LONDON: Actor-director Andy Serkis believes cinema is losing its charm with the increasing popularity of streaming services.
The 54-year-old actor, who has pioneered motion capture in Hollywood, with characters like King Kong, Caesar in "Planet of the Apes", and Supreme Leader Snoke in "Star Wars", says people mostly come to cinema halls to watch "tent-pole blockbusters".
"We're entering into a different realm now, because entertainment will no longer just be cinemas as we know it. Cinema is slipping away, sadly, apart from tent-pole blockbusters. The streamers are taking over," Serkis told Independent in an interview.
Serkis believes the film industry needs to adapt two technological advances that will revolutionise the way filmmakers tell stories: virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
He added that motion capture will also play a big part in building the future of movies.
"There's just no question. Over the next ten years we will see actors playing VR roles. Now that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has made this VR piece, you're going to see many, many more 360 degree stories that use VR capture."
Inarritu's VR project "Flesh and Sand" was released last year, debuting at Cannes Film Festival and becoming the first VR project to have ever been presented at the event.
"Everyone has thought of it as 'How do we bring the film experience to VR?' What I actually think we need to do is ask 'How do we bring theatre to VR?' "VR requires a much more visceral performance. You create these avatar characters, but instead of a film narrative, it's a play script that is being brought to life" he said.