Fact Finder - Movies

Following his success with Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings,' Andy Serkis collaborated with Peter Jackson again for 'King Kong' (2005). This film was a major leap in 'performance capture' technology, where every facial muscle movement of the actor was translated onto a 25-foot digital gorilla. Serkis spent months in Rwanda studying gorilla behavior to bring authenticity to the role. The film grossed $562 million. It proved that CGI characters could have the same emotional range and 'soul' as human actors, a breakthrough that was essential for the later success of films like 'Avatar' and the 'Planet of the Apes' reboot trilogy.