Tarzan of the Apes

Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Sab is muy rico y guapo said:
Nine other actors have been associated with the role over the years...

You're only, like, twelve actors off there buckaroo! As the kind folks over at the Internet Actors Database point out, 22 different actors have taken on the mantle of Lord Greystoke, King of the Apes.



Got Facebook? If so,then stop in and check out the new Tarzan Challenge(?!). For the next six weeks Warner Bros. is going to... inspire you to get in shape. Maybe. If you get ripped and jacked enough maybe you'll earn a spot in the next movie! Or maybe a free ticket.

Stay tuned.

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Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
As the kind folks over at the Internet Actors Database point out, 22 different actors have taken on the mantle of Lord Greystoke, King of the Apes.
There's more than 22. This video conveniently excluded the incarnations in Spanish, Indian, Turkish, French, etc.
Le Saboteur said:
Got Facebook? If so,then stop in and check out the new Tarzan Challenge(?!). For the next six weeks Warner Bros. is going to... inspire you to get in shape. Maybe. If you get ripped and jacked enough maybe you'll earn a spot in the next movie! Or maybe a free ticket.
It's inspiring but the first thing to do is buy a leopard-skin swim suit (preferably a Speedo)! :p
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Montana Smith said:
I also used to watch the Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle cartoon series that played in the afternoons after school. While not exactly brilliantly produced by today's standards, it had some evocative storylines.

While the animation will almost undoubtedly not hold up with what they're doing today, it will be interesting to see how the stories themselves hold up because Warner Bros. is releasing the series on home video! The first sixteen episodes will be available on 14 June 2016. If sales are brisk then the rest of the episodes will probably follow in short order. So pick up a copy if you want to see more!

The full press release with the episode titles can be seen here.


We also have a couple of new posters released! Dig 'em!

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Full sized versions are available if you're willing to look.

And while they still won't let Stoo into Harry's Bar even if he buys a leopard print Speedo, the rest of you need to start pounding the Ripped Fuel. It's time to get jacked!

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
With a mere two weeks before Legend of Tarzan hits theatres stateside, Warner Bros. is pulling out all the stops in terms of marketing... online. I haven't seen much of anything on the streets as of this writing. No new trailers yet either except for an IMAX version of the second trailer with a couple of extended scenes. There is a teevee spot (that I've only seen online) that came out a couple weeks back. It also features the same footage, but we hear Tarzan speak for the first time in the marketing materials.


Sounds good in that brief soundbite, but I think relegating Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård's Ape-Man to the periphery of the marketing campaign has been a smart move. Everybody's talking about him. It confirms his legendary status.

A smattering of articles from around the 'net. There's more out there if you're inclined to look.

John Lasser said:
Skarsgard promises us flashbacks to the character as a boy, but the bulk of the story is about his adult life and return to Africa, "The emotional journey isn't, you know, the man from the jungle trying to readjustment or adapt to life? in Victorian London. It's quite the opposite. When you first meet him, he's in England? he's Lord Greystoke and he's very civilized and a British lord and then he goes back to his home?his emotional home?the Congo, and it's that kind of dichotomy between man and beast. He's not really happy in England. He's got an amazing wife; a fantastic manor? a really good life on the surface, but he's not happy. He's not really himself there."

As the movie progresses, Skarsgard says, there is, "more Tarzan and less John Clayton III." Sadly for those of us on set this day, they are filming a scene relatively early on in Tarzan's return to Africa. There is a train car set up on a stage and Tarzan is having a moderate disagreement with some Belgian soldiers, a disagreement mainly expressed through some violent physical acts. We can't get a good look at what's happening inside the train car?although we do see a soldier wearing a harness get lifted out of the car after being manhandled by Tarzan?but we get to see the movie magic of the car rocking back and forth along with the lights moving so as to simulate the motion of the train.

Full article: Swinging through the jungles of London on a visit to the set of Tarzan


Germain Lussier said:
Besides the fresh take on the character, the most impressive thing about visiting The Legend of Tarzan set was just how massive the production was. Multiple stages at Leavesden were taken over, including several expansive outdoor areas. Two stages in particular were fully dressed as jungles. I?m talking huge trees, long vines, real dirt, and ceiling-to-floor matte paintings surrounding the entire stage. Production designer Stuart Craig (who, like many on this film, worked with Yates on the Harry Potter movies) explained that the two stages would be altered numerous times to create seven distinct jungle looks. This allowed the production to look like they are in the African rainforest without actually traveling there. (A second unit for the film would travel to Africa for pick ups and helicopter shots but no cast ever set foot there.)

