Andy Serkis wants to keep his Animal Farm adaptation full of ‘innocence'
Andy Serkis wants to keep his Animal Farm adaptation full of 'innocence' to balance the book's darkness.
The 58-year-old actor and filmmaker is set to helm an animated take on George Orwell's dystopian fable – which tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human owner in the hope of creating a society where they can be free and equal.
He has now told Variety about why he chose animation as the format to tell the tale: 'We started to work on it and did a lot of experimenting, which led us to realize that animation was the right medium for this adaptation.
'That allowed us to keep the innocence of the storytelling that the original book had, while being able to say much more than live action would allow us to do. 'In live action, such a story would necessarily have been darker from the outset. Whereas with an animated movie, breaking those ties with reality and keeping Orwell's book, which he described as a fairy tale, in that realm gave us much more freedom to still have emotional engagement with the characters, keep it innocent, and then progressively let the darker themes come in underneath that.'
Andy added when asked what value the fable has in the context of today's troubled times: 'To really remember that truth is something to be valued. Honesty, selflessness as well.
'We have all become self-driven, and I think it's worth reminding ourselves that there is satisfaction to be had in working not for yourself but for the benefit of others.
'That all sounds very woolly and, in a way, utopian. But I do think that there are certain core human values that are slipping away, and I think that our story somehow questions that.'
Nicholas Stoller has adapted the screenplay for Andy's long-awaited movie, which had previously been set up at Netflix, and will produce with Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum and Jonathan Cavendish.
Adam said in a statement announcing the project was underway: 'Ever since 1945, when George Orwell first published Animal Farm, the story has remained relevant and a key instrument in understanding how the world works.'
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And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP
