About Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

About Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

About the Guests

TOM BURMAN (Makeup Artist, Planet of the Apes; Supervising Makeup Artist, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes)

Thomas R. Burman is a true renaissance man in the field of special makeup effects. With a career spanning over 50 years, Tom began as an apprentice at 20th Century Fox in 1966. Mentored by Academy Award?Winning Makeup Artist John Chambers, Tom is actually responsible for bringing Chambers and Fox together to make Planet of the Apes (1968). Serving as Chambers’s partner and assistant on the development and production of the first film, then as a supervising makeup artist on Beneath and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Tom left an indelible mark on the Apes franchise.

Going on to partner with Chambers in creating the first independent makeup studio in Hollywood, Tom’s impact includes coining the phrase "special makeup effect" and was instrumental in the development of the Academy Award category for Best Makeup Effects. Tom has been nominated for the Academy Award, won 6 Emmys, 27 Emmy nominations, 1 Cable Ace, 2 Science Fiction Awards, 2 Fantasy Horror Film Awards and 1 Guild Award. Tom is currently writing his memoirs and working on the feature length documentary Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film, a chronicle of the making of Planet of the Apes and Tom’s impact on the special makeup effects industry, due to be releases in 2019.

DON MURRAY ("Breck", Conquest of the Planet of the Apes)

Bio coming soon.

FRANCE NUYEN ("Alma", Battle for the Planet of the Apes)

Bio coming soon.

BOBBY PORTER ("Cornelius", Battle for the Planet of the Apes)

In 1971, a young pre-med student was offered a summer job by his neighbor and a successful 45 year career in film and television was born. At 4’9” and 82 pounds, 19 year old Bobby Porter discovered his niche as a stunt double for children, stunt coordinator and character actor. After playing three different roles in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Bobby contributed his talents to 16 Disney feature films, as well as Annie, Terminator 2, E.T., On Golden Pond, The Bodyguard, Blade Runner, The Road and countless others. His major television credits as an actor include Quark (Andy the Robot), Battlestar Galactica (Lucifer) and Land of the Lost (as Stink). Bobby was the first Stunt Coordinator to be nominated for a Prime-Time Emmy in 2002 for his work on Malcolm in the Middle where he was the series coordinator for its 7-year run.

Now, after having been blessed to have worked on 5 continents and 12 countries, Bobby spends his time running (logging nearly 53,000 miles and 57 marathons to date) fishing and spending as much time with his two sons as he can. And when the phone eventually rings to offer him the role of crazy little old man, he’ll humbly and enthusiastically say, “where and when?!”

AUSTIN STOKER ("Bruce MacDonald", Battle for the Planet of the Apes)

Austin Stoker began acting at age eleven. Born and raised in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Austin (né Alfonso Austin Matthew Marshall) acquired his Cambridge University Senior Certificate with “Distinction in English” and considered becoming a customs officer. He attributes his affinity for acting to having been a movie fan since age five and, moreover, since the same age, a devoted participant, in the Trinidad Carnival - reportedly “The World’s Most Colorful Festival”-  a veritable Two Hundred and Twenty-Five-Year-old ‘theatre of the street’.

At age 16 Austin joined a local acting group, The Whitehall Players. Four years later, while employed at Port Services, Austin was invited by a co-worker to join a local dance troupe- which was headed by said co-worker. Quite unexpectedly, this troupe - Holder Dance Company (H.D.C.) - later brought him to New York City. As a percussionist/dancer with H.D.C., Austin was one of a special “Trio” of young Trinidadian musicians who - together with H.D.C. artistic founder, the legendary dancer,  painter, photographer and “Seven-Up Un-cola” commercial pitchman, Geoffrey Holder - landed contract roles in the Truman Capote/Harold Arlen Broadway Musical "House Of Flowers", choreographed originally by George Balanchine and directed by Herbert Ross.

