Last night Aleix and I watched “ Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes film series and its seventh installment overall. The film stars Andy Serkis as Caesar, alongside James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and David Oyelowo. In the film, Caesar, a chimpanzee genetically enhanced and raised by William Rodman (Franco), goes from living in captivity to eventually leading an ape uprising against humanity.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes first entered development in 2006 when Jaffa and Silver wrote a spec script and sold it to 20th Century Fox, the producers and distributors of the original film series. Production struggled until Franco, Serkis, and Wyatt were hired by late 2009, and principal photography started in July 2010 and finished that September, with filming locations including Vancouver, San Francisco, and Oahu. The apes were created using extensive visual effects and performance capture commissioned by Weta Digital.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released in the United States on August 5, 2011, by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Wyatt's direction, visual effects, and Serkis' performance, which helped change perceptions on the recognition of acting through performance capture. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was also a commercial success, grossing over $481 million worldwide against a budget of $93 million, and received numerous awards and nominations, including nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Special Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards and 65th British Academy Film Awards, respectively. It helped relaunch the franchise, and was followed by the sequel films Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). A fourth film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to be released in 2024.
Plot
In San Francisco, pharmaceutical chemist Will Rodman tests the viral-based drug ALZ-112 on chimpanzees at the biotechnology company Gen-Sys to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. ALZ-112 is given to a chimpanzee named Bright Eyes, greatly increasing her intelligence. However, during Will's presentation for the drug, Bright Eyes is forced from her cage, goes on a rampage, and is shot to death. Will's superior Steven Jacobs terminates the project and has the chimpanzees euthanized. However, Will's assistant Robert Franklin reveals that the reason for Bright Eyes' rampage was that she had recently given birth. Will reluctantly takes in the infant chimpanzee, eventually naming him Caesar. Discovering that Caesar has inherited his mother's intelligence through being exposed to ALZ-112, Will decides to raise him. Three years pass, Caesar becomes highly intelligent; he can communicate through sign language. Will begins a romantic relationship with primatologist, Caroline Aranha. Will and Caroline introduce Caesar to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument so he can roam. Meanwhile, Will treats his father, Charles, with ALZ-112, which seems to restore his cognitive ability.
Five years later, Caesar, now entering adulthood, questions his origins and place in the world. Charles' condition returns as his immune system becomes resistant to ALZ-112. Caesar injures an aggressive neighbor, Douglas Hunsiker, while defending a confused Charles. The local animal control service subsequently takes him to an ape shelter. Caesar is tormented by the alpha chimpanzee, Rocket, and the chief guard, Dodge Landon. However, Caesar befriends Maurice, a former circus orangutan who also knows sign language. Caesar learns to unlock his cage, gaining free access to the common area. With the assistance of Buck, a gorilla, Caesar claims the position of alpha. Meanwhile, Jacobs clears the development of a more powerful gaseous version of the drug, ALZ-113, when Will tells him it can improve intelligence. Will takes the drug home for his father, but Charles declines further treatment and dies overnight. After attempting to test the drug on a bonobo named Koba, Franklin accidentally becomes exposed to ALZ-113 and becomes ill. Despite the risks, Jacobs orders continued trials and Will consequently quits his position.
Attempting to warn Will at his home, Franklin sneezes blood onto Hunsiker and is later discovered dead. Will attempts to reclaim Caesar, but Caesar instead decides to stay and steals the ALZ-113 canisters from Will's house and enhances the intelligence of the other apes in the shelter. When Dodge attempts to get him back into his cage, Caesar reveals he can speak; he fights with Dodge while freeing the apes, inadvertently killing him. The apes flee, releasing Koba and the remaining apes from Gen-Sys, and freeing additional apes from the San Francisco Zoo. A battle ensues as the apes fight their way past a police blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to escape into the redwood forest. To rescue Caesar, Buck sacrifices himself to down a helicopter. Koba pushes the helicopter, with Jacobs still inside, into San Francisco Bay.
As the apes find their way into the forest, Will finds and warns Caesar that the humans will hunt them, begging him to return home. Caesar hugs him and says he is home. Will accepts Caesar's wishes and the apes embrace their new lifestyle in the forest. Meanwhile, Hunsiker, now infected with ALZ-113, arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight. He eventually spreads the virus around the planet, leading to a deadly pandemic.
