like a rainbow ♪ ♪ i need your touch your touch right now right 'round ♪ ♪ got me floating like a rainbow ♪ ♪ and so this world keeps turning round right 'round ♪ ♪ got me floating like a rainbow ♪ ♪ you lift me up when i get down right 'round ♪ ♪ got me floating like a rainbow floating like a rainbow floating like a rainbow ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, trapped in russia. a list of detained americans growing. >> what do they say when they call? >> they said he was being detained in russia. >> byron: finding themselves

without america's "innocent until proven guilty" protections. the harrowing conditions of russian prisons revealed by those who have been there. >> what were the conditions like there? >> you go there to work. there's no rest. >> byron: the stark warning to americans. >> no american should be in russia for any reason, period. plus "the kingdom of the planet of the apes." >> what a wonderful day! >> byron: the blockbuster movie opening, the latest in the five-decade franchise. what the stars reveal about their transformation. >> i took to being an ape far too easily. >> i honestly found the part where may's being feral easier than when she's not feral. >> byron: the cutting-edge technology used to make those primate is look so real. >> if noah is making a face or shouting, those are my facial expressions and my movements. >> byron: could this be the beginning of a new trilogy? ♪ can't buy me love ♪

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♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, we meet the parents of staff sergeant gordon chris black who's now sitting in a russian jail allegedly on theft

charges. several other americans also under russian detention. under murky circumstances and with no clear plan for their release. experts issuing strident warnings to avoid traveling to russia under any circumstance. in the meantime, sergeant black's parents are hoping for a miracle. >> they hadn't talked to him for almost a week and a half, and that was rare. then the phone calls started. >> byron: what did they say when they called? >> they said heaves being detained in russia. >> byron: melanie jones and husband marty have slept little and worried much these last few nights. tonight their son, gordon chris black, army staff sergeant, is in the custody of russian authorities charged with "theft causing significant damage." what concerns you most at this point? >> him not being able to come home. that's what concerns us right now. we just need him back here. >> byron: black is just the latest american to be detained in russia as relations between both countries worsen after

russia invaded ukraine. the list of americans who have been detained in russia in recent years is long. it's prompted the u.s. to issue the highest travel advisory warning for americans to not travel there, in fear that citizens may be used as political leverage. >> no american should be in russia for any reason, period, end of sentence, no excuses, no exceptions. every time an american citizen steps into russia right there, they're playing into putin's hand and taking a serious risk they will be the next pawn. >> byron: a critical question is whether the state department will classify black as wrongfully detained, a designation that had been granted to basketball star brittney griner, marine corps veteran trevor reed, as well as two american men still behind bars in russia, "wall street journal" reporter evan gerskovich and paul whelan. a state department official confirmed to abc news the u.s.

embassy in moscow is seeking to gain consular access, but it's not yet been allowed to meet with him. what would you say to the administration, president biden and the white house? >> i think you need to try harder than you are. you know? because i'm not hearing anything from anybody. >> we've had no contact with them, no calls or emails. just be a little bit more proactive. >> byron: for black, who enlisted 16 years ago, being in the army was a source of pride. why do you think he went into the service? >> he wanted the excitement and the adventure. >> just like to say hi to mom and dad in cheyenne, wyoming, happy new year. >> byron: the 35-year-old served in iraq and afghanistan before being stationed in south korea. according to an army spokesperson, black was in the process of relocating to texas to be stationed closer to his

young daughter. he's separated from the child's mother. instead of returning to the u.s. in april, he flew through china to vladivostok in eastern russia without requesting official clearance and authorization from the department of defense. why was he there? >> he's had a girlfriend there. he's been seeing her off and on. he told us he was thinking about going to russia, and we were trying to talk him out of it. we did not know or didn't hear from him until he was actually there, about two, three weeks ago. >> byron: according to them black's relationship with the woman was volatile. videos obtained show her tiktok account. in texts shared by black's parents with abc news, his girlfriend seems to imply that he stole money from her, creating a criminal case, although she claims in the texts that she didn't press charges. >> then we got text messages through facebook from her. she wanted us to set up some kind of bank account and send her money. we haven't talked much to her

