Weekend Essentials
Bridgeman's Restaurant in Hull, MA, outside of Boston (my brother is one of the chefs). Blue Hills Reservation in Milton (great hiking trails) and Whiskey Park for nightlife. 

Best Late-Night Stop
Little Italy in the north end of Boston. There are many restaurants and pastry shops that are open all night. 

Best Spot for a Rainy Weekend
Loews Theatres Boston Common is a great place. They hosted my charity premiere for Planet of the Apes. 

Favorite Spots as a Kid
In Dorchester, Pope John Paul II Park. In the summer they have outdoor movie screenings. It's on the waterfront and a beautiful place to spend an afternoon or early evening with the family. 

Must-stop Shopping Spot
House of Culture on Newbury Street designed clothes for me in my early rap years, and also for New Kids on the Block. [I also like] Jordan's Furniture. 

Best-kept Secrets
Castle Island -- civil war fort, south Boston, on a summer evening. 

Most Romantic Date
Top of the Hub -- Prudential Building in Copley Square.  
Romantic Valentine's Day
Horse and buggy ride at Faneuil Hall Square. That's actually where my brother proposed to his wife. 

Favorite City to Visit
NYC -- people and nightlife. 

Favorite Restaurants
Nobu in New York & Malibu. Chez Louis in Paris, France. 

Unexpectedly Enjoyed City
Paris, France. I loved the food and culture while I was shooting a film with Jonathan Demme called The Truth About Charlie.

Why did you choose to do Rockstar? 
It seemed like a big challenge. People I'd talked to about the script said it was not going to work. They thought most people knew me as a rapper and because of that I was not going to be believable as a rocker. But I felt I could pull it off. 
What was it like getting into the role of a rock star? 
It was cool. When I got my hair extensions and leather pants it was like a license to go crazy. I couldn't be Mark Wahlberg. I basically lived the part for the whole six months of shooting. It got a bit dangerous at times because I was hanging out with the real rock guys, so there's no going halfway. 
Did this film remind you of your early music career? 
It did, but it's a different world. With this film you are talking about rock 'n' roll whereas my audience consisted of 13-year-old girls, their parents and 40-year-old guys. It wasn't at all like the rock world! It was a totally different ball game.
How is it different being a famous musician as opposed to being a famous actor?
As a musician you have the freedom to go crazy whenever you want. You're constantly going crazy and getting away with it and you don't have to care. I've always talked about the discipline that comes along with acting and how helpful it has been to me in other aspects of my life. With music, as long as I was selling records, it didn't matter how crazy I went. It was a very destructive way to live. 
Do you see that in the acting world? 
They try to drive you into the ground in a different way! Rejection is a fact of life in Hollywood. 
How do you prepare yourself for the rejection that comes with this industry?
Rejection is in every aspect of life. I mean, you ask a girl out, there's a good chance she's going to say no. An even better chance if it's me, because I have a bad reputation. But it's just part of it. With work I just deal with it, but luckily I don't deal with it that much. 
In Rockstar and Planet of The Apes, you had a lead role. How has life changed for you as you've become more famous? 
Now there are guys in white vans with cameras following me around. They are out there trying to take pictures of me eating a cheeseburger and stuff. It's ridiculous. 
How do you react to that aspect of fame? 
In this particular instance I just explained there wasn't anything interesting going on. That I was sure there was someone topless somewhere to photograph if they just looked hard enough. 
Do you watch your movies? 
Yeah, when I make a movie, I'll watch it before the premiere. Then I'll see it at the premiere and maybe a couple of years later I'll check it out again if I come across it. But, it's not like I call my friends and say, "Hey, let's screen Boogie Nights on Thursday, Three Kings on Friday and Perfect Storm on Saturday." 
What's in your CD player at home? 
Some unreleased Bob Marley songs and The Animals. It's a weird selection. Lil' Bow Wow too. Lil Bow Wow is off the hook. 

Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) was born to rock. At least his longtime girlfriend Emily (Jennifer Aniston) thinks so. But instead of writing his own music, Chris is too busy worshiping Bobby Beers, the lead singer of Steel Dragon, a heavy metal rock band that consumes Chris's life. By day, he lives at home with his parents and repairs copy machines. But when he performs with his own band (a Steel Dragon tribute group called Blood Pollution) Chris Cole is Bobby Beers-mesmerizing audiences with his perfect imitation of Beers' electrifying vocals and sexy snarl. 

When his bandmates kick him out of the group he founded, Chris is devestated-until an unexpected phone call changes his life forever: he, Chris Cole, has been tapped to replace Bobby Beers as the lead singer of Steel Dragon. In an instant, Chris rockets to the heights of stardom-the wanna-be who got to be. 

