Starring the one and only James Franco, the Planet of the Apes sequel ‘s release date has been bumped up – and not a moment too soon!

According to Perez Hilton, the new 20^th Century Fox film, Rise of the Apes, has been pushed up to an August 5^th release date after being bumped back to Thanksgiving weekend from its original June 24^th release date. Phew – that’s a lot of moving around!

20^th Century Fox is deeming the film their “last big event movie of the summer.” No pressure there!

Along Franco, some familiar faces that can be seen in the upcoming movie are John Lithgow and Freida Pinto, according to Obsessed with Film.

Perez reports, “The story will allegedly focus on Franco’s character in present-day San Francisco, as a scientist attempting to cure Alzheimer’s who inadvertently develops the intelligence in apes, that ultimately leads to the events of the other films.” Sounds pretty cool!

We can’t wait to see what this sequel has in store for us; we just hope that the shorter amount of time they have to finish it in won’t affect the quality of the movie! Will you be checking out this follow up to Planet of the Apes?

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Renowned director James Cameron who’s film, Avatar, broke world records, has announced that Avatar 2 and 3 will be his next projects. The second and third of the trilogy  will be shot back to back for a December 2014 and December 2015 release.

According to deadline.com, 20th Century Fox made a “huge” donation to Cameron’s green fund which propelled Cameron to move forward with the projects. It seems like the films are in Cameron’s best interest due to Avatar’s wide success in the box office as well as its success in the Academy Awards. Avatar is the highest grossing film in the history of cinema, it is no wonder why Cameron’s producers are pushing the project.

However, this also means that Cameron’s most recent project for Sony Pictures, Cleopatra, starring Angelina Jolie, will have to be put on hold.

Again, the new Avatar films will employ the 3D and CGI technology that Cameron and his team produced for the first film.

This is exciting news for Avatar fans and maybe not so exciting for filmmakers trying to compete with Cameron. That’s showbiz.

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James Franco has been cast in the lead role in the Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Apes.

Variety reports that the Spider-Man/Milk star “beat out a number of Hollywood’s young elite actors for the coveted role”.  Franco new role will have him play a scientist who becomes a vital part of the battle between the humans and apes.

20^th Century Fox’s Tom Rothman has said that Rise of the Apes is “a kind of prequel story before the first story, with a return to the social thematics that mark the first one, but with an entirely contemporary setting – Earth 2009.”

The production is slated to start filming on July 5th of this year and is scheduled for a June 24, 2011 release.

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“24″ is a extremely expensive show to produce, as you can probably tell with the weekly massive explosions, car chases, etc. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that although Fox is at its end with “24″, the show may have a glimpse of hope with NBC.

Apparently the producers of “24″, 20th Century Fox, have approached NBC about picking up the series. And although ratings are stagnant and the show costs a fortune to produce, NBC is apparently seriously considering the offer.

NBC needs a hit and “24″ already has an established audience to bring with to NBC. With the major headaches recently facing NBC (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno) this could provide the network a much needed adrenaline shot.

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Perez Hilton reports a recently produced episode of Emmy-nominated comedy Family Guy about abortion may never air.

“20th Century Fox allowed us to produce this episode,” said creator Seth MacFarlane, “and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f***ing death of this.”

No details about the episode’s storyline have been released.

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Peter Griffin is now a millionaire.

Seth MacFarlane, the creator and voice behind the “Family Guy” anti-hero, has just signed a deal with 20th Century Fox which makes him the highest paid writer-producer in television.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane could be making up to $100 million for his work on “Family Guy,” its new spinoff “The Cleveland Show” and “American Dad.” He also has a multicamera comedy in the works.

“I get a lot of pleasure out of making shows,” MacFarlane said. “It’s a bonus to be getting paid well for it, and it’s a double bonus to be getting paid exorbitantly for it.”

The pact keeps MacFarlane at Fox until at least 2012. Though none of parties involved would release exact details of the deal, a Fox chairman commented that “no one will ever have to offer Seth a handout of any kind.”

That’s not the only thing MacFarlane has going for him. He is reportedly dating “Buffy” hottie Eliza Dushku.

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