since. >> byron: how does that sound to you? >> sounds fishy. >> sounds like she was trying to extort money or something. >> byron: russian authorities say black was detained in a local hotel aftern unnamed woman made a complaint to police about a theft following an argument. >> i would caution against taking anything the russian police say at face value. they have a history of making up allegations against americans out of whole cloth. >> byron: the white house confirming they're aware of black's case. >> we take seriously our commitment to assist u.s. citizens abroad and provide all appropriate assistance. >> it can take normal people years to get the designation "wrongfully detained." we've obviously seen it applied much master in brittney griner' case. >> reporter: wnba star and gold medalist brittney griner was wrongfully detained for ten months after traveling to russia in early 2022 to play in the country's women's basketball league. she sat down recently with robin roberts to talk about her arrest and imprisonment, which began

when russian customs found cartridges in her carry-on bag. >> in the midst of them going through my bags, there's two cartridges. and i'm just like, oh my god, how did i make this mistake? like, i could just visualize everything i worked so hard for just crumbling and going away. >> byron: russian authorities determined between the two cartridges was actually .7 grams of cannabis oil containing tmc, the psycho active ingredient in marijuana, which is illegal in russia. >> do you know there are those who say, come on, how did you not know that you have cartridges in you what do you you say? >> i would say, have you ever forgot your keys in your car, left your car running? it's so easy to have a mental lapse. >> byron: she was sentenced to nine years in prison, known to be one of the worst in russia. >> what were the conditions like that $?

there? >> really cold. you go there to work. there's no rest. >> byron: this video released by russian authorities of griner at her prison job cutting fabric for military uniforms. griner was exchanged in december 2022 for american-held viktor bout, a russian vikted arms dealer. her release seven months after another prisoner swap captured on russian state tv for trevor reed, the u.s. marine veteran who spent more than 2 1/2 years behind bars in russia as a hostage. he spoke with abc news' patrick reevell weeks after his release. >> i pretty much knew as soon as i saw fsb and, you know, agents that -- where this case was headed. >> byron: russian police arrested and charged him with assaulting officers in 2019 after he'd been out drinking with friends in moscow. reed maintaining his innocence,

he was sentenced to nine years in a russian prison camp. >> the defense was absolutely overwhelming. and unfortunately, i underestimated how corrupt and how dedicated the russian government is to taking americans as hostages. >> byron: he was traded in 2022 for constan kin yaroshenko, a russian pilot in prison in connecticut for drug 54-year-old veteran paul whelan, visiting moscow for a friend's wedding when he was accused of being a spy by russian authorities in 2018. >> even though i've got a medical condition that prohibits this -- >> byron: sentenced to 16 years in a russian jail. he denies all allegations made against him. whelan's family fighting for his freedom, as are the parents of 32-year-old "wall street journal" reporter evan

gerskovich, arrested during a reporting trip. he's being held on charges of espionage, allegations evan, the u.s., and the "wall street journal" firmly deny. his parents speaking with our george stephanopoulos. >> and you're confident that the biden administration is doing everything they can right now? >> we are confident they're doing everything they can, and we want them to continue to do that. >> byron: in december, the state department confirmed russia rejected a proposal that would have included the release of evan and paul whelan, but vladimir putin recently suggested he could be open to a prisoner swap. black remains in detention with a july 22nd court date. the next few months may feel like a lifetime for his family, waiting for him back home. >> they're not great examples of russia cases being resolved in 30, 60, 90 days. they need to dig in and remember this is a marathon, not a

sprint. >> if he's able to see this? >> we love you. we're not ashamed of you. we hope you come home soon. >> just stay safe. just be careful right now. >> byron: when we return, the amazing technology behind "the kingdom of the planet of the apes," helping the film's stars lean into their inner simian. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

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♪ >> byron: welcome back. when "the planet of the apes" franchise began more than a half

century ago, its groundbreaking makeup feature is prosthetic ape faces won its artists an honorary oscar. they've come a long way since. here's abc's re yano alley. >> i have a name. may. >> these roles are probably outside your comfort zones. what was that like? >> strangely in our comfort zones. >> very much in our comfort zones. >> stunningly so, actually. >> i took to being an ape far too easily. >> i honestly found the part where may's being feral easier than when she's not easier. >> yeah. >> because i was going back to my childhood. i spent hours and hours pretend took be animals as a kid. >> reporter: these animals getting down to serious monkey business. >> what a wonderful day! >> reporter: it's "planet of the apes" back and bigger than ever. the iconic franchise going strong after more than 50 years. >> this one is like, if we just disappeared and earth took back

over. >> hidden under the overgrowth, it's beautiful. >> reporter: "kingdom of the planet of the apes," the latest installment, again pushing the limit with cutting-edge technology, bringing audiences into its wild world. >> this is important. >> if noah's making a face or crying or shouting at somebody, those are my facial expressions and my movements. which is very, very surreal. >> reporter: owen teagues' acting chops on full display, even under the cover of cgi as he plays an ape named noah. the 25-year-old known for "it." >> don't think you can stay down here all damn day >> reporter: costar freya allen who starred in "the pitcher." >> my grandmother fought battles and wore dresses both.

