Tintin Movie Info

An entry for Tintin is now showing up on IMDb. You need a Pro subscription (which I have) to see any information. They are currently showing the following for crew:

Directed by
  Peter Jackson
  Steven Spielberg
Writers
  Hergé Characters

Producers
  Peter Jackson ... producer
  Kathleen Kennedy ... producer
  Nick Rodwell ... producer
  Steven Spielberg ... producer
Visual Effects Department
  Rocky Curby ... pre-visualization: Weta Digital
  Danny Keller ... character animator
  Emily Pearce ... mocap artist
  Mark Richardson ... compositing lead: weta digital

Nice article in the Times Online. Nothing new for readers of this blog but it’s a good read covering some of the history of the film project including old casting rumours.

When people talk about 3-D animation, they don’t necessarily mean projected in 3-D and viewed with 3-D glasses. But in the case of the Tintin trilogy, this New York Times article makes it clear that’s what’s meant.

It also adds some more detail about how the decision to use motion-capture computer graphics was made:

The new projects aim to be more than mere gimmicks. Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Jackson have been working on the “Adventures of Tintin” project for about a year with Mr. Jackson’s special effects company, Weta Digital.

Part of the decision-making process included a week of motion capture work on the “Avatar” set in the Playa Vista section of Los Angeles last November. That visual information was sent to Weta in New Zealand. There it was married to a computer model of Tintin, the young, red-haired Belgian adventurer of comic-book fame, who is wildly popular in Europe though less so in this country. The results persuaded both directors to push forward with the trilogy.

Mr. Jackson is expected to direct the first film, Mr. Spielberg the second, with the director for the third undecided, according to a DreamWorks spokesman. There is as yet no start date for the first project.

Mr. Jackson’s manager, Ken Kamins, said the director had long been fascinated with 3-D but until now had not been swayed by the ability to create a full-length feature experience. “Based on various tests he’s seen, he believes in the future of 3-D,” he said. “This is really starting to create some interesting imagery that gives the filmmaker a lot more creative license to play with.”

This is also the first time I’ve heard it suggested Jackson will direct the first film and Spielberg the second.

Well, this is probably the most exciting news since Spielberg renewed the option back in 2002.

Variety is reporting that Peter Jackson is teaming up with Spielberg on the Tintin project.

We’ve known since 2005 that Spielberg was talking to Jackson about WETA creating a computer-generated snowy but it now looks like:

• the whole thing will be computer-generated
• three back-to-back features are planned
• both Spielberg and Jackson will produce all three and will each direct at least one

It sounds like they will be endeavouring to break new ground in the style of animation:

“Herge’s characters have been reborn as living beings, expressing emotion and a soul which goes far beyond anything we’ve seen to date with computer animated characters,” Spielberg said.

“We want Tintin’s adventures to have the reality of a live-action film, and yet Peter and I felt that shooting them in a traditional live-action format would simply not honor the distinctive look of the characters and world that Herge created,” Spielberg continued.

Jackson said WETA will stay true to Remi’s original designs in bringing the cast of Tintin to life, but that the characters won’t look cartoonish.

“Instead,” Jackson said, “we’re making them look photorealistic; the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people — but real Herge people!”

This is exciting news indeed.

Of course, because it’s all going to be done with motion capture, the need for actors with resemblance to characters in the books is greatly reduced.

IGN’s coverage of the Nick Rodwell press conference is interesting in that it links to a story on the same site dating from August 2001 talking about Spielberg wanting to do a computer-generated version of Tintin. This predates the announcements in 2002 that launched this site, where a live action film was definitely what was being talked about (with the possibility of a CG Snowy).

Where the issue has been mentioned at all in the recent coverage of the Nick Rodwell announcement, it has always been stated as unknown whether the movie(s) would be CG or live-action. Perhaps the tide is changing again and this part of the reason for the delay since 2002.

The Malaysian Sun is resurrecting old casting rumours:

If rumours are to be believed, ‘Everwood’ star Gregory Smith, ‘Harry Potter’ actor Rupert Grint, and newcomer Kirsten Myburgh are the top runners on Spielberg’s priority list for the role.

I think these are just the old rumours from years ago. Gregory Smith was the rumour in 2003, Rupert Grint the rumour (subsequently denied) in 2004 and Kirsten MyBurgh in 2006.

Adding support to the hypothesis that the newspaper is just reporting on rumours that are years old, they also mention the Roman Polanski rumour reported here three years ago.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reporting on yesterday’s announcement by Nick Rodwell, includes some additional quotes:

“It’s been a project on our future development plate here for quite a number of years, always with the idea it was something we would like to make,” DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy said Thursday.

He emphasized that nothing is in the can yet. “I don’t think we are at that point yet,” Levy said. “It’s premature to say who or when or where.”

It wasn’t clear whether the film would be cartoon animation, computer animation or a movie with actors, or which of the 24 cartoon books of Tintin’s adventures would be picked.

So again, the question is raised whether the film or films are going to be live-action or not.

According to Empire Online, the Tintin movie plans are back on track:

Belgian boy reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy are back on track for a big-screen outing, with the news today that Dreamworks has confirmed that they are entering active pre-production on a Tintin movie, which could be on screens within a couple of years. Steven Spielberg bought the rights to the series back in 1983, and re-established them a couple of years back at Dreamworks, but it’s all gone quiet since. Today’s news came from Hergé Studios, however, and there’s still no word on which of the books will be first up (if one goes well, there’s room for a franchise), whether it will be live-action or CG or line drawings and a flick book or who will direct or star. So be encouraged, but don’t hold your breath.

This is the first I’ve heard that it might not be live-action, although, as I reported in 2005, Peter Jackson’s WETA might be involved in creating a computer generated Snowy at the very least.

Canada.com, reporting on the same story, add that the first movie “should appear in theatres in about two years.”

IP Watch, reporting on an intellectual property summit in Brussels reports that:

Other steady topics were licensing and the value of intellectual property, harmonisation of global patent systems, and Belgian comic book character Tintin. This was, after all, Brussels, so it was interesting to hear from the holder of the rights to the Tintin characters about global licensing arrangements, and his negotiations with Steven Spielberg to bring about the films planned for next year.

The summit was in December last year, but I assume “next year” means 2008 given the date on the article. That’s the first I’ve heard that year and I wonder if they are talking about production or release. I’d say 2009 is more likely for a release.

spielbergfilms.com says of the news reported today by Variety:

A few years back, news of Amblin Entertainment’s reacquisition to the rights for the famous “Tintin” comic series created quite a stir online, yet recently, news of plans for the series had grown absolutely cold. While he didn’t have anything specific to say about the proposed film franchises’ development, Spielberg did mention that the series is indeed still in the works. This alone should give many “Tintin” fans much to celebrate since the silence created a bit of concern that Spielberg may have passed for a second time since the 1980s.

Certainly made me feel better