In Tim Burton's 'Planet Of The Apes', Mark Wahlberg stars as astronaut Captain Leo Davidson whose spaceship crash-lands on a simian-run planet.

Having starred in acclaimed films such as 'Boogie Nights' and 'Three Kings' and last year's 'The Perfect Storm', the 30-year-old one-time bad boy rapper has successfully transformed himself into one of Hollywood's most exciting young actors. Here Wahlberg talks to ROALD RYNNING about his latest big-budget extravaganza. 

Popcorn: What did you think when you were offered 'Planets Of The Apes'?
That I didn't want to make another action movie. Everybody got banged up really badly on 'The Perfect Storm'. I got bruised, battered and seasick. I was being hit by water cannons with 3,000 pound thrusts and then waves created by 30,000 gallons of water. An animatronics shark practically ripped my leg off.

So what made you say yes?
I wanted to work with Tim Burton. He's done so many amazing movies. I signed up without even seeing a finished script.

Why did you insist on not wearing a loincloth, like Charlton Heston did in the 1968 original?
I like to keep my clothes on these days. Tim promised me I didn't have to wear a loincloth. It would have been hard for me to walk out of my trailer with that thing on. Also, I have tattoos that would have made it difficult.

You play an astronaut whose spaceship crash-lands on a planet run by apes...
It's a world where the apes are talking and the humans are slaves. This version isn't set on Earth as the original movie was. Tim has made the story his own. It has a new ending, so people should really accept this as a different film. I look at it as a very expensive art film.

It took an incredible ten years to get the film made...
Over the years a lot of directors were attached to the project [Oliver Stone and James Cameron among them], but it didn't come together before Tim got involved and worked on the script.

How would you describe your part?
Well, I'm basically there to get my ass kicked by guys in gorilla suits [laughs].

You acted with both real gorillas and actors in suits. How did this affect you?
I still have dreams about gorillas - that I'm in prison with a bunch of apes. Almost every day, this pack of gorillas would find me and kick my ass. I couldn't tell who they were because they were in costume.

And the real gorillas - what were they like to work with?
One day two real chimps became overprotective when I greeted Helena [Bonham Carter, his co-star] with a hug. I think she smells a little nicer than I do, so they got a little bit upset. They got over it.

You were also pelted by fireballs during an action sequence.
Yes. The stuntmen were seeing who could get closest to me, and whoever hit me would get a hundred bucks. I got hit with a couple, but luckily we were next to a lake so I could jump in and kill the fire.

Three units were filming simultaneously to get the film ready for a US summer release. Was it a pressured set?
Tim never compromised his vision. He used a mobile editing facility on location that he visited between set-ups, but it wasn't like we rushed for the sake of a short schedule.

How does your version compare to the Charlton Heston classic that spawned four sequels?
Tim has created his own unique version of the film. People should accept that this is a different film. All the things that people want to see from the original are there, but there are so many things they missed out on that Tim can really take care of. It'll blow people's minds.

Heston does a cameo in your film. What was it like meeting him?
He was working only one day and that was one of the few days I had off. But I went in to meet him, and he was very polite and complimented me on my work. I said the feeling was mutual.

Still, you had insulted him at the MTV Movie Awards where you quipped that the best villain trophy should go to him for being the lead of the National Rifle Association...
Charlton has got a sense of humour. It was my buddy [George] Clooney who put me up to that. Being from the hood I've got my own views on guns.

Finally, did you enjoy working with Tim Burton?
Yes, I really enjoyed being around him. I told him when we finished the movie, "Any time, anywhere." 

(8/23/01, 5 p.m. ET) - Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins, Everclear, and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst are among the rock stars who will be out in force to celebrate the premiere of their namesake movie, Rock Star, in Westwood, California September 4. 

Others set to attend include the various musicians who appear in smaller roles in the film along with Jenkins, including Verve Pipe frontman Brian Vander Ark, Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson, and drumming progeny Jason Bonham. Still more appearances are expected by members of Korn, Orgy, Beautiful Creatures, and soul singer Seal, as well as Rock Star's headliners, Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston.

When asked if he thought Wahlberg nailed the part as Steel Dragon's new lead singer Izzy, Vander Ark replied: "I definitely think so. I thought he was great in Three Kings and Boogie Nights, but I think he was really characteristic in this. More charismatic than this than in Planet Of The Apes."

