The Apes Will Now Rise At Thanksgiving; New PLANET OF THE APES Pushed Back

I think this is good news: Rise of the Apes, the prequelboot for Fox’s Planet of the Apes series, is moving from June to Thanksgiving. Why is this good news? Because from reading the script and visiting the set I can tell you that Rise of the Apes is not a summer blockbuster, and throwing a movie like this into the waters filled with superheroes and action films could have been very bad indeed.

No, Rise of the Apes is a dramatic science fiction story with some action elements. I don’t know that it’s an Oscar movie by any means, but it’s definitely not a summer turn off your brain picture. And the new date reflects that. It may also reflect a belief in James Franco’s post-Oscars star power. It could also be a way of making sure that the ape effects - to all be created digitally by WETA - will be done properly. A couple of extra months on such an FX-heavy film is never, ever a bad thing.

Well, it’s a bad thing when you’re as interested in the film as I am. This is my personal favorite franchise, and I have high hopes that Rise of the Apes will be a worthy entry, even if it doesn’t end up being a franchise restarter. Now maybe Fox can take that extra time and reconsider using Rise of the Apes as the title. Rise of films rarely turn out well…