Join the Damn Dirty Geeks at our live podcast recording from the Arena Cinelounge as we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the original PLANET OF THE APES, with our special guest from the film, LOU WAGNER.

At Monsterpalooza 2017: actor Bobby Porter discusses MAKING APES: THE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED FILM, directed by William Conlin for a 2018 release. Photo courtesy of Making Apes on Facebook.

Lou joins our list of APES actors on our podcast including Bobby Porter and H.M Wynant. Though Lou is our first veteran from the original film, having co-starred with Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall, which was a special treat for the DDG and our live audience in attendance for the screening.

We talk with Lou about his preparation for playing the rebellious teen chimpanzee as the then-modern voice in the 1968 film, and how what might have been a 60s-dated aspect to the story has now come full circle in relevance, mirroring today’s headlines of a new youth movement influencing society and politics. Lou shares several little-known stories from filming PLANET OF THE APES, including a great tale about how Heston looked after his ape costars on location.

PLANET OF THE APES 50th Anniversary with Lou Wagner

by Damn Dirty Geeks

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Also joining the 50th Anniversary celebration was William Conlin, director of the upcoming documentary Making Apes:The Artists Who Changed Film, himself a lifelong fan of the APES films like us. Conlin’s film celebrates the brilliant makeup artists and technicians who made the APES films possible and how they changed modern cinema in the 20th century. As part of this documentary, Lou agreed to have makeup artists update Lou’s character Lucious as aged 50 years since his original appearance. Jump the link above to learn more about Conlin’s film currently in production and seeking support to finish the doc at their IndieGoGo page.

Listen to this ape-stravaganza and much more in our live podcast marking 50 years of the APES film franchise and counting!

The Damn Dirty Geeks on the red carpet celebrating the PLANET OF THE APES 50th Anniversary with a double feature screening in Hollywood: (L to R) Frank Woodward, Jack Bennett, Scott Weitz, Jeff Barkley (Zaius), Trish Geiger, Lou Wagner and Frank Dietz. April 7, 2018.

In a finale scene from PLANET OF THE APES: (L to R) Lou Wagner as Lucius, Charlton Heston, Kim Novak as Zira, Roddy McDowall as Cornelius, and Linda Harrison as Nova.

Scene from PLANET OF THE APES as Taylor (Charlton Heston), Nova (Linda Harrison), Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Lucius (Lou Wagner) battle Zaius' gorilla troops outside the archeological dig.

Makeup master John Chambes and Lou Wagner being transormed into Lucius get an eyeful of the latest Famous Monsters of FIlmland issue, during filming of PLANET OF THE APES.

Candid behind the scenes photo of the cast filming PLANET OF THE APES, featuring Lou Wagner (far left) as Lucius and Linda Harrison (lower center) as Nova.

Everyone is going ape on the red carpet at the Damn Dirty Geeks' 50th anniversary screening and live podcast for PLANET OF THE APES: (L to R) makeup artist John Goodwin, Jeff Barkley as Dr. Zaius, actor Lou Wagner, and Frank Dietz. April 7, 2018.

Lou Wagner as old Lucius in William Conlin's new documentary MAKING APES: THE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED FILM. A great makeup by Vincent Van Dyke working with the legendary Tom Burman.

In a scene from the 1970 film AIRPORT, Lou Wagner as know-it-all Schuylet Shultz tries to explain to his parents that their plane is turning around.

Photo of the DDG special Planet of the Apes Day event in 2018: (L to R) Frank Woodward, Scott Weitz, Jack Bennett, Lou Wagner, Trish Geiger and Frank Dietz. April 2, 2016.

(L to R) Makeup artist Tom Burman and documentary producer/director William Conlin have teamed up to create MAKING APES: THE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED FILM, currently finishing production and available to support at IndieGoGo.

The poster for MAKING APES: THE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED FILM, a documentary by Tom Burman and William Conlin, currently finishing production and available to support at IndieGoGo.

SHOW NOTES:

If you’d like to join your fellow APES fans in supporting William Conlin and Tom Burman’s documentary MAKING APES: THE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED FILM, you can check out their IndieGoGo campaign linked on the right.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

As discussed in this episode, the DDG recommend the classic Planet Of The Apes Legacy Collection Blu-ray via Amazon.

Watch Lou Wagner in the original AIRPORT now in HD in the Airport: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] via Amazon.

You can read more behind the scenes details in the book The Making of Planet of the Apes via Amazon.

Go ape with board game fun with USAopoly Monopoly: Planet of the Apes(TM) Money and Asset Board Games via Amazon.

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Frank Dietz

JACK BENNETT

TRISH GEIGER

Scott Weitz

Frank Woodward

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