From the very first day of rehearsal at the Alvin (now Neil Simon) Theater, the Trio was an immediate sensation. The musicians and cast could not resist this "new sound" produced on the Trio’s unusual instruments. Austin recalls the show’s writer, Mr. Truman Capote, so impressed, suggesting to the composer, Mr. Harold Arlen: "Harold, you have to write something for these boys to play on their lovely drums!". The result can be heard, with full orchestral accompaniment, in the recorded rendition of the full-cast, show-stopping "Smellin’ of Vanilla" on the House Of Flowers LP.

House Of Flowers closed after 165 performances. Having no contractual agreement with H.D.C., the Trio agreed to join another House Of Flowers star, Enid Mosier (aka: Vivian Bonnell). A “Review” called "Enid Mosier & Her Trinidad Steel Band" was formed - an idea conceived, staged and financed by director Herbert Ross. For the next two years they traveled abroad, performed in clubs, concerts and made two LP recordings: Hi Fi Calypso, Etc. & No Cover, No Minimum. They toured throughout the United States and Canada until Austin was drafted - unexpectedly - into the U.S. Army. Due to the Review’s precise staging, choreography, "Special Material" and charted musical arrangements, a replacement for Austin was an issue they could not immediately resolve. This caused the eventual dissolution of the group.

Austin took time for his dramatic training at HB Studio in New York under the direction of academy award-winning actress Ms. Lee Grant. Eventually, Ms. Grant returned to Hollywood and Mr. William Hickey took over her class. Subsequently, Austin was granted an HB Studio Scholarship and was further trained under Ms. Uta Hagen, author of Respect For Acting.

Besides performing, Austin periodically conducts an acting workshop which includes attention to Speech & Voice when necessary. As a trained movie scriptwriter Austin has coached many others, but has authored two features in particular which he aspires to produce. He is a member/dramaturge of CART, West (Caribbean-American Repertory Theatre, West) and is currently developing "what’s that sound?",  a definitive documentary on the history of the Trinidadian Steelpan.

Partial Listing of Credits:

Motion Picture Starring Roles: “Assault On Precinct 13”,  directed by John Carpenter; “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes” with Roddy McDowall, John Huston, Claude Akins, directed by J. Lee Thompson; “Airport ‘75” with Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Linda Blair, directed by Jack Smight; “Sheba, Baby” with Pam Grier, directed by William Girdler. Other starring film roles include: “Abby”, “Time Walker”, “The Zebra Killer”, “Combat Cops”, “Uninvited”, “Horror High”, “A Girl To Kill For”, “Hour Of Valor”, “Mach II”, “Two Shades Of Blue”  “Machete Joe” (cameo) and  “Twixter” ( currently in Post Production). 

About 50 Years of Planet of the Apes Exhibit & Film Retrospective

The USC School of Cinematic Arts has partnered with 20th Century Fox Film to host an exclusive exhibit and retrospective celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Planet of the Apes franchise titled 50 Years of Planet of the Apes.

A vast collection of props, costumes, photos, posters and artwork from across all iterations of the longstanding franchise will be on display in the Hugh Hefner Exhibition Hall at USC this spring. The exhibit will be available to visit as a work-in-progress from January 26th - February 8th and all final displays will be open from February 9th through May 13th, 2018. A series of panels and screenings will complement the exhibit, including all feature films from the Planet of the Apes universe.

The exhibit is in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the 1968 release of the first Planet of the Apes film, the original installment of the still expanding franchise that now includes four sequels, a TV series, an animated series, comic books, merchandise, and 20th Century Fox Film’s highly successful prequel film series Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

50 Years of Planet of the Apes is funded by USC Visions & Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative, and is free and open to the public. The Hugh Hefner Exhibition Hall is located in the lobby of the George Lucas Building at the USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007, and will be open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M., and Saturday & Sunday from 12:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Produced by Alessandro Ago for the USC School of Cinematic Arts, in collaboration with Sandra Garcia-Myers, and Chris Castelonia for 20th Century Fox Film.

Learn more about the calendar of events at: http://cinema.usc.edu/Apes

   
   
 

Check-In & Reservations

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Parking

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $12.00 at the USC Royal Street Entrance, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & Royal Street. We recommend the USC Royal Street Structure, at the far end of 34th Street. Limited street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.