>> reporter: her audition to join the kingdom she says was unlike anything she'd done before. >> they described her as a feral human that could talk. i found my tape the other day, and it's like i'm playing an alien. i think it's because they wanted to see if people were able to be -- you know, have that kind of animal istic quality. >> reporter: for her costar, to capture that animalistic quality, he had to spend time in ape school. you spent six weeks there? >> yeah. >> reporter: that's a lot of time. >> that's the kind of time we needed to, "a," get you're movements right, and "b," that was how we found these characters. in terms of shoulders and, you know, head position, all that kind of stuff, like -- you kind of want to get the posture right. >> even if you just scratched your face, like earlier, you went like that. and i was like, that's so ape. >> yeah.

>> reporter: there's lingering effects. >> things that haven't quite left. >> reporter: i've read you were working on another film? >> yes. >> reporter: you're actually -- they said something to you? >> yeah, he goes, "hey, man, this is great for the character, but just so you know, you're walking like a chimp." he shows me the footage. and i was like, oh, no. i have to go to human school now. >> reporter: were you jealous you didn't get to go to ape school? >> at the time, not really. you know, the first thing i did was go into a basement of humans pretending to be chimps and i thought, i'm going to leave. >> reporter: through earlier iterations of the franchise, the actors wore costumes to bring their ape characters to life, like in the original 1968 "planet of the apes." >> he keeps trying to form words. >> you know what they say, human see, human do. >> reporter: again in 2001. >> i came to see you.

>> how sweet. you've wasted your time. >> reporter: since 2011, the franchise has been using technology to take the film's aesthetic to new heights with motion capture. >> i'm in this suit, and there's markers all over me. and my face is covered in dots. and that camera is picking up what all those dots are doing. and they take my performance, and they put it on cgi model of a chimpanzee. >> reporter: the tech made famous by andy certificate disin the "lord of the rings" trilogy as gollum. >> precious! >> reporter: serkis applying that technology in the latest of "the apes" films. >> the godfather of motion capture. he's kind of been its protector. he spoke to me on zoom, spoke to the rest of the cast. and it was mind-blowing, the detail he goes into in terms of creating a character. also creating a culture for this

world. >> reporter: is it hard as an actress to act alongside all these actors with the motion capture stuff on, to really immerse in the role? >> not really, honestly. i got used to it very quickly. it was more difficult because i had to shoot the movie twice, essentially. so i do the scene with them, and then they'd be taken out. i'd do the scene on my own with no one in front of me, so i'd be staring just at air. i had no one's eyes to look into. i'd have owen off-camera, reading lines, but i wasn't looking at anything. >> reporter: "kingdom of the planet of the apes" kicking off a possible new trilogy in the series for 20th century studios, a subsidiary of abc news' parent company, disney, and a fresh chapter in the beloved "apes" universe. >> it's very, very rare that you shoot something for six months and don't want to leave at the end. and this one, like i could have done another six. i could have just stayed and kept going. i was like, let's make the second one now. we were both quite devastated. >> oh my god, i was so

embarrassed, bawling. >> as was i. yeah. nothing i want more than to do it again. >> byron: our thanks to rhiannon. when we return, the beatles knocked from their long run at the top of the charts 60 years ago by a record-setting artist. ♪ can't buy me love ♪ ♪ i'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel all right ♪ to taste all life has to offer. choose joy, choose beneful. and try incredibites, just for small dogs. i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill

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♪ >> byron: finally tonight, the billboard number one slot says "hello dolly" and good-bye beatles. 60 years ago this week, the beatles' screaming 14-week run on top of the charts was ended by louis armstrong, the 63-year-old jazz icon dethroning the pop idols with "hello dolly," the title song from the tony award-winning musical that went on to win grammys for song of the year and for armstrong's performance, making him the oldest artist to top the charts, an honor he held until last year. it also launched a career