The idea for "Rock Star" was born when producer Robert Lawrence read a story in the New York Times about a tribute-band member who had replaced the very singer he had impersonated for years. Lawrence contacted screenwriter John Stockwell, who immediately connected with the story. Stockwell did quite a bit of field research for the film, even attending Ozzfest and touring with Pantera. "…[Pantera] kidnapped me-took me on their tour bus and warned me I'd better get it right! They were vey intent that it be a credible movie about the hard-charging lifestyle." 

The filmakers were thrilled when Mark Wahlberg signed on for the role of Chris Cole. Wahlberg was attracted to the story because of the rock and roll backdrop. "I had never really listened to rock or metal," the former hip-hop artist admits. "My background as a musician was pretty different…I thought it would be a challenge. Just walking around in those tight pants and being comfortable enough on stage to move…that was a challenge right there!" 

Jennifer Aniston portrays Chris's girlfriend Emily, whose faith in Chris falters as she watches his rise to rock stardom. "Emily is kind of the mother hen to Chris and the rest of the band, always being supportive and taking care of everybody," Aniston says of her character. "…[Emily and Chris] truly love each other, and she understands what he's got to do to fulfill his dream. But as his dream comes true, at a certain point there's no place for her in his new world." 

"In the various films about rock and roll I've seen over the years, invariably there are actors portraying musicians," explains director Stephen Herek. "There always seems to be a certain edge and validity that's missing from their performances." 

In order to maintain rock cred, Herek recruited some true-to-life rockers to play the part of Wahlberg's bandmate and rival with The Verve Pipe's Brian Vander Ark and Third Eye Blind's Stephen Jenkins respectively. Both signed on to write songs for Steel Dragon and do soundtrack work, but wound up being casted. A parking lot stand-off after a concert finds Wahlberg and Jenkins engaging in a war of words, fists and flying hair as they heatedly debate Steel Dragon trivia. 

"It's very Shakespearean, actually," Jenkins says, laughing. "Sort of Romeo and Juliet-Mark is Romeo and I'm Tybalt-with a little West Side Story and a touch of Spinal Tap thrown in." 

Lawrence believes one of the most important themes of Rock Star is 'finding your own voice.' "It's very easy to be an impersonator, to say someone else's lines-but to express yourself from your soul and reveal who you really are, that transcends rock and roll." 

Things have changed for you. Planet Of The Apes has done extraordinarily well. It's the first film in which you've been the out and out star, the name above the title. This is a move into a new phase of your career.
They're throwing tons of money at me now, with really bad scripts. It's not gonna change me or my decision making process, find a great filmmaker; commit to him and figure out what the part is second. But I never felt any sort of pressure going in, stepping in to the Heston role. I just wanted to work with Tim Burton. He's one of the most unique artists working in films today. I wasn't a huge fan of the original. I wasn't sure what role he was interested in me for.

You thought you might be an ape?
Yeah and I was hoping that wasn't the case because I hate the make-up chair. But it was just an opportunity to work with him (Burton). I hadn't even read a script. I just said, I'm in if you want.

You tend to work with people a little bit outside of the mainstream, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O'Russell, James Grey, Stephen Herek, Jonathan Demme. Quirky directors.
The filmmaker is first and foremost for me. You know people always say You've got to have a great script, but you can have the best script in the world and if you've got a shooter and not a filmmaker, then you're not going to get a good movie.

I spoke to (producer) Richard Zanuck the other day.
The coolest guy.

He was saying, 'Yeah yeah yeah, Mark Wahlberg's the new Steve McQueen'. I'm sure it's a great compliment, but Vanity Fair calls you 'the new Cary Grant' too. People try to pigeonhole you.
Of course, but it's up to me to avoid that and to prevent that from happening. And I do that by the projects I choose . . . It's not bad to be compared to Steve McQueen or Cary Grant or James Cagney. These are the kind of guys that I really loved, that I could even identify with in some small way. Today there's a lot of movie stars that are better looking than the women they're co-starring with. I'm just not interested in that . . .they're not real guys.

I know you weren't a fan of the original Planet Of The Apes, but what about Heston? He's a great film icon.
Oh huge. Yeah I was a big Chuck Heston fan - Ben Hur, John The Baptist. The guy is an incredible actor. But talking Apes weren't my thing. I was watching Cagney, watching Ben-Hur, all these fantastic movies with my dad. And of course, in preparing for the role, I went back to watch the original. It wasn't at Tim's request. He said, 'It won't help, it won't hurt. Check it out if you want.' And obviously I have a new-found appreciation and respect for it. They were able to say a lot of interesting things at that time. It dealt with a lot of political and social issues. When I was ten years old I didn't get that.

