He is, at 53, more in demand than ever before, having just wrapped Black Panther and Star Wars: The Last Jedi whilst putting the finishing touches on his ambitious directorial debut, The Jungle Book. And he is such an unrelenting force of nature that, when he recently told The Guardian he has sex “four, five times a day,” the internet actually believed him (for the record, he was just taking the piss).
Serkis is busy promoting War for the Planet of the Apes, the dramatic conclusion to this century’s most underrated blockbuster film franchise—one that’s seen him embody the character of Caesar, an ape imbued with human-like intelligence, from infancy to old age. It is a stunning achievement, even eclipsing his iconic motion capture turn as the aforementioned fiend in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and one that deserves serious awards consideration.
In director Matt Reeves’ War, Caesar and his clan of apes have been locked in a seemingly never-ending battle with the humans in the two years since the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. When Caesar learns that a battalion of reinforcements is coming to help the humans eliminate the apes once and for all, he plans to lead his fellow simians on a journey across the desert to start a new civilization. But his plans are dashed when a war-hungry Colonel (Woody Harrelson, excellent) murders Caesar’s wife and eldest son, sending him off on a mission of revenge.
The Daily Beast spoke to Serkis about his triumphant turn as Caesar and the evolution of motion capture.
In War for the Planet of the Apes we are treated to a more hardened, battle-tested Caesar.
He is a leader during a time of war that’s trying to ensure the survival of his species, but he’s still holding on to the hope that he can find a peaceful solution to the conflict—until the events that happen in the beginning of the movie that spiral him off on a journey of revenge and hatred. And were it not for the people around him, his soul would be lost forever. For me, it was a very personal journey, actually, because Caesar has become more human-like, so his emotional responses are much more aligned to me. I wanted to put myself in the position of Caesar and draw from that. Going from this empathetic leader to this character who is literally torn apart was a huge challenge.
Caesar has ascended to Biblical status in War. There are scenes of him leading his apes across the land like Moses, as well as ones of him tortured and tied to a cross.
We fully intended him to be, for this sake of the journey, the making of the legend of Caesar. If an ape civilization were to be created, you could point to this figure as the seminal figure who brought about their coming into being. Matt Reeves always intended to have the scope and scale of a 1950s Biblical epic—combined with a war movie. And he modeled it after films like Ben-Hurand The Ten Commandments.
You’ve shepherded this character from infancy to adulthood. What was the biggest obstacle in War when it comes to embodying this ever-evolving character?
It was about bringing him as close to evolving to humanity as possible without overstepping the mark. That was the big challenge. From his speech to connecting to his emotions, it was always walking on a tightrope. And for me, as an actor, it was holding the audience’s hand and saying, “See the world through Caesar’s eyes, and I’ll be your guide.” But we couldn’t cross over the line to where he was too human and therefore unbelievable. Matt Reeves and I worked tirelessly on the way Caesar communicates and expresses, and I think the scenes with the Colonel were some of the biggest challenges. It’s such a fascinating meeting, coming face to face with the man responsible for the death of his loved ones, and yet finding a fascination in him—and therefore an understanding. Once he begins to unfold the story of his personal loss, and his personal sacrifice, it meant that Caesar could not let go entirely of his hatred for him, but begin to understand him.
The humans are of course the villains here, and fear of the other seems to be a running theme in these Apes films, which are awash with social commentary.
It’s in their DNA and always was, from the original onwards. Obviously they were dealing more contextually with the Civil Rights Movement in the earlier movies, but they’ve always connected to the zeitgeist. When this film was written, which was two and a half years ago, it was way before current political events were beginning to unfold. But like all good sci-fi, it plugs into the ether and is prophetic in that way. The atmosphere was ripe for talking about a world that was careening towards the demise of empathy, where we’re disabled from feeling or sensing equality with other cultures, people, species, the planet. It’s very much a push to the far-right, fundamentalist, Darwinian survival of the fittest mentality that we find ourselves in. That’s what Matt wanted to get at.
In War for the Planet of the Apes, Woody Harrelson’s villainous Colonel attempts to erect a giant wall to protect his soldiers from an oncoming attack, and forces enslaved apes to build it.
