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Battle of the Apes Making of Books

The Fortress of Solitude West Coast online column has offered up a comparative look at a pair of behind the scenes looks at the Planet of the Apes saga (one of which was co-written by this site's editor, Edward Gross).
"The first is 'Planet of the Apes Revisited,' a 'legitimate' book deemed so by the authors gaining access to [Arthur P.] Jacobs' archives via his wife Natalie Trundy, as well as a foreword by the late Charlton Heston. This book was written by Ape-o-maniacs Joe Russo and Larry Landsman (with Edward Gross - who wrote a nifty book on the making of the Star Trek films)... 'Planet of the Apes Revisited'" covers Pierre Boulle's novel (and similarities to be found in other, older sci-fi stories), as well as all of the Apes films, the television series, and even mentions the soon-to-be made (and very lame) Tim Burton film. The book is chock-full of behind-the-scenes images, and stories about how the actors dealt with the burden of the makeup-- Kim Hunter once even took a nap in her trailer while still made-up as Zira, had a nightmare that she had become a chimpanzee, and then awoke to feel her face and start to freak out.



"On the other hand, we have the red-headed step-child 'making of book,' with the lengthy title 'The Legend of the Planet of the Apes (or how Hollywood turned Darwin upside down),' by Brian Pendreigh. I would equate this book with Gary Jenkins unauthorized Star Wars book 'Empire Building.' Both books do not hesitate to 'throw down' and tell the unpleasant stories emerging from their respective productions. Pendreigh seems particularly vengeful, after having been left outside Heston's limo, running alongside the vehicle, begging Chuck for an interview (and being denied). Hell hath no fury. Pendreigh makes sure to paint Heston as a real egomaniac, a guy who loved to assert his 'alpha-ness' and was apt to criticize actress Linda Harrison ('Nova')for her bad acting.

"Since the author didn't get access to Heston, the main actor of the film, and since the book has only two small inserts of photos, the book suffers in comparison to Revisited... In the end, all real Apes fans should have both books; reading them both back-to-back will give you probably the most honest story of the Apes phenomenon that swept America during the late '60s/early '70s. Heck, some would say it's still in full effect today!
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EdGross
2/21/2010
Fortress of Solitude West Coast

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