There's been so much speculation about the new Planet Of The Apes, on the internet and so forth. It was assumed you'd be running around in a loincloth as Heston did, but you don't.
I was aware of the fact that Heston wore a loincloth and was barefoot. It was like, 'Oh God'. Six weeks after signing on there was still no script. They called me up for a wardrobe fitting. That screwed me up. It was the longest six weeks of my life. I went and it was just a spacesuit. And then I told Tim afterwards about it, I said, 'I was really worried that you were going to put me in a loincloth. Thank God.' He said, 'Had I seen you were so nervous I would have put you in nothing but 'a loincloth.'

Did you get any feedback from Heston?
We had already committed to a specific approach to the part and it was the opposite of what Mr. Heston had done. I had my day off when he shot his scene but I went down, I wanted to meet him and spend time with him. You want somebody's approval, but at the end of the day I'm making the movie with and for Tim. So despite what Mr. Heston wants me to do, I have to stick with my guy. He went to the premiere with me and liked what I did with the part.

Obviously he's head of the NRA, a vocal campaigner for the right to bear arms (in the States). I don't know what your politics are, but with your background, coming from a rough Boston neighborhood (Dorchester), you must recognize that guns can do a lot of damage.
Oh yeah. No, I never confronted him. Me and Tim Roth and Tim Burton we certainly discussed it, and we certainly don't agree with all of his beliefs, but the guy, you know, he does what he feels is right. And I, because of where I come from and I've seen what guns can do, I got issues with that. But I also think that certain people do need an arm to protect themselves and their family. Especially with my background. It's still my surroundings today because that's where I spend my time.

You still live in Boston? I thought you were in LA now? Sometimes New York.
Yes. I live there when I'm working but I still have a Massachusetts (driving) license. I still pay my mother room and board. I still consider it home.

You still live with your mom?
Yes. Actually we're going to sell the house now and make the move. I'm going to buy a house in LA. She's gonna move out with me.

Still see any of the old guys? Anyone you used to hang with?
Anybody that's not locked up, yeah. And I started a foundation, and we're there. We're trying to be very active in the community. These kids can identify with me on a very personal level . . .

This is with the local Boys' Club, right?
. . through the Boys Club and my parish priest is involved. I'm on the board of directors of the Boys' Club, but I've also started my own foundation, and we're working with the Boys' Club and whoever else wants to get involved, just trying to create some opportunities for these kids. Because there isn't a lot. They don't see me as Mark Wahlberg movie star. They know that I'm one of them, and I'm right there, and I know had I had somebody like that in my life, that I could identify with, that was really there . . .

You did or didn't?
I didn't, that was why I ended up going to prison. Had I had that I think I would have taken a much different path. And if can inspire any of these kids, point them in the right direction, then I feel like I'm doing some good with the position I've been put in, and I feel like for that I've been put in this position for a reason . . . I feel like, 'Okay, I'm doing some interesting things and I've made ridiculous amounts of money, but there's still something missing,' and I feel like, you know, since I've been back there, I feel like, Wow, I'm really getting something out of giving back and being there with them.

But you've gone away and made tens of millions of dollars. Despite the best intentions, you've still got a price tag hanging over you. Doesn't it invoke a bit of jealousy, people trying to take a pop at you?
It does. I went through that early on. Apparently they've gotten over that. They know that I'm still the same guy and they've got to respect me, 'cause I'll come back. It' not the kids so much, it's more the older guys my age, and the guys I used to run with. You know, but now they've got to look in the mirror. I went through being a rapper and being kind of wild and enjoying the fact that I was money-ed and throwing it around and getting focused and really starting to do things. So now they're actually doing the same, which is nice . . .

That's just maturing. People learning to walk away from trouble.
Yeah. The most courageous thing I did was to be myself and to stand up and say, 'I'm not gonna follow you guys. I'm not gonna run with you guys'. I'm gonna do my own thing. That was very tough to do. Once I did that, once I was able to work up the courage to do that, everything seemed to fall in place.

Still live in the same apartment you grew up in, in Dorchester?
Well my brother (Donnie, ex-New Kid On The Block) bought my mom a house. Fifteen minutes outside.

People warned me off talking to you about all this stuff, but you seem quite happy to bring it all up.
I'm fine talking about it. People say, 'Well, it's inspiring.' But my whole thing is the people who are reading these articles, that are reading Vanity Fair, or the New York Times, are certainly not the people I am trying to touch. I'm okay talking about it, but when people are trying to make that the focus, it takes away from what I am doing now.

