Andy Serkis Page 5

As always, there are far too many sequels, spin-offs, remakes and reboots clogging the cinemas, but hopefully they'll be better than 2016's lacklustre batch. (Release dates are subject to change.)

Star Wars: Episode Viii - Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill continue the saga (Dec). More sci-fi sequels worth waiting for: the gang reteams for more space antics in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (May), Michael Fassbender returns for Alien: Covenant (May), and Harrison Ford is back for Blade Runner 2049 (Oct).

Continue reading: The Ten Most Anticipated Films Of 2017

It's finally here! The teaser trailer you've all been waiting for: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', and while it's not really giving anything away, it looks pretty intense. Vehicles have updated, the stormtroopers are looking shinier and R2D2 appears to have evolved.

Star Wars returns in December 2015

Since George Lucas announced his retirement from the franchise, there's been all sorts of speculation about what differences could be expected from an updated sequel: though it's difficult to tell from the less than one and a half minute trailer. Everyone seems to be in a rush (especially, in a comical fashion, R2D2) and there's some brand new faces, who all look a little nervous as a voiceover booms out: 'There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? The dark side and the light.'

Continue reading: The REAL 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer Is Now Here [Trailer + Pictures]

Benedict Cumberbatch is adding to his impressive list of voice roles by joining the cast of ‘Jungle Book: Origins’ to play the villainous tiger Shere Khan.

Benedict Cumberbatch at the Brits

The film, which is set for release in October of 2016, is one of two Jungle Book films in production. Cumberbatch has joined Serkis’ crew – the Warner Bros. project, while Jon Favreau is taking on Disney’s version. 

Continue reading: 'Jungle Book: Origins' Adds Benedict Cumberbatch As Voice Of Shere Khan

If you were not at SDCC over the weekend, fret not, because some panels, like the one with the cast of The Hobbit and Stephen Colbert (what an inspired lineup) are already hitting youtube. One hour of Hobbit and Tolkien-related goodness, moderated by the biggest Tolkien nerd there is? Yes, please, that sounds absolutely amazing. And it was.

Think you know your Tolkien? Not as well as Colbert does.

Besides the absolutely obligatory trivia contest (which Colbert won, against one of the series writers, no less), the panel also included a very brief update from Peter Jackson on The Hobbit: There and Back Again. The director, who has spent almost two decades working on Tolkien adaptations, said about the journey: “It’s a commitment I’ve really enjoyed taking.”

Continue reading: "The Hobbit" Hits Comic-Con With Nostalgic Panel And Colbert's Trivia Quiz

Summer has arrived (if you ignore the weekend rain) and so have some fantastic cinematic blockbusters.There’s exciting viewing for everyone: out-and-out action, talking apes on a CGI-level almost incomprehensible, tamed dragons, a cinematic experiment that took 12 years to make and a romantic comedy to satisfy your sentimental side. However, if you delve a little deeper, an inescapable fact arises and the question has to be asked: where are all the women?

Andy Serkis in the visually phenomenal Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. But the cast has very few women

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes looks epic. The story, the action and the special effects set the stage for a movie of fantastic proportions. But there are only two prominent female figures to at least 10 main male characters, both ape and human alike. In the ape world, the woman is Caesar’s wife, giving birth and feeling unwell afterwards for most of the movie. In the human world, we have one woman in a five-strong male group who are daring to enter into the carefully constructed world of the apes.

Continue reading: Apes, Transformers And Dragons: But Where Are The Women In The Summer Blockbusters 2014?

This is a week when most attention was on the sporting world, with the Wimbledon finals, the Formula One British Grand Prix and the Tour de France starting in Britain, and of course the World Cup in Brazil. So most people didn't notice that the Karlovy Vary Film Festival kicked off in the Czech Republic by awarding Mel Gibson with the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema. The festival wraps up on Saturday. Here's Mel Gibson at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Mad Max screening .

Meanwhile in New York, the stars turned out on Tuesday for the premiere of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Cast members Andy Serkis and Keri Russell were joined by visiting filmmakers Darren Aronofsky and Paul Haggis and actors Alex Karpovsky and Bridget Moynahan. The film opens this week in the US and next week in the UK. Here's a Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes clip to get you in the mood.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Gibson's Major Award, Special Screenings In New York, Set Photos From London And Three Big Trailers

Matt Reeves’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes invades US theatres tomorrow (July 11th) and the critics are promising this is one not to be missed. Picking up 10 years on from where Rise of the Planet of the Apes left off, now Cesar and his nation of evolved apes are under threat from human survivors, hoping to prove they’re the dominant species. With an all-star cast including Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke and Keri Russell the movie has already scored an impressive 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But if you’re in need of more convincing, here’s five reasons why you need to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes this weekend.

