About That Time James Franco Almost Died in an Ape's Arms

Spoiler alert: James Franco's character wasn't always supposed to survive the Rise of the Planet of the Apes chaos. According to an early script, Franco's Will Rodman was supposed to die in the arms of his primate pal Caesar after being hit with a bullet during the dramatic forest showdown. At the last minute, the filmmakers decided to change the ending and flew the actor cross-country to film an alternative goodbye scene with Caesar (Andy Serkis). The casualty-free climax made the final cut, Rise of the Planet of the Apes grossed over $400 million worldwide and Will Rodman lives to film a potential sequel. [THR]