You returned 'home' to do 'The Perfect Storm'. Do you still see the Shatfords? (Wahlberg played Bobby Shatford, who died at sea.)
Yeah, I was there at Christmas Eve, hanging out in the Crow's Nest (bar). Grabbed some fish chowder, played some pool.

They still welcome you with open arms?
Yeah. The film was very respectful to the community (Gloucester, Mass.), 
but there must be the odd local who doesn't like what was done?
Yeah, Captain Billy Tyne's family. (Laughs). I don't think they liked the way George (Clooney) played the part.

He was very sympathetic, wasn't he?
Yeah, but it still seems like, you know, he was the one who made the decision to talk these guys into going for it, trying to fight through the storm.

Has he been back since?
(Laughs) George wouldn't go back . . . but it's my home town, I'm there. I became very, very close with the family. It meant so much to me to really do them justice. We became really close.

Do you still see Clooney much? I hear you're very pal-ly with him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You did three films together, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, and he produced your next one, Rock Star. Is he in it too?
No. We wouldn't let him!

Weren't you staying at his place in LA or something?
(Laughs) No, no. There were so many ridiculous rumors, like we were living together, sharing a hotel suite, one thing after another . . . but no, we all hang out

Has he ever visited you in the 'hood?
(Laughs) No, he'd never come. He could get a one day ghetto pass. But that's it. It'd have to be a supervised visit. No, but he did spend a lot of time in Boston when we were shooting and he came back for the premiere and stuff.

You were living like a rocker in the Hollywood Hills getting in character for the part, weren't you? How was that?
It was fun. It was fun. There were a few incidents. But, you know, trying to live that life, it's not easy. I was hanging out with Jason Bonham (son of John, Led Zeppelin's drummer), Zak Wilde and these guys. It was just the real deal.

But you've lived the rock life before.
I thought I did until I started hanging out with those guys! But it was a great experience, it really was. That particular film is the favorite of all I've done. It just worked as a whole. I got to work with this amazing actor, Timothy Spall. He's just fantastic.

There's a line in Planet Of The Apes that gets a big laugh, when you say to Helena Bonham Carter, 'I can show you something that will change your world forever.' Of course, everyone thinks you mean your penis, legacy of Boogie Nights. Was that deliberate?
(Laughs) No, but I knew that people would have to be aware of that.

How much does Dirk Diggler live with you still? At the time, women would come up to you and openly touch your groin.
(Laughs) It's one of those movies. I say, It's not the one I want to be remembered for. I'm very proud of the film. It changed my life in a lot of ways, some of which I could do without. It's always weird when guys follow you in the bathroom and try and check you out (mimes leaning over and taking a furtive sideways glance at a urinal). It's like, 'Come on guys, give me a break!'.

It'll be on your gravestone.
Yeah, probably.

Was there ever any question of inter-species love between you and Helena in earlier drafts of the script?
No. There was definitely a weird attraction. No graphic sex scene or anything. But I had always made jokes early on, I'm having sex with Helena's character. Doing all this weird stuff. So it just started this whole rumor that, actually, Tim started really getting sick of. But I found that the most challenging thing as an actor, was to make that (attraction) be believable. And then when he cast Helena, I thought, 'Well, my job's got a little bit easier.' One attractive monkey.
Oh my God. And what she brought to the character and Rick Baker's make-up, it was a done deal. Everybody was attracted to her.

You're an actor, so it's pretending, but you're acting amongst a bunch of monkeys, apes rather . . .
Don't say monkeys, man!

Did you ever find yourself cracking up laughing?
Well cracking up but most of the time it was panic attacks, thinking I almost had a career in this fucking business! But Tim Burton, just that grin and childish energy and enthusiasm was really just all the reassurance that I needed.

Tim Roth was pretty scary.
Especially after being in make-up for four hours. Not a happy guy. But just the nicest guy out of make-up.

Did you do any preparation for the role? You're a NASA astronaut.
I wanted to. I was like, Tim, what do I do? I got to figure out how to fly this ship. I don't want to be in there not knowing what I'm doing. He was like, 'Get in there and flick some fucking switches' . . . It was really just about being the best physical shape I could to take all the beatings and come back for more.

One assumes that a NASA astronaut is a smart kind of guy, yet I hear in real life you're studying to take your high school diploma. Why do that after all this time?
Well I just think it's important. I got nine nieces and nephews who look up to me and it's, If Uncle Mark didn't go to school, then why should we?

