Cool News
Andy Serkis To Direct Adaptation Of ANIMAL FARM!!
The Kidd here...
Having mastered the art of motion-capture performance with his performances in THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and KING KONG, and served as second-unit director on THE HOBBIT, Andy Serkis is combining his knowledge in both areas to climb behind the camera for his directorial debut, taking on a performance-capture adaptation of George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM for The Imaginarium, the performance-capture studio Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish formed.
Serkis tells The Hollywood Reporter, "We are in proof-of-concept stage at the moment, designing characters and experimenting on our stage with the designs,” he continues. “It is quite a wide canvas as to how much and how far we can take performance capture with quadrupeds and how much we will be using facial [capture]. We are not discounting the use of keyframe animation or puppeteering parts of animals. We are in an experimental phase; it’s terribly exciting.”
As for whether or not Serkis will stay true to Orwell's allegory about Stalin-era Russia, it appears this ANIMAL FARM is going to take a softer approach to the source material. "We’re keeping it fable-istic and [aimed at] a family audience. We are not going to handle the politics in a heavy-handed fashion," says Serkis. "It is going to be emotionally centered in a way that I don’t think has been seen before. The point of view that we take will be slightly different to how it is normally portrayed and the characters We are examining this in a new light.”
If you're going to cut out what ANIMAL FARM is really about though, is it really ANIMAL FARM?
Don't get me wrong... I'm quite intrigued to see the extent to which these animals can be portrayed with performance-capture, going above and beyond what may have been done with ROTPOTA, but story-wise, the politics are what make ANIMAL FARM the literary classic it is. Without that, it's just a bunch of talking animals.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
Follow me on Twitter.
Readers Talkback
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What's Animal Farm without the allegorical angle? Charlotte's Web?
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but it won't really be Animal Farm?
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That was the first thing I thought. Without reading the article.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:20 p.m. CST
Unnecessary. It's been excellently done twice already. No need for a third.
by Royston Lodge
Watering down an Orwell story for a "family" audience is nothing short of, well, Orwellian.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:22 p.m. CST
Next up, a remake of 1984 with a happy ending and a cuddly Big Brother..
by Royston Lodge
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:23 p.m. CST
At least wait till you see a trailer before you begin criticizing... geez!
by palpeedude
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:23 p.m. CST
The entire point of Orwell's Animal Farm is it's fucking POLITICAL!!!
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Take out the politics, and you have Babe.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:27 p.m. CST
What the hell... Big Brother is deleting my comments!
by Hardboiled Wonderland
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:28 p.m. CST
royston lodge sums it up. How the hell can you take the politics out of Animal Farm?
by Hardboiled Wonderland
And how will they do Boxer's fate? The horse goes off to the glue factory, for crying out loud.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 10:28 p.m. CST
Aha, I worked out Serkis's angle -- it's a VEGAN take on Animal Farm
by Hardboiled Wonderland
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Everybody start bitching about something that doesn't exist yet from an artist who does amazing work!
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I'm glad to see a fine actor become an expert in this field and put it to good work.
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Thaaaaat I don't know about.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 11:13 p.m. CST
We’re keeping it fable-istic and [aimed at] a family audience. We are not going to handle the politics in a heavy-handed fashion
by Stegman84
And right there not only did I lose any interest in what at first sounded like a genuinely exciting project, but I also lost a degree of respect for Serkis himself. Pussifying and censoring Orwell in an orwellian fashion order to make it more family friendly and palatable to the masses is so ironic, so horrifying, and so fucking meta that I think my head may just explode from the crazy and wrongness of it all. We really are long past 1984, aren't we. In every damn sense. I mean I'm usually very much a wait and see, then judge kind of guy, but if people can't see how wrong it is to take Animal Farm, strip mine the core meaning and power from it, and basically turn it into something more along the lines of Babe, then I don't know what to say to them. I like Serkis a lot, but this just sounds out and out wrong.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 11:36 p.m. CST
I have long dreamed that Henry Selick would adapt this based on Ralph Steadman's designs.
by beastie
Never gonna happen in a million years, but it would be fucking rad if it did.
