Movies

Andy Serkis is so glad he didn't have to wear a latex mask to portray Caesar in the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise.
The 50-year-old actor used motion-capture technology to play the part in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and this year's follow-up 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' but insists it would've filled him with "horror" if he had to wear similar costumes to the stars of the 1968 original 'Planet of the Apes' film.
He said: "When you think back to the originals I remember reading interviews with Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter talking about the necessity to keep their faces moving so they could get facial expressions through the latex masks that they were wearing covering their faces - and they still did an amazing job.
"The thought of having to do that in the present day fills me with horror. To have to fight through latex but that's what performance capture allows you to do. It allows you to internalise and just be the character and behave in a naturalistic way."
While both recent 'Planet of the Apes' movies had some impressive special effects, Serkis insists the emphasis is still on the characters' personalities rather than the technology being used.
He added: "In the realm of performance capture and all its potential, where it is going it only becomes more transparent and you don't think about the technology you think about what it can do and how it enables you to tell stories.
"That happens as it gets better. Which is why this film, you don't think about the visual effects you just think about the characters."

Sony is pushing to get 'The Interview' released on a different platform.
Plans to release the controversial film - which concerns a meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un - were scrapped following terrorism threats, but Sony has suggested it'd be willing to make the film available online.
In a statement, the company said: "Sony Pictures Entertainment is and always has been strongly committed to the First Amendment.
"For more than three weeks, despite brutal intrusions into our company and our employees' personal lives, we maintained our focus on one goal: getting the film The Interview released.
"Free expression should never be suppressed by threats and extortion."
Sony explained that the film - which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco - has not been released because US cinemas refused to show it over terrorism fears
The company explained: "The decision not to move forward with the December 25 theatrical release of The Interview was made as a result of the majority of the nation's theatre owners choosing not to screen the film. This was their decision.
"Let us be clear - the only decision that we have made with respect to release of the film was not to release it on Christmas Day in theatres, after the theatre owners declined to show it.
"Without theatres, we could not release ... on Christmas Day. We had no choice."
Sony added: "It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so."

Sir Ben Kinglsey played Gandhi because he wanted to feel close to a father figure.
The 70-year-old actor had a tough childhood, which he previously described as "horrible", partly because of his absent dad, so portraying the leader of India's non-violent independent movement against Britain in '1982' movie Gandhi helped him to plug the gap of his missing parent.
He said: "At the time I just felt that Bapu [an affectionate nickname for Gandhi, meaning dad] was something I needed. 'I need you Gandhiji. Because you are something that's missing in my life.' "
Kingsley - whose birth name is Krishna Bhanji - admitted playing other strong character has enabled him to fill a "vacuum" in his life created by his tough upbringing.
He explained: "I am actually filling a vacuum with the fathers that I play.
"By playing Gandhi, Itzhak Stern, Massoud Behrani, I am filling the vacuum in me. In little Krishna."
The father-of-four also had a tough time with his two brothers and sister, which he admits is still a "scar" in his life.
He added to The Times newspaper: "All I can tell you is that my four children, from different mamas, love each other very much. Whereas the sibling rivalry between me and my siblings is still a scar on us and we are not close."

Robert Rodriguez will direct a remake of 'Fire and Ice'. The 46-year-old filmmaker has joined the project - which is being created by Sony Pictures - which will see the 1983 movie reimagined as a live-action movie. The original animation - which was ...

Michael Keaton thinks 'Birdman' is revolutionary.
The 63-year-old actor has praised the comedy - in which he stars as protagonist, Riggan - for being innovative and making filmmakers reconsider how they make movies.
He said: "'Birdman' has kinda ... changed things.
"I'm not saying you won't see traditionally-made movies any more. But I've had meetings with directors and they've said it makes them rethink everything."
The movie also stars Zach Galifianakis and Emma Stone, and has already been nominated for seven Golden Globe awards, which Michael thinks is down to the fact everyone is talking about it.
He added: "You can hate this movie but you have to talk about it. It's going to go down as one of the most interesting movies ever made."
However, the 'Beetlejuice' star admitted he had his preconceptions when making the movie because of the way in which it was filmed, which creates the illusion it was all shot in one take.
He explained: "There was a part where Zach Galifianakis and I were saying, 'Why don't we make the movie the normal way? Why are we doing it like this?' Then you see it and ... woah. At about minute four or 11 you feel that door shut and you go, 'OK, now I'm in. There's no getting off.' "
Despite his initial apprehension regarding the concept, the acclaimed actor revealed he was desperate to be part of the movie when he found out it had been written by and would be directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, because he is such a huge fan of the movie mogul's 2000 movie 'Amores Perros'.
He told The Guardian newspaper: "'Birdman' is a very risky movie. I knew I wanted to do it just from watching Alejandro's other work. I told a friend, 'I would have done it based on 'Amores Perros' alone.' And he said, 'I would have done it based on the car crash in 'Amores Perros' alone.'
"But as an actor, you'd be a lot safer in his other movies with all their different stories. In this one, there's nowhere to hide."

