There really is nothing more delightful than an encounter with Andy Serkis. He is just so darn humble and nice, not to mention spectacularly talented. Our latest run-in with the "Tintin" and "Rise Of The Planet of the Apes" actor was at the Golden Globes which Serkis was attending in support of "Tintin," which took home the trophy for Best Animated Film (How much did you love the fact that director Steven Spielberg gave Serkis a special shout-out in his acceptance speech, by the way?)

While we could have spent plenty of time talking with Serkis about his most recently celebrated characters (Captain Haddock and Caesar, respectively) we couldn't ignore the fact that he's currently flexing familiar precious muscles as Gollum for the filming of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit," so we rolled the dice and asked Serkis for his thoughts on the infamous and evil Smaug.

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Anyone who saw "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" this summer knows that one of the best parts of the film was Andy Serkis' incredible performance as sentient and revolutionary chimpanzee, Caesar. There has even been early talk of Serkis deserving Academy recognition for his work. Heck, even the stars of the film said the reason to see the film is Serkis and the rest of the apes.

The DVD and Blu-ray powers that be must have been paying attention to all the Serkis buzz because they've created an all-Serkis featurette for the "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" DVD and Blu-ray, out Dec. 13, and we've got your exclusive first look right here. Check out the video below to see "The Genius Of Andy Serkis."

"He really brought a lot of depth to the character," says writer/producer Richard Jaffa, over awesome footage of Serkis' acting in a side-by-side comparison of his raw performance and the finished film. "Once he's in it, he's in it and goes through this incredible transformation."

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The Hobbit

Apparently, when it rains in Hobbiton, it pours. With anticipation so high for the two-part fantasy epic, "The Hobbit," fans everywhere eagerly await each piece of news from the New Zealand set, usually living from production diary to production diary. Three interesting pieces of news about the upcoming films showed up online today, so click on for a rundown of everything currently happening in the world of "The Hobbit."

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes

When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" surprised with $453 million world-wide, the talk of Hollywood didn't center on the on-camera leads James Franco and Freida Pinto, but the man behind Caesar the ape, Andy Serkis.

Good news, then, that the mo-cap wizard responsible for the life-like ape and the iconic Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" just signed for more "Apes" movies in a deal that Deadline Hollywood is reporting is for more than seven figures.

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Is James Franco's leading role in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" going to be a box office draw or disaster this weekend? He is worried about it, but director Rupert Wyatt isn't.

"I think people are going to see this film, hopefully, for the film," the British filmmaker told MTV News. "Those that will go see this film for James Franco will still see the film for James Franco."

The question was posed after Franco said in his Playboy interview that he figured critics would skewer this movie because he had such a good year last year.

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by Deborah Kim

Andy Serkis has become so well known for his ability to master motion-capture technology that he could be picking up his kids from school or doing some grocery shopping decked out in that tight grey, wired unitard contraption and you wouldn't think twice about it. This weekend's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" marks Serkis' sixth role with this kind of technology, but if you're worried the actor's just cruising along Tinseltown with his unparalleled talent, we can assure you he's not.

In a recent interview with MTV News, Serkis said that despite all of his experience with CGI, there are definite differences among all the characters he's played and that each role presents a new challenge.

"You have to kind of treat it in your imagination as a live action shoot. You're not playing a digital character, you don't think, 'Oh well because I've played an ape before it's going to be treading old ground,' you know all these characters have hugely different personalities.”

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There are plenty of reasons to be excited for "The Hobbit," from Peter Jackson's directorial return to Middle Earth, to the awesome-looking dwarf costumes, to the return of some fan-favorite characters like Elijah Wood's Frodo. But Andy Serkis has his own specific reason: he's Jackson's second unit director.

"He's always been aware that directing is an area that I want to move into, as well as acting," Serkis said of Jackson while at San Diego Comic-Con. "It was a wonderful opportunity and made sense."

He wasn't clear on which scenes he'd be behind the camera for, but we're assuming it won't be any of the moments when Gollum is around.

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The HobbitThese last few days have been full of awesome for fans of Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation of "The Hobbit." Hot on the heels of two sets of newly released photos is a second, action-packed video production blog Jackson has posted on his Facebook page. Well, it's not exactly action-packed, in the traditional sense of the phrase, but it's heavy on the ins and outs of the filmmaking process and full of enough fanboy goodness to obsess over for months, or until Jackson releases his next blog.

Click here to take a walk through Jackson's magical world, which, in typical Jackson form, is much more like a mini movie, complete with a sweeping score and fancy video effects vs. just a production blog.

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Seth RogenIf a good combination works, why change it? That's the mentality we're guessing is going behind the reteaming of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonathan Levine and Will Reiser for the flick "Jamaica."

The foursome worked together on "50/50," and now The Hollywood Reporter has the news that they will be working together on a second film drawn from director Levine's past. The script, according to THR, will be based on a vacation Levine took to Jamaica with his grandmother when he was 14, and is being described as "something of a passion project."

In the news after the jump, a new actor heads to "Gangster Squad," "Animal Farm" might get remade and J.B. Smoove joins "The Dictator."

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The apes might not be rising for another month and a half, but today we have a new trailer and a whole slew of new photos for you from the upcoming summer blockbuster.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" has already proved to have beyond stellar CGI in the trailers that have been released, but these new images of Caesar (voiced by Andy Serkis) show the depth of detail that actually went into creating these computer-generated apes. Caesar looks genuinely real, and the still of him bonding with the ailing Charles (played by John Lithgow) looks really, really beautiful.

Click the photo below to see more from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," and watch the new trailer past the jump!

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