Rock Star is the story of a fan who becomes the lead singer of his favorite band. It is based loosely on the story of latter-day Judas Priest, fronted by Tim "Ripper" Owens, whose talents in a Priest cover band earned him the gig replacing the group's famed singer, Rob Halford. The movie opens September 7.

--Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2001--In the spirit of the upcoming rock n' roll comedy ``Rock Star,'' Warner Bros. Pictures, Bel-Air Entertainment, Warner Music Group and VH1 will auction rock n' roll memorabilia and other items on the popular Internet auction site eBay to benefit VH1's Save the Music foundation. 

The Save The Music initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America's public schools by restoring and supporting music programs in cities across the country, and by raising public awareness about the importance of music participation for America's youth. 

Beginning Friday, August 24th, fans will be able to bid on many exciting and valuable items from ``Rock Star,'' including a left-handed Fender American Standard Stratocaster® guitar used by Mark Wahlberg (the Fender '62 Custom Strat retails at almost $2,000); costumes worn by Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston; props from the movie, such as tour jackets, t-shirts, framed albums, guitar straps, a Steel Dragon drum skin, and more. 

Also up for auction are pairs of tickets to the ``VH1 Fashion Awards,'' ``My VH1 Music Awards,'' ``Divas Live 2002'' and a taping of the hit concert series ``Storytellers''; a tank top signed by Madonna; Eric Singer's KISS drum kit; a Paiste Cymbal signed by all the band members of Sugar Ray; a Sammy Hagar photo signed by photographer Billy Tompkins; one of Whitney Houston's Platinum Awards; and Motley Crue's Millennium Award. 

All items will go to the highest bidder after eighteen days of active bidding, which will end on Monday, September 10th. 

The auction is accessible both at eBay (http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/wbauction/) and the ``Rock Star'' web site (www.rockstarmovie.com). 

Opening nationwide on September 7th, ``Rock Star'' tells the story of wannabe rock star Chris Cole (WAHLBERG), who is plucked from obscurity and catapulted to fame when Steel Dragon, the rock band he worships, chooses him to replace their lead singer after seeing a videotape of Cole fronting his Steel Dragon tribute band. 

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Bel-Air Entertainment, a Maysville Pictures/Robert Lawrence Production of a Stephen Herek Film. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, ``Rock Star'' is directed by Stephen Herek, written by John Stockwell. The film is produced by Robert Lawrence and Toby Jaffe and also stars Jason Flemyng, Timothy Olyphant, Timothy Spall and Dominic West. Rock Star is executive produced by Steven Reuther, George Clooney and Mike Ockrent, and co-produced by Michael Fottrell. Musicians who play featured roles in the film include Jason Bonham, Blas Elias, Stephan Jenkins, Jeff Pilson, Brian Vander Ark, Zakk Wylde and Nick Catanese. The director of photography is Ueli Steiger, production designer is Mayne Berke, the editor is Trudy Ship, and the composer is Trevor Rabin. The ``Rock Star'' soundtrack album will be released by Priority Records. 

``Rock Star'' will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company. 

This film has been rated ``R'' by the Motion Picture Association of America, for language, sexuality and some drug content. 

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has a long history of dedication to the arts and the support of music education. Fender made a $1 million donation to VH1's Save the Music foundation in 2000. For more information about Fender's current program with eBay and Warner Bros. Pictures, please visit www.fender.com. 

www.rockstarmovie.com / AOL Keyword: Rock Star 
------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
Contact: 

     Warner Bros. Pictures, Burbank
     Brenda Falitz, 818/954-6676
     E-mail: [email protected]

LONDON (Reuters) - Despite fairly unenthusiastic reviews, Tim Burton's remake of the movie classic ``Planet of the Apes'' has recorded one of the biggest British openings of all time.

The lavishly produced film took 5.45 million pounds at the box office, placing it in 10th place for UK openings, beating ''Batman and Robin'' in the process, figures from Screen International showed.

Staring Mark Wahlberg and British actors Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter, the film follows the premise of the 1968 original with an astronaut landing on a strange planet to find himself in a world turned upside down.

The success of ``Planet of the Apes,'' knocked ``Cats and Dogs,'' the part-animated tale of dogs battling to save mankind from falling under the rule of cats, into second place.

The top 10 had a similar look to last week's top grossing movies, with karate action thriller ``Rush Hour 2'' in third place and the dinosaur adventure ``Jurassic Park III'' snapping at its heels in fourth.

