‘Planet of the Apes’ Director Already Campaigning for Andy Serkis Mo-Cap Oscar Nod

Ever since Andy Serkis redefined motion capture performance with his work as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy—with the help of Weta—there's been debate over how such performances should be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

On one side you have those who say an acting performance is an acting performance, whether or not it's mediated by digital effects. These people think motion caption performances should totally be eligible for consideration in the best actor and actress categories.

On the other side you have those who say motion capture performances, while admirable, are just not the same as regular, old-fashioned acting performances. These people think mo-cap should either get its own Oscars category or be considered in the technical special effects categories.

Which side does Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves take? Not surprisingly, he's definitely on board with folks like Serkis getting nominated in the traditional acting categories.

He sat down with Screen Rant recently and shard his thoughts on the matter. Here's what he had to say:

Well, if you ask me, of course I'm going to say yes, because I worked with them intimately and I know what they were as actors… Most of the time, what I'd been looking at for the past year is just those performances. I've been looking at Andy and Toby [Kebbel] and the other ape actors and the other human actors… I've been looking at their performances intimately for a year, in addition to the year that I spent with them when we were rehearsing and shooting the movie. I think that the two of them are incredible. Andy and Toby are two of the best actors I've ever worked with. I think they are incredible.

And what about a brand new Oscar category?

People have said, "Maybe there should be a special category." I'm saying "No, there really are two categories already that fit. One is best performance by an actor, and that is what Toby and Andy do. And then there is sort of best visual effects, and that is what Weta does."

Personally, I'm on Reeves's side. But that's just me.