At the grand old age of 29, Mark Wahlberg has just got serious. After all these years, he's finally abandoned the glam wet T-shirt look, around which he made his name, for the frumpy wet- shoes look in his role as a fisherman in The Perfect Storm, released here last weekend. This new-found blue-collar seriousness may astound earlier admirers of his highly artificial, pretty-boy image. For from his days as a beefed-up Boston jailbird to his brief career as the muscular white-bread rapper Marky Mark, Wahlberg has always been marketed as "macho-lite" - an image reinforced when he donned those sparkling white Calvin Klein undies for the iconic 1992 advertising campaign credited with turning Calvin Klein's finances around.

True, he'd already gained good reviews as a serious thesp in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 Happy Valley porn epic Boogie Nights, but they were largely overshadowed by the notoriety attracted by the 14-inch prosthetic manhood he revealed in the film's final scene. It's a role that still haunts him: the evening after I met Wahlberg at the Dorchester Hotel in London, he complained to friends of being pestered in the Men's Room of the trendy Met Bar - not by propositioning gay men, but by drunk, insecure punters taking the chance for a peek at his, er, star asset. And when you tell women you're going to meet him, they seem to smile in this thoughtful, mysterious way as if they've been transported to some miraculous realm at the mere mention of his name.

It's as George Clooney's leading man that he's finally making a break with the froth of his past. Their partnership in The Perfect Storm is the second in a series of films they plan to make together, following this year's highly original Gulf War satire, Three Kings. Clooney has also acted as producer for Wahlberg's soon-to-be-released Metal God project - in which Wahlberg takes on the role of a long-haired heavy metal guitarist pretending to be British in a British metal band. And the pair are about to team up again for a re-make of the cult "Rat Pack" movie Oceans Eleven. No wonder there have been rumours that the pair's relationship goes beyond mere friendship - rumours stoked up by Clooney mischievously airing the possibility at numerous US press conferences.

"It's funny," says Wahlberg, looking decidedly shifty on the subject. "But the last time I was over here I was confronted about being a gay-basher and now they're asking about these rumours of me being gay." He's referring to the accusations of homophobia that arose after a 1992 appearance on the infamous late-night pop programme The Word, when he remained silent as another guest, cadaverous ragga musician Shabba Ranks, briskly expanded on his belief that homosexuals should be "crucified". A conviction for assault on a Boston security guard soon after, which led to community service and appearances in anti-racist and anti-homophobia TV ads, have long made the subject a sore-spot for him.

For the record: George was joking, Wahlberg isn't gay, and furthermore the former rapper still claims he isn't homophobic. "I do consider myself tolerant," he says with an air of tortured anguish. "Very, very tolerant. But there's one thing I can't tolerate and that is people who take advantage of people who can't protect themselves. I didn't react to Shabba because I didn't think I was in a position to stand up for one group and denounce another. I said to him afterwards: 'did you miss the part of the Bible where it says you shouldn't judge people?' I've been faced with that - being judged - my whole life. Boston is not an easy place to grow up in a number of ways'.

Boston, Wahlberg's birthplace, looms large in his life. He's always had something of a love-hate relationship with his background, bitterly telling one interviewer recently: "People there are much happier when you don't try to do anything for yourself. They're really not supportive of change. The only reason I go back there is because of family." After a spell in prison as a youngster (he got 45 days in Deer Island, aged 16, for assault on a Korean shop-owner after an argument over a case of beer), Wahlberg was saved from a life on the wrong side of the tracks by his brother Donnie - who became a wealthy pop star with boy band New Kids on the Block and secured a music contract for his miscreant sibling. I get the feeling that the spectre of another life - that of a crack-addict in a stinking Boston tenement - stalks Mark Wahlberg every time he walks down the red carpet of a première gala in LA.