Animated feature ``Shrek'' enjoyed in its eighth week in the top 10, while Steve Coogan's ``The Parole Officer'' dropped to sixth spot.

``Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within,'' ``Dr Doolittle 2,'' ''Swordfish'' and ``Help! I'm a fish'' made up the rest of the week's biggest movies. 

SYDNEY (Variety) - Primates, pets and two pretty faces led the box office parade in a bunch of markets over the weekend as ''Planet of the Apes'' conquered the U.K., ``Cats & Dogs'' wowed Mexico and ``The Mexican,'' starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, ruled in Germany, Spain and Austria. 

Perhaps the most surprising result was in France, where domestic dud ``Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'' commanded top spot, outgunning ``Jurassic Park III'' in its sophomore session and debutante ``Cats & Dogs.'' 

Fox's ``Apes'' remake captured an estimated $7.5 million in three days in Blighty, including Thursday night previews -- the distributor's third-highest bow in that market. 

Tim Burton's sci-fier retained pole position in Australia despite a 47% drop, mustering roughly $1.1 million in its second weekend, for a sturdy $4 million in 11 days. 

``Cats & Dogs'' fetched an estimated $915,000 Friday-Saturday in Mexico, ahead of ``A.I. Artificial Intelligence,'' which conjured up $622,000 in its second turn. 

``The Mexican'' nabbed a good but not exceptional $1.7 million Thursday-Saturday in Germany, a whisker ahead of the fifth lap of local Western spoof ``Der Schuh des Manitu.'' 

The caper stole a fine $728,000 in two days in Spain, beating fellow rookie ``Cats & Dogs'' (which took a tame $313,000); ``The Mexican'' also drew a reasonable $188,000 in two days in Austria. 

In France, ``Final Fantasy'' beamed up an estimated $2.4 million in four days, and distributor Columbia TriStar was forecasting a five-day haul of $2.8 million. One Euro tradester noted the computer-animated picture was boosted by a national holiday last Wednesday, its opening day, but attendance nose-dived thereafter, echoing the North American pattern. 

``Along Came a Spider'' crawled into Oz with a fair $768,000 in four days, leaving ``Driven'' (a soft $265,000) in the dust. 

LONDON (Reuters) - ``Planet of the Apes'' director Tim Burton is adamant there will be no sequel to the blockbuster movie. 

``The idea of doing a sequel -- I'd rather jump out of the window, I swear to God,'' Burton told Britain's Independent newspaper in an interview published Friday. 

Hollywood's ``King of the Weird,'' whose previous quirky triumphs have ranged from ``Batman'' to ``Edward Scissorhands,'' took a swipe at studio bosses. 

``They give you a script, and you do a budget based on that, and say 'This movie would cost $300 million to make', and then they treat you like a crazy, overspending, crazy-person. It's like, 'Well, you gave me the script','' Burton said. 

``I'm fascinated by the studio technique that sort of leaves you bloodied, beaten and left for dead right before you're supposed to go out and make a great movie for them.'' 

Burton said the only time anyone listened in Hollywood was when ``you go ballistic and psychotic.'' 

``Planet of the Apes'' grossed a hefty $69.6 million in its opening weekend in the United States. 

Burton has billed it as a ``re-imagination'' of the 1968 sci-fi classic. 

The Big Picture: Planet of the Apes
Tim Burton is jiggering down a smart hotel corridor, inches behind his smartly dressed publicist. His black clumps of hair both bedraggled and spry, his effeminate blue shirt billowing, he crashes into the room like a decrepit version of Nic Cage. The blue-tinted sunglasses complete the picture. On Cage, they'd be the height of cool; on Burton, they resemble the visors worn by retirees in Florida. It's a look that says: I'm on my last legs, but I kind of like it. Faced with the tape-recorder, he drawls: "I don't have to lean in or nuthin', right? If I start to go out of consciousness, let me know..."

That the 42-year-old director is exhausted is no surprise. The movie he's promoting, Planet of the Apes, has only recently been finished, amid the sort of hoop-la that makes the film business seem more like the circus. And there's lots more publicity still to do. Burton has a cold and is mentally shattered ("If you drove a nail through my hand, I wouldn't feel it – I'm basically numb"). But he's a trooper. Sticking his finger up his nose, he tells me: "I've got to try and keep it together."

