WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES continues the story of Andy Serkis’s Caesar, the ape hero, who we cheered on in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and continued into the sequel, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. That film’s director, Matt Reeves, returns for this, the most ambitious installment yet which was since racked up raves (I loved it) along with a superb 93% RT score. We were lucky enough to attend the press junket in London, speaking to much of the cast, as well as director Matt Reeves, who, below, explains his vision of the film, and what he hopes audiences take away from it.
Next up was star Andy Serkis, who, in the years since DAWN has already wrapped two films as a director, JUNGLE BOOK (due out in 2018), and the award-buzz driven drama, BREATHE. Here, Serkis explains if that experience changed the way he related to his cast-mates, and his thoughts on motion capture performances, such as the one he gives as Caesar.
Every good movie is only as good as its villain, and sure enough, Woody Harrelson’s performance as an unhinged Colonel bent on wiping the Ape species off the planet, ranks up there with some of his best work. Check out the always laid-back Woody’s thoughts of motivation and pathos, and the pressure of making a baddie three-dimensional.
If WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES has any levity, it’s courtesy of Steve Zahn as “Bad Ape”, his first foray into motion capture. Here, he and co-star Amiah Miller, as the mute child saved by the Apes, discuss what working on such a massive production is like, and what it feels like to see yourself in toy form.