But right now he is keen to emphasise the links between his own past and that of the fishing community of Gloucester, Massachussetts (an hour or so from where Wahlberg grew up), portrayed in The Perfect Storm. He still sees himself as rooted in that blue-collar environment, claiming he took the role of fisherman Bobby Shatford "because to see some kid from [California's] Happy Valley in the part would have broke my heart". After all, producers also had a stronger interest than usual in "keeping it real" with this movie - it is based on Sebastian Junger's bestselling account of the devastating storm which hit that coast in October 1991.

Total immersion in the part seemed to Wahlberg to be the best method of preparation. So before the movie began shooting he moved into The Crow's Nest, the favourite watering hole of the local fishing community. He was even given his character's old bedroom and looked after by his character's mother. "I had to reach out to them and make them aware of my intentions," he recalls. "It's obviously a very sensitive subject. But they were very happy that a guy from their neck of the woods was playing the part. It's OK for Clooney and all those guys in LA with their big mansions. I live with my mom in Braintree, south of Boston, and if I get it wrong these guys know where to find me. They'll come down and find me - about 50 fishermen - and kick my ass."

Hollywood, however, looms large in his future. Current projects include a major role in Tim Burton's upcoming Planet Of The Apes re-make, being fast-tracked for next summer. "It's the first time I've accepted a role without reading the script," says Wahlberg of the film, in which he'll act opposite ape-villains Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. Then there's a movie about a boy band to be directed by Spike Jonze of Being John Malkovich fame. Squeaky-clean popsters N Sync were rumoured by one US newspaper to be involved. "Me and Spike Jonze started a boy band called Four of a Kind when we were filming Three Kings," says Wahlberg, "and we've got a four- or five-song demo with Spike rapping about girls, popcorn-love. And I wrote this script about the development of a boy band. It's very dark, though, ve-ry dark. Which is why I don't think the guys from N Sync will do it. There are similar things in it to my brother's New Kids experience..." He doesn't elaborate, but that boy band descended into a long-overdue break-up in 1994, several years past their prime.

Despite being one of the hottest properties in film, Wahlberg still doesn't seem secure in his status, however. It's as if he thinks he's in a dream and might just wake up and find himself in that other life he narrowly escaped. He injured his ear on the set of Metal God, and hurt himself again in The Perfect Storm - but says he's not pursuing the insurers over his injuries. Why not? The same reason he says he doesn't play basketball with Clooney between takes - nervous, self-protective caution. "If George breaks an ankle they shut it [the movie] down," he says. "If Mark breaks an ankle, call in another guy. I got injured twice on my first movie - I learnt the hard way."

He shouldn't worry. The Perfect Storm has passed the magic $100m mark in the US. So next time if he injures his pinkie or has to bandage his toe, they'll put the movie on hold. James Foley, who directed Wahlberg in his one celluloid mistake so far, the stalker movie Fear, intriguingly compares his rise to that of a certain media dominatrix for its equivalent level of ballsy, sassy ambition. "He has an uncanny understanding of what kind of personality gets carved on the media's mind," observes Foley. "The only smarter person I've met about this is Madonna."

The pop and pants days are behind him - Mark Wahlberg has truly arrived. Now it seems that all he has to do is convince himself of the fact.

The underwear model-turned-acclaimed actor returns to his home turf for his latest film
Mark Wahlberg, a.k.a. Marky Mark, first gained notoriety as a rapper, then as an underwear model, and finally as an actor, for his portrayal of a monstrously endowed porn star in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights. In all of these roles he's been the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, ripped (abdominally), surly, a loose cannon. Surprising audiences with his range, he subsequently played George Clooney's sidekick in David O. Russell's Three Kings.

And now he's doing it again, as Bobby Shatford, a doomed New England swordfisherman with an ex-wife, alimony payments, and a tempestuous relationship with a hard-drinking woman, in Wolfgang Petersen's The Perfect Storm. The film, based on Sebastian Junger's bestselling nonfiction account of a fishing boat that went down with all hands in 1991, stars Clooney as the ship's captain and Diane Lane as Bobby's girlfriend. In order to get a feel for his character, Wahlberg spent some time in Bobby's hometown, Gloucester, and hung out at the Crow's Nest, a fishermen's watering hole featured prominently in the book. He could be seen there frequently during production, with a beer and a cigarette in one hand, a pool cue in the other, and a group of adoring young female fans seated nearby.

