Peter Jackson believes that The Hobbit will be snubbed at next years’ Academy Awards.
The director’s first instalment to his three-part Tolkien prequel to The Lord of the Rings, is set to be released tomorrow, on December 14. But Jackson, who still expects the movie to receive nominations in the technical categories, believes that the Academy will not acknowledge other aspects of the movie.
“I think we’ve got great possibilities in the below-the-line categories,” Jackson told Entertainment Weekly . “Above the line, I don’t think so much. I wish it was a year where we could celebrate Ian McKellen as Supporting Actor, or Martin Freeman – or Andy Serkis, for that matter – as a Supporting Actor. The acting awards seem to elude us, at least for these types of films. I don’t know why.”
Despite The Return Of The King’s success, which won all 11 Oscars that it was nominated for in 2003, Jackson also declared his disappointment that Serkis has never won an award for his portrayal of Gollum.
Adding, “There’s a suspicion that somewhere between Andy and the finished result, other people are involved. Obviously there is a visual effects component, there is a CGI creature, and compositing and lighting and various things.
“But motion capture now is so well developed that every muscle in Andy’s face is replicated on Gollum’s face. And everything Andy does is accurately translated to Gollum. It is the closest thing to digital make-up.”
Do you think The Hobbit will miss out the Oscars? Does Serkis deserve a statue himself?