RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES took us all by surprise when it was released back in 2011. We were all bracing ourselves for another kitsch ape movie in the same vein as Tim Burton’s reimagining, thankfully though director Rupert Wyatt subverted our expectations and treated us to something dark, poignant and incredibly emotional.
At the heart of the story was Caesar, a chimp rescued from a life in a lab by scientist Will, and brought-up with humans. Having been exposed to a test drug whilst in the womb, he possessed an advanced ape intelligence which led to him questioning his place in the world. After finding himself taken to the pound he witnessed first-hand the cruelty of man and devised a prison break so intricate even Michael Schofield would be proud.
The success of the film meant that there had to of course be a sequel. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES picks up ten years after the first film with humanity on the brink of extinction thanks to the spread of the Simian Flu we saw created in RISE. Caesar and his apes however are thriving and the plot follows what happens when the two species find themselves face to face once more.
Ahead of the release next month THN were part of an exclusive audience who were witness to around twenty minutes of film footage, followed by not one, but two Q and A sessions. One with primate pros Volker Sommer and Carol Jahme, the other with the human personification of Caesar, Andy Serkis.
The first thing to note about the footage is that it isn’t finished. WETA are working their socks off to get the film done by its impending release, but star Serkis said there are still around 700 ape shots to be completed. Even the footage we watched wasn’t a hundred percent finished, flickering between the finished article to some early PS3-type graphics from shot to shot. Whilst a little distracting it didn’t detract from what is shaping up to be a rather epic story. It also gave a great insight into just how much the computer image evolves throughout the movie making process.
Most of the footage we saw was clearly from pretty early on in the story arc and focussed on Jason Clarke’s Malcolm and Serkis’ Caesar. Matt Reeves the man who exploded onto the screens with CLOVERFIELD is no stranger to destruction, but Serkis was adament that Reeves’ primary focus was on the relationships of what he termed his two ‘nuclear’ families.
Apes are hated by man as they are blamed for the flu, it seems they have all forgotten it was a man that created it. Caesar is a lot chattier though he still prefers to sign when amongst his own kind. His role has also evolved as he is becoming a sort of statesman to the ape colony and the arrival of the humans causes tensions. Koba, the mean ape from RISE with the facial scar, in particular looks set to rival Caesar’s leadership as he hates humans. You have to remember that most of the apes in the tribe came from labs etc, and don’t have the best opinion of our species; Caesar however knows of our goodness and that’s where his conflict lies. Serkis’ portrayal of Caesar is based on a real chimpanzee called Oliver who was raised with humans, people actually referred to him as a ‘humanzee’ with some calling him the missing link between man and ape.
It’s going to be a very wet sequel with most scenes we saw taking place in the rain. This lovely weather wasn’t scripted it was all naturale. In what is a relatively rare move, DAWN is a 3D film that was filmed almost entirely outside on location. The main bulk of the shoot took place on the very wet, but beautiful, forests of Vancouver in Canada, with the rest taking place in New Orleans in what Serkis termed a different type of wet as they filmed in 100% humidity. Apparently those days weren’t so much fun due to the smells of other cast and crew.
Oldman is a big feature in the trailer, but his role in our preview footage was kept condensed; only turning up in the one scene. The best teaser we saw though was a cheeky Easter egg tagged onto the end of the trailer. I won’t spoil it, but I will say it showcased the dark turn in the relationship between man and ape. It was so creepy that this writer got actual goosebumps.
Once the footage was over it was time for a Q and A with the three guests. Most questions focussed on the technology with Serkis saying that he has found himself as a spokeperson for performance capture, a role he is happy to fill. He believes the next stage for the technique will take place within the live theatre arena with actors performing onto live avatars.
The ape experts had a lot of interesting information to share about just how accurate the portrayal of the ape colony is. Caesar grew-up learning American Sign Language and in Rise we saw him starting to teach his new friends. Jahme , a evolutionary psychologist shared that there is a documented case of a human ape Lucy who knew ASL and when released into the wild she tried to communicate with the others using it. They did however say that at this point in time apes cant speak, their larynx is too low down, but that is the only reason that they can’t.
Volker, who is a Professor of Primatology and has spent time living in the wold with groups of apes, explained that there is still a great deal we don’t know about our closest animal relatives, but agreed that they can, and do, master basic tools and weaponry in the wild.
Fox don’t want you to miss out on the fun though as they have kindly provide us with a snazzy memento of the evening to share with you, our loyal THN readers. See our evening in a nutshell below:
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is released Worldwide on the 17th July 2015.
