Top Bananas

Rose is a woman on the edge.

After enduring a dinner dominated by her aristocratic fiance, she is eager to renounce a future filled with endless society balls, ladies’ luncheons and genteel soirees in exchange for the bliss she believes suicide will bring.

Distraught, she runs from the dining room aboard the luxury liner Titanic, races down a narrow deck and climbs over a railing, precariously clinging to it as she contemplates throwing herself into the dark sea.

The ocean air ruffles her tresses. Her gown, stole and scarf billow behind her. Her destiny awaits in the rolling waves.

A young man, watching her from another deck, rushes up behind her. It seems as though he will save her from her intended doom.

Instead, he pushes her overboard.

Welcome to the world of “Monkey-ed Movies,” a collection of 48 short films featuring costumed primates spoofing scenes from some of Hollywood’s most popular motion pictures.

The “Titanic” send-up is among eight parodies showcasing scenes from the five films nominated for best-picture Oscars and three more films up for awards in other categories.

The simian stars of the “Titanic” spoof are under the direction of veteran animal trainer Bob Dunn. The chimps are part of a menagerie of exotic animals he hires out for work in movies, television and commercials from his compound in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

For the primates’ parody, filmed recently at a West Hollywood sound stage, Dunn and his assistants directed Chubbs, 6, to appear to push Maggie, 5, off the bow of the ship. Actually, she jumped 3 feet off a platform and landed safely in the arms of her trainer, Mike Morris. The stunt was performed under the watchful eye of Netta Bank of the American Humane Assn., a Los Angeles-based animal rights group.

“They want to play, and they have short attention spans,” Dunn says, referring to the patience needed to train animals to perform on cue. “They are a lot like children.”

TBS Superstation executives launched “Monkey-ed Movies” in February as filler programming during its “Dinner & A Movie,” a Friday night show that combines cooking segments featuring recipes based on the evening movie.

“The parody works on three different levels,” says Jim Head, TBS’ vice president of programming. “The spoof of a highly recognizable movie scene, clever dialogue, and slapstick, physical humor.”

The best-picture spoofs premiere Friday on the TBS Superstation cable channel as a preview of the Academy Awards ceremony on Monday.