Full article: The Legend of Tarzan Set Visit Report


Alex Evry said:
As if the production of The Legend of Tarzan didn?t already seem massive enough, they?re also building London?s Downing Street, which just began construction. It will be a brick street with just the bottoms of the stone buildings (the rest will be finished digitally. We also see a house on a hill in the distance, although we are not allowed to go near it because it?s rigged with explosives.

Finally, we get to see some action with the man of the hour, Tarzan. On a big greenscreen stage, there?s a train interior scene being shot with Skarsgård and Jackson looking into a compartment. Alex is attacked by train personnel but the fight is quick and efficient on Tarzan?s part, to the point that when he gets to the last attacker he literally pushes him over. Sam then pops back in.

?We?ve just landed on the roof of this train,? Skarsgård tells us. ?They have a lot of slaves capture, these Belgian soldiers. It?s the first time John ? who grew up out here but spent almost a decade in England ? has come back to the Congo. It?s the first time he realizes what?s happened in his home, what they?re doing to his people.?

Full article: CS Takes a Trip into the Jungle for The Legend of Tarzan

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Le Saboteur

Active member
With a mere eleven days and counting until the first live-action movie in eighteen) years hits theatres, Warner Bros. has released the final trailer! There's tonnes of new footage (including our first good look at the Leopard Men), and brief interaction with Sam Jackson's George Washington Williams and Tarzan. Tarzan's accent is also more clearly defined this time around.


There's also a series of new high-res snaps have been released by Warner Bros. It'll be interesting to see how much muscle the studio puts behind this putsch with Variety reporting that interest domestically is tepid at best. Which, if that prediction pans out, is horrible, because they clearly put the money into everything that appears on the screen, where it belongs.

The costuming alone is fantastic. With most of the individuality drained from the world's haberdashery by the close of both world wars, it's pleasing to see garb from that Victorian/Edwardian transition period.

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Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
While the animation will almost undoubtedly not hold up with what they're doing today, it will be interesting to see how the stories themselves hold up because Warner Bros. is releasing the series on home video! The first sixteen episodes will be available on 14 June 2016. If sales are brisk then the rest of the episodes will probably follow in short order. So pick up a copy if you want to see more!

The full press release with the episode titles can be seen here.

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Cool!(y) The animation certainly doesn't hold up to today's standards but back then it was well above average for Saturday morning fare (thanks, largely, to the rotoscoping). Thanks for the heads-up.:hat: I will definitely buy the set.
Le Saboteur said:
It'll be interesting to see how much muscle the studio puts behind this putsch with Variety reporting that interest domestically is tepid at best. Which, if that prediction pans out, is horrible, because they clearly put the money into everything that appears on the screen, where it belongs.
If the new flick is even a moderate success, it will be a surprise. However, perhaps some movie-goers will see Tarzan as a refreshing change to the over-saturation of superheroes and, thus, turn on to the character. I'm just happy that I'll be on home ground next week and can watch it in English without subtitles in 2 different languages filling up 1/3 of the screen.
Le Saboteur said:
The costuming alone is fantastic. With most of the individuality drained from the world's haberdashery by the close of both world wars, it's pleasing to see garb from that Victorian/Edwardian transition period.
Wholeheartedly agree. Looking forward to this!

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Le Saboteur

Active member
Stoo said:
If the new flick is even a moderate success, it will be a surprise. However, perhaps some movie-goers will see Tarzan as a refreshing change to the over-saturation of superheroes and, thus, turn on to the character.

I almost expect it to do Tin Tin like business -- eke out a hundred million domestically, and do four-to-five hundred million internationally. I'm hoping the usual naysayers are...well, shouted down and the flick finds an appreciative audience here. I'm almost certain that the Chinese will flock to it given their apparent strong interest in the action-adventure genre. It might be a recent interest, but it appears to be real.


Stoo said:
Wholeheartedly agree. Looking forward to this!

Check out this image here for a closer look at the Force Publique officers. You can even see a couple of native conscripts in the traditional blue and red uniform in the background!


Skarsgard doing the rounds on Good Morning America.


There's also a cool interview with Skarsgard over here.

Chonx Tabajia said:
One of the most fascinating aspects of Tarzan is the concept of growing up in the wild, being raised by apes, and the kind of spiritual connection he has with nature. How did you find your way into that mindset as an actor?