Aren't you putting them all through college?
Yeah. It's important. Since I started acting I've been really privileged and had access to so many things and learned so much about so many different things. It's still important. You know, I want to go back and fill that void and, you know, continue furthering their education.

I get a real sense that there's the notion of redemption behind all these things. Making sure others don't stumble into the same pitfalls.
That's just my personal choice. I don't choose to advertise it and convince anyone into, 'Hey I've changed,' because in this business, what I do, people have done a lot worse than me. I just chose to change my life and better my life and hopefully in the future be able to better others. I'm not trying to take credit for it. I feel like I've made up for my mistakes. I don't need anybody else's approval.

It is interesting though, because in show biz there are so many people born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
They need to take it out their mouth and shove it in their ass. Literally.

Is Hollywood a lot of bullshit?
You know, when I was growing up, the kind of films I watched with my dad as a kid, I thought it was like the coolest place in the world, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman hung out there, and it was glamorous. And the movie business that I'm in, it's very MTV-ish. It doesn't feel like . . . I felt disappointed. But when you hang around with a guy like Richard Zanuck (producer of Patton, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Sting, Jaws). He's such a great guy. Everyday I'd pin him in a corner and I'd just get him to tell me stories.

You just turned 30. Was that of significance to you?
You know, something clicks in your body. You know there was a stage when I never thought I would grow up. There was a stage where I tried to fight the inevitable, and then I started to see all these things. People would try to explain: my parents, adults that were in my life. You just get it when you experience it. It all starts to happen. The realizations. It's amazing . I look forward to aging. Growing old and learning more.

Would you like a family?
That's the one thing that's missing in my life is the right woman. You know I'm the only one in my family who isn't married or has kids, so I'd like to. But I haven't really been in the position to meet the right one . . .

That's the lament of the actor isn't it? Transient profession. Always moving from location to location. No stability?
(Smirks) But, you know, I can bring them with me, if they're willing to travel.

You have the tattooed rosary round your neck. Have you rediscovered God?
He was always there. I just strayed away for a while. But it's very important to me to stay active and going to church and my faith is very important to me, I think. Once I started to refocus my faith, these things started to happen. You know, I think it's real. I'm a firm believer.

A funny thing happened to Mark Wahlberg on the way to "Planet of the Apes."

"I signed on to make a Tim Burton movie, and all of a sudden, it's turned into Mark Wahlberg's debut as a leading man and an action hero and all this other crap," he grumbles, good-naturedly.

At least that's what he learned during a long, sweltering weekend of interviews to promote the movie, which re-imagines the story of an astronaut -- played by Charlton Heston in 1968 -- who lands on a mysterious planet where apes rule. The 30-year-old Wahlberg quips that his stylish all-black outfit (with sunglasses hooked into the V of his button-down shirt) is because, "Tonight's my funeral."

Funeral. High-profile movie premiere in midtown Manhattan. Same thing, maybe, when your name is attached to a film the studio is banking on as a blockbuster.

But "Planet" is abuzz with buzz, one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. As always, though, time and box-office receipts will tell. In addition to Wahlberg, the movie stars Oscar nominees Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Clarke Duncan, all unrecognizable under Rick Baker's marvelous monkey makeup.

Making his way through a row of Regency Hotel rooms where he changes dance partners -- roundtables of reporters -- every 20 or so minutes, Wahlberg says, "I never really felt pressure stepping into the Heston role. I mean, it was like, OK, here's Tim Burton. He was interested in me and wants to work with me, and where do I sign?

"It was that simple. There was no pressure whatsoever. There was no script. I didn't need one."

Burton is one of the most talented directors in the business with a vision like no other, he says, to no objection. "The guy is amazing. I think that's why every actor signed on," in a statement confirmed by his fellow cast members.

"Very few people have had a real effect, a profound effect on me, and Tim is definitely one of them. And I don't even know if the guy likes me, I don't care. The kind of person he is, is the kind of person I aspire to be."

Wahlberg promised to do anything and everything Burton asked. But the onetime Calvin Klein model and "Boogie Nights" star secretly prayed that Burton would not ask him to wear a loincloth, as Heston did in the original. In that sci-fi classic, Heston even had to flash his bare, untanned behind.

"It was six long weeks, lots of sleepless nights till my first wardrobe fitting. I walked in the room, I looked around, there was a spacesuit." Still, he worried that someone wearing white gloves would make a grand entrance bearing the loincloth. When he relayed his fears to Burton, the director said, "Why the hell would I want to see you in a loincloth?" Some members of the female audience, of course, might think otherwise.

