Arguably the most eagerly anticipated film of the year, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES has finally hit UK cinema screens. THN have been afforded the privilege of interviewing both director, Rupert Wyatt, and visual effects supervisor, Dan Lemmon in a bid to ascertain their thoughts on the finished piece, as well as the production process.
Wyatt is perhaps best known as the writer and director of the 2008 crime drama THE ESCAPIST (Brian Cox, Damian Lewis), and Lemmon has worked on numerous productions, including AVATAR and the THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.
Contrary to the previous films in the franchise, RISE has steered away from the more allegorical and fantastical side of the story, in order to overtly convey the moral lessons within the text.
RW: ‘As it is the origin story, and is set in modern day San Francisco, our aim was to make it as believable as possible. We wanted to avoid the aspect of mythology that deals with heightened reality and science fiction.’
The film’s protagonist, Caesar, is representative of the folly of man. He is the initial architect of the apes’ rise to power and is the first to develop certain human abilities, such as rudimentary speech. This is the result of man’s megalomaniacal tendencies.
RW: ‘The voice-box of the chimpanzee sits much higher in the throat, hence the reason they cannot talk, but certain types of gene therapy can change physiological development.’
DL: ‘Caesar’s anatomy begins to change, even more so, after we see him receive his second dose of ALZ 112; the gene altering drug. We made his larynx more prominent towards the end of the film to show that he is evolving into something altogether more humanoid.’
Andy Serkis, a master of portraying beastly creatures via motion capture technology, is the man behind the chimp. He, of course, portrayed Gollum in the THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, and King Kong in Peter Jackson’s 2005 film of the same name. Both Wyatt and Lemmon could not be more satisfied and genuinely excited by his performance.
Lemmon is quick to assuage the worries of potential viewers and hardcore fans of the franchise, who may doubt motion capture technology’s ability, believing it may subtract from the actor’s capabilities.
DL: ‘Andy Serkis is Caesar. He decides how Caesar’s feelings can be conveyed and what expressions he will show next, so it is very much his performance. We just add the digital make-up after the fact. Even though Andy’s nose, mouth and body are obviously different to Caesar’s, our job was to scrupulously refer to his performance, utilising those beats and changes in order to drive the digital character.’
This – still relatively new – technology can be very daunting and confusing for those who are exclusively fans of traditional cinematic performances and visual effects. However, what should be considered is that it is not just as simple as a few clicks of a mouse and there’s your performance. It is a craft which is painstaking, time consuming and involves a vast amount of research, diligence and skill. A minor lapse in concentration can lead to an entire performance being rendered unbelievable, and shattering the concept of the suspension of disbelief.
DL: ‘Because of the muscle structure of the apes, some of the more tight-lipped, disdainful expressions were tricky. We had to put many hours of research and thought into how an ape would realistically convey these emotions.’
So many movies of late have been released in 3D, which has the potential to detract from the storytelling side of filmmaking. It is often difficult to pick up on some of the more subtle aspects of the narrative and performance, when the film is such a lavish visual spectacle.
RW: ‘The suggestion to release the film in 3D never came up and, personally, I’m not a massive fan of it unless there is a pertinent reason behind the decision to use it. Although it has the potential to enhance your viewing experience, it also has the potential to give you a headache.’
Now that RISE has been pushed out into the world for humans to see, analyse and judge, one can only speculate as to where the franchise can go from here. There are countless possibilities, and THN felt obliged to probe for any further information on the issue.
RW: ‘I have had such a lot of fun doing this, and I would love to take it further. I’ve had many ideas for it, including, possibly, touching upon the generation after Caesar. Eight years after the end of RISE, how are the apes’ offspring integrating into human society, and dealing with human culture? However, it is all just speculation at the moment.’
Wyatt and Lemmon are hot commodities in Hollywood at the moment, and they clearly care deeply about their work, so expect to see much more from them in the future.
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is out now in cinemas.
