The story behind this new version stretches all the way back to 1993 when the film first attracted interest as a possible remake. Oliver Stone was co-producing and Arnold Schwarzenegger was tentatively set to star with Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, 1982) directing. This delicate set-up soon collapsed. Over the remaining years there were a variety of people considered for the project: For director, Stone himself, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Chris Columbus, Robert Rodriguez; For writer, Sam Hamm (Batman, 1989), Graham Yost (Speed, 1994); For stars, Ben Affleck, Ben Kingsley, Gary Oldman, Johnny Depp. These names come from reports in trade papers or reliable sources but with such constant change they may have been little more than temporary considerations.
The people who actually made the remake came together in Spring of 2000. That's when the chaos finally settled into Tim Burton directing and Mark Wahlberg starring with key roles of apes going to Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and Michael Clarke Duncan. One unusual choice is Kris Kristofferson as a human rebel. (Oddly enough Wahlberg is doing another remake immediately after Planet, this time of Charade). Filming started last November and took place in L.A., Arizona, Australia and Hawaii. The budget is rumored to be in the $100 million range (as compared to $5 million for the original). Though the story's broad outline is known, the details have been kept tightly guarded with only comments that the film isn't so much a strict remake as a rethinking of the original series. And what about the famous ending of the original? Supposedly Burton and company have avoided that entirely and instead filmed six different endings to confuse any spies or leaks. Linda Harrison, who appeared in the first two original films in the series, says on her website that she's doing a cameo in the new one. There are also unconfirmed rumors of cameos by George Clooney and Spike Jonze (Wahlberg's co-stars in Three Kings and apparently real-life friends). We do know that you can spot Burton regulars Glenn Shadix and Lisa Marie.
You might be curious about Charlton Heston, star of the original film. Reports have been sometimes yes and sometimes no about whether he would appear in the remake, supposedly as an ape this time around. Heston apparently did a make up test and was only able to commit to one day's work. Still, he's not currently listed in the cast but who knows what surprises await?
