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Ari in this film, would go on to play Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter franchise.

One of the things Rick Baker enjoyed doing was making himself up as an ape and scaring people at a drive-in theater showing the original Planet of the Apes (1968).

Tim Burton said that he would rather jump out of a window than direct a sequel to this film.

In an interview with MTV, while comparing this film with Rise of the Planet of the Apes(2011), Mark Wahlberg blamed 20th Century Fox for screwing the film up, saying, "I haven't seen it yet, but I heard it was pretty damn good. Well, ours wasn't. It is what it is. Ours wasn't. They didn't have the script right. Fox Studios had a release date before Tim Burton had shot a foot of film. They were pushing him and pushing him in the wrong direction. You have to let Tim do his thing."

During filming, Tim Roth held a grudge against Charlton Heston, due to his associations with the National Rifle Association. He said, "It was very difficult for me. On one level, there's the man, and he's my dad. But on the other level, the whole NRA thing is what it is now. I'm so against it, very vocally so. But it was inappropriate for the workplace. If I'm going to talk to him, I'll talk to him outside the workplace. So it was just two guys in make-up doing a scene." Roth later claimed he would not have appeared in the film had he known he would be sharing a scene with Heston.

WILHELM SCREAM: From Tival during the final battle.

FILM 1826: KING KONG

FILM 1826: KING KONG

TRIVIA: Grossed ninety thousand dollars its opening weekend, the biggest opening ever at the time.

The success of this film is often credited for saving R.K.O. Pictures from bankruptcy.

Merian C. Cooper's first vision for the film, was of a giant ape on top of the world's tallest building, fighting airplanes. He worked backward from there, to develop the rest of the story.

King Kong's roar was a lion's roar and a tiger's roar combined and run backwards, but slowly.

At around eighty minutes into the film, a man (LeRoy Mason) standing in line to see Kong complains to his lady companion, "These tickets cost me twenty bucks." At presumably ten dollars per ticket, this would have been a tremendous cost in Depression-wracked 1933. By contrast, a ticket to see the 1933 New York Yankees, which featured Babe Ruthand Lou Gehrig, or to this movie itself, would have been about 35 cents.

The one flaw that remains in the animation is the way Kong's fur seems to be moving constantly, showing where the animators had to grab the figure to move it. Though the animators would brush the fur constantly to hide their work, it still shows up in the finished film. Many other filmmakers who have used the same technique actually admire this flaw, because it shows that the work was done by skilled artists using their hands.

Executive Producer David O. Selznick left R.K.O. midway through production of this film. Selznick's last act of business at R.K.O., and probably his biggest contribution to the film, was to write a memo changing the name of the production from "Kong" to "King Kong".

The "Old Arabian Proverb" opening the film, was actually written by Merian C. Cooper.

Although many film historians insist that a spider pit scene was never shot, much less previewed, at least three production stills do exist showing the miniature ravine complete, with at least one spider and a crab creature, both of which are menacing miniature sailors. There was one person who claimed to have seen the first preview screening who said that the spider pit scene was in it, and the audience laughed at large bug-eyes on a spider model. He felt that this unintended laugh was the reason the scene stopped the film, and was cut.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

FILM 1641: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN 

TRIVIA: Alexander Skarsgård said that one of the main reasons he took this role was to impress his father Stellan Skarsgård. He said, "My dad is a massive Tarzan fan. Growing up, we had these VHS cassettes of the Johnny Weissmuller films, and that was my introduction to the character. But those films are seventy years old, and so much time has passed, that I think mine is a fresh take. I'll never compete with Johnny Weissmuller, but I just wanted to impress my father. He was thrilled; he was more excited than I was."

In the scene where Jane and Captain Rom are eating dinner, she crosses her fork and knife. The Captain rings the bell, and tells the servant Lady Clayton is finished. After she leaves, he places her knife and fork beside each other. In formal dining, when people cross their silverware, it means they did not enjoy the meal. When they are placed next to each other, it means they are finished.

Alexander Skarsgård's first cheat meal occurred more than five months into his training. Skarsgård had been on a very strict diet for five straight months, avoiding any fat completely, as he was in the process of developing an eight-pack. He said, "It was a Sunday, and we were training hard in the gym, and my trainer saw that my will to live was fading. He told me to put down the weights and he took me to lunch. That day he let me order whatever I wanted. I got to eat pizza, pasta, tiramisu. I get emotional just talking about that day." On the last day of filming, the crew congratulated him on the end of his diet by gifting him with a huge "Banoffee Pie," a British dessert. Skarsgård said that to celebrate, he ate the entire pie by himself, in a single sitting.

Alexander Skarsgård joked that he would like Tarzan to be drastically different in the sequel because of the heavy workout and diet demands on him. He said, "We have an outline already in which Tarzan gains weight. Tarzan remains hairy and does not have eight pack abs. It has no action and Tarzan eats cake, lots of cake. I wrote it."

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was in talks to play Tarzan. Ironically, Johnny Weissmuller was an Olympic swimmer before landing in the role of the title character in the 1932 film and its multiple sequels.