I started out by getting a whole bunch of documentaries about apes and watching them because even though the story?s told 10 years after he?s already left the jungle, he sees his family again when he goes back. There are also flashbacks of him growing up among apes. Animals are obviously a very important aspect of the movie, so it was important to me to study how they communicate, how they socialize. I had an amazing opportunity to spend some time with gorillas at the Aspinall Foundation in Kent, England. And even here in California, I was able to go out and hang out with some big cats ? lions, tigers and panthers. It was incredible. We don?t have any wild animals in the film ? they?re all animated ? but I knew it was important to do that research so that I would have that in the back of my head.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
I've mentioned earlier in the thread that I wasn't sure who among the Mangani Tarzan is supposed to be fighting. Kerchak is dead. Kala is dead. Bolgani is dead too.

Now we know!


It's Akut! While I doubt it's the same Akut from the books, it looks to be an interesting angle. Is this Akut the baby on Kala's back when she first discovers Tarzan? If so, that's an interesting departure from the book since the main motivator in Kala adopting Tarzan was grief over he own child's death. It makes sense with the "He was my brother once." line.

This is going to be so awesome.

There's this four minute featurette that appears to have been released just for the Korean market. It's got a lot of new footage, but I opted out after the first minute. Proceed with caution. I'm opting out of any further videos.

 

Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
There's this four minute featurette that appears to have been released just for the Korean market. It's got a lot of new footage, but I opted out after the first minute. Proceed with caution. I'm opting out of any further videos.
I can guess which part made you stop watching and wish I hadn't see that bit, too. Anyway, shots of the gorillas finding the baby in the treehouse look strikingly similar to 1984's "Greystoke" (and I like that).
Le Saboteur said:
This is going to be so awesome.
Totally stoked! One thing we haven't heard yet is Tarzan's call. I wonder if it's going to be the classic Weissmuller/MGM one (which was later used in so many other productions) or a variation thereof.
 

Henry Jones VII

Active member
I'm there july 7th with my ticket for this one. It looks like a really good time at the cinema watching an entertaining adventure movie.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Stoo said:
Totally stoked! One thing we haven't heard yet is Tarzan's call. I wonder if it's going to be the classic Weissmuller/MGM one (which was later used in so many other productions) or a variation thereof.

At about the nine minute mark of this video Skarsgard confirms that the yell is a.) in the movie and b.) a composite of his voice, an opera singer, and animal noises to give it a bit of a primal edge. The full video is pretty good too. It's about time somebody asked some interesting questions of Vampire Eric.

This is an interesting comment as well.

Kathyrn Shattuck said:


I’m totally comfortable if it makes sense. And for those scenes, I felt, why would he be wearing a loincloth? That kind of prudish behavior is very human. So it wouldn’t make sense for him, being raised by apes, to say, “Excuse me, guys, I actually want to cover up here.

Full snapshot here.

It won't be the last time you hear self-hating critics and commentators invoke the "white savior" clause of their Tarzan dislike either. You can take that to the bank.

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Le Saboteur

Active member
With a mere five days before Legend of Tarzan hits theatres I'm still not seeing a lot of advertising on the streets, but there is a fair amount of stuff hitting the 'net. It's almost as if Warner Bros. is going to rely on word of mouth to drive any kind of box office success stateside.

Let's see if it works. In the meantime, here's six minutes of B-Roll the studio released. I watched about twenty seconds before remembering that I wasn't going to watch anything else.


There are also a bunch of short videos from the principle cast members too.



One of the most interesting aspects of the movie I'm interested in is the relationship between Tarazan and the historical personage of George Washington Williams. It's going to be part of the movie's potential success.


There's also an interview with Djimon Honsou and Margot Robbie if you're so inclined.

Five days and counting!

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Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
...a composite of his voice, an opera singer, and animal noises to give it a bit of a primal edge.
Which is essentially the same list of ingredients supposedly mixed together for Weissmuller's call.
Le Saboteur said:
One of the most interesting aspects of the movie I'm interested in is the relationship between Tarazan and the historical personage of George Washington Williams.
Just read a bit about this guy. Apparently he went to the Congo in 1890 (and died the next year), which gives us a date for the film's setting.
Le Saboteur said:
Five days and counting!
Two days for me!(y) Back in my native land now and got free tickets to an advanced screening on Wednesday. :D
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Stoo said:
Just read a bit about this guy. Apparently he went to the Congo in 1890 (and died the next year), which gives us a date for the film's setting.

Oooohhhhh! It's <I>that</I> George Washington Williams, who famously wrote an open letter to King Leopold about the abuses being perpetrated in his name and with the assistance of Henry Morton Stanley. Very interesting choice.

And Rom is supposed to have been the influence for Mr. Kurtz in <I>Heart of Darkness</I>. I've already come to think this looks interesting, but I didn't realize how much they were playing around with the Belgian Congo. I'm eager to see this now.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Stoo said:
1984 with, "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes". What a wonderfully photographed film! As I discovered later, it is only loosely based on Burroughs' original story but it did generate a thirst for more and I still love that film to this day. (The 1981 movie with Bo Derek was horrendous.)
Those two films blurred together in my memory, now I know. Each was the 15th biggest film in its respective year.

