Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Andy Serkis and Iman Vellani about their work on ‘Animal Farm’, adapting George Orwell’s story and the changes they made, Vellani’s dual role, and putting together the all-star voice cast.
‘Animal Farm’, directed by Andy Serkis. Photo: Angel Studios.
Moviefone: To begin with, Andy, can you talk about why you wanted to adapt George Orwell’s story and the changes you made to the source material?
Andy Serkis: It always entranced me, the book did from when I first read it on the bus going to school when I was about 12, and I knew, here was this book that was speaking about dark themes, and yet it was couched in this sort of innocence. That was one of the things that stuck with me and through the years, I realized I wanted to make a movie about it. When we were making the ‘Apes’ movies, I suddenly thought, there hasn’t been an adaptation of ‘Animal Farm’ for such a long time. So, it was originally going to be a motion capture and live action version. But animation retained its innocence and allowed us to go into the story for a much wider audience. When we were writing a script that really defined it, you know, in the book, the pigs are offstage characters, and the story is told objectively. So, we needed a protagonist, and I wanted to have it start with a young, innocent piglet who considered himself just one of the other animals, and then gradually, as the story progresses, he realizes that he’s being pulled in another direction that he thinks is right for everybody, but he’s been manipulated. So, the invention of that character, Lucky is new, but there are young piglets in the book from later, which become part of the story, but that was a choice. Then the other thing was, having a third act where there was some hope in a very otherwise bleak story, because this is really for a young audience to sit with their parents and grandparents and engage and actually just say, “Look, it may be difficult and there’s probably no answer because we always seem to get it wrong no matter how long we live on this planet, but we’ve got to keep trying.”
‘Animal Farm’, directed by Andy Serkis. Photo: Angel Studios.
MF: Iman, were you familiar with the novella and what was it like voicing two different characters?
Iman Vellani: I was familiar with the book, but that was about it. I didn’t have to read it in school, so it wasn’t until they said they set up this meeting with Andy and they told me it was ‘Animal Farm’. I was like, “I haven’t read it,” and I was so glad it was a novella. I skimmed through it, and I was like, “Oh my god, this is really intense”. Then that final image was so haunting, and it really stuck with me. Then you are wondering how this is going to be a children’s book or adaptation? So, I came in with so many questions, but Andy was so generous with his time and made it so accessible for me to also insert myself in because we are reorienting it to a young person’s perspective. I think there’s so much power in a coming-of-age story because you get personal stakes. You’re following these characters, making decisions, calling out injustices, and having these moments of rebellion and that’s exactly what kids are dealing with today. They just need the impetus to do it and something to inspire them. If all you’re getting is negativity in the news, in school and through your parents, you don’t feel like you’re growing up in a world that’s going to have anything left to offer to you, right? So, then with Puff and Tammy, they were just so much fun to play. Puff was really the only character I played initially. We didn’t know about Tammy until a bit later. She just felt like a great addition because you could show that extreme version of her, someone who doesn’t question authorities, someone who just goes with the flow of whatever’s attractive and speaking the loudest. So, that was fun for me to play. I learned so much from Andy because this was my first-time doing voice work. So, I didn’t realize how much play and looseness would be involved.
‘Animal Farm’, directed by Andy Serkis. Photo: Angel Studios.
MF: Finally, Andy, you cast some of the most recognizable voices in the industry in this movie including Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, and Kathleen Turner. Can you talk about putting together the voice cast?
AS: Well, obviously they had to quintessentially hit those characters immediately. With every member of the cast, from Woody Harrison to Jim Parsons, we were so blessed because everyone was so passionate about the source material and the book. We started talking to people many years ago and they stuck with it. They really wanted to tell this story because they were passionate about what it had. I think everyone just crystallized and each of the actors were perfect for their roles. We were so blessed and particularly with Iman having to do two characters, one of them thrown in much later. But it was wonderful to observe. So, we were very lucky, but it came from a lot of passion for the book and wanting to tell this story for a young modern audience.
