Movie Notes: 'Curious George' Movie

Aug. 1 -- Ron Howard is hoping Planet of the Apes will leave audiences craving more cinematic primates.

The director is teaming up with Universal pictures to bring the beloved children's character Curious George to the big screen.

The cute monkey and his human friend with the big yellow hat have been detailed in a series of six books started in 1941 by Margret and H.A. Rey.

Howard and his Imagine Entertainment production company initially wanted to create a live-action version of Curious George, but after watching Shrek dominate the early summer box office, they decided to also go the computer-generated route.

Internet Campaign: John Cusack for President

John Cusack has played his share of characters with strong opinions in movies like Say Anything and High Fidelity.

Maybe that's why one political consultant is trying to encourage Cusack to consider a run for the presidency.

"John Cusack, from what we can tell, is a good person, has strong progressive values and could make a good candidate," said former Democratic Party political consultant Dan Carol.

Carol is running an Internet campaign to spark such a bid. While this might sound ridiculous, let's not forget Ronald Reagan started out in Hollywood.

Bruce Willis Signs With Showtime

Not everyone in Hollywood is cutting deals with HBO.

Bruce Willis is deciding to bring his production of the Sam Shepard play True West to Showtime.

Willis directed the play about sibling rivalry for a theater in Idao. It will be recorded and broadcast later this year on the cable network.

The event will be dedicated to Willis' brother, Robert, who died in June of pancreatic cancer.

ABCNEWS Radio and ABCNEWS.com's Nancy Chandross contributed to this report.