Development and writing
In 2006, screenwriter-producer Rick Jaffa was searching for a script idea. As Jaffa searched a newspaper articles clipping, one about pet chimpanzees that become troublesome to their owners and not adapted well to the human environment intrigued him. As Jaffa eventually realized it fit the Planet of the Apes series, he called his wife and screenwriting partner Amanda Silver to express his ideas of such a chimpanzee eventually starting the ape revolution, and then the couple started developing the character of Caesar. Jaffa indicated that "it's a reinvention" and if he had to pick between calling it a prequel or a reboot, he would say it is a reboot. He went on to say that "we tried really hard to create a story that would stand on its own and yet also pay homage and honor the movies that came before us." Jaffa and Silver then wrote a script and sold it to 20th Century Fox, distributors of the Apes film series. The script added other elements which the couple had researched, such as genetic engineering. Several tributes to specific scenes, characters, and cast and crew from the previous Apes film series were added in the script. In particular, Caesar's treatment at the primate sanctuary parallels Taylor's treatment as a captive in the original film.
Kathryn Bigelow, Robert Rodriguez, and Tomas Alfredson were all offered to direct the film, but all them rejected it.
Director Rupert Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot, saying, "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman Begins." In a 2009 interview, Wyatt said, "We've incorporated elements from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, in terms of how the apes begin to revolt, but this is primarily a prequel to the 1968 film... Caesar is a revolutionary figure who will be talked about by his fellow apes for centuries... This is just the first step in the evolution of the apes, and there's a lot more stories to tell after this. I imagine the next film will be about the all-out war between the apes and humans." Mark Bomback did an uncredited rewrite of the script.
Filming
Filming began on July 27, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Filming also happened in San Francisco, California (the primary setting of the film), and around Oahu, Hawaii, which doubled for the African jungle as the schedule and budget did not allow for location shooting in Africa.
Visual effects
As the apes in Rise were meant to be real, the producers decided not to use actors in suits. After considering real apes, instead Weta Digital created the apes digitally in almost every case through performance capture. Almost 1,500 visual effects shots were previsualized. Advances in the technology allowed the use of performance capture in an exterior environment, affording the film-makers the freedom to shoot much of the film on location with other actors, as opposed to the confines of a soundstage. The main breakthrough was a camera that enabled viewing the motion capture dots in daylight, employed mostly for the Golden Gate Bridge battle. A maximum of six actors could have their movements captured, with larger ape crowds using fully digital animals animated using Weta's move library. The Golden Gate Bridge set used both a physical set which was extended digitally, and a fully computer-generated model of the bridge that also included the ocean and nearby hills.
After shooting the actors playing humans interacting with others wearing the motion capture suits, a clean plate was shot with actors for extra reference. Actor-stuntman Terry Notary guided the actors on realistic ape movement, while Weta studied the chimps in the Wellington Zoo for reference. The digital apes also received detailed models with skeletons, muscles and nerve tissue layers for accurate animation. Cast models of apes' heads and limbs helped the texture department replicate skin details such as wrinkles and pores. Given the difference between human and chimpanzee facial muscles, the animators tweaked the performance through a new facial muscle system adding dynamics, ballistics, and secondary motion. As the silent performance required expressive eyes, a new eye model was made to depict both greater accuracy in muscle movement in and around the eyes, and also tears, pupil dilation, and light refraction. While Andy Serkis was the primary performer for Caesar, as the effects team considered that at times "Andy overcame the character," other motion capture team actors were also used, especially Devyn Dalton, whose height matched that of a chimpanzee. Along with that, they used Notary to play Caesar in stunt-filled scenes such as the Golden Gate Bridge scene.
