Monkey Business Causes Trouble for Fox

The term monkey business has taken on a new meaning as hundreds of movie extras from the film, Planet of the Apes, sue Fox Entertainment for emotional distress.

Fox Entertainment, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, faces lawsuits from the extras who say they were exposed to cancer-causing powder during the shooting of a dust storm scene in the remake of the 1968 classic.

Court documents show the actors have filed a class action suit for fraud and deceit, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The suit, first reported in the Hollywood Reporter, demands unspecified compensation and punitive damage and was filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday by Jeffrey Clark, representing other extras.

The actors, who played apes and humans, claim they were exposed to around 80,000lbs of Fuller's Earth powder, containing they say a lung irritant and known carcinogen called crystalline silica.

The scene was filmed over 10 to 12 days in a desert outside LA, during which the actors were exposed to the dust for six to eight hours a day without the use of face masks, which are recommended by the powder's makers, the suit said.

In addition to compensatory and punitive damages, the extras are seeking any profits made from the movie, which was directed by Tim Burton.