Fox And Jacobs

Primate scream

Boulle may have doubted the story's cinematic appeal, but not Arthur P Jacobs. The former Hollywood publicist-turned-producer bought the rights and touted the project around town. But no studio would bite. However, after enlisting the help of Ben-Hur himself - Charlton Heston - and proving via test footage starring Heston, James Brolin and Edward G Robinson as Dr Zaius, that the simian make-up would not be laughable, Planet Of The Apes finally found a home at 20th Century Fox in 1966. To have a star like Heston, formerly an icon of strength, power and decency, reduced to a beast in a cage and beaten by gorillas must have struck hard with American audiences then, even on a subliminal level. The threat of world nuclear annihilation was very real. It wasn't really much of a leap for people to accept that one day our world would be like the one discovered by Taylor, with that very potent symbol of hope, Lady Liberty, lying shattered and corroded on a desolate beach. Like all great sci-fi, Planet Of The Apes throbs with socio-political commentary. The answer was "with considerable difficulty". Author Boulle himself had a go, as did The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling, but their efforts lacked the requisite element of visual impact. Eventually, English poet and screenwriter Paul Dehn conceived a story of discovering a race of nuclear-bomb-worshipping psychic mutants in the subterranean former Manhattan of The Forbidden Zone, while the apes march into the Zone with the intent of destroying all humans. It was to climax with a nuclear explosion. A new order was to start, culminating in the birth of a chimp-human hybrid. The movie, titled Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, proved another commercial success, and again offered commentary on contemporary concerns. The anti-war/nuclear message couldn't be more rammed home when a mortally wounded Taylor detonates the world-incinerating Alpha-Omega bomb, leaving the planet a lifeless, glowing ember. "I thought: 'That's the end of the sequels!'" said Heston. After a brief lull, more attempts to revive the franchise were made as early as 1988. The first would have seen Ape culture reach "its Roman era", and involve a descendant of Taylor sparking a Spartacus-like revolt. More ideas - from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (The Lord Of The Rings), Oliver Stone, Chris Columbus, Sam Hamm (Batman) and James Cameron - were scuppered. Then Tim Burton "re-imagined" Schaffner's movie and Boulle's novel in 2001.

Amber Tamblyn's Post-'House' TV Project: Fox Drama From 'House' EP ...

Co-creator Ed Burns for a drama project that would star Tamblyn as a young teacher in the world of public education in America. The project, which has received a script commitment from the network, is being produced by 20th Century Fox TV.

Jacobs came up with the idea for the drama and pitched it to Tamblyn while the two were working together on House . Tamblyn loved it, and the two then brought in Burns, who was a public teacher in Baltimore (as well as a police detective) before he segued to writing. The three developed the project together, with Burns attached to write and Jacobs to direct. The show was set up at Fox and 20th TV through Jacobs' joint overall deal with the network and studio. Jacobs and Burns are executive producing, with Tamblyn co-executive producing. Also expected to be part of the show is Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony-winning writer-star of the Broadway musical  In the Heights.