Amazon.com: Ever come here when you were a kid? [Wahlberg is from Dorchester, just up the road.]

Mark Wahlberg: I did once or twice but didn't remember much of it. I got here a couple of months before the movie started. It was nice. It was quiet. Nobody recognized me. Once George Clooney is here it's a fuckin' madhouse.

Amazon.com: It's not just his fault. It's yours.

Wahlberg: Naw.
Amazon.com: I saw those girls last night at the Crow's Nest.

Wahlberg: They take what they can get. George ain't there, they'll slap me around for a while. I don't mind. It's just hard when you're trying to work. I need to stay focused and not be distracted. There are friends and family around and people constantly pulling at you. It's hard for me.

Amazon.com: So this is a hometown shoot.

Wahlberg: Yeah. My mom and cousins.... The lobster is good. That's the great thing about being here. There are like only one or two restaurants that I can go eat in L.A. Same thing in New York. I can walk into any place here and know I'm going to get something I like, something decent. That's the great thing about being home for me.

Amazon.com: In terms of food or people leaving you alone?

Wahlberg: Food. People leave me alone in L.A. and New York. Here they only want to beat the shit out of me.

Amazon.com: What for?

Wahlberg: A number of reasons.

Amazon.com: They think they're going to take you out?

Wahlberg: Yeah, brag to their buddies.

Amazon.com: I saw your agent at the Crow's Nest. Was he checking IDs?

Wahlberg: I don't know. I was checking IDs the night before. I've got a good way of tricking people. When I was a kid, I had a fake ID, and I'd just gotten it. We went to this club in Boston very excited about it. This guy asked me for my ID, I give it to him. He goes, "What's the P in your middle name stand for?" "Paul." He goes, "It's an F. Get the fuck out of here." I got it back, though. A friend of mine worked there, a bouncer, he ended up getting it back for me.

Amazon.com: I heard you stayed at the Crow's Nest.

Wahlberg: Yeah, I've been living there. When I first got into town I just wanted to see what it looked like. It's right there [near the production]. I get that extra half-hour's sleep. It's a big deal.

Amazon.com: Can you sleep at night? Sebastian Junger [author of The Perfect Storm] said the bar was noisy.

Wahlberg: I'm up on the top floor, so it's not that bad. I hear people outside the bar and stuff. By the time you get up there you're ready to knock out. You've been hangin' in the Crow's Nest drinkin'. What's funny is to see all of these young girls in there. They don't want to sit down, they don't want to touch anything. You see all of these high-society people from Gloucester in there, like "What are you doing in here?" "Hey, I didn't ask you to come in. We're already hanging out. Don't give me shit. I fit right in."

Amazon.com: Did you talk to the Shatfords?

Wahlberg: Yeah. They just welcomed me with open arms, you know? Spent a lot of time with his mom, and Ricky Shatford, Bobby's oldest brother, pulled in from Florida and was hanging out with us. Sweet, sweet people. Took Ricky, we went to New York, to the Patriots-Jets game. Then we went again the next week. A real nice guy. He gave me this chain.

Amazon.com: What's it say on it?

Wahlberg: "Bobby Shatford," and the date that his boat sunk.

Mark Wahlberg has obviously heard that whispering about all the time he’s been spending with his “The Perfect Storm” co-star George Clooney. During a recent press junket promoting the flick, he addressed those rumors. “Talk about changing your image. Last time I was here I was being called a gay basher now apparently I am gay. I don’t mind. There are worse guys to be linked with than George Clooney.”

Producer Richard Zanuck is scurrying to get not one, not two, but three projects before the cameras by early 2001.

Like the industry at large, Zanuck considers next February the cutoff date to begin films in order to complete production before probable crippling strikes by both actors and writers hit in early summer.

