"I think we may be at the place where we will see a first-ever in Hollywood this year, which is to see Andy Serkis get nominated for a best supporting actor for Planet of the Apes, even though his face never actually appears," Rothman told The Hollywood Reporter at the Gotham Independent Film Awards.
"But his performance appears, so we are going to push that hard." When it was released back in August, Serkis' performance in
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was praised almost unanimously by critics, but so was his work as Gollum in
The Lord of the Rings, a series of movies which at the time saw him snubbed by the Academy.
"Who knows, but I give the Academy much more credit than most people do," Rothman said of the lack of nominations for motion capture work in the past.
"I don't think they are old and stodgy. I think they are smart and with it, and I'd like to think they are going to get it. I think part of what we have to do is help educate people to understand that that is 100 percent his performance. It is great emotional acting. Tom Hanks didn't have to say any dialogue in Castaway for it to be a great performance."
As for why he believes Serkis' performance deserves award recognition, he added:
"The emotionality - what you see and what you feel - he did it. I saw him. I watched him. Then they digitally overlaid - you can think of it as a costume - the skin and the hair of an ape. But I tell you the thing that people felt – and a lot of people where moved when they saw the movie - is because of his performance." How would you feel about Andy Serkis being nominated and possibly winning an Oscar for his role as Caesar in
Rise of the Planet of the Apes? Sound off with your thoughts below.
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