The film is not topical in the Saturday Night Live sense. The wall that’s talked about in the movie, we were not aware that Trump was going to come up with that. But it’s just in the ether—that sense of putting up a barrier between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ If you watched this film in ten years, you wouldn’t think it was about Trump or Syria. Hopefully, it would be about what’s going on at the time.
Has motion capture acting made you more in tune with your body? And has it made you a better actor?
I think I was always a physical actor. As you probably know, actors have different ways of finding a root into a character, and for me, physicality—and linking physicality to psychology—has always been important. When a character carries their pain, do they have tension in their shoulders? If there’s anger, where does that come from? Is it from the heart? Is it from the head? When performance capture came along, it fit like a glove for me. That said, what performance capture does is it allows you to play the character very internally, too. It’s not just physical activity, but how you place your energy. When you’re working with this technology, you are both puppeteer and marionette at the same time, so you become very attuned to the subtleties. In the rehearsal periods, you can see on a monitor—that’s almost like a magic mirror—that the suit with the dots on it drives a real-time image of the character, so you can very subtly understand what your shifts in posture and movements can do to a character. And that’s how you learn to drive the puppet, if you like. You become acutely aware of the physicality in that sense.
How would you compare the experience of playing Caesar to, say, Gollum? And how has motion capture evolved in those 17 years?
This is a combination of things. The cameras are now placed 360-degrees around the set and have all become more robust, allowing us to shoot in real locations—out in the wild, in snow, etc. But the essence of performance capture acting hasn’t changed that much over the last 17 years. Rise was a very domestic film that mostly took place in the home or a laboratory, and with Dawn and now War we’ve gone much further afield—into the woods, into the wild. Since Gollum, we’ve worked with Weta closely for 17 years, so they now how my face works—every muscle twitch, every _expression_, every flicker of my eyelids. Those have been scanned and analyzed time and again, and there’s a team of artists who have grown to know how to interpret the performance that we shoot on the day. The rendering is so extraordinary.
Have you spoken with members of The Academy and noticed a sea change when it comes to the perception of motion capture? Because it’s about time these performances start getting some awards recognition.
I’ve always maintained that acting is acting, and there is no difference between putting on a costume and makeup and playing the role or just playing the role and having a digital mask placed on something you do afterwards. If you go back to the original films, they wore prosthetic makeup and that was the way of doing it then. This is the 21st century version of that. But the acting is the same. I’ve always maintained that there shouldn’t be any special category or a different way of approaching it. The visual effects awarding bodies will award the great work that the visual effects companies do, and I think the acting branches need to really get behind understanding what performance capture is, which is acting. It is changing. As more A-list actors play performance capture roles, the perception is changing, but I think it’s important to be fully understood for what it is. That has changed a lot, but it has a ways to go still.
Your character Ulysses Klaue featured quite prominently in the first Black Panther trailer. How would you define Klaue’s role in the film, and what would you say sets Black Panther apart from the rest of the films in the MCU?
It’s a great character. I think it’s gonna be an extraordinary film. I don’t want to discuss it much, since it’s such a long ways out. As you can tell from the trailer, it has huge vision. Ryan Coogler is one of the coolest directors, and the performances I was witnessing around me were absolutely extraordinary.
Are we likely to see more of Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi than we did in The Force Awakens?
You are likely to see more of Snoke, yes.
And in addition to all these projects, you also are putting the finishing touches on your directorial debut, Jungle Book.
Jungle Book is coming along really well. That’s going to be coming out next year, and it is, as we always intended, a darker version of the story—a PG-13 that is much closer to the tone of Rudyard Kipling’s book. It’s been a crazy year.
Serkis’ father is an Iraqi-born gynecologist of Armenian descent. He was primarily raised in the U.K. by his mother while his father worked abroad in various parts of the Middle East.
In an old profile, you said that you were “much drawn to the karmic possibilities of energy transference.” How does that apply to acting—embodying these different characters?
I seem to gravitate towards roles and projects that center on the notion of being an outsider. That really comes from my roots: my father being born and brought up in the Middle East and my mother from England, and me having a childhood that was partially in the Middle East and partially in England. I suppose I’m drawn to projects and characters that have something about the outsider in them. But I do believe in putting out good energy, and then hopefully receiving good energy. I hold that as a central belief.