‘Animal Farm’, directed by Andy Serkis. Photo: Angel Studios.
What is the plot of ‘Animal Farm’?
A satirical allegory of revolution and power that traces how a movement for equality is systematically corrupted. As the pigs consolidate control, truth is erased, dissent is crushed, and the farm descends into a ruthless dictatorship.
(Left) Elle Fanning at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.Photo: Disney. (Right) ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ is scheduled for release on November 20, 2026. Photo: Lionsgate.
Preview:
Elle Fanning is among the rumored cast for ‘The Hunger Games: Sunshine on the Reaping.’
‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ director Francis Lawrence is aboard the movie.
It’s set 24 years before Katniss enters the arena.
In the time since the book and movie were announced, things have moved on considerably –– Billy Ray has written the adaptation and regular ‘Hunger Games’ director Francis Lawrence (who also made the previous prequel, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’) confirmed he will handle this next outing.
With production gearing up for this July in Germany, we’ve reached the casting stage and the rumors have begun to swirl.
Nexus Point News, which has been on top of a couple of scoops about possible actors, brings word that Elle Fanning has been offered the role of a younger Effie Trinket.
Effie, of course, is the effusive stylist as portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in the original ‘Hunger Games’ movies.
What’s the story of ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’?
‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ opens in theaters on November 20, 2026.
While the previous prequel took place 64 years before the events of the original trilogy, ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ is set 24 years before that trio of Jennifer Lawrence films in the world of Panem, commencing on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
Those games are an important event in the canon as the victor was Haymitch Abernathy, the only winner from District 12 before Lawrence’ Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta Mellark’s tie win. Haymitch continues on to become a mentor, a character in the original movies played by Woody Harrelson.
For ‘Sunshine on the Reaping,’ Effie serves as a stylist for the District 12 tributes in order to assist her sister, Proserpina. Although she supports the Hunger Games in principle, Effie shows genuine compassion for the tributes and treats them with kindness and care.
Who else has been rumored for ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’?
Kieran Culkin accepts the Oscar® for Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Nexus Point news was also behind the story that Charlie Plummer is the filmmaker’s likely top candidate to play the younger Haymitch.
Plummer, who has appeared in the likes of 2019 miniseries ‘Looking for Alaska,’ has also been seen in last year’s ‘The Return’ and 2022’s ‘Moonfall.’
Perhaps most tellingly, he’s one of the leads of Francis Lawrence’s next film to be released, the Stephen King adaptation ‘The Long Walk,’ due in theaters on September 12th and hyped at the company’s recent CinemaCon presentation.
And talking of ‘The Return,’ regular scooper Daniel Richtman has reported that that film’s star, Ralph Fiennes, is also being courted for the movie, this time to play Coriolanus Snow, as brought to screens by Donald Sutherland in the original films and Tom Blyth in ‘Songbirds and Snakes.’
It would mark the latest big book-based franchise that Fiennes could be joining after a slightly successful series of movies about a certain boy wizard.
And he’s not all –– Richtman also brings word that recent Oscar winner Kieran Culkin is mulling an offer to play Caesar Flickerman (the eccentric host character played in the first film series by Stanley Tucci.)
‘Hunger Games’ doesn’t scream the sort of movie that Culkin usually appears in, but Oscar wins sometimes lead to interesting choices.
‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’: Collins and the Filmmakers Talk
Director Francis Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Here’s Suzanne Collins’ statement on the new book and movie:
“With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few… The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day. From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and partner for the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise, and I’m very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring this next story to theaters in 2026.”
And here’s Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson:
“Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star. We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant. We know ‘Hunger Games’ fans worldwide will be spellbound by where Suzanne has focused this next extraordinary story. The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly anticipating this exciting return to Panem.”
When will ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ be in theaters?
Lionsgate already has a release date in place for this one: the studio wants the new movie in theaters on November 20th, 2026.
‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ is scheduled for release on November 20, 2026. Photo: Lionsgate.