Hopefully Tarzan finally makes it to the earth's core in a sequel. Maybe with John Carter if he has nothing else to do.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Calling Mawitaan. Calling Mawitaan. Come in Mawitaan...

Henry Jones VII said:
I'm there july 7th with my ticket for this one. It looks like a really good time at the cinema watching an entertaining adventure movie.

Attila the Professor said:
-I'm eager to see this now.

Stoo said:
Two days for me! Back in my native land now and got free tickets to an advanced screening on Wednesday.

And nobody has anything to say? Has nobody seen it yet? Support your local Tarzan flicks!

I'll say this: Legend of Tarzan is my favorite movie going experience of the year thus far. I don't say that lightly either. Yates & Co. hit all of the right notes.

Go see it.
 

Henry Jones VII

Active member
Saw it yesterday afternoon and went in without many expectations, to avoid a big disappointment. In my opinion it isn't better than Greystoke (1984), but still is an honourable Tarzan movie. Like I expected Waltz played Waltz, and there in my opinion is where the movie suffers a bit.

The cgi of the animals was actually well done, particularly the gorillas and the lions.

The highlight of the movie for me was when the gorillas came to Tarzan's rescue when he was surrounded by the other tribe. Terrific moment, it was like the praetorian guards protecting their emperor.

Two things I would've liked to have seen: Lord Greystoke adressing his peers in the House of Lords and a scene or two with King Leopold interacting with his cabinet and Leon.

The lackluster boxoffice performance makes me doubt we'll see a sequel, but I would like to see where they take the character forward.

Ps: samuel l jackson was the comic relief, of course.

7/10
 

Duaner

New member
Le Saboteur said:
And nobody has anything to say? Has nobody seen it yet? Support your local Tarzan flicks!

I'll say this: Legend of Tarzan is my favorite movie going experience of the year thus far. I don't say that lightly either. Yates & Co. hit all of the right notes.

Go see it.

I just got a chance to see it and similar to you it is so far the most enjoyable summer movie I have seen. Although I see them all, I am beginning to get bored with superhero movies. A movie like The Legend of Tarzan was a breath a fresh air - a good, fun old-fashioned style adventure flick. I did not read any reviews on the film before I saw it. I usually try to avoid doing so, because I can make my own opinions. I always look after I see a movie and was shocked to see that Tarzan received mostly negative reviews. Many considered it too talky or said it had a "sluggish" pace. I am not sure what movie they were watching, because I was never bored. There were plenty of great action sequences. I was quite impressed with the combination of scenery (considering they did not actually shoot in Africa), the costumes, the music, and the special effects. The cast was solid as well. Margot Robbie is quite attractive and even Samuel L. Jackson, who can sometimes get under the skin, is likeable. I found it more enjoyable than any of Yates' Harry Potter movies (and in my opinion his were the best of the series). It was also a nicely-told story set against the backdrop of imperialism. For someone with an interest in that period of history (though it obviously is not a historical film), it creates an interesting story. I particularly liked the opening scene with Cristoph Waltz and couldn't help but be a little touched by the nice scene where Tarzan first encounters the lions. I definitely recommend seeing The Legend of Tarzan. It has everything that appeals to an Indiana Jones fan.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
I almost expect it to do Tin Tin like business -- eke out a hundred million domestically, and do four-to-five hundred million internationally.

It's a long hard slough to $400-million.

Domestically speaking, Legend of Tarzan has done a respectable $115.8-million in a month of theatrical release. It shouldn't have a problem reaching... ~$130-million by next weekend, and might actually reach a peak of ~$150-million before it bows out. That's far better than I thought it would do. If I remember correctly, Tin Tin took around eight weeks to hit the hundred million mark before subsequently disappearing from theatres.

Internationally, however, things aren't as nice as they could be. It scored a coveted July opening in China (opposite Jackie Chan's latest), and pulled in ~$27-million for a total of $44.7-million in 61-markets. That's not bad, but that puts the flick's global take at $261.5-million to date. I'd like the numbers to be a little better, but I'll take what I can get for now. It's still rolling out with Japan and a couple other markets to go as well, but getting over that $400-million mark is going to lie with the international market.

Why the emphasis on $400-million? That's probably the drop dead line for any proposed sequel talk given the rough estimate that a flick needs to double its production budget to be considered on the path to profitability. Since I don't feel like going through the numbers again, check out Michael Sellers' work at The Tarzan Files. He's got an excellent write up of the proposed costs.

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