What does everyone think about the whole Andy Serkis Oscar campaign? Serkis is the masterful physical actor who brought Gollum (from the Lord of the Rings films), King Kong (in the 2005 Peter Jackson remake), and now Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes to life through advanced “performance capture” techniques. After being inundated with praise for those first two roles, Serkis is now being talked up ad nauseum for an Academy Award acting nomination despite not actually appearing in the film.
While I’m not entirely sold on Serkis as an Oscar candidate, I do see the potential importance of what a nomination could mean. Interestingly, there was a similar campaign for Frank Oz, the puppeteer and voice of Yoda in 1980’s Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Oz was unsuccessful, but I do believe that actors in non-traditional roles should be given more consideration. Similarly, I don’t think new acting categories can be added, because there aren’t necessarily transcendent voice, or motion-capture performances given every year.
I suppose a nomination for Serkis might ultimately be a good thing, though he has zilch chance of winning. The Academy, and the public at large, isn’t ready for that yet, but a nomination would probably get them thinking about the possibility in the future. In all likelihood, he’ll be passed over by the Academy but enjoy some love from the Saturn Awards.
Anyway…
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) has received somewhat surprising praise. It is one of the better-received movies of this summer and has made a whole barrel of monkies – I mean money. A natural skeptic, I couldn’t help but wonder the following: is the 7th Apes film and second “reimagining” of the franchise actually good? Read more…
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