Daniel Craig joins cast of Tintin movie

[katied]

I'm curious if they're going to modernize the Tin Tin films. It occurs to me that having a pirate in the movie is rather timely,because there have been lots of stories about pirates in the news(wrong part of the world perhaps and maybe that would be stretching a plot too thin) as of late.

But if they modernize it, Tin Tin purists will hate it.Six of one, half a dozen of the other

[Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

They should have used Greek super villian Rastapopulous.

[LilleOSC]

They should have used Greek super villian Rastapopulous.

You raise a good point. Plus, I think there are better stories that they could have started the film series off with. I doubt they will modernize it too much (if at all), katied. I am really anxious to see how the motion capture looks. Hopefully, they will give us at least a couple pics fairly soon. I'm surprised that the project is even still going. It seems sort of like a risky investment in this grim economic period. Its budget is supposedly around $135 million. Is that considerably low?

How many people, especially in America where Tintin is barely known, are going to boycott the film because of the views of the creator of the comic strip on which it was based?

I didn't think it would be boycotted. I was just surprised that Spielberg (being Jewish) would take on Tintin since some say Hergé was anti-semitic. It doesn't seem to be an issue, though.

[Roger Devereau]

I did read that Flight 714 was going to be included in the Tintin triology. Flight 714 is set on a mysterious island and has a 1960's setting in contrast to the 30's/40's setting of Red Rackham's Treasure.

[bjmdds]

Craig would be better off in the made for big screen classic of the 1960s USA television dog show, RIN TIN TIN, playing Sgt. Biff O'hara.

[katied]

I haven't heard anything more about this.Wonder if it's still going ahead?

[carl stromberg]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la ... 5038.story

'Tintin' project brings moguls together

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are pooling their tech-savvy talents to bring a 3-D motion-capture version of the book series to the big screen.

By Rachel Abramowitz
March 22, 2009

How do Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, the two titans of pop culture, collaborate on the new 3-D motion-capture version of "Tintin"?

With lots of high-tech wizardry.

Spielberg, who's directing the first installment, "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," recently wrapped 32 days of performance-capture shooting in Los Angeles. Producer Jackson traveled from his New Zealand home base to L.A. for rehearsals and the first week of shooting, and then appeared via an elaborate video-conferencing setup for the rest of the shoot, using a specially designed iChat-type system in which the Kiwi filmmaker can see everything on the set in real time and simultaneously talk with Spielberg. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in 2011.

Spielberg first became intrigued with the cub reporter and his dog Snowy back in the early '80s, when reviewers of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" noted the similarity between Indiana Jones' derring-do and Tintin's globe-trotting escapades. He and producer Kathleen Kennedy have been involved with the books intermittently since that time, but it wasn't until the maturation of motion-capture technology that a serious avenue opened up for re-creating author Hergé's world.

In fact, Spielberg had called Jackson in his office to discuss the intricacies of motion capture -- which Jackson had used to create both Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and Kong in "King Kong." When he broached the topic of "Tintin," Jackson, born and bred in a part of the world that reveres Hergé's creation, yelped, "I have all the books in back of me."

That's the genesis of this behemoth collaboration, according to Spielberg's spokesman Marvin Levy.

Neither Spielberg nor Jackson nor producer Kennedy would talk further, though the plan is for Jackson to take on the directorial reins for the next film. Of course, both are still multitasking away. Jackson is finishing the Christmas 2009 film "The Lovely Bones," which he adapted from the novel, directed and produced for Spielberg's DreamWorks. He's also writing and executive producing the new "Hobbit" films to be directed by Guillermo del Toro. Spielberg reportedly has his long-planned Abraham Lincoln feature in pre-production, as well as the running of DreamWorks. The Tintin film encompasses "The Secret of the Unicorn" as well as elements from the other books (such as the sequel "Red Rackham's Treasure"), which carry on the tale of Tintin's hunt for the pirate Red Rackham's hidden bounty.

Thomas Sangster, who played Liam Neeson's son in "Love, Actually," was initially cast as Tintin, but he fell out. The filmmakers turned to 23-year-old Jamie Bell, who first broke into films as the title character in "Billy Elliot" and later appeared in Jackson's "King Kong." Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and Kong in "King Kong," takes on the role of Tintin's closest friend, the friendly alcoholic Captain Haddock. Daniel Craig plays the villainous Red Rackham. The filmmakers have also imported the British comedy mafia behind the wacky satire "Hot Fuzz," including actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson, and Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright to pen the latest version of the script.

Discussing performance-capture shooting last summer with an English newspaper, Spielberg said, "The actors have green dots on their faces and wear a kind of wetsuit, and the computer reads every movement and every facial expression." He said computers can also manipulate facial appearance. "It means we can freeze the age," he said. "Tintin will never age."

Next up will be 18 months of work at Jackson's New Zealand-based effects house, WETA. There, the team will re-create much of the look of Hergé's original graphic novels.

Unexpectedly for a Spielberg-Jackson collaboration, "Tintin" has had a tough time finding financing, not only because of its questionable appeal domestically but also because of the $135-million price tag and a deal that allots both filmmakers a humongous portion of the back-end profits. What's more, other motion capture pictures, including "Monster House," "Beowulf" and "The Polar Express," have not been blockbusters.

"It's a very easy-flowing collaboration," said one person involved in the Spielberg-Jackson project who declined to be named. "They bring different energies."

[CaptainLewis]

UK, Europe getting 'Tintin' first

Steven Spielberg's Tintin movie will open in the UK and Europe two months before its US bow, Sony Pictures and Paramount have announced.

The 3-D motion capture project, titled The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn, will debut in European territories in late October and early November 2011 before arriving in the US on December 23.

Adapted from Hergé's cartoon creation, it focuses on an intrepid young reporter who goes on adventures with his faithful dog Snowy. Spielberg was made aware of the character while promoting Raiders Of The Lost Ark across Europe, where the press likened Tintin's exploits to those of Indiana Jones.

Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are among the Secret Of The Unicorn cast.

Should the movie prove successful, Peter Jackson will direct a sequel. However, it faces stiff competition at the US box office with a Happy Feet sequel and Pixar's The Bear And The Bow opening at a similar time.

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a157 ... first.html

[Kristatos]

That makes sense, since Tintin is so much better known in Europe than in North America (except perhaps Quebec). This way, it's more likely to open in America with a history of box office success behind it.

[carl stromberg]

Is Asterix known in the US?

[katied]

It might be with Francophiles,or places with large French populations(like Quebec, as someone mentioned earlier).

I remember reading review of an Asterix film in one of the UK movie mags.