Following last year’s decent if unspectacular return to Oscar standard behavior, the 2025 ceremony was one heralded with some trepidation. There was a new host (comedian and talk show veteran Conan O’Brien), the need to pay tribute to Los Angeles in the wake of the devastating wildfires and speculation as to whether many of the categories would break the way they have in other awards shows.
As it turned out, it was a giant night for one movie which, while it had certainly been seen as a major contender, hadn’t been performing that way elsewhere. Some history was made and while the speeches had a political flavor at times, the show itself largely eschewed politics (beyond one smart gag about a certain sitting president and his attitude to Russia).
All said and done, despite a hefty running time (three hours and 45 minutes all told), this year’s Academy Awards is likely to be seen as largely a success. Read on for more of our thoughts…
Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the long-running stage musical may only have picked up a couple of trophies on the night (more on one of them below), but following a middling montage celebrating movies set in Los Angeles, the movie’s stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, kicked off the show properly with a blast of nostalgia and then smart use of ‘Wicked’s standout song.
The pair began with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” before segueing into “Defying Gravity” and the stylish presentation combined with powerhouse pipes proved to be just the right mix of celebration and spectacle.
There were the usual concerns in some quarters when Conan O’Brien was announced as this year’s Oscars host –– would he be too intellectual for audiences, was he enough of a “name”? As it turns out, he might just have scored a regular gig (assuming he wants this much pressure every year). Because by all estimations, he was a stellar emcee for the night.
Opening with a ‘Substance’ gag that was fairly expected but still played well, O’Brien’s monologue set the right tone: witty, entertaining and as usual, full of his trademark self-deprecating humor.
From threatening long-winded speeches with ‘Conclave’ star John Lithgow looking sad and disappointed to ejecting a tracksuit-clad, cheery Adam Sandler from the audience, he was assured and calm.
There were also solid gags about Timothée Chalamet’s yellow suit and bike safety, and a funny bit about promising to show stars’ early headshots if they rambled (Chalamet again, with an ultrasound image).
Later in the show there was the crack at Trump via a mention of ‘Anora’ (“I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian”) and a promise that the show was not made using A.I. (“We would never do that; we used child labor — hey, they’re still people!”)
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Yet despite a funny musical number (featuring a dancing Deadpool and a ‘Dune’ sandworm on piano) about not wasting the audience’s time, the show still ran very long, though that was more on the producers than the host. Which bring us to…
Perhaps the most egregious example of padding was the choice of the tribute to the music of James Bond. Introduced by former ‘Die Another Day’ star Halle Berry, it was a mishmash of performance art (Margaret Qualley showing off her well-honed dancing abilities) and karaoke night for the likes of Doja Cat and Lisa from Blackpink.
It’s a little ironic that the celebration of the venerable espionage franchise comes just as it has been fully swallowed up its corporate overlords at Amazon.
Also given special memorial treatment was music icon Quincy Jones, but despite a classy intro from Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, the choice of “Ease on Down the Road” from ‘The Wiz’ was a vaguely confounding one.
Still, if the opening montage fell flat, the respect for First Responders (who have been more a staple of recent award shows than Karla Sofía Gascón) worked much better. Initially seeming like a now-traditional wave-and-accept-applause moment, O’Brien and his writing team turned it around by having fire officers and others read out jokes he thought were too mean, including LAFD Captain Eric Scott kicking off the bit with, “well, our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their homes… and I’m talking about the producers of ‘Joker 2.’ ”
If last year was all about big-budget blockbusters with “Barbenheimer,” 2025 was the year indies struck back.
Sean Baker’s ‘Anora,’ whose combined budget ($6 million) and box office ($40.9 million worldwide) would barely cover some of the salaries for some of the giant movies, went on to take five statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Director for Baker (who also scored Best Original Screenplay and Editing) and Mikey Madison named Best Actress.
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Baker became the first person since Walt Disney in 1954 to win four Oscars in one night (and the first for one movie they have personally directed), and showed that the Academy was ready to root for the little guys again.