Cesar and co. are under threat in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

1. It takes Planet of the Apes to a whole new level

Continue reading: 5 Reasons Why You Need To Go See ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ This Weekend

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, both by fans and industry insiders – the latter are counting on it to revive a box office, left inexplicably dead after 4^th of July weekend. But unlike its 2011 predecessor, Dawn is under new management. So the challenge for newly appointed screenwriter Mark Bomback and director Matt Reeves is now to prove that they can sustain the franchise, while still releasing a movie that can stand on its own too feet (like its ape characters, get it?)

Early reviews of Dawn have been largely favorable.

For his part, Bomback reckons they’ve done just that. In this film, the previously mild-mannered ape leader Caesar must navigate a delicate treaty with the humans, while still keeping his restless advisor, the scarred chimp Koba, happy. But Koba doesn’t want to sit still and neither do the humans, who have been pushed to the brink of extinction by the virus unleashed in the last film. "We wanted to keep the same quality as 'Rise,' but there's also this larger franchise that it's a part of," says Bomback ("Unstoppable") for the New York Daily News.

Continue reading: Critically Praised "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes" Dives Deep Into The Psychology Of Violence, Say Creators

Andy Serkis, famous for his work with CGI and his performance as Golem in The Lord of The Rings films, has confirmed that he’ll be appearing in the the upcoming Avengers film, Age of Ultron. 

Talking in an interview with Variety, Serkis said: "The Imaginarium is the performance capture consultant and I'm playing a role [in both Avengers and Star Wars]. On Avengers, I've been working closely with Mark Ruffalo."

Serkis has confirmed he has a role in Age of Ultron

Continue reading: Live-Action, Performance Capture, Whatever - Andy Serkis Is In 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron'

Of course the biggest movie news this week was the official announcement that Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher will be back for Star Wars Episode VII, along with the performers behind C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca. Newcomers to the saga include Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, John Boyega, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow and Daisy Ridley. JJ Abrams starts filming this month in London. For all the cast info and to see the, now infamous, first cast reading photo for Star Wars Episode VII click here.

This past week in London, the Sundance London Film and Music Festival took place with a flurry of filmmakers and stars attending, including Ryan Reynolds and Gemma Arterton, who were on hand to present their offbeat serial killer black comedy The Voices. Browse our arrivals gallery for 'The Voices' screening at Sundance London.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Star Wars Cast Announced, Festivals Bring Out Stars In London And New York While Efron And Rogen Hit L.A

Mark Hamill, the American who will reprise his role as Luke Skywalker in JJ Abrams Star Wars: Episode 7, has spoken of his approval of the new cast-members, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Max Von Sydow and Andy Serkis. The new cast-members were revealed in a photograph from the script-read through at Pinewood Studios this week, with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Hamill also attending the session.

Afterwards, the 62-year-old tweeted:

Continue reading: Mark Hamill On Boyega, Ridley, Gleeson, Isaac: "Wow, They're Good"

Scarlett Johansson and Lupita Nyong'o are reportedly in talks to star in Jon Favreau's adaptation of the classic tale, The Jungle Book. The actresses will join Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom's Idris Elba, who will voice the man-eating tiger, Shere Khan.

Scarlett Johansson Is To Star In John Favreau's Adaptation Of 'The Jungle Book.'

Johansson ('Under The Skin') is rumoured to be in line for the voice of Kaa, the deceptive python who eats other animals by hypnotising them whilst 12 Years a Slave star Nyong'o is in final negotiations to voice Rakcha, the mother wolf who adopts the human boy, Mowgli, according to THR. The role would see Johansson become the movie's second villain, after Elba's formidable Shere Khan.

Continue reading: Scarlett Johansson And Lupita Nyong'o Land Roles In Jungle Book Adaptation

Let’s just slip into geek out mode for a few minutes with these ten new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes stills released by Empire Magazine and USA Today, among others. The stills reveal nearly the entire cast of Dawn characters, some really cool CGI and the biggest news of all – it looks like the formerly mild-mannered and lovable Caesar is now wielding a shotgun.

Watch the Dawn teaser trailer below.

Continue reading: The Apes Have Shotguns (And The Earth) In New "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" Stills

Andy Serkis, who hit worldwide notoriety for portraying the character of Gollum in The Lord of The Rings films, is to direct ‘The Jungle Book’ for Warner Bros., who will be under extra pressure to deliver a faithful version of the iconic tale with Disney also working on a live-action adaptation, directed by Jon Favreau.

