Who better to direct a movie about Gollum than Gollum himself?
That was “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” director Peter Jackson’s reasoning when he handed directing duties to Andy Serkis for “The Hunt for Gollum,” the next planned film in the LOTR franchise. The veteran “King Kong” and “War for the Planet of the Apes” actor will also star in the film, which delves into the creature’s backstory, that’s set for release on Dec. 17, 2027.
“I could have directed it, but I thought, ‘I’ve done that,’” Jackson said Wednesday at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which kicked off Tuesday and runs through May 23.
The three-time Oscar-winning director explained his decision to opt out while taking questions at the festival’s Rendez-Vous event. The day before, he’d received an honorary Palme d’Or for his groundbreaking use of visual effects, which “elevated heroic fantasy and transformed Hollywood,” the festival’s site says. He was introduced by Frodo Baggins himself, the actor Elijah Wood, during the opening ceremony.
“It would be more interesting with this particular story — which takes place between ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ — if Andy Serkis directed it,” Jackson said. “It’s an internal story about Gollum’s psychology and addiction. It’s a personal story to Gollum. Andy knows this guy better than anybody. I didn’t think about me. The more exciting version of this movie is if Any Serkis made it.”
What began for Serkis as a three-week voiceover job and morphed into a motion-capture-character phenomenon has made him the best choice to take the director’s reins, said Jackson, who is also a producer on “The Hunt for Gollum.” As such, he mainly leaves Serkis to his own devices.
“I’m leaving it to him. I’m here to help where I can,” Jackson said. “But I don’t interfere. I’ve given him as much freedom as I can.”
Jackson also touched upon the use of AI in movies and said he is writing a long-postponed sequel to the 2011 film “The Adventures of Tintin.”
With News Wire Services