Fox Giving WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES An Oscar Push

Twentieth Century Fox is looking to put its weight behind a push to get some Oscar gold for this summer’s War For The Planet Of The Apes. The studio is currently preparing to launch a major campaign to secure multiple nominations for the summer blockbuster in the numerous technical categories as way a path towards a Best Picture nod.

According to Deadline –

In every way Fox will be launching a campaign to “make it about the movie,” as one person associated with the film has told me, and they have also hired a couple of top awards consultants to concentrate on efforts in just getting the film seen by members. They feel, based on response since its opening July 14, that the movie itself will take care of the rest.

This is not the first time that Twentieth Century Fox has tried to interest the Academy in awarding the rebooted Planet Of The Apes franchise with an Oscar. For the two previous entries, the studio made the case hat star Andy Serkis should be nominated for his acting in the films, releasing videos arguing that Serkis’s performance capture work was more based on what he brought to what was seen on screen over the visual effects work involved.

In the past, it would have seem like a long for the film to get a Best Picture nod. However with the more recent change to the Academy Award nominations process that now allows for anywhere between five and ten nominations it certainly seems like War For The Planet Of The Apes could have a chance. Of course, the Academy has never been too welcoming to genre films outside of the technical categories. That’s an uphill battle both Planet Of The Apes and Wonder Woman, for whom Warner Brothers is reportedly gearing up their own Oscar campaign, will have to fight.

The original 1968 Planet Of The Apes film did win a special Academy Award for Makeup Achievement for John Chambers, the designer of the original ape makeup for the film. The movie was also nominated for Best Costumes and Best Original Score.