It's only a shame that the film at the centre of all this fuss is such a non-event. Reviewing Beetlejuice, Burton's breakthrough movie, back in 1987, Pauline Kael wrote that it possessed "a blandness edged with near-genius". Planet of the Apes is just bland. The question, of course, is, who's to blame?

Burton has always railed against Fox, Warner and Disney, the big studios who've variously stumped up the cash for his outlandish visions, sometimes reaping spectacular rewards (Batman, Sleepy Hollow), sometimes not (Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!). But he seems particularly fed up with them today. "I don't know if things are getting worse, or if my tolerance level is going down, but I'm just sick of it."

Because Fox took so long to give the project the green light, Burton and his team were left in limbo for months. They eventually got the nod on 28 October – shooting had to begin in November, leaving little time for work on sets, costumes etc. What was the hold-up? "Oh, budgets. They give you a script, and you do a budget based on that, and say, 'This movie would cost $300m to make', and then they treat you like a crazy, overspending, crazy person! It's like, 'Well, you gave me the script!'"

"I'm fascinated," he concludes, "by the studio technique that sort of leaves you bloodied, beaten and left for dead right before you're supposed to go out and make a great movie for them." He says the word "great" in the breathlessly earnest tones of The Rugrats' Chucky. Now, he falls into a Valley Girl whine: "I wonder where the good business is in that, you know what I'm saying? The idea of doing a sequel – I'd rather jump out of the window, I swear to God."

I wonder aloud how Burton copes in the boardroom situation. His films are all about repressed, nerdy, invariably dog-loving liberals (Burton himself is famously the doting owner of a chihuahua called Poppy) coming up against cold, ruthless businessmen, and the fun's to be had in watching if and when the liberals snap. Also at odds with the businessmen, though, are characters who don't know the meaning of the word "repressed" – hot-blooded, homicidal maniacs who spit in the eye of a softie's qualms (my favourites of the type: Michael Keaton's skanky Betelgeuse, closely followed by the gun-toting aliens in Mars Attacks!).

Though they rarely succeed in the long run, it's these irrepressible creatures who stop the rot. Critics often complain that Burton's baddies steal all the limelight. But that's the whole point. The besmirching monsters and geek superheroes are just two sides of the same coin.

Maybe there's a bit of both in Burton. He admits that the "scary" thing about Hollywood is that "the only time people will listen to you is if you go ballistic and psychotic. And, Jeez, that's not a lesson you want to learn." He says that he himself is "like a time bomb. I'll hold it in and hold it in till I can't hold it in any longer, and then I just explode." Afterwards, he says, he always feels a little sad. And shocked. "I think, gee, I didn't realise I was such an angry person!"

Burton, it turns out, is full of such surprises; Bruce Wayne one minute, the Joker the next. He and his fiancée of nine years, Lisa Marie, for example, are very into sicker-than-thou "bad taste". He's compared her in the past to Sharon Tate (he's a big fan of Polanski's). She said in a recent interview that she was "very attracted to the way in which [Tate] died". I assumed (hoped) she'd been misquoted. Burton thinks not. "I definitely have a perverse side," he says, and goes on to talk about the joy of discovering the girl who plays the human child in Planet of the Apes. "She was a stuntman's daughter and she was great 'cos she had this abused-child quality..." He performs one of his alarming, jack-in-the-box laughs. "I had weird fantasies that, believe me, if I'd filmed them I'd probably be in jail."

At the same time, in more sombre mood, he'll refer to his part-time therapist ("I react so emotionally to things that sometimes I like a little mind-check, just to see if the two are linking up or not") and the progress he has made in relation to his parents. Burton grew up in Burbank, in Los Angeles (the sort of soulless suburb he immortalised in Edward Scissorhands), and "didn't click" with his mom and dad. But now he says he understands more the pressures they were under. "I've gone through that long period of kind of deep down blaming them, to realise that they were just human beings, like everybody else. I've come to some sort of peace with that..."

He tells me his father died at the start of the year, and I ask, half-joking, if he has the urge to tell his father about his change of heart. "I didn't communicate with him much in life," he replies a little crossly, "so I'm not gonna start now." Has he told his mother? "The change is more personal," he says cautiously, then looks me square in the eye. "It's not like it's opened up a beautiful relationship." He titters to himself. "She's got animals, luckily." Then becomes helpless with laughter: "Luckily, she's got animals."

