James Franco plays lead in Apes prequel
Actor to play scientist researching Alzheimer's cure on apes
Last Updated: Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 11:48 AM ET
CBC News
Rise of the Apes, starring James Franco, will begin filming this summer in British Columbia. (Peter Kramer/Associated Press)James Franco has signed on for the lead in a prequel to the Planet of the Apes movie series, titled Rise of the Apes.
British director Rupert Wyatt is set to begin shooting in British Columbia this summer, with a release date of June 2011.
Franco will portray a scientist researching a cure for Alzheimer's on apes when one of the test animals starts to evolve. The scientist then takes the animal home to protect him from being tested any more.
According to the Hollywood Reporter trade magazine, WETA — the special effects studio run by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson — is also on board to create the apes in the movie.
The technology being used will be the one developed for James Cameron's Avatar, with the apes rendered to be "photo-realistic," as opposed to having actors in ape costumes, as the previous Planet of the Apes films have done.
Franco recently appeared in the comedy Date Night and will be on screen this summer in Eat Pray Love. His previous credits include Milk and Spider-Man.
The first Planet of the Apes film featured the late Charlton Heston in 1968 and was based on novel by Pierre Boulle. That resulted in a subsequent four films in the 1970s and a TV series in 1974.
Tim Burton freshened up the franchise with a 2001 version, based on the first movie, starring Mark Wahlberg.
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