Had Burton known how nervous Wahlberg was, the actor imagines, "There would have been nothing but a loincloth in there. And when I came out -- it would have taken me an hour to come out of the dressing room -- George Clooney and everybody else wouuld be there with cameras, and they'd get pictures of me and pass 'em around town."

Prankster and pal Clooney, of course, was his co-star in "Three Kings" and "The Perfect Storm," in which Wahlberg was drenched, deluged and nearly drowned in water. In "Apes" he was repeatedly thrown to the ground, kicked and generally beaten up for 14 hours a day.

Loincloth or not, there is no shortage of photos of Wahlberg around town.

He is featured on the glossy cover of the August issue of Vanity Fair wearing a Valentino suit, Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, Paul Smith tie and Hermes trench coat. The shot was taken by Annie Leibovitz in Paris, where a shirtless Wahlberg also posed on the Eiffel Tower. He had been in France making Jonathan Demme's "The Truth About Charlie," another don't-call-it-a-remake but a picture bearing a resemblance to "Charade" starring Cary Grant.

Wahlberg may have leapfrogged to the A list but he doesn't act like it. He spent a rare day off visiting the "Apes" set so he could meet Heston, who has a clever cameo as an ape.

"I heard the voice first. Here he comes. And then, I introduced myself to him, started talking and he paid me some really nice compliments that I didn't really believe, but I was going to take them anyway.

"He said he was honored to be in a film with me. I was, like, that's a crock ... but I'll take it, Mr. Ben-Hur. Then we just started talking. He was so uncomfortable in the makeup that he started to literally rip the nose appliance off, and then you start to see the face along with the voice. It was really weird. But so cool. I mean, the guy's a legend. It was quite an honor."

That hadn't stopped Wahlberg from delivering impromptu line readings after his scenes. "In between takes, I would do the Heston version of the scene, which was the complete opposite of what I did." As Wahlberg later notes, "I mean, he's always cranked up past 10 and I like everything to be kind of internal," which was fine with Burton.

The director had chosen Wahlberg because he thought he could be the perfect anchor for the story. "It needed somebody who, with just a look, could go 'Where the hell am I? Get me outta here,' " Burton had said earlier in the day.

"It's almost like old-style movie acting to me, which I find very rare. It's kind of a no-nonsense, very simple, razor" approach.

Unlike his co-stars, Wahlberg did not endure a stint in Ape School or three to four hours in the makeup chair every morning. And that did not endear him to the actors who were transformed daily into apes, gorillas, chimps or (in the case of Paul Giamatti) an orangutan.

"They'd be in makeup when I got there, and obviously they'd been there for hours. I'd say, hey, what's going on? What time you'd get here? They're, like, 1:45 [in the morning]. I didn't even get home until 2:30, I had a great time last night, slept till 8." He needed very little makeup and would be ready in five minutes.

"They got their revenge," he jokes, when it came time to thrash and pummel the U.S. Air Force pilot he played. And Tim Roth, who portrays the villainous ape named Thade, jokes, "Yeah, we roughed him up a bit."

Roth admires Wahlberg for learning as he did, on the job, but had no problems with greeting the actor as Spaceman Marky Mark. "I was told whatever you do, don't call him Marky Mark. That was the first thing out of my mouth," he says, cheekily.

This day, the tattooed British star of such films as "Rob Roy," "Pulp Fiction," "Reservoir Dogs" and "Vincent & Theo," is wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and jeans, a far cry from his "Apes" outfit. "I loved having that makeup on. I didn't like spending the whole day in it, but I really, really enjoyed it, as far as what it gave me for acting.

"First of all, it got me to vanish completely, which is perfect. And then there's the costume, as well. It really helps you set the pace as far as how you want your character to be. It's really good stuff to act in, you're so liberated by not being yourself, as well. ... It gives you a chance to just go crazy and go wild and experiment."

In fact, the character of Thade wasn't quite so ferocious when originally conceived. The first script didn't quite have the "oomph" and Roth began talking to Burton about how to push him and make him more interesting. That he did, turning him into a combination Shakespearean villain and land version of a shark, which was one of the images that sprang to his mind.

Proving that movies can, indeed, make strange bedfellows, Roth found himself playing a scene with Charlton Heston, who is Thade's father. They are not exactly on the same social, cultural or political page.

"Obviously I had political problems with that guy. I was dreading it. That's another place of how Tim [Burton] is so eloquent. He made my day just go by so smoothly. I went in, I was in makeup, I came in, there's a guy on a bed with makeup on. We say hi. We rehearsed the scene, we shot the scene."

Roth did not engage Heston in any sort of potentially disruptive or disturbing discussion. "I had to be very careful. In the workplace, it wasn't the appropriate time and I was aware of that. I kept it very businesslike, we were both pleasant to each other and I moved on."