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
July 14, 2017 Friday
Group of disabled tourists from Lebanon impressed with Armenian hospitality
YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. A group of disabled tourists from
Lebanon are impressed with the Armenian hospitality and reception,
reports Armenpress.
Their trip in Armenia continues. They plan to visit Garni, Geghard,
Etchmiadzin, Khor Virap within a week.
The State Tourism Committee of Armenia received a request several
months ago which said a Lebanese company plans to organize the visit
of a group of disabled tourists to Armenia so that they can reveal
Armenia with their own experience and asked the Committee for
assistance.
The Committee thanks Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and the Yerevan
Municipality for providing a comfortable transportation to the guests.
The group consisting of 38 disabled people is impressed with the
Armenian hospitality. The Committee decided to meet and communicate
with the guests.
They were very impressed and highlighted the attention and care of
Armenians. Some of the tourists are interested in the Armenian brandy
and wine. They look forward to the visit to the Ararat brandy company.
The guests also mentioned the safety issue in Armenia, adding that
they feel very safe here.
Hayk Khanumyan, an oppositional deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, head of the “Renaissance” faction, said that at the session of the executive body of their party the decision to elect the president of the transition period was left to his discretion.
“In any case, I will vote against Bako Sahakyan, and one of the ways of voting against him is voting for Eduard Aghabekyan. I will speak in more detail on my July 19 speech”, says the NA deputy.
He notes that he is positive about Eduard Aghabekyan’s candidacy, but the latter has no chance to win. “He also realizes that. He was nominated by the powers that are not majority in the National Assembly. Anyway, he will send certain messages to the public and we will follow and evaluate the messages that Eduard Aghabekyan will direct to the people”.
Let us remind that the election of the president of the transition period of the Artsakh Republic will take place on July 19. There are two candidates nominated by factions: current president Bako Sahakyan, and head of “Movement-88” faction Eduard Aghabekyan.
The 16th “Sea Knot 2017” annual song contest is over at Novorossiysk, Russia, with Armenian singer Suzanna Melkonyan taking the first place.
As the Composers Union of Armenia told Panorama.am, at the finals of the contest Suzanna Melkonyan performed the “Wings of Love” song by Honored Artist of Armenia, composer Edgar Gyanjumyan, which was highly appreciated by the jury members and won the Best Song about Sea category.
The “Wings of Love” was composed still in 2002 and performed by numerous artists.
“It is really nice when your song which was written 15 years ago continues to be performed and appreciated at international platforms,” Gyanjumyan said.
July 5 marks the birthday anniversary of Senior Lieutenant Ashot Shahbazyan, an Armenian solder heroically fallen at 2016 four-day April war. The lieutenant would turn 24 years old today.
A monument and fountain have been unveiled on Wednesday in Ashot Shahbazyan’s native village Akhurian inn tribute to the hero’s memory.
Born in 1993 in Akhurian village of Armenia’s Shirak Province, Ashot Shahbazyan studied at the local school, afterwards continuing his studies at Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy. After graduating from the academy, Ashot went to Jabrail to continue his military service. While studying at the Military Academy, he stood out with his high academic progress and active public activity. Ashot had a wide range of interests and practiced sports, namely boxing and football.
Ashot Shahbazyan did not choose the military path accidentally. At the Artsakh war, his father Karapet Shahbazyan, together with the latter’s cousins, left for Karabakh. His cousins lost their lives at the war, later on Karapet decided to name his two sons after the fallen brothers Ashot and Hunan.
Lieutenant Ashot Shahbazyan fell on April 2, 2016. During Azerbaijan’s sudden attack launched at the Armenian military posts, he did his best to defend the positions and repel the enemy. Ashot sustained an injury in the middle of heated battles, however refused to abandon the positions: he continued the combat and fell as a hero. Ashot Shahbazyan was posthumously warded with “For Service in Battle” medal and "Combat Cross" 2nd degree order of Armenia.
Overnight April 1-2, 19 Artsakh servicemen of that positions and the neighboring posts lost their lives. To note, two of the Artsakh Defense Army commanders – Hovsep Kirakosyan and Ashot Shahbazyan – were donors of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Foundation.
