Andy Serkis Discusses His Upcoming 'Animal Farm' Film
Andy Serkis may be used to stepping into the digital world, but this time he is overseeing one entirely as he directs a feature film adaptation of the George Orwell novella, Animal Farm.
For those unfamiliar with the political satire that Orwell penned back in 1945, the story follows “a group of farm animals who rebel against their human owner, in hopes of creating a society where they can be equal, free and happy.” The book was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005, and it also won Orwell a Retrospective Hugo Award. It is taught amongst British schools to this day, and remains both alarmingly relevant and timely, even now.
Speaking at Star Wars Celebration Europe, where Serkis participated in the panel to mark the first season of the acclaimed Andor, in which he received rave reviews for his guest-starring role - of course, he also played Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy, which received somewhat less acclaim - the multitalented entertainer and creator told Collider where things were standing on the film, which is due to be released by Netflix and will be animated digitally.
Well, obviously it’s a contemporary retelling of George Orwell’s fairytale, as it’s known and is written in the book. It’s a brilliant allegory, and it’s sadly eternally relevant, about absolute power corrupting absolutely. But there is also, in our iteration of it, there is a lot of humor. And the satire is funny, and it’s a family film. It is meant for everybody. So, there are lots of layers to it, and there’s humor for all ages. It’ll be released about this time next year.
At the time the film was announced, Serkis released a statement that said: “The challenging journey to bring this extraordinary story to the screen has been finally rewarded by the opportunity to partner with the brilliant team at Aniventure and Cinesite. Together we hope to make our version of Orwell’s ever relevant masterpiece, emotionally powerful, humorous, and relatable for all ages. A tale not only for our times, but for generations to come.”
Who Else is Involved in 'Animal Farm'?
Nicholas Stoller (Storks, Captain Underpants) adapted the screenplay, which Serkis will produce with Adam Nagle (Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank), Dave Rosenbaum (Hitpig) and Imaginarium’s Jonathan Cavendish (Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle).
Collider will have more information on Animal Farm in future when it becomes available. In the meantime, if you've seen all of Andor Season 1, check out our interview with Serkis below.
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