Zanuck makes it clear there's no fear his new ``Planet of the Apes'' would become a victim of the strike. It rolls the end of October, and he's already cast the main parts: Mark Wahlberg and Canadian newcomer Estella Warren (who's been seen as a member of that country's synchronized swimming team) as human beings on the alien planet -- and Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and ``Green Mile'' Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan as apes.

Zanuck stresses that the 20th Century Fox film will not be a remake of any other ``Planet of the Apes,'' but ``a reconception of the whole juxtaposition of apes and humans.''

He says it's that project to which he's devoting his attention -- while still trying to put together the pieces that would put two of the other films he's developing in production in time to be strike-proof.

BURBANK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 28, 2000--Warner Bros. Pictures' box office sensation ``The Perfect Storm'' will be the first film from Warner Bros. to be shown in an all-digital projected format.

Today, the epic adventure will make its public digital debut in three cinemas in the United Kingdom (coinciding with the UK premiere) as well as in two screens in Canada and 11 in the United States.

The announcement was made by Chris Cookson, Warner Bros.' chief technology officer; Richard Fox, executive vice president, International, Warner Bros.; Dan Fellman, president, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Tad Marburg, vice president, Warner Bros. Technical Operations and the studio's technology manager for Digital Cinema.

``As is our practice, Warner Bros. is committed to developing and exploiting technology for the betterment of the entertainment experience,'' said Cookson.

```The Perfect Storm' is a film that broke its own technological barriers with the simulation of the terrifying storm that dominates the story and, thus, serves as a prime model to fully study the capabilities and audience response to digital projection.''

``This field demonstration is an integral step in our efforts to continue to push the barriers of what can be done in cinema as we forge the path that takes the moviegoing experience to the next level,'' said Marburg. ``Warner Bros. is strategically as well as creatively committed to being at the forefront of new technology.''

``The UK portion of the `test' is especially important to the research and development process,'' said Fox. ``The UK provides us the opportunity to use our own state-of-the art theaters and, therefore, we can more fully assess the technology as well as more closely monitor and measure the audience reaction.''

``This exciting new technology could not only revolutionize the motion picture experience, but also the marketing and distribution of films all over the world. It will insure picture and sound quality throughout even the longest runs as well as cut millions and millions of dollars out of the very high cost of distribution,'' Fellman said.

``We are very excited about this test because the spectacular, cutting-edge technology utilized in the feature film and the enormous appeal to the same demographic that are proven early adopters of digital technology make `The Perfect Storm' uniquely appropriate for our first public evaluation.''

Utilizing the most advanced system available, DLP Cinema(TM) from Texas Instruments and Technicolor, ``The Perfect Storm'' will screen digitally in the United Kingdom at the Warner West End (London), the Warner Village ``Star City'' (Birmingham) and the UCI Manchester (Manchester); in Canada at Famous Players Paramount (Toronto) and Famous Players Riverport (Vancouver); and in the United States at Harkins Arizona Mills (Phoenix), AMC Media Center 6 (Burbank), Edwards Irvine Spectrum (Irvine), AMC Mission Valley (San Diego), AMC Van Ness (San Francisco), AMC Pleasure Island 24 (Orlando), AMC South Barrington 30 (Chicago), GC Framingham (Boston), AMC Studio 24 (Kansas City), Cinemark Valley View (Cleveland), Cinemark Legacy (Plano).

``The Perfect Storm'' tells of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working day, pitting their fishing boats and rescue vessels against the capricious forces of nature. Their worst fears are realized at sea one fateful autumn, when they are confronted by three raging weather fronts, which collide to produce the greatest, fiercest and most destructive storm in modern history.

