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***CHUCK WENT APEs (A "PLANET OF THE APES" TRIBUTE)
Charlton Heston had a cameo role as an Ape in the
remake of "PLANET OF THE APES," which opened in 2001 [The "We Want Chuck!" campaign worked: See "APES" ALERT! Below]. The
new "Planet of the Apes" was not nearly as good as the original. AT BEST, this new "Apes" was a mostly clumsy and even,
at times, campy complement to the classic "Apes." The two-hour remake (and it is, most definitely, a REMAKE) simply recycled
the most interesting and intriguing elements of the original Heston film and the Boulle novel. (AT LEAST, the "new" film-makers
(or their careful lawyers) were honest enough to credit the original Boulle novel in the opening credits and--in the
closing credits--the original Wilson-Serling screenplay.) YES, the new "Planet of the Apes" told the story of a U.S. astronaut
who ends up defending wild humans against their oppressive ape masters; however, it failed to make its telling particularly
interesting or intriguing. (INCIDENTALLY, two other "classic" members also returned to "Apes": original co-star Linda Harrison
["Nova"] as a captured human ["Woman in Cart"], and 1968 Fox Studio chief Richard Zanuck as the remake's sole Producer.) [see
PLANET OF THE APES (2001) link Above]
###CRITICAL REACTION in the U.S. was decidedly mixed.
The prevailing viewpoint can best be summed up by the concluding words of syndicated critic Roger Ebert's review: "Ten years
from now,it will be the 1968 version that people are still renting." The entertainment trade paper VARIETY unfavorably compared
new lead Mark Wahlberg to classic star Charlton Heston: "To see Wahlberg move with such a blank sense of purpose...is to be
reminded anew of the qualities--physical and otherwise--that Heston brought to intense, driven heroic roles."
Planet of the Apes DVD Link
+++CHUCK'S HAIRY ROLE: Charlton Heston's one-scene
appearance was almost, by itself, worth the price of admission. Made up convincingly as a venerable chimpanzee or, in
his own words, an "alpha ape," CHUCK skillfully plays an important deathbed scene with welcome class and dignity. The new
"Planet of the Apes" was elevated by Heston's appearance. Some prominent CRITICS AGREED: It's "a strong scene." (L.A.
Times); Chuck's a "scene-stealer." (Jack Mathews, N.Y. Daily News); It's a "neat cameo." (Richard Roeper, "Ebert & Roeper"
TV program); Heston's simply "enchanting." (Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times); Chuck's one scene is "memorable." (Miami
Herald); "There's no mistaking Chuck Heston even as a chimp in a rather fabulous cameo-homage." (Angie Errigo, Empire magazine)
###FAMILIAR LINES: In his completely uncredited cameo appearance, Heston cautions his son, General Thade, about the dangers
of human inventiveness by showing him an ancient relic...a gun: "What you hold in your hand is proof of their [men's] power...against
which our strength means nothing. It has the force of a thousand spears. I warn you: their ingenuity goes hand in hand with
their cruelty. No creature is as devious or as violent....Damn them. Damn them all to Hell!" (OBVIOUSLY, this last line echoes
Chuck's final utterance in the original "Planet of the Apes.") [*CHUCK ON THE ORIGINAL 'PLANET OF THE APES': "I'm very proud
of it and I still get checks." (Movieline magazine, May, 2001)]
*******THE PHOTO ABOVE*******is of CHUCK as a dying Great Ape, chimpanzee father to the remake's principal villain General
Thade (played by Tim Roth). Director Tim Burton told Premiere magazine that Heston "was so scarily believable. He has
that thing that I have always liked in actors like Vincent Price: a tortured quality." Reportedly, Charlton Heston received
more than $1 million for his "Planet of the Apes" cameo. [INTERESTINGLY, Chuck almost worked with Tim Burton before:
In 1996, Heston was offered the role of a fanatical general in Burton's comedy "Mars Attacks!" But, Chuck felt
the role was too "idiotic" and passed. Rod Steiger ended up in Chuck's role.]
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