Armenian weightlifter Sona Poghosyan (75kg) won the bronze medal lifting a total of 223 kg at 2017 Junior World Weightlifting Championships under way in Tokyo, Japan.
As Panorama.am was informed from the Armenian National Olympic Committee, Sona also captured the small silver medal in the clean and jerk event, lifting 125 kg. The Armenian athlete took the fourth place in snatch event, lifting 98 kg.
Armenian athlete Samvel Gasparyan will begin competing tomorrow in Men’s 105 kg weight class.
Economist Vilen Khachatryan says the fight against smoking would be more effective if only smokers are fined.
“Mechanisms would not work if the main responsibility is placed on people who allow people to smoke in public places which provide services. If a smoker makes a mistake, the fine should be imposed on the smoker,” the economist said.
There are signs prohibiting smoking inside public transport, but drivers continue to smoke in the same way. If citizens are given the right not to pay the fee to a smoking driver for the poor service he renders, it would be possible to practice public oversight over the process,” he continued.
The economist says there could be other mechanisms as well.
For example, sensor signals can be installed in elevators. After being trapped in an elevator twice, the smoker will not smoke in it for the third time,” Mr Khachatryan said.
De-dolarisation was one of the main topics of discussions. Photo by N. Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Agenda.ge,12 Jun 2017 – 13:34, Tbilisi,Georgia
The use of the domestic currency, the lari, in Georgia’s economy is increasing thanks to the efforts taken by the government to strengthen lari-denominated economic activity.
The share of the US dollar in loans taken by individuals has recently declined from 58 percent to 48 percent, while the share of the US dollar in total loans fell from 65 percent to 58 percent, says Georgia’s Finance Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili.
In his words the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank positively praised Georgian Government’s and the National Bank of Georgia’s (NBG) works in the de-dolarisation process.
The high coefficient of dolarisation is a serious challenge for many countries and various governments and central banks try to overcome this challenge,” said Kumsishvili.
De-dolarisation was one of the main topics of discussions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Consultancy Meeting 2017 which took place on June 9-11 in Armenia.
Consultancy Meeting 2017 took place in Armenia last week. Photo by Georgia's Finance Ministry.
Kumsishvili also attended the meeting together with the Georgian delegation which included head of the NBG Koba Gvenetadze, Minister of Infrastructure Zurab Alavidze and other high-ranking officials.
As of March 2017 a total of 5,617 loans worth up to $80 million have been converted into the lari within the framework of the Program on the Larisation of Loans.
The Program on the Larisation of Loans was approved by the Government of Georgia on January 11 in a bid to ease the debt burden in the country caused by the fluctuation of the lari against foreign currencies in the second half of last year.
The Program started on January 17 and continued for two months. This was a one-time measure for borrowers who were hit hard by the sharp depreciation of the exchange rate.
Per the program, loans received in US dollars before January 1, 2015 and signed for against real estate collaterals were eligible for conversion into lari-denominated loans.
In total 33,000 loans were identified as falling under the program’s eligibility.
YEREVAN—On the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the First Armenian Republic, Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian presented Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with the Order of Honor.
Vartan Gregorian wears the Order of Honor bestowed on him by the president of Armenia.
The award, which recognizes significant services in the defense of the state and the protection of the national interests of the Republic of Armenia, thanked and honored Gregorian for his contributions to the strengthening of U.S.-Armenia relations.
Gregorian was one of a group of individuals presented with high state awards and honorary titles for their contributions to the areas of “science, education, healthcare, economy, arts, culture, and sports, efficient work, patriotism, boundless dedication, deepening and expansion of the Fatherland-Diaspora relations.” The bestowing ceremony took place on May 28 at the presidential palace in Yerevan, Armenia.
The bestowal of the Order of Honor on Gregorian coincided with the second annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity ceremonies, also held on May 28 in Yerevan. Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize seeks to raise awareness of humanitarians and their efforts around the world. In 2015, Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan, and Ruben Vardanyan cofounded the “100 Lives” initiative and the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
12 Jun 2017 – 13:34:00
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