Andy Serkis will also Serve as a Second Unit Director on THE HOBBIT
Playing Gollum wont be the only job that Andy Serkis will have in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. The actor will also serve as the second unit director of the two films that will be in production over the next 14 months. These films have got to be so much fun to be a part of. Serkis had this to say to say in a statement regarding his new job:
I think I understand Peter’s sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth. A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic.
When Peter asked me. There was this email out of the blue. It was a fantastic surprise.
He goes on to describe what his duties as second unit director will involve and the film itself saying,
It is wide ranging and encompasses a lot of directing aspects of filmmaking and story. Yes, there is some performance capture, but I will be very much on the live action sets and locations helping Peter to tell the story.
The learning curve is The Hobbit is being shot in 3D, it will be used dramatically, to give a point of view.
In the same way Lord of the Rings was an interpretation of the book, The Hobbit is being treated the same way. It will be faithfully represented with a fresh interpretation.
As for returning to the role of Gullom in the movies Serkis added,
He is very much a Gollum that people will recognize. When we created Gollum the first time, performance capture was it its infancy... within the industry, there is more appreciation for it as an acting art form. It’s all about character, learning what the character thinks, feels, how he carries pain. I was looking forward to doing it. He never really left me.
As soon as he's finished with The Hobbit, Serkis will embark on the journey of directing his first full length live-action feature film. He will also launch a performance capture studio and training center, called The Imaginarium, which will produce its own material as well as service other projects.