David Oyelowo thinks being British helped his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.
The 38-year-old actor plays the civil rights activist in 'Selma' and thinks having more of a distance from the freedom fighter than a US star may have done helped him "tap into the human being" more quickly.
He said: "Even though I admire Dr King, I didn't grow up with the deification of him. I was able to tap into the human being quicker."
Seven years before landing the role, David played Oprah Winfrey - who produced and helped finance the film - a video of himself reciting a speech made by Dr. King the day before he was assassinated in 1968 but she advised he needed to push himself further before he'd be right for the role.
David told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I showed Oprah this tape and she said, 'I can see it -- but you haven't got there yet. You're going to have to go deeper. But I can see it.'
"[Looking back], I wouldn't have cast me as Martin Luther King back then. King was at the centre of one of the most volatile times in American history, and he was burdened by expectation. Oprah couldn't see that burden in my face... then. I've lived a lot of life since."

George Clooney failed in a bid to unite Hollywood against the Sony hackers.
The 'Monuments Men' star and his agent Bryan Lourd drafted a petition to film industry executives and business people urging them to support the studio in the face of a cyber attack but no one would sign the document.
George said: "All that it is basically saying is, we're not going to give in to a ransom. As we watched one group be completely vilified, nobody stood up. Nobody took that stand...
"It was a fairly large number [who refused to sign]. Having put together telethons where you have to get all the networks on board to do the telethon at the same time, the truth is once you get one or two, then everybody gets on board. It is a natural progression. So here, you get the first couple of people to sign it and ... well, nobody wanted to be the first to sign on. Now, this isn't finger-pointing on that.
"This is just where we are right now, how scared this industry has been made. Quite honestly, this would happen in any industry."
Following a number of terror threats, Sony have withdrawn controversial comedy 'The Interview' - which is about an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - from release and George is concerned about the repercussions globally, not just in the movie industry.
In an interview with Deadline, he added: "Here, we're talking about an actual country deciding what content we're going to have. This affects not just movies, this affects every part of business that we have.
"That's the truth. What happens if a newsroom decides to go with a story, and a country or an individual or corporation decides they don't like it. Forget the hacking part of it.
"You have someone threaten to blow up buildings and all of a sudden, everybody has to bow down."

Evangeline Lilly says 'Ant-Man' is a "heist film".
The 35-year-old actress plays Hope Van Dyne in the upcoming Marvel movie but she insists it's not going to be a standard superhero romp.
In an interview with CNN, she said: "'Ant-Man' is very much a heist film. It has all the fun, tension and drama of a good heist film. The heist is being masterminded by myself, my father and Scott Lang."
Evangeline's character is the daughter Janet and Hank Van Dyne, with the latter character being the original Ant-Man - played by Michael Douglas - who trains petty criminal Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to take over the role.
The former 'Lost' star admits she was "astounded" by Marvel's creative process and admits shooting the film was a joy.
Evangeline - who can currently be seen in 'The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies' - said: "I've been astounded to discover how good to their teams and crew that Marvel are. They're so collaborative, so smart with their stories. They have rich, dynamic characters which are so much fun to play. I expected I'd be a cog in the wheel of a big machine - I wasn't sure I'd like this experience. But I've been so astounded at how pleasurable the whole experience has been."
'Ant-Man' is due to be released in cinemas on July 17, 2015.

Luke Evans felt sorry for his 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' co-stars who had to spend hours in make-up.
The 35-year-old star plays heroic Bard the Bowman in the third and final film in the series and his role didn't require him to alter his appearance too much compared to the actors portraying orcs, dwarves and hobbits.
Luke admits it was very beneficial when it came to being able to leave the set quickly.
When asked if his castmates were envious of his minimal make-up, he said: "Yes, I think they were yeah. Especially on a Friday when we were all desperate to get out of costume and leave, I'd be saying farewell and they'd still be having their noses peeled off and their heads being removed, but these boys never complained and I always admired that, I don't know if I would have been as accepting of those many hours in the chair, especially the mornings, that's really hard. Although some of the guys would fall asleep in the chairs as they were having their prosthetics put on."
Luke admits the shooting schedule on the movie - based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien - was very gruelling and the weekend plans of the cast, which also included Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman and Sir Ian McKellen, were often scrapped so they could have a good rest.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, he said: "The girls in the make-up truck would often bring a bottle of wine and we'd all have a glass of wine, take a big sigh and we'd all have these grand ideas of what we'd be doing on Friday nights and most of us would end up going back home and falling asleep."