Madison’s win was something of a surprise itself –– while she’d been going toe-to-toe with ‘The Substance’ star Demi Moore all awards season –– there had been a narrative of Moore’s legacy forming around the Best Actress gong. Yet it was Madison who ended up taking the stage for a teary, heartfelt speech.
Madison wasn’t the only winner to express her feelings. While the Oscar stage is no stranger to strong emotion, there was the usual blend of politics and heart-string plucking.
Baker used his various triumphs as a combined rallying call to support movies big and small and for seeing films in theaters in this age of shrinking windows and streaming dominance.
Best Documentary Feature ‘No Other Land’s Palestinian co-director Basel Adra called for an end to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, while his Israeli collaborator Yuval Abraham insisted that there can be peaceful solution to the war in Gaza that honors both Palestinian and Israeli people, adding that “the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe and Basel’s people can be truly free?”
There were shoutouts to sex workers and immigrant children, while Team ‘Brutalist’ (especially composer Daniel Blumberg) seemed surprised and overawed by their wins, giving real, nervy speeches.
Kieran Culkin accepts the Oscar® for Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
And then there was the comedic speech of the night, with predicted Best Supporting Actor winner, ‘A Real Pain’s Kieran Culkin proving once more to be anything but on stage. He was enthusiastic and funny, and got further laughs by pointing out to his wife, Jazz Charton that they’d talked about having more children after his Emmy win, and that she’d mentioned she’d only consider a fourth child if he won an Oscar. Whoops!
Culkin wrapped up his moment in the spotlight with:
“You remember that, honey? You do? Then, I just have this to say to you, Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith. No pressure. I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again. And let’s get crackin’ on those kids. What do you say? I love you!”
Best reaction to that? Culkin’s former ‘Succession’ co-star J. Smith Cameron, who played the long-suffering Gerri Kellman to his foul/motormouthed Roman Roy, offering the perfect tweet:
For the most part this year, the presenters did not embarrass themselves and the bits were relatively painless.
We got Ben Stiller slowly being swallowed by scenery to introduce Best Production Design, June Squibb admitting she’s being played by ‘Nosferatu’ star Bill Skarsgård in prosthetics whenever she’s at an event and Robert Downey Jr. following Conan’s comedic lead and then going sentimentally honest handing out Best Supporting Actor.
Some awards, such as Best Costume Design were presented by the stars of the nominees’ movies, and that proved to be a mixed bag, since they worked on an emotional level, but tended to drag a little. Thank goodness then, for John “I love a roomy cassock” Lithgow and ‘Wicked’s Bowen Yang bringing the funny.
A highlight? Rock icon Mick Jagger taking the stage to present Best Original Song, full of jokes about how Bob Dylan was asked to do his job first (which was true; the Academy offered the subject of ‘A Complete Unknown’ to host and perform, and he turned them down).
Was this the start of a stealth campaign to get Jagger a belated, throwback Oscar for ‘Freejack’? Your guess is as good as ours. And our guess is, “maybe?”
Sean Baker wasn’t the only filmmaker making history on Oscar night. ‘Wicked’ costume maestro Paul Tazewell became the first black person to win his category, making emotional note of the fact.
And while we all knew she would scoop her trophy (despite, er, being much more a lead than a supporting turn), Zoe Saldaña was gracious in victory and was clearly moved by becoming the first American of Dominican descent to win an Oscar as one of two for ‘Emilia Pérez.’
‘Flow’ surprised in the Animated Feature category, and became the first Latvian Oscar winner. “Ball’s in your court, Estonia,” quipped O’Brien after the team left the stage.
Proving that stars don’t have to just recreate classic scenes for Super Bowl commercials, ‘When Harry met Sally’ leads Billy Crystal (no stranger to Oscar hosting, he quipped “I used to work here,” following Ryan’s question of how long ago with “nine tuxedos…”) and Meg Ryan came on stage to give out Best Picture.
They were a classy, classic wrap to a successful event, which ended with ‘Anora’s Best Picture triumph.
