The Adventures of Tintin Begins Production
Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson Adapting Hergé Cartoon For Film
Jan 26, 2009
In a joint announcement, Sony and Paramount said that the first film of a proposed Tintin trilogy has started production. Über-directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have been collaborating on three motion-capture films based on the classic comic series by Belgian artist Hergé (real name Georges Remi).
According to PR Newswire, the official title of the first flick is now The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. As previously suspected, the first two films will follow Hergé's 2-part adventure series, first published in 1943 and 1944. Jackson will direct the second film, based on the sequel, Red Rackham's Treasure. Jackson's special effects company, WETA Digital, is handling the motion-capture for the trilogy.
Jackson and Spielberg have tentatively agreed to jointly direct the as-yet untitled 3rd film, should the first two make enough box office to justify it.
Paramount and Sony Distributing The Adventures of Tintin
Tintin has been a longtime passion project for Spielberg, who first acquired the movie rights back in 1983, the year the Hergé, the comic's creator, died. Paramount initially was going to produce and distribute the film, but balked at the first flick's propsed $135 million budget. That's when Sony offered to assist with the financing.
Under the joint agreement, Paramount Pictures will release the movies in North America, all English-speaking territories and Asia, but not India. Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute the Tintin films in Continental Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, India and the rest of the world.
Jamie Bell is Tintin
Jamie Bell (Defiance, Billy Elliot) replaces the forced-to-drop-out Thomas Sangster as the voice of Tintin, while Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace, Defiance) will take on the role of the villainous Red Rackham, a pirate who tries to stop our hero from completing his quest.
They join Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Inkheart) as Tintin's best friend, the barnacle-blistering Captain Haddock, plus Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) as Thompson and Thomson, two bumbling police detectives who also assist Tintin.
Gad Elmaleh (Hors de Prix), Toby Jones (Frost/Nixon) and Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean) fill out the cast.
Speaking of Shawn of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright – who directed those films – has been given credit for the script for Secret of the Unicorn. Stephen Moffat and Joe Cornish (The Adam and Joe Show) are the other two scriptwriters.
Moffat was originally offered the chance to script all three Tintin movies but turned it down to become the showrunner (executive producer) on the BBC television series Dr. Who.
Tintin is scheduled for a 2011 release, with two other films to follow.
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