Planet of the Apes 50th Anniversary with Lou Wagner

Damn Dirty Geeks

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.

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.

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.

Listen to this ape-stravaganza and much more in our live podcast marking 50 years of the APES film franchise and counting! Be sure to visit our website DamnDirtyGeeks.com in a couple days for our photo gallery and show notes from this special event!