Andy Serkis is set to direct 'The Jungle Book'

Serkis is thought to be the final turn in what has been a winding road towards finding a director. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel) left the project due to scheduling conflicts while Ron Howard was briefly in talks to take the helm – they proved to be fruitless. Serkis will also produce the movie with ‘Harry Potter’ writer Steve Kloves and Jonathan Cavendish, who is Serkis’ partner at The Imaginarium - his Fox-based production company.

Continue reading: Andy Serkis Gets His Very Own Precious: 'The Jungle Book'

Two big premieres this week were more about raising awards-worthy awareness than launching a movie. Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin and Juliette Lewis were all on hand for the August: Osage County premiere in Los Angeles. Meanwhile in New York, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner were all dressed up for American Hustle. Both films are scooping up awards and nominations at the moment. Watch Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale arrive at 'American Hustle' NY Premiere and here's another video showing Amy Adams as she dazzles on the red carpet.

Justin Bieber won't be chasing awards for his latest behind-the-scenes doc Believe, which held its much-hyped world premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday. He was joined on the red carpet by director Jon M Chu, who also directed two Step Up movies, the last G.I. Joe blockbuster and Bieber's previous doc, 2011's Never Say Never. You can watch the trailer for Justin Bieber: Believe here.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Stars Court Awards Attention At Premieres, While Bieber Hits The Red Carpet And Several New Trailers Arrive

The newly released trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is about as dark as an “end of the world” movie can be and just as exciting. The short clip, released by 20th Century Fox on Wednesday, includes Gary Oldman giving a rousing speech to his small band of survivors, who managed to outlast a deadly virus and subsequent war. Meanwhile we, the audience, get to see flashes of the devastation left behind. The clip is just a teaser though, so maybe fans will get a better idea of the story in an upcoming extended trailer.

Just in case you aren't that excited yet, take a look at the moody trailer below.

To top it off, the trailer then cuts to Andy Cerkis’ newly terryfying Ceasar. This is not the intelligent, mild ape James Franco’s character befriended in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes (the titles are bound to get really confusing at some point) – this Ceasar is all war paint and fury. As the camera pulls away and we get a glimpse of the gathering ape army, the message of the trailer becomes abundantly clear – humanity is well and truly doomed by now.

Continue reading: New 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer Makes Us Fear Global Primate Invasion [Trailer]

Samantha Shannon, the 21-year-old author behind The Bone Season, is on everyone’s lips these days. The book has only been released today, though advance reader copies have been making the rounds for several months, but Shannon has been bombarded with praise from all sides in the mean time. The young author has even been compared to J. K. Rowling, author of cultural phenomenon Harry Potter. It’s a comparison that’s been further invited by the fact that The Bone Season is the first in a seven-part series of books.

The books are set in a futuristic world – in 2059 Oxford has been converted into a prison colony for clairvoyants. They will be trained to use their powers against an army of flesh-eating creatures from another world. It’s an easy enough premise to summarise, but not at all easy to imagine. Nevertheless, interest in The Bone Season has been so high, that the book earned Shannon a “six-figure advance” from publishers Bloomsbury. According to the BBC, the film rights have already been sold to Andy Serkis' film studio, The Imaginarium. Not surprising, as this is generally the way the publishing industry functions today.

The book falls, as you may have guessed from the premise, within the wildly popular of late dystopian genre. Shannon quotes Margaret Atwood, George Orwell and John Donne among her influences in creating the classic dystopia – a world enough like our own to make it feel uncomfortably close, but with several quite major differences. The author herself described it by saying: "The Bone Season is urban fantasy. It's not a high fantasy where you're inventing a whole new land. It's strongly rooted in real places.”

Continue reading: Samantha Shannon's "The Bone Season" - What's All The Fuss About?

Two years ago, Samantha Shannon was a nobody - certainly in the literary world. A 19-year-old slaving away as an intern like thousands of other aspiring writers, she put her mind to realising her dream - writing a fantasy novel.

Two years later came the manuscript for The Bone Season, a 480 page novel that's already being likened to Jk Rowling's Harry Potter. Snapped up at the first time of asking, the book has already been sold in 20 countries and hits shelves today (August 20, 2013).

Andy Serkis - who plays Golum in the Lord of the Rings movies - has bought the film rights to the book from publisher Bloomsbury and will begin work on a big-screen adaptation with his company The Imaginarium.

Continue reading: How A 19-year-old Intern Wrote 'The Bone Season,' The New Harry Potter

Two years ago, Samantha Shannon was a 19-year-old intern - though no ordinary 19-year-ordinary intern. She had 480 pages of a fantasy novel locked away, for which - two years later - she would be paid a £100,000 advance.