He's in Joker mode once more. It strikes me, though, that he's got more in common with his mother than he thinks. In photos with Lisa Marie, it's his dog Poppy who takes the place of a winsome kid. Well, you've got Poppy, I say, only to watch his face crumple. "No, she just died," he says and, even as I'm choking on an embarrassed laugh, he notes, in a voice as thick as a fur-ball, "I'm still mourning that, really. My dad died at the beginning of the movie... and on the day it opened in America, Poppy's kidneys gave out, and several days later she died."

His whole body is suddenly as still as a drawing. Finally, he stirs. "Yeah, that was hard, 'cos she was like a real soul, a real heart... " And his eyes fill with tears.

That Burton seems more upset by the death of Poppy than the death of his dad is yet more proof, if it were needed, that if he'd been allowed to make the film his way, Planet of the Apes would indeed have been worth the hype. In the movie, the platitudes about how we should respect animals as equals are just that. In real life, Burton really does believe that you don't need two legs and a straight back to deserve respect. He says he wouldn't mind being buried with Poppy – "the place we took her to, it's the oldest pet cemetery in America, it was very beautiful and peaceful, and I think they do let owners in".

The past 12 months, you feel, have truly taken their toll, even taking into account Burton's somewhat Gothic bent. He doesn't care how he dies, he says, "because it's too late, I'm already dead, that's the problem." No, I say, cheerfully, he's just numb! He shakes his head: "Numb, dead, it kind of feels the same."

It's really no surprise that Burton's so into Polanski ("You haven't seen The Tenant? You'd like it, I betcha"). And the two do have more than a bit in common – the obsession with death and corruption, the fascination with cheesy horror and frightening sex... But if Batman Returns was Burton's Chinatown (with a little bit of Repulsion thrown in), then Planet of the Apes is up there with Pirates.

Polanski's finished. What about Burton? Right now, it seems to me, he has two options. He can turn into a permanently ballistic nutcase, ready to pulp businessmen with his bare hands. Or he can walk away from the blockbusters of his dreams and do something small.

I love this guy. But seriously, he needs to get a life. 

HE'S the man behind oddball movies Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, but Tim Burton admits it was Planet Of The Apes which almost drove him bananas. 

The movie-maker spent 80 gruelling days putting the cast of the blockbuster through their paces in one of the tightest filming schedules he's ever worked to. 

And he says he's so emotionally drained that he has no plans to make any new movies in the next two years, let alone even consider working on a sequel to his version of Planet Of The Apes. 

He said: "I don't have a clear sense of things right now. I'm emotionally drained. 

"I certainly don't want be involved in a sequel. I'd rather jump out of a window than do one. When you can't decide which shoe to put on, how do you decide what you are going to do for the next two years?" 

The imaginative director is so exhausted that he has trouble getting dressed in the mornings and has been feeling ill since finishing post- production uncomfortably close to his deadline, but he is pleased with the final result. 

It has to be said that Burton's version of the 1968 sci-fi classic, is very different to the original film. There are similarities - Mark Wahlberg this time takes on Charlton Heston's role of the astronaut who lands on a planet ruled by primates. 

But the special effects are far superior and many new plotlines are explored. 

Burton said: "Making Planet Of The Apes was tough. Being in the desert with hundreds of apes was a logistical nightmare. 

"The tight schedule was difficult but, in a way, it helped to keep the film really animated. 

"I've worked on films where, if a film takes too long, it can be like watching paint dry. 

"So we tried to keep it as human as possible with good actors playing apes, instead of using computer animation." 

Burton enlisted Tim Roth to play the ape General Thade, with Michael Clarke Duncan as his loyal warrior Attar and Helena Bonham Carter as human rights activist ape Ari. Star of the original Charlton Heston also return for a brief cameo appearance as Thade's father. 

Veteran Oscar-winning make-up master Rick Baker was the man enlisted to make the ape transformations. And ape expert Terry Notary was called in to help the cast mimic the actions of primates. 

Notary's most enjoyable task was teaching Bonham Carter to go ape. Terry said: "She had to be attractive to Mark Wahlberg. We didn't want her to be too gross and primal. 

"So we had to find a good mixture and make sure she was a bit more refined. We wanted her to be a little more upright and have a cute look about her." 

When it came to casting General Thade, Burton immediately thought of Tim Roth, right. The actor, who has played a string of villains in films such as Reservoir Dogs and Rob Roy, didn't even need to audition for the part. Burton admitted: "I sensed that evil chimp side of his personality - but I mean that in a good way. I met him a couple of times and it doesn't matter whether he is in or out of make up, he's an evil chimp at heart." 