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Serkis may as well say, "We're taking the politics out so we don't offend conservatives who make up 62% of megaplex audiences..." I made the statistic up, but you get my drift. Maybe Serkis can reboot V For Vendetta, but take out all that wishy-washy political stuff that no one's interested in.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 11:43 p.m. CST
By the way, I read Animal Farm in junior high school
by Hardboiled Wonderland
It opened my eyes, as all great literature is intended to do. Serkis intends to put kids to sleep in a happy make-believe land. Just what we need, more sheeple.
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Oct. 21, 2012, 11:49 p.m. CST
Although I still think you're full of shit re Bay vs Weaving
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I'm right, Bay is right, Weaving's being a whiny little spoilt bitch.
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Hugo Weaving simply said he wasn't involved in Bayformers and it wasn't meaningful compared to some other jobs. Are you suggesting because the studio paid Weaving a couple years ago he can't be honest about the situation. Fuck off, Bay, you money worshiping slut. Weaving sold his TEMPORARY acting services, not his eternal allegiance.
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what's the fucking point of calling it Animal Farm?
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still holds up. Great adaptation, imo.
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Oct. 22, 2012, 3:42 a.m. CST
I remember seeing a film called 'Animal Farm' on a 3rd gen. VHS copy once.
by cactusjack1972
Guy fucked a chicken. Just sayin'. Orwell must have been having a black day when he wrote that.
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and life pretty much becomes just a bunch of talking animals Put them back in and yup, still a bunch of talking animals Go figure
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Oct. 22, 2012, 4:01 a.m. CST
Just because they're not handling the politics in a heavy-handed way...
by loafroaster
Doesn't mean they're not handling the politics at all. If they do it subtly, it could be all the better.
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Its like Lord of the Rings, but with bunnies.
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*We’re keeping it fable-istic and [aimed at] a family audience. We are not going to handle the politics in a heavy-handed fashion* Really? So you can act like a monkey, that gives you the right to fuck with an Orwell book, make it *kid friendly*? You don't see any of the actors that played the apes in 2001 pulling this kind of shit. THOSE were realistic monkeys! Fucking stick to putting electrodes all over your body and waving your arms around, asshole!
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Oct. 22, 2012, 4:56 a.m. CST
He didn't say they're not handlin the politics; they're just not doing it heavy-handed.
by loafroaster
Jesus, nice of all of you to miss his point, Kidd included.
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Not sure what it means to not do politics heavy handed in a political story, but that could just be odd word choice in Serkis explaining his intentions. But to say the focus is on the fable aspect and keeping it family friendly? Sounds like they just want to make a talking animals movie.
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We're gettig Four-Ways Farm?
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Oct. 22, 2012, 6:17 a.m. CST
Today's view of history means it doesn't have to be Stalinistic.
by Evan Meadow
We can probably make the same allegories using our different views of Republicans and Democrats with how they think Obama's doing. You can update the material because its still incredibly relevant.
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Oct. 22, 2012, 6:20 a.m. CST
What a load of bollocks. Serkis is a great actor, but I really wish that he'd take a step away from motion capture.
by Ecto-1
I really don't see why everyone wigged out over the motion capture in Apes. I watched it and thought that Rick Baker and his team created ape characters that were just as emotional way back for Greystoke.
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Has he read Animal Farm?
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Oct. 22, 2012, 6:34 a.m. CST
This guy wishes he was Ben Affleck. Serkis will never give critics rock hard boners like Argo.
by Fries Against
Jizz jizz jizz!
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He puts dots all over and pretends to be a monkey. WWWOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Oct. 22, 2012, 7:32 a.m. CST
What's next, a family adapt of Fahrenheit 451 and a Clockwork Orange....can't wait
by Fandude7
Leave it alone. The spirit of Animal Farm and 1984 will always be alive in despotic and totalitarian souls in this world. It's akin to presenting a more family friendly Satan.....you know, for the kids. Eric B is pushing himself out of the grave and coming for you Serkis.