The Bone Season looks set to become an international bestseller and comparisons are already being made to JK Rowling and Harry Potter. So far, the rights to the novel have been sold in 20 countries and it hits shelves in the UK on August 20. However, perhaps far more lucrative to both Shannon and publisher Bloomsbury is that the film rights to the novel have been bought by Andy Serkis's company The Imaginarium.

"A few Hollywood studios were interested, but I went with The Imaginarium," she told the Telegraph, "They're a British company and I felt they got the book and would keep to its spirit."

Continue reading: Do Andy Serkis, Samantha Shannon, Have The New Harry Potter On Their Hands?

Following last Christmas' first instalment that kicked off the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the new episode of adventures in Middle Earth will take Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the band of aggrieved-yet-upbeat dwarves further into their quest to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor; stolen from them by the evil dragon, Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

Now, Bilbo has gained The One Ring after his life-changing meeting with the wretched Gollum (Andy Serkis) and the brave group have escaped the Goblin Kingdom to start the next leg of their quest to reclaim their kingdom and riches from Smaug, travelling through the Misty Mountains.

Based on the novel that preceded J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit was one book that has been turned into three films. Sure, this is probably to rake in maximum profits, but at least three 3 hour films will allow Jackson to deliver close interpretations and stretch out the franchise for another few years.

Continue reading: The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Trailer - First Look

Peter Jackson's long awaited adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit has already graced screens in New Zealand, but ahead of its North American and British release over the next two days, the stars have given some hints of the exciting scenes to come.

"There are some really good [scenes] in the first one," Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins told MTV News of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. "I find it rather thrilling, but I'm looking forward to the other biggies, the battle being one, Smaug of course. Smaug is going to be great." And Freeman was quick to make sure people don't get distracted from his titular character, as Benedict Cumberbatch threatens to dominate as Smaug. "Don't give Benedict any more f---ing credit," Freeman joked. "Somehow, 'The Hobbit' still ends up being about some f---ing jerk."

Andy Serkis, who reprises his popular turn as Gollum, has also been doing some work behind the camera, directing action scenes for Peter Jackson. "Obviously the Battle of the Five Armies is going to be [great]," Serkis said, adding that they have yet to film that particular sequence. "We just started getting into it because of the change making it into three movies. We had to sort of hang on to [film] that. That is going to be extraordinary, don't you think? There are the barrels, there's a ton of stuff."

Andy Serkis as Gollum was arguably the most iconic aspect of The Lord of The Rings trilogy. His sneering obsessiveness provided twists within the plot, and cult-like mimicry from fans outside it. 

However, his reprisal of the role comes with an added twist, and this time it's behind the camera, as he fulfils second unit director, shooting battle sequences in 3D for director Peter Jackson. "Directing was my main job this time - more than playing Gollum," he explained to Reuters. "I worked 200 days with a huge team shooting battle sequences, aerials. It was an amazing experience and one which I was very, very thankful to Peter for asking me to do."

Serkis's supposed new found role will have come as quite a surprise to many casual and ardent fans alike, but it's not something he's not well versed in. "I'd already started directing short films when we were doing 'Lord of the Rings,' then videogame projects," he explained. "So Peter's known that I've been heading towards directing for a long time. But I always thought my first outing would be a couple of people and a digital camera in the back streets of London somewhere!"

Continue reading: Andy Serkis On His Gollum Turned Director Role In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Cate Blanchett Looking Typically Radiant At The Hobbit In Wellington

Peter Jackson and his team repaid New Zealand for its hospitality this week, by hosting the world premiere of the new Lord of the Rings film The Hobbit in central Wellington. The country has played host to some of the biggest movie stars on the planet for the past year while Jackson shot the film on its rolling green hills.

More than 100,000 turned out for the premiere of the movie, which has sparked Middle Earth mania in New Zealand. According to The Telegraph, presenters on national radio greeted listeners in fictional elvish language, while newspapers came equipped with complimentary Hobbit posters. Thousands of fans turned out for the premiere at the Embassy Theatre in full Lord of the Rings garb, delighting stars including Cate Blanchett, Martin Freeman and Elijah Wood who walked the red-carpet. Wellington actually renamed itself 'The Middle of Middle Earth' for the event, which has been regarded as a godsend for the country's tourism industry. Delays and union disputes have disrupted the production of The Hobbit, though despite wrapping up the hugely anticipated movie, director Peter Jackson admits he is still nervous about the critical reception. "Nothing's ever perfect and it never will be, it's a real mistake if you say we're stopping now because we've made the perfect film," he told Radio New Zealand. "You never have and you never will.I've got severe fatigue right now, but only because I've just finished the film. There's been all sorts of obstacles" 

Continue reading: Pictures: The Hobbit Premiere, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Peter Jackson