Fox Pushing Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for Andy Serkis in 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'

Motion-capture performance has been growing in Hollywood for a while, and a name that can't go without mentioning when it comes to motion-capture is that of Andy Serkis, with performances that have stood out and put him on top of motion-capture in films like The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. But while the technology of motion-capture is growing and becoming more recognized, award recognition is something that has been lacking and 20th Century Fox is looking to change that. It was reported that the studio is pushing Andy Serkis for a nomination in the best supporting actor category at the Oscars for his critically-acclaimed role as Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

THR reported on the plans by Fox to campaign for Serkis to achieve a best supporting actor nomination at the Oscars. The report also points out that the studio is also pushing the rest of the cast for supporting categories. They also mention that there was speculation for the push of Serkis for the best actor category, but the studio opted for the supporting category.

I think this is a great idea and a great move by Fox, I was one of the people that was completely blown away by Sekis' role as Caesar. Going for the supporting role is also very smart, being that the best actor category will probably be packed and I think is over-reaching for a motion-capture performance. I am not really convinced that he will actually get the nomination but I hope this will stir things around so something can be done about getting more award recognition for motion-capture performances, but if it happens I would be completely happy if Serkis does get the nomination. There is also mention about creating a whole category for motion-capture performances, but personally I don't think that there are enough number of quality Serkis-level motion-capture performances at the moment to have an entire category just yet. Time will tell, but I hope this is the first step to get things moving on the topic.