George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in ``The Perfect Storm'' as Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Baltimore Spring Creek Pictures production in association with Radiant Productions, a Wolfgang Petersen Film. The film also stars Diane Lane, William Fichtner, Karen Allen, Allen Payne, Bob Gunton, with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and John C. Reilly. Music is by James Horner. The film is edited by Richard Francis-Bruce, A.C.E. William Sandell is the production designer. John Seale, ACS, ASC, is the director of photography. The executive producers are Barry Levinson and Duncan Henderson. Based on the book by Sebastian Junger, the screenplay is by Bill Wittliff. Paula Weinstein, Wolfgang Petersen and Gail Katz produced ``The Perfect Storm,'' which is directed by Wolfgang Petersen. See www.perfectstorm.com for more information

THE MISSING LINK: Mark Wahlberg is dreaming about apes in preparation for his next film, because he'll get to have sex with Helena Bonham Carter when she plays his love interest in "Planet Of The Apes." The Hollywood hunk will take on Charlton Heston's role in the much-hyped remake of the classic film. In the original, Heston snogged a female ape -- and Mark is hoping to push the boundaries further. He explains, "I think Helena Bonham Carter is in talks to play one of the ape women and I think we'll be making out -- which will be interesting, very interesting. I want to know what kind of makeup they're going to use. I think we're going to push the boundaries out a little bit and actually have sex!" He adds, "I always live the part of my roles -- now I'm dreaming about apes."

Who's Mark going to be monkeying around with?

Why would anyone want to cover this face in fur?

Mark Wahlberg, star of Tim Burton's re-imagining of Planet of the Apes, has been having wild dreams about himself getting intimate with one of our simian friends. What kind of ape could possibly get Mark's Funky Bunch in a knot when he has Estella Warren around to distract him?

Mark's missing link has been found in the lovely Helena Bonham Carter, who's in discussions to play the ape that Mark macks on. Helena obviously didn't get enough from Brad Pitt in Fight Club, despite all that screaming. Entertaindom was listening as Wahlberg explained that "[Helena] is in talks to play one of the ape women and I think we'll be making out -- which will be interesting, very interesting … I think we're going to push the boundaries out a little bit and actually have sex!" Only from the mind of Tim Burton.

Mark sounds like he's just a little bit excited about this, but we'll give him a break seeing as how it's Helena. That is, until he goes even further saying, "I always live the part of my roles -- now I'm dreaming about apes." Okay, Marko, get that grip off the banana and back on yourself! There are less furry (and bestial) women out there that want you. And hey, if monkeys are really your thing, feel free to pass on to us what you don't like -- in human form please.

When you have pleasure, there's usually some pain to go along with it. To ensure this balance is kept in check, Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) has now signed on to Apes as Tim Roth's second banana.

Cinescape has the scoop on Duncan as the 6' 5" ape warrior putting a world of hurt on the pilot played by Mark Wahlberg. Michael will be there to help the military ape commander (Roth) realize his dream of humans being the inferior species. No word on whether or not MCD will pull a Green Mile and shoot black debris out of his mouth at his human foes.

-- Chris McOuat thinks Mark should run while he can

Critics are duty bound to stay in their seats until the end credits stop rolling. Thus I am able to tell you, as The Perfect Storm assured me: "No live fish were used in making this film." So that's all right, then. But being a squeamish fellow, my worry is less with the fish than the live humans. Not the actors, mind you: not George Clooney, playing a come-hell-and-high-water skipper of a swordfish boat from Gloucester, Mass. Not Mark Wahlberg, as a young salt who's seasoning the sex life of the prettiest girl in the port. Not William Fichtner, the token psychotic aboard the ill-fated Andrea Gail. Not even John C Reilly, John Hawkes or Allen Payne, the remaining crew members.

All these are actors, paid (or overpaid) to submit to computergenerated waves 150ft high and do water-tank heroics, then dry off and go home. My concern is for the six real sailors who died when three separate storm systems collided off the Grand Banks in 1991 and sent them to perdition before they could sell their story to the movies. Is it ethical for Sebastian Junger to pen a best-selling non-fiction novel, and Warner Bros to film it as a successful blockbuster, when so much of what happens at the eye of the storm must be the rankest conjecture and the most unrestrained invention?