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Oct. 22, 2012, 8:17 a.m. CST
The 90's version with Pete Postlethwaite as Farmer Jones always reminded me of Babe anyway
by KEVIN_COSTNERS_RECYCLED_PISS
The original story was always written so that a kid who knew nothing of communism would still follow the basic story of the animals getting rid of their human masters and then the pigs becoming corrupt leaders themselves. The politics were never forced down your throat. The real problem is that the overall tone of Animal Farm is pretty bleak and if he changes that to appeal more to family audiences then it'll no longer be true to the source material.
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Oct. 22, 2012, 8:26 a.m. CST
Hi I'm Mark Wahlberg. Let's talk to some animals. Hi Andy Serkis. I'm Mark Wahlberg. I see that you are playing an animal again. Say hi to ya mutha for me.
by UltraTron
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Oct. 22, 2012, 9:06 a.m. CST
Every politician should read Animal Farm every term they are in office.
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
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A lot of talent, but he's getting older... To make the "stupid money" off the stupid people, and maybe build a legacy of sorts, he needs a "thing" and he's latched onto being the ultra mocap guy and needs to crank out a lot of product in order to have a body of work in the field of his "thing." He wont be moving on from mocap anytime soon.
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Citizen Cow and the Great Sled Race
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Avoiding the politics = fuck off. Really...wtf
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or maybe he's a Furry? Some screenwriter needs to target his mocap animal/creature bent and come up with some more interesting and more credible stories to tell.
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...Stalinist Russia, though obviously that one of the inspirations. IMO it was always a devastatingly emotional story about how hope and idealism can become completely twisted into something horrific.
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The end is really f*cking nigh.
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204824/
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You might as well hire Kevin fucking James to do it.
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On the one hand, ROTPOTA-level technology being applied to another story about talking (and fighting, and rebelling, and manipulating...) animals at the very least should be an interesting...and possibly very creepy...watch in and of itself. On the other is that whole "softer touch to the source material" issue, which is vague enough to be worrying. Serkis said they wouldn't be heavy-handed about the political aspects, but what does that mean they WILL do? Will the whole thing center on Snowball, or Muriel the old goat? Will Mr. Jones have a cute tow-haired daughter to serve as the analogue for the audience? Why am I being so damned cynical about this?
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Oct. 22, 2012, 7:26 p.m. CST
How about Road To Wigan Pier as a buddy road movie with Sean William Scott and Ashton Kutcher!
by Royston Lodge
Make Wigan Pier the location of the best damned amusement park on the coast! Ferris Wheels! Bumper Cars! Hot babes!
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Oct. 22, 2012, 7:27 p.m. CST
Down and Out in Paris and London starring a zany Robin Williams!
by Royston Lodge
Being homeless is FUN in the swingingest cities in the world!
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Oct. 22, 2012, 7:29 p.m. CST
hardboiled wonderland: Offend conservatives?! Conservatives LOVE Animal Farm!
by Royston Lodge
It's modern holy scripture for conservatives, for cryin' out loud. The British animated feature was financed by the freakin' C.I.A.!
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OK... Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as musical extravaganza- it's a three-fer: <BR> First, a heartwarming smash hit Disney comical cartoon love story, with the voices of Lou Romano as Winston, Mandy Moore as Julia, and Robin Williams as O'Brien. <BR> Next, launch it as a hit Broadway show staged by Julie Taymor, with an all 80's New Wave soundtrack- Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby, Eurythmics, PIL, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Laurie Anderson, Kraftwerk, Devo, Oingo Boingo, etc., etc., etc... <BR> Finally, the broadway snow gets adapted as a live-action $300M motion picture musical, directed by Baz Luhrmann. <BR> Also, note to self, have animation division throw together family friendly cartoon version of "Animal Farm" to be released one month before Serkis' version.
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Then we'll probably get Pixar's BRAVE NEW WORLD.
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Oct. 23, 2012, 9:23 a.m. CST
Whoa, if they did a musical version of Clockwork Orange will it still have Singing in the Rain?
by kindofabigdeal
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Oct. 23, 2012, 9:23 a.m. CST
Also let's get a family friendly Apocolypse Now, you know, without the war stuff.
by kindofabigdeal
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The secret is that it's a great place for a mouse to retire.
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