Roth was 10 when he saw the original film and here members the experience vividly. He said:"It was the perfect age to see it.It was like a chemical reaction straight to the brain.I I saw it again just a few months before we started filming. It's one of those movies you revisit throughout your life. 

"As it is, I won't be able to watch this film for several years because it will remind me of filming, like the day when I broke my rib or Michael Duncan Clarke broke his ankle." 

Burton denies rumours that there were plans for Helena Bonham Carter's ape character Ari to get it on with Mark Wahlberg as the human astronaut. He said: "I think the important point for me, whether it was human-human or human-ape stuff, was that it was always meant to be more unrequited because that's what the story is about, among other things."

And despite his reputation of having a warped sense of reality, he said: "I never think about what is normal or abnormal. I just do something from my heart. 

"I never try to analyse who I am. That's something for my therapist."

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - MTV has signed up thrushes Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez to perform at the 18th annual Video Music Awards, scheduled for Sept. 6 in Gotham.

Rapper Ja Rule and rock band Staind have also been brought on board, the cable channel revealed Wednesday, bringing this year's VMA performers tally to eight. 'N Sync (news - web sites), Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and U2 were previously announced as part of the entertainment lineup.

Spears, who made waves during last year's kudocast with her bare-it-all rendition of ``Oops! ... I Did It Again,'' will, for the first time, perform ``I'm a Slave 4 U,'' the first single off her upcoming third album, which hits stores in November.

Jamie Foxx will host the show, to be broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera (news - web sites) House at Lincoln Center.

Presenters will include Aaliyah, Dale Earnhardt (news - web sites) Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Macy Gray, Will Ferrell, Jewel, Nelly, Shaquille O'Neal, Shakira, Christopher Walken and Mark Wahlberg.

Mark Wahlberg chose the London premiere of Planet Of The Apes to swap kisses with one female star after another at the post-movie party. 

They seemed to be lining up without a care in the world last night. First up Winona Ryder - who didn't even star in the multi-million dollar film but happened to be filming in London. 

Next was the girl we like to know as our own English rose, Helena Bonham Carter, who 30-year-old Wahlberg had earlier described as "dangerously cute". The actor was seen stroking her back before enjoying a long goodnight kiss at the Ministry of Sound party. 

Finally, Wahlberg, dressed conservatively in a double-breasted grey suit, made a play for 22-year-old Estella Warren, his co-star in the film. The pair enjoyed a close chat and intimate clinch. 

Earlier, Wahlberg told the Standard: "I'm totally single - but it's great news that Winona is here. She's totally sexy - I look forward to seeing her."

However, he had also observed that co-stars Bonham Carter and Warren were - in his words - "my type". Modestly, the star put his success with the opposite sex down to being a "good friend of George Clooney's". 

At the premiere just hours before, around 3,000 fans cheered as Wahlberg delighted bystanders with a 25-minute walkabout in Leicester Square, shaking hands and chatting to fans. 

Bonham Carter wore a two-piece silver-sequined Alberto Ferretti dress with a plunging neckline and bared midriff. Appropriately, her accompanying-handbag was in the shape of a bunch of bananas. 

The 35-year-old star said she had enjoyed working on the Tim Burton-directed film but was unsure about a follow-up because of the long hours of preparation. 

She said: "I should never say never, but I'd have to think hard and they'd have to pay me lots and lots of money. I spent 240 hours of my life sitting in make-up. I'm not sure I really want to do that again." 

Meanwhile, Warren - who plays a slave girl - wore a black polo neck from DKNY matched with a black and white skirt which, she said, she picked up in Australia "some years ago". 

She said: "I really couldn't believe it when I got cast - it was such a great surprise because Tim Burton has such stature. The other cast were so talented. It was such a great schooling." 

In this reworking of the 1968 film, Wahlberg plays a pilot who lands on a mysterious planet peopled by apes where humans are an oppressed race. 

The star said he was amazed by the reaction from the crowds during his walkabout, adding: "It was great. I'm just excited to be here. Though London should do something about its air conditioning - it's appalling." 

Other guests at the screening included the veteran Hammer horror star Christopher Lee, actor Timothy Spall and comic Vic Reeves. New mother Nicole Appleton also appeared with boyfriend Liam Gallagher of Oasis.