comment #1

Robert Cashill says ...

He deserved nominations for Gollum and King Kong, too.

comment #2

RJ says ...

I guess it sort of raises the question with me of how you can really compare any two performances. In this case, you have to decide how you can compare a performance given, say, by Christopher Plumber in Beginners with one in some way affected by digital wizardry. In other cases, how can you compare a fully successful comedic performance with a fully successful dramatic one and judge one better than the other?

comment #3

corey3rd says ...

There doesn't need to be a debate since Brad Pitt has already blazed the trailer with his work on Benjamin Button. How many nominations did he get for a role that was a composite using CGI and other actors' bodies?

comment #4

Rivesvillain says ...

The difference is between a good performance and a difficult one. The average Sean Penn performance is not only good and true from the outside looking in, it's also extremely difficult for an actor to get to a place where they can do it. Serkis, I'm sure, brings a lot to his performance, but it just doesn't seem like a difficult role by comparison. It's all showmanship. I think everyone is assigning a little too much of the credit to Serkis because doing so creates the very conversation we're having right now.

Sean Penn is the kind of magician that can fool you from six inches away. Serkis can only fool you on television.

comment #5

Joe G says ...

Actors should have a shot at recognition for this kind of work, but I'd say a new category is called for, "enhanced performance", or something to that effect. Perhaps not awarded every year although, yeah, we're going to see more and more of it.

Does the character designer(s) get nominated along with the actor? The animators? If not, why not?

comment #6

Mark says ...

Where do you draw the line? Should Robin Williams have been nominated for Alladin? Or must actor physically interact with other actors? Is everyone from Rango eligible or is facial motion capture required?

My vote, as always, is you don't nominate performances of alcoholics, invalids, or monkeys.

comment #7

Krillian says ...

Counting down to Rollo Tomasi's re-emergence...

comment #8

Eloi Wrath says ...

Have any actors ever been nominated for voice work? I seem to remember Eddie Murphy getting something like a Bafta or Golden Globe nomination for Shrek, but I could be wrong.

I think Mark's idea is the best. Some sort of catch-all category for voice/CG-enhanced performances, in which the animators are rewarded, too.

comment #9

Mark says ...

Pop Quiz: You lose Octavia Spencer's name, and Viola Davis has already been distinguished. To identify Spencer among Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard, you describe her as:

a) black
b) black
c) black
d) overweight but pretty

comment #10

Rev. Slappy says ...

Last year Armie Hammer was a serious contender for supporting actor and I don't remember anybody saying, "Wait, it's digital trickery! That's only his head on the second twin's body!"

comment #11

Jonathan Spuij says ...

All of the above comparisons are totally bogus because what Serkis has done is completely original and never before seen. He isn't even actually on screen, people simply don't go and recognize the performance as being Andy Serkis the actor. Those people probably include the Academy. Sadly.

comment #12

Robert Cashill says ...

"All of the above comparisons are totally bogus because what Serkis has done is completely original and never before seen." But he did it in KING KONG, no?

So I saw the movie today and I'm not sure what planet I'm on, but it wasn't the apes'. Functional, mildly diverting, on the frugal side...not much to dislike, but not much to cheer for, either.

comment #13

fishhead says ...

Serkis deserves all the accolades. Saw it yesterday and yes he was the best part of the film. All the human performances were flat as hell. And the Harry Potter kid seems like he is on track to become that generations William Atherton

comment #14

citizenmilton says ...

The Academy should award a special Oscar to Serkis for essentially co-creating an entirely new form of performance. This Oscar should also be shared with the lead animator(s) on Gollum and Caesar.

They should also make it clear in the rules that mo-cap performances should be eligible for nomination. But if awarded, the awards should be shared somehow (between the actor and the lead animator?), to acknowledge the hybrid creative process.

If Serkis is nominated this year, he probably will not win an award. I'm not steeped in this year's likely field, but Best Supporting Actor is frequently the most competitive category.

It'd be a shame to let this revolutionary work by Serkis and the wizards at WETA go unacknowledged.

comment #15

Rashad says ...

Serkis was phenomenal. What they need to do, is keep showing those featurettes and pics of the mo-cap work, and comparing that to the finished product. It's all him. It's nothing more than digital makeup

comment #16

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