I am uncomfortable. This is real-life tragedy converted by hype and high water into an entertainment commodity. Even the title unsettles me. "Perfect" connotes a sense of smug uniqueness: not quite the same as the medical term "exquisite", which connotes the highest intensity of physical pain, but near enough in its hint of aesthetic appreciation - dispassionate, but inappropriate.

What certainly isn't perfect is the way Wolfgang Petersen has shaped the movie. The director of Das Boot is less at home on the surface of the waves than he was under them. Having been promised the mother of all storms, filmgoers may be surprised to find how boring the first half-hour or more is on land as the cast makes like working-class lubbers, drinking, smoking, getting smashed, shagging ... The black crewman brings the bedsprings to near collapse, whereas the white guys enjoy more decorous quality time with their women: an unfortunate bit of racial stereotyping, to put it mildly. Everyone having had it off, we finally cast off.

At this point, I'd guess, the filmmakers maybe began to feel it wasn't going to be all easy sailing. What do you do with six only moderately interesting rough-necks-with-problems aboard and the only woman, a sea-dogette (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) with the hots for Clooney, many nautical miles away skippering her own boat? They do what men do. They generate a grudge fight and an Atlantic dunking between Fichtner's long-haired lout and Reilly's quick-tempered punk. But it's feuding by numbers, really. The fish playing the bit parts have far more life. The swordfish (animatronic, I guess) rise like vertical torpedoes; and a shark (ditto) comes aboard and does what sharks do.

It's the human drama, however, that refuses the hook, despite Clooney's gradual exposure as a cross between Captain Queeg and Captain Ahab. A man with an angler's curse laid on him, due to his low fish-count on recent voyages, who wants to prove his luck or manhood and thus heads farther out of safety limits, into the fish-rich waters of Flemish Cap - and the storm. (You were wondering when I was getting to that? Well, I sat wondering when it was going to get to me.) It seems ungracious to say so, considering the watery apocalypse whipped up by Industrial Light and Magic, but when it breaks, there is just too much going on all at once and for far too long. Not only is the swordfish boat overwhelmed; but so is a pleasure yacht that's caught in the hurricane; so is a coastguard vessel; and so is a rescue helicopter that's mad enough to continue flying while its fuel gauge sinks until it, too, sinks to the bottom of the sea. You can't hear what anyone says (not that it matters); but, worse, you don't care what happens to anyone.

You know only too well that for all the docudrama verisimilitude, movie cameras are just a few feet from the foundering, rolling, capsizing and eventually sinking vessels, with computer-generated images supplementing the effects that were beyond God's powers to reproduce or the legal permissions of the film company's insurers.

These days I am troubled by the way special effects are replacing the old dramatic reliables of characters, suspense and emotional discharge. Being kept at full stretch all the time by computer wizardry is turning us into retinal-weary, brain-dead zombies. Yes, it's a remarkable climax seeing the doomed ship trying to climb up and surmount a wave the height of Everest; but one knows it's an "impossible" shot, a pasteup on a computer graphic. One's response to Nature at her worst is simply: "Next trick, please."

Any question of legal responsibility for such a tragedy is ignored: perhaps insurance claims are still pending. But on the fictional evidence here of ignoring storm warnings and putting commercial profit and personal vanity before the safety of his ship and crew, a case could be made for indicting George Clooney for manslaughter.

It all ends with a slam-dunk memorial service, attended, apparently, by families of the real victims: I trust the moviemakers put a suitably budget-related donation on the collection plate. Anyhow, it gives Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio a chance to lay off her chic ocean-going rig, dress down and sermonise from the altar steps on women who wait at home while men do the big, interesting things: the text according to the Gospel of Hollywood.

Suddenly, narration is not cool. Have you noticed how splashy TV ads are more likely to flash type on
