Celebriel forwards news that Andy Serkis has teamed up with UK production company Screen East to assess feasibility for a motion capture studio in the UK. He said in the announcement, “We believe that currently in Britain there is no centre of excellence that matches the capacity developed by Weta Digital in New Zealand, which has been a key resource in delivery of productions such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, James Cameron’s forthcoming Avatar and Jackson and Spielberg’s highly anticipated Tintin.” More..
During my association with TheOneRing.net I have often felt very fortunate to know great people and be in great places. Sometimes I have been lucky enough to have my camera along.
Out of that vast TORn photo library that includes digital images, and old scratched negitives, I put a few images together with some music from Arjan Kiel, (with thanks to fan film ‘Born of Hope,’) to pay tribute to the whole community of TheOneRing.net.
Click on the small triangle to play and to see the best fullscreen version, click on the box at the far right.
Serkis’ most critically acclaimed roles have been Sméagol/Gollum, in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (200103) and the title character in the 2005 version of King Kong, in which he provided the voice and movements for the CGI characters. Also in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Andy Serkis played the ship’s cook. His performance as Gollum is ranked #10 on Premiere’s “100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time”.
His acclaimed work on the trilogy set off a debate on the legitimacy of CGI-assisted acting. Many critics felt Serkis should have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, since the movie used his voice, body language, and facial expressions. There is the argument that some of his CGI actions were partially, or in some cases fully animated, without his own movements, but the same can be said for actors in a traditional movie involving CGI. Some believed (incorrectly) that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ruled that he did not qualify because he never physically appeared onscreen. There is no such prohibition, however, and in fact Serkis appeared onscreen as Sméagol/Gollum in the third film, The Return of the King. He also voices the Witch King of Angmar in aforementioned film, although he is not credited. More about Andy…
From contactmusic.com: LORD OF THE RINGS star ANDY SERKIS is to hit the studio with late punk icon IAN DURY’s backing band THE BLOCKHEADS to re-record the HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK hitmaker’s beloved tunes. The Blockheads have given Serkis their blessing to play their frontman, who died in 2000, in an upcoming biopic and will rehearse classic tracks with the actor, who once confessed that Dury’s Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 was among his favourite tunes of all time. Blockheads star Mick Gallagher says, “Andy Serkis’ll do a great job… We’re recording 12 songs for the film; it’ll be live and really retro and straight ahead.”
In case you were wondering how the man who portrayed Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films feels about videogames, Babble put up a fascinating interview with Andy Serkis (via Ars Technica) in which the actor discusses storytelling in games, the challenges of parenting as an atheist vegetarian, and, uh, being eaten alive by an enormous, toothy phallus. Seriously. “Games — there’s no heart in them,” asserted Serkis — himself a veteran of Heavenly Sword’s development. “They’re not about anything that is lasting,” he continued, and whether or not you agree with that assessment of gaming’s current state, the actor has some interesting thoughts on the future of the medium. Andy Serkis Talks Storytelling in Games
Gwynne Watkins, Senior Editor for babble.com writes: I thought you might be interested in this Andy Serkis interview I did for the parenting site Babble.com. Some interesting anecdotes about playing Gollum and other characters, and the sometimes-hilarious reactions of his kids… Andy Serkis Interview
Pei Ling writes: Hi - I’m not sure if theonering.net posts things like this, but there is an Ebay auction (UK Ebay) for an Andy Serkis Exclusive Hand Designed Plate to benefit a charity. I’m not affiliated in any way, I was just browsing the site and saw the auction. I do believe that Andy has drawn Gollum, which might be of added interest to fans. Big fan of the site - discovered it in the months leading up to the first movie back in September 2001 (has it been that long?!) and it still continues to feed the obsession.
You’ve seen and not seen him, creeping along the slimy stones in hot pursuit of hobbits or hanging around the Empire State Building. But though Andy Serkis has breathed life into iconic characters, some of his most recognizable scenes have involved his demise. “I’m going to cut a show reel together of my great death scenes. I think it could be a bestseller,” says Serkis with a deep-voiced laugh. After all, he has taken a swim in the fires of Mt. Doom in his performance-capture role as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and, perhaps even more memorably, plunged to his death as Kong (not to mention that in his small — human — role as a cook in “King Kong,” he was eaten head-first by a ravenous worm.) “That’s a pretty good one,” Serkis says of becoming worm food. “My son’s been traumatized by that for years. He was about 5 when he saw that. The Freudian nature of his father’s death by CG hasn’t left him, really.” Andy Serkis, a monstrous talent on the loose
Katey Richcinemablend.com writes: I was surprised to hear that Tintin, Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Belgian comic strip, begins filming this week. This week! Hasn’t this project been in development for so long you thought it would never be made? But this week Andy Serkis is preparing to step into the role of Captain Haddock, Tintin’s hard-drinking but loyal best friend, even as his new movie, Inkheart, opens in theaters.
I spoke to Serkis last week, and while we talked a lot about his villainous role in Inkheart, he was generous enough to talk about Tintin and his return as Gollum in Lord of the Rings as well. I’ve included those parts of our conversation below, which includes his thoughts on both those top-secret projects, working with Doug Jones on The Hobbit, and the rise of motion-capture filmmaking in general. Cinemablend Interviews Andy Serkis
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You’ve seen and not seen him, creeping along the slimy stones in hot pursuit of hobbits or hanging around the Empire State Building. But though Andy Serkis has breathed life into iconic characters, some of his most recognizable scenes have involved his demise. “I’m going to cut a show reel together of my great death scenes. I think it could be a bestseller,” says Serkis with a deep-voiced laugh. After all, he has taken a swim in the fires of Mt. Doom in his performance-capture role as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and, perhaps even more memorably, plunged to his death as Kong (not to mention that in his small — human — role as a cook in “King Kong,” he was eaten head-first by a ravenous worm.) “That’s a pretty good one,” Serkis says of becoming worm food. “My son’s been traumatized by that for years. He was about 5 when he saw that. The Freudian nature of his father’s death by CG hasn’t left him, really.” 
Katey Rich