Today's News: Serkis goes ape again with all sorts of animals

Some older news I posted some days back:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/154599/andy_serkis_regisseert_jungle_book

He knows animals - apes mostly, but he's also adept at understanding emaciated Hobbit junkies - and he knows directing. Of course Serkis makes perfect sense to direct The Jungle Book. Granted, he is still a bit green (get it?) for a director, but the fabulous river barrel chase in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, largely from his hand, showed he has some necessary skills at least. I doubt he will be any less of a capable director than Jon Favreau, who's currently adapting the same story for a different studio. That's Serkis' biggest problem right there: the redundancy of doing a different Jungle Book film shortly after Disney produces one. Considering the classic 1967 animated version already makes people think of Disney first when they hear the term 'Jungle Book', that's tough competition to begin with. Serkis will have to work hard to make his own attempt stand out, but if he uses his animal knowledge to good avail, there's a chance for a different approach for starters. I doubt Favreau understands the animal kingdom as much as Andy does; as his resumé shows, he's more into technology based material, like Iron Man, Cowboys & Aliens and the new TV-show Revolution. Favreau's version will more likely focus on the struggle of (a) man to stay alive in an all-natural environment without the aid of his own species. Idris Elba is doing the voice of the tiger in that one, so Serkis had better bring in the big guns to outdo that. How about having some great actor of our time not only providing a voice, but having him mo-cap the bejesus out of that villainous feline too? After all, thanks to Peter Jackson, Serkis knows his high-class fancy movie making technology too.