Chimpanzee Gone Wild on Speed Racer set
As you probably know, while most of the sets might be computer generated, Speed Racer’s pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim is being played by an actual real monkey in the Wachowski Brothers big screen adaptation. There are now allegations that the chimp was beaten after biting one of the human actors. PETA is pissed:
“We are in receipt of information that may upset you,” PETA wrote to producer Joel Silver. “We’ve received several troubling complaints from people who have been on the ‘Speed Racer’ set and report that the main chimpanzee ‘actor’ has been beaten and has bitten one of the human actors.”
“We appreciate the concerns of your organization,” came back the letter from movie company Warner Bros. “We also respect the vision and choices of the filmmakers with which we work. Every option on a film is carefully weighed, and for this production, the decision was made to use live animals.”
However, a spokesperson for the film told msnbc that “a chimp did chomp on a young actor, but said that the actor was treated and the animal was given a rest.” The spokesperson aksi sent along assurances from the American Humane Society that no animals were being abused. The movie studio would never lie, right? PETA has suggested that Silver stop using the live animal and switch to animatronics. An animatronic Chim-Chim? They can’t be serious, can they?
Evan Almighty is The Most Expensive Comedy Movie of All Time
Did You Know: Evan Almighty is now the most expensive comedy ever made. The studio initially planned to not cross a $140 million limit. But with the special effects and logistical problems (having real live animals on set can add up), the cost went over $175 million. That means, after press, advertising, prints, and all marketing expenses, Evan Almighty will sport a price tag of over $250 million.
But it’s a smart bet. Bruce Almighty made over $80 million in its opening weekend, and over $484 million worldwide by the end of it’s run. Evan is not only tracking higher than the first film, but is also tracking above huge summer blockbusters such as Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard.
For Evan Almighty, the magic number would be $500 million. That’s how much the film needs to make before it is deemed even. Note: Many people don’t know this but the studio only gets around 50% of the ticket sales (that’s right, those huge box office numbers reported every Monday morning). But that doesn’t take into consideration DVD sales. Bruce made over $77 million in rentals (as of 2/08/04) and over $250 million in home video sales (as of June 2004). So realistically, Evan only needs to earn $250 million at the box office to eventually break even on DVD.
Chimp Beaten On Christina Ricci Set; PETA Not Happy
Chimp Beaten On Christina Ricci Set; PETA Not Happy
With all the monkey business occurring on the set of Christina Ricci’s latest movie, the actress must be elated to be back in her boyfriend’s arms.
The latest reports from the set of Speed Racer claim that a chimp bit an actor. The whole problem is that there are allegations that the chimp was then beaten in return. And now PETA’s involved.
“We are in receipt of information that may upset you,” PETA wrote to Joel Silver, the film’s producer. “We’ve received several troubling complaints from people who have been on the ‘Speed Racer’ set and report that the main chimpanzee ‘actor’ has been beaten and has bitten one of the human actors.”
MSNBC reports that PETA then went on to “urge Silver to stop using the live critters and switch to animatronics.”
Warner Bros. then issued a response to PETA, stating, “We appreciate the concerns of your organization. We also respect the vision and choices of the filmmakers with which we work. Every option on a film is carefully weighed, and for this production, the decision was made to use live animals.”
Unfortunately for Warner Bros., PETA isn’t satisfied and the organization is known to be quite persistent.
They’ve already fired back, responding to the movie giant: “No humane representative is closely monitoring those animals while off-set or during pre-production training, the very places where abuse is most likely to occur, so we regret to say that the assurances you offer are meaningless.”
The movie’s due out May 9, 2008, so Warner Bros. can only hope that animal-lovers forget about this little PR nightmare. Otherwise, their chimp scandal may just end up costing millions.