Summer blockbuster sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes premiered yesterday will premiere* this week in movie theatres across America, full of CGI-laced action. I don't plan to see Apes, and I'm not fond of too many 'splosions in my plots, but this movie prompted me write about a snub I think is getting ridiculous; namely, the Acadmey's refusal to honor actor Andy Serkis.
For those unaware, Andy Serkis is the talented performer who brought Gollum to life in the Lord of the Rings films; he's also the man behind Ceasar the ape in the aforementioned movies, and he's slated for a role in the new Star Wars film. He's known as the most talented CGI performer in the business, bringing real humanity to the alien characters he plays. Remember in 2004, when The Return of the King swept the Oscars (to the point that the foreign film winners outright thanked the movie for being ineligible in their category)? I recall feeling deeply disappointed that Serkis was ruled ineligible for an acting award due to Gollum's motion capture animation (though in that same movie he played Smeagol "straight," without any CGI embellishment).
Efforts have continually been made on his behalf to get him recognized (as when the original Apes movie came out in 2011, see this Blastr article on the topic). Indeed, Serkis has already won awards for his non-CGI work, such as the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor (2009). Other institutions have seen fit to nominate him for his CGI work, including the Screen Actors Guild and the Chicago Film Critics Association. The Academy, however, still refuses to acknowledge his work beneath the mocap as "acting."
As special effects become more realistic and pervasive the backlash against such technology grows. There are certainly plenty of examples of bad special effects and wrong use of special effects (which are not the same thing). But singling out technology as a problem is short-sighted and dishonest. Dramatic art has been, is, and always will be about illusion. Whether an actor plays the girl next door or a visitor from a new world, the measure of success should be how well the audience accepts this unreality as Truth for the purposes of the story. In the earliest days of Greek theatre, after all, all the characters were played by men in masks.
I don't know if Serkis deserves an Oscar for this latest movie, but I certainly hope there's lifetime achievement award waiting for him one day. Maybe by the time that happens other talented actors who also use a new technology won't have to wait as long to be recognized.
* I scheduled this post a week earlier than I meant to post it: edited on Wednesday July 9, 2014 for accuracy.
