Almost There: Andy Serkis in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

by Cláudio Alves

The particularities of screen acting make it a collaborative effort, even in the most low-fi of situations. What gets left on the cutting room floor, what reactions are chosen by the editor and director, the sound, the makeup, the way a cinematographer lights the performer's eyes, all shape what we see projected on-screen. Still, when it comes to awards, there's a belief that performance is the sole responsibility of the individual in front of the camera.

When the collaborative aspects of screen acting are made inescapable, it's  difficult to collect golden accolades. We see that happening to voice-only performances and motion-capture efforts, in particular. With The Lord of the Rings trilogy new to streaming on Hulu, we have a good opportunity to explore the mo-cap performance that came closest to Oscar glory. I'm talking about the paradigm-shifting work of Andy Serkis as Sméagol/Gollum in 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers…

Click to read more ...

OTD: Madonna Mania and a Dangerous Release Date

On this day (Sept 2nd) in showbiz-related history...

31 BC Cleopatra loses the Battle of Actium to Octavian's troops in the final war of the Roman Republic. Liz is very upset but it turns out Dick is still alive and he leaves his men to drown to catch up with her and work on his thigh tan! Not great, Bob.

Madonna mania, September 1st movie releases and more after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Linky Snicket

LA Times talks to Tarell Alvin McCraney who wrote the original play that became Moonlight
Variety JA Bayona's A Monster Calls has become his third consecutive #1 of the entire year at the Spanish box office. He also won the film year there for The Impossible and The Orphanage. He hasn't had as much luck stateside but since he's helming the next Jurassic World movie that'll presumably change
THR three Asian action stars (Tony Jaa, Tiger Chen, and Iko Uwais) will star in the next film from the director of John Wick
Playbill Audra McDonald getting a "special moment" pre-transformation in Beauty & the Beast

 

MTV "Rachel McAdams, blink twice if you need to be saved from your own career"
Jezebel More LGBTQ character on TV than ever before finds new study
i09 First teaser for Netflix's Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events with Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf - looks fairly generic at the moment. We'll see.
Towleroad Rami Malek to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic with Bryan Singer. We'll believe this one when we see it because there's been a rumored Mercury biopic as often as...
TFE ...Janis Joplin biopics (ICYMI)
Variety now that Oscar has its producers Michael de Luca & Jennifer Todd, they're talking about the search for a host - Jimmy Kimmel's name keeps coming up
Antagony & Ectasy a terrific analysis of The Handmaiden 
Awards Daily the first look at Jessica Chastain as an artist among Indians in Woman Walks Ahead (She's determined to win that Oscar, guys. So many chewy roles lined up)
MNPP Kathy Bates will be playing Bette Davis BFF Joan Blondell in Feud
World of Reel has the perfect gif reaction to Jaden Smith's Doctor Strange review
Comics Alliance Benedict Cumberbatch's secret secondary role in Doctor Strange (spoilers)
Deadline They're moving forward with a JRR Tolkien biopic called Middle Earth 

Off Cinema 4 Fun
Boy Culture remember's Divine's awesome "Shoot Your Shot" 
Huffington Post amusing 10 suggestions for dealing wtih Election Anxiety including volunteering, masturbation, and preaching to your choir

OH AND REMEMBER TO VOTE TOMORROW! Take it away Rachel Bloom

HOLY SH*T (You've Got To Vote) from Funny Or Die

Cast This: J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic

When I read over at Film School Rejects that JRR Tolkien was getting a biopic, I let out a big ol pipe-smoking sigh. Wouldn't this have been a better use of Peter Jackson's time than what he's been spending the last few years doing? If you're going to gild the lily, find a new way! The only time Jackson did a true story (Heavenly Creatures) it was quite impressive and still made use of his imaginative fantasy aesthetics. A bigger sigh followed when I pictured J.R.R. Tolken in my head from this photo to your left embedded in me brain from childhood.

How long before we hear the casting announcement and then a photo of Anthony Hopkins in full makeup with a pipe, I thought. That's EXACTLY who Hollywood would cast because they never think outside the box.

But - yay! - the biopic will cover the formative younger years in World War I and at university which led to The Hobbit through The Lord of the Rings (so one presumes the biopic ends in the 1950s when Tolkien also reached his fifties)/ CGI de-aging is not yet advanced to subject us to the defacto Hopkins casting of old man biopics (yes he gets them all: Kellogg, Nixon, Lewis, Picasso, Hitchcock...) 

SO LET'S PLAY "CAST THIS!"

Here's two photos of J.R.R. Tolkien which I believe are from his younger years in the service and at university but even in his mid to late 20s / early 30s (?) he already looked like a distinguished older man!

It'd be smartest to cast someone in their 30s or early 40s who can look younger and older. My first thought was Ryan Gosling, solely because the Gos is never far from the mind and I think he popped up because of his similar longish face. But then I have trouble picturing him aging up into that jovial ol' pipe smoker from all the book jackets, so that's not quite right. I think I just had a better idea but I want to hear your suggestions to see if anyone reaches a similar conclusion

So who would you cast? Ready, set... comment!