Andy Serkis will motion-cap Caesar, the lead of RISE OF THE APES!

Andy Serkis & Weta, who motion-capped King Kong for Peter Jackson five years ago - will now do the same for the talking money Casear in 20th Century Fox's Rise of the Apes. Serkis (with the help of Weta) is essentially the lead in the movie that marks the end of the 'man in suit' legacy that was so groundbreaking for make-up effects for so many years. Even Tim Burton's movie (for all it's problems) was changing the way we think about make-up effects as recently as ten years ago. But no it's CGI monkey's, and honestly, who needs it? In fact - who needs this movie period... the franchise has been so completely bled dry with seven very different and ambitious movies (one of them already a remake!!) and it's not like people have been campaigning to see it continue. Rise of the Apes' Caesar (a re-imagining of Caesar from Conquest of the Apes) will be the monkey that leads the simian revolt after gaining intelligence as a test subject in a experiment to find a treatment for Alzheimer's. James Franco is the scientist responsible and who initially takes Caesar home to protect him for his rival doctors. Franco' desperate desire to cure Alzheimer's is in order to end his father's suffering from the diseaase (John Lithgow). Freida Pinto, whose career is blossoming post-Slumdog Millionaire (she was a focal point in Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, and has worked with Julian Schnabel and Tarsem Singh since) is also on board as a primatologist. An offer has been put to Don Cheadle to join in an unknown role. €˜Rise€˜ is kind of a reboot and kind of a prequel to the 2001 Tim Burton entry in the human vs. ape saga and it begins filming on July 5th under the lensing of Brit director Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist). Written by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (The Relic), "Apes" is due in theaters in 51 weeks time, just under a year.