What Does the ‘Planet of the Apes’ Franchise Have to Do to Win a VFX Oscar?

On Sunday, the remarkable work on “Dune: Part Two” won the VFX Oscar, yet it raised a lingering query as to why the films in the revamped “Planet of the Apes” series continue to impress consistently but are often disregarded during final voting for the Academy Award in this category.

The impressive visual effects work on “Dune: Part Two” won an Oscar on Sunday, making people wonder why movies from the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” series, which have consistently been excellent, are often ignored during the final voting for the Academy Award in this category.

Ever since Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” premiered last spring, it had been highly anticipated by visual effects professionals as a potential Oscar contender. In fact, many saw its nomination as a given. Recently, this film, featuring VFX work led by Erik Winquist and Weta FX, clinched the top prize at the Visual Effects Society Awards for exceptional photoreal visual effects in a feature film, outshining titles such as the Dune sequel (which did win three other awards that night).

It’s no surprise that the Apes reboot trilogy, starring Andy Serkis, received the top honor from the Visual Effects Society for each film – Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). However, despite being nominated for an Oscar in Visual Effects, they never took home the award. Interestingly, over the past decade, just three times has the VES’ top winner gone on to win the VFX Oscar, indicating a clear disconnect between visual effects professionals and other members of the Academy.

It’s important to note that the victory tonight for the VFX team on Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi masterpiece wasn’t undeserved. Similar to “Apes,” the movie has been leading in the VFX race since its premiere in March last year. The first installment of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic even won the VFX award, and the 2,156 VFX shots in “Part Two” were exceptional once again. Both practical and digital effects were used to expand the desert planet of Arrakis, and this time we get to see more of its sandworms. The thrilling worm-riding sequence was a standout moment in the movie.

Tonight, Paul Lambert, a seasoned VFX production supervisor, claimed his fourth Academy Award, while Gerd Nefzer received his third, for their collaborative efforts in the Visual Effects category. This achievement breaks the record previously held by Dennis Muren, who has eight VFX Oscars under his belt for films like “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” and “Jurassic Park.” Tonight’s award was also given to first-time nominees Stephen James and Rhys Salcombe, who worked alongside Lambert and Nefzer. The project was primarily handled by VFX vendors DNEG and Wylie Co.

The Way of Water.” They may also find it challenging to create action scenes involving water, particularly those featuring the apes, such as the praised shots of orangutan Raka navigating rapids.

In this category, another significant factor is how successful the story and movie are overall, which can influence the outcome of the Oscars. For example, VFX nominees that receive additional nominations, especially for Best Picture, tend to be widely viewed and appreciated, potentially explaining why they often win the Oscar in this category. This may have been a factor in 2018, when “1917” won the VFX Oscar over “The Lion King,” which had won the VES award. This year, both “Dune: Part Two” and “Wicked,” which were nominated for Best Picture (with five and ten nominations respectively), were also in the running for the VFX award, while “Apes” only received a nomination in the VFX category alone.

A unique observation: This year saw a surprising surge of computer-generated simians in the nominated categories. Despite their differences, each production employed distinct methods to complement their respective narratives. For instance, “Better Man,” the musical biopic, featured a moving CG monkey portraying Robbie Williams, while “Wicked” introduced creatures that transformed into flying monkeys towards the end. Lastly, “Alien: Romulus” completed this year’s list of nominees.

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2025-03-03 05:46