Kevin Smith vs.Tim Burton over Planet of the Apes ending! (1 Viewer)

[Norm]

More fuss over 'Apes' ending
August 8, 2001
BY BILL ZWECKER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Sounds as though a cat fight is shaping up between directors Kevin Smith (''Chasing Amy'') and Tim Burton. Seems Smith is hot-under-the-collar about the so-called ''surprise'' ending to Burton's ''Planet of the Apes.''
According to Smith, the Burton ending is a direct rip-off from one of his ''Jay and Silent Bob'' comic books--originally published three years ago.
Smith unloaded about all this to New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick, saying ''I think I got robbed and I am talking with my lawyers about possibly suing.''
Burton's retort? ''Anyone that knows me knows I do not read comic books and I especially wouldn't read anything that was created by Kevin Smith.''
Ouch!
http://www.suntimes.com/output/zweck...-ftr-zp08.html
Here's the picture, http://viewaskew.com/newboard/messages289/113.html
Some who helped Burton on the film, could have seen this Comic Book, and had Burton to use it, without telling Burton where he got the Idea.
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Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
http://apacure.org/

 

[Rich Malloy]

I dub this little skirmish "Hack Wars".
One question: why on earth would Kevin Smith even want to take credit for that ending?

 

[Adam Tyner]

Kevin has already said he was joking.
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[Tom-G]

quote: I dub this little skirmish "Hack Wars"[/quote]

There was a line in a great movie spoken by the protagonist which went--"everything is just a copy of a copy of a copy." I suppose Hollywood has reached this point!
In all seriousness, shouldn't the writer, William Broyles Jr, be the one that's the focus of a lawsuit? He's the one that wrote the screenplay. Even though Burton said he doesn't read anything by Kevin Smith, somehow, I just don't see him kicking back and reading a "Jay and Silent Bob" comic book, but I could be wrong and he could be lying.
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[Edited last by Tom_G on August 08, 2001 at 02:35 PM]

 

[Sean Cullen]

Didn't Kevin Smith get fired by Tim Burton for the Superman remake, after he suggested the producers hire him?
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[Tom-G]

Sean, yes he did. I totally forgot about that little incident! I remember something like Tim Burton did not like Smith's script at all.
Ah, that's the root of this animosity/sarcasm!
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[Ian_H]

I remember something like Tim Burton did not like Smith's script at all.

Yeah it was too much like the comic book (heaven forbid!). I will never understand why the studios deem the source material unacceptable for the films.
-Ian

 

[Dan Brecher]

Well he didn't fire Smith so to speak, Smith still got paid a crap load of money from Warner, there was talk of them contacting Smith again when Burton got on board but they decided to go in another direction. To be honest, I've never overly liked his draft.
Yes it has some nice touches, but he had to go along with the Warner Exec creations, for instance, that bloody thing L-RON being a wise cracking sidekick droid to Brainiac amongst other studio demands, and I shudder when I read over it seeing a few Viewaskew names Smith (not so) subtly slipped in there (the little kid named Banky for example)...
Somewhere online is a 3 part video of Smith discussing how he got signed to write Superman and the process and demands made by Warner that be inserted into the screenplay. It's a hilarious account of how a studio has no clue about what they've got and what to do with it, from demands of them wanting Superman to fight a giant spider to the demand that we never see Superman in the original suit or see him fly all the way up to the want of L-Ron to be gay, it's shocking but hilarious. I'll try to find the website which had it...
Dan (UK)
[Edited last by Dan Brecher on August 09, 2001 at 06:56 AM]

 

[Iain Lambert]

"the want of L-Ron to be gay" So they didn't anticipate getting Tom Cruise in the cast then?

Actually, I'm seriously surprised that they would put such an obvious gag in there. Someone in Warner must have been really unhappy with the Battlefield Earth returns.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I hope they continue to sink money into the project and that it goes nowhere because I cannot imagine the horror of seeing a piece of shit SUPERMAN movie released. It will be Superman III all over again.

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[Ken_McAlinden]

It is amazing how entertainment "journalists" have no sense of humor or capacity for irony, and yet they love to manufacture feuds. Of course, political journalists are the same way. I had a friend in college who was head of the "Campus Republicans" and was determined to have a career in politics. This was during the Bush-Dukakis campaign year of 1988. He was contacted by the Lansing State Journal and asked, in the context of a broad discussion of election politics on campus, among several other questions, if it was considered "cool" to be a Republican "these days". Somewhat taken aback by the inanity of the question, he replied with a half-hearted "uh...I guess so". The next day's paper attributed a quote to him that it was "cool" to be a Republican "these days" with no mention of the rest of their discussion. Letters later came in complaining about the inanity of the quote and suggesting that the level of poltical discourse in the youth of today was at an all time low, etc. My friend quickly realized after this incident and several meetings with real career politicians that this was not the life for him and went into teaching.
I hope Kevin Smith has thicker skin and sticks with it, though, because I find his interview quotes to be pretty entertaining most of the time.
Regards,
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Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
[Edited last by Ken_McAlinden on August 09, 2001 at 02:03 PM]

 

[Geoffrey_A]

All this seems to ignore one point of course. This was the ending of the original book.
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Geoff
Now with Kung-Fu grip and realistic facial hair!

 

[Jason Seaver]

This was the ending of the original book.

No, no it wasn't. Aside from how the ending in the book actually had something to do with the book's theme, the end of the book didn't feature anything specifically related to Ulysse's experiences on Soror; it was just in parallel to it.
And, of course, it was in Paris as opposed to DC.

 

[Geoffrey_A]

Still, the ending of the movie is more than likely more closely related to the original ending than a kevin smith comic.
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Geoff
Now with Kung-Fu grip and realistic facial hair!

 

[CoreyII]

So Burton doesn't read comic books, this explains why he's directed two piss poor Batman films.

 

[Todd_G]

This just once again goes along with alot of the other stuff that Burton claimed to originate, like he was going to fool somone? he was giving an interview and they acted as if he had originated the use of the differnt types of ape to signify classes in the system, like we didn't see that in the original? what crap is he trying to pull, I don't even know how they can get away with using the words "immaginative" in the television trailers, as the man Jay Sherman would say, this film is "Fantacrap"
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Papa Todd
Crimefighter, Saskatchewan Hardcore Champion

 

[Mike St.Louis]

So Burton doesn't read comic books, this explains why he's directed two piss poor Batman films.

CoreyII.
You are mistaken. Tim Burton didn't direct "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin". He directed the infinitely superior films "Batman" and "Batman Returns".
I think you are thinking of Joel Schumacher.

 

[Kevin Bush]

Joel Schumacher ruined the Batman films!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Is anyone in this thread still under the impression that Kevin Smith was serious? He was joking about the coincidence involving monkeys and the same national monument. He did not really feel ripped off nor was he really inclined to sue. He has copped to this at his View Askew website.
A journalist apparently did not get the joke and ran it like it was a serious statement which then wound up on wire services and resulted in someone else asking Burton for a response to Kevin Smith's "accusations". Discussing whether Burton or a writer ripped off Smith is kind of useless considering that Smith himself does not really think he was ripped off.
Regards,
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Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
[Edited last by Ken_McAlinden on August 10, 2001 at 02:33 PM]

 

[Norm]

As long as Burton continue's to make Superhero/Comicbook movies I won't be going. Its obvious he doesn't read Comics!
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