the screen for us to read than to have a voice-over narrator tell us something? The same thing is happening in trailers, where those two guys who used to narrate every single preview must be finding their paychecks a lot skimpier.

The most obvious example is the trailer for ``The Yards,'' a crime drama that opens in September and that stars Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix. It's a fairly standard collection of scenes, with some speedy, jangly editing that might make you suspicious that the ad is trying to create a sense of pace that the movie doesn't have. But the most notable aspect of the trailer is the titles that keep cropping up -- ``All he wanted was a clean slate'' and the like -- to help us figure out what's going on.

We're getting the same information we'd get with a narrator but without the old-fashioned, parents-reading-you-a-storybook effect we'd get with a narrator.

-- CHRIS HEWITT

Public Image

Hot male totty turned serious actor now starring with best pal George Clooney in The Perfect Storm, which opens today. After a rocky start as a young tearaway, Wahlberg achieved early success with America's teens as lead singer of the original boy band, New Kids on The Block. But "Marky Mark" really got our attention by getting his kit off for Calvin Klein - in that famous billboard campaign back in 1993, shot by Herb Ritts. Nice packet, as they say in the undergarment industry. 8/10

Intelligence

Of a kind. Successfully reinvented himself as Hollywood star. Memorable performance, so to speak, as Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights - top banana, as they say in the porn industry. But intellectually Mark is probably not the sharpest knife in the kitchen drawer. His musical oeuvre was hardly Harrison Birtwistle (for which many of us are grateful) and his filmography includes some turkeys. Remember Teen Vid II? Thought you wouldn't. 5/10

Compassion

Mixed reports. Seems a nice enough guy, but had a tendency to put foot in mouth with illadvised pronouncements, including the occasional homophobic remark. That's not nice - and not very politic when gay men are around half your fan base. (But he did apologise.) 4/10

Sex appeal

We'd give 'im one. Mark has gone from the kind of rough-trade-cum-boyband look of the early Nineties to something mellower, more regular guy. Either way, the fans' verdict is "yes please". 9/10

Humour

He's not Noel Coward on the repartee front, but not lacking in self-irony if that performance in Boogie Nights is anything to go by. 6/10

Family values

Comes from huge but close-knit family with seven siblings, including Donnie, also in showbiz. He's loyal, but loses marks for a series of minor felonies as a young man. 4/10

Antecedents

Solid blue-collar American. Son of Alma and Donald, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. 7/10

Durability

Extraordinary. Goes from young offender to popstar, icon to movie star, becoming the subject of cultural-studies courses along the way. 9/10

Ambition

To give Tom Cruise a run for his money. Mission impossible? 8/10

Future prospects

Rosy. Wahlberg has at least three movies coming out next year, and just got signed for the remake of Planet of the Apes - for the Charlton Heston character, silly. 9/10

SCORE 69%
Compiled by JAMES COLLAR

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan is in final negotiations to join the cast of Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" for 20th Century Fox.

The studio is describing the project as a "reimagination" rather than a remake of the 1968 classic that starred Charlton Heston.

Mark Wahlberg is on board to topline the project, which will also feature Tim Roth, Paul Giamatti and Estella Warren. Details of "Apes" are being kept under close wraps by the studio, but the story is believed to be different from the original inasmuch as Wahlberg's character is a pilot instead of an astronaut. Duncan would play the role of an ape warrior and second-in-command to Roth's character, a military ape commander who believes humans are the inferior species.

Written by William Broyles Jr., "Apes" is being produced by Richard Zanuck, with five-time Oscar winner Rick Baker providing the special effects makeup for the project.

Duncan, repped by the Gersh Agency and manager Dolores Robinson, is shooting a role opposite David Arquette in Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures' "See Spot Run" for producer Robert Simonds.

Duncan, who received a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his role in "Green Mile," last starred in the comedy "The Whole Nine Yards" with Bruce Willis and is on board to voice one of the animated characters in Warners' live-action/animated comedy "Like Cats and Dogs," which is targeted for a summer 2001 release.