Music
The score for the film was written by Patrick Doyle and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by James Shearman. The main concern was to have the music help progress the plot in the scenes without dialogue, for instance, conveying the emotions of Caesar's relationships with Will and Charles. To turn the score into a "driving force that keeps audiences paying attention," Doyle employed an African-American chorus and focused on percussion and "low and deep" orchestra sounds. Doyle collaborated closely with the sound department to make the music complement the sound effects, including writing a recurring theme based on their recording of a chimpanzee.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes first entered development in 2006 when Jaffa and Silver wrote a spec script and sold it to 20th Century Fox, the producers and distributors of the original film series. Production struggled until Franco, Serkis, and Wyatt were hired by late 2009, and principal photography started in July 2010 and finished that September, with filming locations including Vancouver, San Francisco, and Oahu. The apes were created using extensive visual effects and performance capture commissioned by Weta Digital.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released in the United States on August 5, 2011, by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Wyatt's direction, visual effects, and Serkis' performance, which helped change perceptions on the recognition of acting through performance capture. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was also a commercial success, grossing over $481 million worldwide against a budget of $93 million, and received numerous awards and nominations, including nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Special Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards and 65th British Academy Film Awards, respectively. It helped relaunch the franchise, and was followed by the sequel films Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). A fourth film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to be released in 2024.
Plot
In San Francisco, pharmaceutical chemist Will Rodman tests the viral-based drug ALZ-112 on chimpanzees at the biotechnology company Gen-Sys to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. ALZ-112 is given to a chimpanzee named Bright Eyes, greatly increasing her intelligence. However, during Will's presentation for the drug, Bright Eyes is forced from her cage, goes on a rampage, and is shot to death. Will's superior Steven Jacobs terminates the project and has the chimpanzees euthanized. However, Will's assistant Robert Franklin reveals that the reason for Bright Eyes' rampage was that she had recently given birth. Will reluctantly takes in the infant chimpanzee, eventually naming him Caesar. Discovering that Caesar has inherited his mother's intelligence through being exposed to ALZ-112, Will decides to raise him. Three years pass, Caesar becomes highly intelligent; he can communicate through sign language. Will begins a romantic relationship with primatologist, Caroline Aranha. Will and Caroline introduce Caesar to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument so he can roam. Meanwhile, Will treats his father, Charles, with ALZ-112, which seems to restore his cognitive ability.
Five years later, Caesar, now entering adulthood, questions his origins and place in the world. Charles' condition returns as his immune system becomes resistant to ALZ-112. Caesar injures an aggressive neighbor, Douglas Hunsiker, while defending a confused Charles. The local animal control service subsequently takes him to an ape shelter. Caesar is tormented by the alpha chimpanzee, Rocket, and the chief guard, Dodge Landon. However, Caesar befriends Maurice, a former circus orangutan who also knows sign language. Caesar learns to unlock his cage, gaining free access to the common area. With the assistance of Buck, a gorilla, Caesar claims the position of alpha. Meanwhile, Jacobs clears the development of a more powerful gaseous version of the drug, ALZ-113, when Will tells him it can improve intelligence. Will takes the drug home for his father, but Charles declines further treatment and dies overnight. After attempting to test the drug on a bonobo named Koba, Franklin accidentally becomes exposed to ALZ-113 and becomes ill. Despite the risks, Jacobs orders continued trials and Will consequently quits his position.
Attempting to warn Will at his home, Franklin sneezes blood onto Hunsiker and is later discovered dead. Will attempts to reclaim Caesar, but Caesar instead decides to stay and steals the ALZ-113 canisters from Will's house and enhances the intelligence of the other apes in the shelter. When Dodge attempts to get him back into his cage, Caesar reveals he can speak; he fights with Dodge while freeing the apes, inadvertently killing him. The apes flee, releasing Koba and the remaining apes from Gen-Sys, and freeing additional apes from the San Francisco Zoo. A battle ensues as the apes fight their way past a police blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to escape into the redwood forest. To rescue Caesar, Buck sacrifices himself to down a helicopter. Koba pushes the helicopter, with Jacobs still inside, into San Francisco Bay.
As the apes find their way into the forest, Will finds and warns Caesar that the humans will hunt them, begging him to return home. Caesar hugs him and says he is home. Will accepts Caesar's wishes and the apes embrace their new lifestyle in the forest. Meanwhile, Hunsiker, now infected with ALZ-113, arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight. He eventually spreads the virus around the planet, leading to a deadly pandemic.
