Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [2014] (2 discs)

Random Trivia For This Title:

• Despite having a cameo via video tape, James Franco had no involvement nor knowledge of his cameo. The video is from the first film.
• Koba, Caesar's first assistant ape, bears the name that ^[?] Joseph Stalin used as a nickname. Their personalities are somewhat similar, and the ascent to power bears a resemblance to Stalin's.
• The book that Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) shares with Maurice is Black Hole by ^[?] Charles Burns. The story is about a sexually transmitted disease among American teenagers that turns them into outcasts. The book had a number of similarities to the Apes narrative, namely the theme of outcasts living in the woods, segregated from everyone else.
• The orangutan that is featured prominently in the film is named Maurice. This is a reference to Maurice Evans, who portrayed the orangutan Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
• The name of Judy Greer's character, Cornelia, is a nod to Cornelius, the helpful chimpanzee from Planet of the Apes played by Roddy McDowall.
• In contrast to the previous movie, this film shot motion capture mostly in exterior sets. Andy Serkis remarked that shooting outside in motion capture suits made all the actors playing apes so sweaty and smelly that they hardly dared to come close to other people after a few days.
• Andy Serkis (Caesar), Terry Notary (Rocket), and Karin Konoval (Maurice) are the only actors who reprised their roles from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Judy Greer replaced stunt-woman/dancer Devyn Dalton as Caesar's mate, Cornelia, and Toby Kebbell replaced stuntman/motion capture performer Christopher Gordon as the scarred lab chimp Koba.
• This film is essentially a remake of Battle for the Planet of the Apes
• Gary Oldman (Dreyfus) was considered for the role of General Thade in Planet of the Apes.
• The name blue eyes was given to Cesar son because Cesar son is the first generation to be born without the chemical that changed Caesars eyes and the rest of the Apes eyes to green in the first movie
• This marks the first [Apes] film for Judy Greer (Cornelia). Her husband is reportedly a massive fan of Planet of the Apes. Greer revealed in a interview with Vulture that that they had a chimp husband-and-wife cake topper at their wedding, while the original film and Rise of the Planet of the Apes played on two separate televisions in the bar area at the cocktail hour.
• Terry Notary (Rocket) previously worked as a movement coach on Planet of the Apes.
• Matt Reeves cast Keri Russell as the female lead, fifteen years after giving her her most famous role when he cast her as the lead of his TV show [Felicity].
• Rupert Wyatt declined to direct this film saying he was uncomfortable with the original locked release date of 23 May 2014, that would not give him enough time to work on the film. However, just months before release, the film's released slot was replaced with X-Men: Days of Future Past.
• The the fate of Will Rodman (James Franco) after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes is unknown, but there is a clue. When Caesar returns to his house you can see a sign with an "X" on the stoop by the door. Usually this means someone living there is infected.
• Other directors considered for the film include ^[?] Jeff Nichols, Guillermo del Toro, ^[?] Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, J.A. Bayona and ^[?] J Blakeson.
• At the very end of the end credits, difficult breathing and moving rubble can be heard. This suggests Koba may still be alive.