In the end, "Apes" proved a throwback to his childhood dreams of acting.

"One of the great things about this film for me, it was really like what I thought films would be when I was playing cowboys and Indians in the back yard at the age of 6. It kind of was like that. You deglamorize it, that's for sure. But it was like playing who's going to be the bad guy today, that kind of stuff."

And believe it or not, sometimes Roth was the good guy.

20th Century Fox's summer tentpole film Planet of the Apes opens July 27, hampered by early boasting. Fox senior executives talked too much too early about Apes. Now Fox is reserved, tip-toeing up to its Apes promotions with a public nervousness suggesting insecurity, not quiet confidence.

Such timidity contradicts earlier assurances of Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman. February's Toy Fair in New York included a well-attended Fox fest for Apes, where actors dressed as gorillas marched through the audience (Brandweek, Feb. 19).

Back then, Rothman said director Tim Burton's Apes remake represents, "the most aggressive and largest marketing campaign in the history of the studio."

Really?

It has no announced beverage, fast-food, auto or airline partners. Promotions include a Musicland Stores sweepstakes. MTV will give Apes visibility. Reebok is running billboard and print tie-in ads but has no retail activity except for a Just For Feet buy-shoes-get-free-Apes-tickets tie-in in a single outlet. FAO Schwarz and Toys "R" Us are hyping Apes in windows and aisles.

Apes is expected to enjoy a strong box office. But as of last week, Apes has received less major market street advertising than a typical summer tentpole.

Has Fox's hype matched this film's promotions and product potential? Or is Fox now mimicking other 2001 hit films by conservatively promoting and then successfully over-delivering at the box office (Miramax's Spy Kids, Dreamworks' Shrek, Universal's The Mummy Returns) in order to avoid promo/publicity overkill and box-office underperformance (Disney's Pearl Harbor)?

Early hype has led to Fox's present Apes shyness--a premature Pearl Harbor blowout scaling back now, hopefully to a more humble approach, such as Warner Bros.' solid Cats & Dogs.

Apes has been a hard sell. Last fall, Burton's "reimagining" of the simian sci-fi classic was considered too dark for some partners.

Fox showed off ape-clad actors at the annual Saban Consumer Products meeting in October with licensing and promotion partners (Brandweek, Oct. 30). Apes licensing style guides offered brighter, desert-style colors for Apes products; style guidelines later went darker and more minimalist as it became clear that Burton was creating Apes in a darker vein.

Adding to that Apes rebranding was this spring's downsizing of Fox Licensing & Merchandising; word of which reached licensees as early as last December, creating some uncertainty.

Other storm warnings: in January, Hasbro said it would split the film's master toy license with Applause, signaling the toy giant would provide only a modest collectible line (Brandweek, Jan. 8).

Finally, Apes star Mark Wahlberg is not in Reebok's campaign. And in a July Premiere cover story on Apes, Wahlberg appears in accompanying photos wearing not Reeboks but swoosh Nikes. Why wasn't Fox more closely monitoring that shoot?

Reebok print and Los Angeles-only billboard ads have an Apes gorilla-clad actor posing as part of the black-and-white "Classics" campaigns. (Fox may expand Reebok to top 10 market bus shelters and some New York billboards, Reebok said last week.) That tough-to-get link was secured this spring through Fox feature film promotions director Rita Proysak.

Hampering her diligent efforts was the unchecked bragging of more senior Fox executives, including Rothman; an apparent miscalculation now banging into this summer's tough, cautious retail culture. Plus, Fox executives internally have been miscommunicating.

On the same pre-Fourth of July weekend that Reebok's billboard campaign began, Apes dolls at a Wal-Mart in Southern California comprised the left side of one end-aisle. A senior Fox executive said Wal-Mart was "supporting to the extent that they felt was appropriate."

In fairness, collectible marketing is well-suited for the Apes CD cards targeting Internet-hip teens, who will most likely fill theater seats. "we feel the film has discreetly delivered with an unparalleled style," said David-Joseph Brown, president of card-maker Serious USA, which is selling a seven CD-card Apes set, and co-promoting it with sci-fi/fantasy collecting magazine Wizard World.

MICHAEL Douglas, who stars in USA Films' current release "Traffic," has high praise for director Steven Soder-bergh, who shot the film himself with a handheld 35-mm camera, garnering an additional paycheck as cameraman.

Soderbergh also knows how to save money for a studio. "I was given a budget of $51 million but actually delivered it for $49 million, then I realized the contingency money hadn't been used, which bottom-lined it for $46 million," he says.

