Topic Of The Day: Oscar Noms for "Planet of the Apes"?

Hello, Bloggers, for today's Topic Of The Day, I figured that since I just saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, I would discuss why I think it should be nominated for Oscars beyond the usual F/X nods. Let's take a look as to why:

First off, I'll discuss the performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar. As Grace Randolph from Beyond The Trailer said, Serkis has become the "Lon Chaney" of motion capture. Whereas Chaney donned makeup, Serkis relies on electrodes to aid his performance. When watching his portrayal, it made me realize just how far we have come when it comes to motion capture. Now, the actors that don the electrodes are able to project emotion onto their characters and the audience is able to project pathos onto their performances. Plus, Serkis has contributed to motion capture since his days as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I feel it's about time he has gotten its due for his contributions to this special form of acting.

Another reason that the Academy should recognize this film in some of the major categories is ratings. As film like this getting a nod for say, Best Picture, would really cause people to tune in. As evidenced by recent years, the Academy has slowly but surely warmed up to mainstream fare, with Inception receiving nods for Best Picture and Best Screenplay while still winning in the technical departments, Life of Pi winning Best Director as well as technicals, and Gravity going home the big winner of the night with 7 wins out of 10 nominations, including Best Director. Like I said, they are getting there and they should get audiences excited. Remember when Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture and people were too busy complaining about The Dark Knight not being on there? Remember a couple years ago when The Artist won and there were 9 Best Picture nominees and people were focused on wondering where Harry Potter, Bridesmaids, and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo were? So, to me, I feel like Gravity's near sweep has become a game changer for the Academy and hopefully, a positive omen for mainstream fare in the future. I do hope that this film becomes next in line, along with potentially Interstellar or The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. 

So, those are my quick thoughts as to why I think the Academy should give Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Oscar nods in the major categories. If you agree or disagree, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!