Development and writing
In 2006, screenwriter-producer Rick Jaffa was searching for a script idea. As Jaffa searched a newspaper articles clipping, one about pet chimpanzees that become troublesome to their owners and not adapted well to the human environment intrigued him. As Jaffa eventually realized it fit the Planet of the Apes series, he called his wife and screenwriting partner Amanda Silver to express his ideas of such a chimpanzee eventually starting the ape revolution, and then the couple started developing the character of Caesar. Jaffa indicated that "it's a reinvention" and if he had to pick between calling it a prequel or a reboot, he would say it is a reboot. He went on to say that "we tried really hard to create a story that would stand on its own and yet also pay homage and honor the movies that came before us." Jaffa and Silver then wrote a script and sold it to 20th Century Fox, distributors of the Apes film series. The script added other elements which the couple had researched, such as genetic engineering. Several tributes to specific scenes, characters, and cast and crew from the previous Apes film series were added in the script. In particular, Caesar's treatment at the primate sanctuary parallels Taylor's treatment as a captive in the original film.
Kathryn Bigelow, Robert Rodriguez, and Tomas Alfredson were all offered to direct the film, but all them rejected it.
Director Rupert Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot, saying, "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman Begins." In a 2009 interview, Wyatt said, "We've incorporated elements from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, in terms of how the apes begin to revolt, but this is primarily a prequel to the 1968 film... Caesar is a revolutionary figure who will be talked about by his fellow apes for centuries... This is just the first step in the evolution of the apes, and there's a lot more stories to tell after this. I imagine the next film will be about the all-out war between the apes and humans." Mark Bomback did an uncredited rewrite of the script.
Filming
Filming began on July 27, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Filming also happened in San Francisco, California (the primary setting of the film), and around Oahu, Hawaii, which doubled for the African jungle as the schedule and budget did not allow for location shooting in Africa.
Visual effects
As the apes in Rise were meant to be real, the producers decided not to use actors in suits. After considering real apes, instead Weta Digital created the apes digitally in almost every case through performance capture. Almost 1,500 visual effects shots were previsualized. Advances in the technology allowed the use of performance capture in an exterior environment, affording the film-makers the freedom to shoot much of the film on location with other actors, as opposed to the confines of a soundstage. The main breakthrough was a camera that enabled viewing the motion capture dots in daylight, employed mostly for the Golden Gate Bridge battle. A maximum of six actors could have their movements captured, with larger ape crowds using fully digital animals animated using Weta's move library. The Golden Gate Bridge set used both a physical set which was extended digitally, and a fully computer-generated model of the bridge that also included the ocean and nearby hills.
After shooting the actors playing humans interacting with others wearing the motion capture suits, a clean plate was shot with actors for extra reference. Actor-stuntman Terry Notary guided the actors on realistic ape movement, while Weta studied the chimps in the Wellington Zoo for reference. The digital apes also received detailed models with skeletons, muscles and nerve tissue layers for accurate animation. Cast models of apes' heads and limbs helped the texture department replicate skin details such as wrinkles and pores. Given the difference between human and chimpanzee facial muscles, the animators tweaked the performance through a new facial muscle system adding dynamics, ballistics, and secondary motion. As the silent performance required expressive eyes, a new eye model was made to depict both greater accuracy in muscle movement in and around the eyes, and also tears, pupil dilation, and light refraction. While Andy Serkis was the primary performer for Caesar, as the effects team considered that at times "Andy overcame the character," other motion capture team actors were also used, especially Devyn Dalton, whose height matched that of a chimpanzee. Along with that, they used Notary to play Caesar in stunt-filled scenes such as the Golden Gate Bridge scene.
Music
The score for the film was written by Patrick Doyle and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by James Shearman. The main concern was to have the music help progress the plot in the scenes without dialogue, for instance, conveying the emotions of Caesar's relationships with Will and Charles. To turn the score into a "driving force that keeps audiences paying attention," Doyle employed an African-American chorus and focused on percussion and "low and deep" orchestra sounds. Doyle collaborated closely with the sound department to make the music complement the sound effects, including writing a recurring theme based on their recording of a chimpanzee.
