Movies
Dead Eyes No More; Insane New ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Stills
Leading up to the films August 5 release I expect to have a pretty heavy debate in regards to Twentieth Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the Rupert Wyatt-directed prequel to Tim Burton’s remake that stars James Franco, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, and Tom Felton.
I’ve seen some serious online hate in regards to the trailers released (watch the second one inside), yet I think everything put on display looks absolutely incredible. Typically I’d be skeptical – Fox has punked us hundreds of times over the past decade – but X-Men: First Class has given me a sense of rejuvenated hope.
Adding more fuel to the pro-column are the newly release images that show just how far our CGI has come. Oscar-winning visual effects house WETA Digital will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors. Take a good look at the below image of Caesar (hi-res available in image gallery) and gaze into his eyes; it appears to me that we’ve passed the “dead eyes” epidemic of the ’90s and ’00s. No? I’m out-of-my-mind impressed.
“An origin story in the true sense of the word, ‘Rise’ is set in present day San Francisco. The film is a reality-based cautionary tale — a science fiction/science-fact blend where mankind’s hubris leads to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.”
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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