Soderbergh's next major project (with a February start date) is the "Ocean's 11" rat-pack remake with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and others. Soderbergh had wanted Mark Wahlberg, currently one of the most sought-after actors in town, but Wahlberg couldn't break free of his back-to-back projects. Among them are tim Burton's re-make of "Planet of the Apes," "Rock Star," and "Out On My Feet" with Robert DeNiro.

Wahlberg's per-picture price tag has jumped from the $4 million-to-$5 million range to $8 million for "Planet of the Apes," at least partially reflecting his recent success in "The Perfect Storm" and last year's "Three Kings." The former grossed $182.6 million in 23 weeks at the box office, and "Three Kings" grossed $60.7 million at the box office.

"For popcorn movies with big box-office projections, stars will get more like Wahlberg or Cameron Diaz, whose usual fee is $5 million, but she got $12 million for 'Charlie's Angels,"' says Alan Robert, an analyst at Reel Source Inc. 

HOLLYWOOD What happens when an indie pic project falls apart?

If it's your film, you don't want to know.

But the recent shutdown of two high-profile indie projects when they were just inches away from lensing - one involving Robert De Niro, the other to star Howard Stern - highlights the fact that indie producers are increasingly flirting with disaster.

It happened at straight-up noon, Oct. 17, on the Culver City set of "Out on My Feet." De Niro was set for a small role in the $12 million project and listed as exec producer; Mark Wahlberg was committed to star, but unsigned. It was five days before the start date. For the third week in a row, there were no paychecks in sight.

Line producer Steve Ecclesine had shut himself in his office. Some of the angry crew spattered paint on the sets they'd built. Others wept. For many of the 50 crew members, this was the last job of the year, one that they assumed would see them through the holidays.

"I was too sad for words," says the director, Barry Primus. He'd spent three years developing the project with writer Larry Golin and former pro boxer Vinnie Curto, on whose troubled life the screenplay is based.

The producer, David Pritchard, was nowhere in sight. His wife, however, was on the set trying to rally the crew by invoking the example of "The English Patient," another film with financing difficulties that had to shut down prior to shooting but managed to get back on its feet again. What went wrong?

"We couldn't find a domestic distribution deal," explains Pritchard, who, unlike "English Patient's" prolific Saul Zaentz, had never produced a feature film before getting involved with "Out on My Feet."

"The budget kept mushrooming," says Alan Mruvka, co-chairman of Ministry of Film. His company is currently being sued by Stern over the cancellation of "Jane," a movie in which the shock-jock was set to co-star opposite Melanie Griffith for a budget that zoomed from under $10 million to over $12 million.

However, indie projects that falter early or don't make it out of the starting gate display certain traits consistently: dependency on gap financing; producers without track records; and pre-production cash flowed out of somebody's pocket.

Some indie mavens are saying the easy availability of gap financing - a bank loan that bridges the part of a film's production budget not covered by foreign pre-sales - is allowing many indie films to rush half-baked before the cameras, leading to a variety of creative and financial calamities.

As a result, say indie producers, pre-production is becoming a hellish period of juggling talent windows, 24-hour negotiations, bank closings and completion bond signings along with the need for cold cash with which to get things rolling.

The rush to start lensing can also foul up the financing process, a complicated transaction for any indie pic banking on foreign sales contracts.

Others say that while competition in the gap lending business has allowed many filmmakers to get their pics made (on increasingly advantageous terms), the deals have also lured inexperienced and ineffectual producers who think low-budget pics are a snap.

Of the producing partners on "Out on My Feet" - Ecclesine, Stanton Dodson and Stan Wakefield - only Wakefield had any feature film producing credits, and those were largely direct-to-video titles dating back to the 1980s.

And as is common on many edgy indie projects, they put their own money - over $500,000 - into the five weeks of preproduction on the pic.

Ministry of Film put a similar amount into "Jane" before shutting down. As with other small indie companies, it can ill afford the kinds of development writeoffs common at the major studios.

Saul Zaentz says that passion, plus honesty and a track record, helped him hold the line on "The English Patient," when 20th Century Fox pulled out of the deal and the money ran out.

"As soon as we knew, we told everyone," Saentz says. "We told them we thought we could get it together. But these were people I'd worked with before. We didn't lose a person."

With help from Miramax, the movie started up again after a four-week delay.

In the case of "Jane," Mruvka says, the rights to the script are out of his hands and the project can't be revived.

But according to sources, "Out on My Feet" may get back on its feet due to good overseas sales at Mifed, help from Creative Artists Agency (where De Niro is a client) and a friendly banker willing to bridge the gap.