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Tim Roth has committed to play one of the lead roles opposite Mark Wahlberg in 20th Century Fox's upcoming remake of "Planet of the Apes" for director Tim Burton, the studio confirmed Wednesday.

The project, being scripted by William Broyles Jr., is expected to begin shooting in the fall. Details of the remake are being kept under close wraps by the studio, but the story is believed to be different from the original inasmuch as Wahlberg's character is a pilot instead of an astronaut.

The studio is positioning the film as a tentpole and has carved out a July 4 release. 20th Century Fox president of production Hutch Parker will oversee the project.

Paul Giamatti ("Big Momma's House") is also set to join Wahlberg and Roth and will play Limbo, a slave-trading ape who sympathizes with the humans' plight. Newcomer Estella Warren is also in final negotiations to join the project.

Richard Zanuck is producing, and five-time Oscar winner Rick Baker is providing the special effects makeup for the project. Baker worked with Burton on "Ed Wood," helping to transform actor Martin Landau into an aged Bela Lugosi.

"Apes," which debuted in 1968, follows astronauts who find themselves in a world where men are enslaved by apes who consider themselves the superior species. The picture became a cult classic and started a franchise for 20th Century Fox.

Roth had previously been rumored to be taking a supporting role in Warner Bros.' adaptation of J.K. Rowling's best seller "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," though reps for the studio have not confirmed Roth's nor any other actors' involvement in the project.

Roth most recently starred in Roland Joffe's "Vatel" and Wim Wenders' "Million Dollar Hotel." Roth recently made his directorial debut with the gritty drama "The War Zone," based on Alexander Stuart's novel of the same name and starring Ray Winstone, Lara Belmont and Aisling O'Sullivan. Roth is repped by Ilene Feldman at IFA.

Meanwhile Lance Armstrong's agent, Bill Stapleton, told the Dallas Morning News that there's some talk of a movie about the Tour de France winner, but ``we want a major motion picture deal or nothing. We see a budget of at least $20 million to $30 million. Otherwise the quality would not be what we want.'' Stapleton said that Mark Wahlberg had expressed some interest in playing the cyclist. 

... Mark Wahlberg told US that he's seeing actress Jordana Brewster, but the magazine's spies say Wahlberg, despite several date refusals, is still hot for Scarlett Chovrat, the slinky actress in the Michelob commercial who mistakenly shows up at her surprise birthday party wearing a pink teddy.

The Hollywood Reporter says Roth has signed on to play the villain opposite Mark Wahlberg in director Tim Burton's remake of "Planet Of The Apes."

Few details of the remake have been released, but it's believed Burton wants to deviate from the 1968 Charleton Heston-starring original. The Hollywood Reporter did say that Wahlberg's character will be a pilot, in contrast to Heston's character, who was an astronaut who crash-landed on a world dominated by intelligent, talking apes.

Paul Giamatti, who recently appeared in "Big Momma's House," is to play a slave-trading ape who sympathizes with his humans-in-bondage. Actress Estella Warrenis is also in talks to co-star, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Make-up master Rick Baker, who worked with Burton on "Ed Wood," is also creating the make-up that will transform Roth into a primate villain.

Roth had also been rumoured to be in talks to play a bad guy in director Chris Columbus' adaptation of "Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone," although there's no word yet on whether that movie and his work on "Apes" will be in conflict. 

Jenkins tells LAUNCH that their chance meeting ultimately prompted his band's contribution to the soundtrack to Carrey's latest flick, Me, Myself & Irene."I met Jim Carrey at a party," Jenkins recalls. "He came up to me and tapped me on the back, [saying] 'Hi. I'm a big fan.' I'm like, 'Wow. It's Fire Marshall Bill.' He just expressed being a fan and then shortly thereafter, here comes this movie. And I think it was really because of just that one sort of meeting that we were like, 'Sure. We'd be glad to do it.'"

Third Eye Blind remains on the road for its Red Summer Sun tour with Vertical Horizon. The bands can be found tonight (July 25) in Darien Center, New York.

-- Darren Davis, New York and Neal Weiss, Los Angeles