Andy Serkis announced a live marathon reading of The Hobbit to raise money for two charities. The actor famously used motion capture technology to portray Gollum/Sméagol in New Line’s The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He became the go-to actor for the technology, starring in King Kong and The Planet Of The Apes. Serkis returns to his roots with a twelve-hour reading of J.R.R Tolkien’s 1937 children’s book, The Hobbit.
On Twitter, Serkis wrote, “I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written. Join me for a 12-hour armchair marathon reading of 'The Hobbit,' in aid of two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need @NHSuk @bestbeginnings #hobbitathon.” He offered the date, May 8th, times outside the UK (5 am EST, 2 am PST) and followed up explaining that the live-stream link will appear on the GoFundMe page associated with the event. All money raised will go to COVID-19 relief efforts.
The charities Serkis highlights with his marathon reading of The Hobbit are The NHSuk, National Health Services, which is fitting after major news outlets announced that Britain’s death toll surpassed 32,000 from the virus, marking the most deadly outbreak in Europe. The other organization is Best Beginnings, a UK charity seeking to address child health inequalities by creating and distributing resources for families and professionals.
His initial statement has been retweeted almost two thousand times and liked more than five thousand times. Get ready for Gollum to read The Hobbit!
Source: Andy Serkis via Twitter