It looks like a win-win for fans of Tintin.
In arguably the biggest teaming of superpowers since the Justice League, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are joining forces to direct and produce a trilogy of features based on the bestselling European comic strip about a globe-trotting, mystery-solving Belgian boy reporter and his loyal dog sidekick.
The acclaimed filmmakers, who own six Oscars between them, have chosen three stories from The Adventures of Tintin, a series of 23 books written between 1929 and 1976 by Georges Remi, better known by his pen name, Hergé. According to DreamWorks, Jackson and Spielberg will each helm at least one installment in the franchise. They will decide at a later date who will handle the third.
The directors will animate the films using the same state-of-the-art 3-D performance-capture technology Jackson's New Zealand-based effects house, Weta Digital, developed to create Gollum in his Lord of the Rings trilogy and the lead ape in King Kong.
The Tintin movies will closely follow the plots of the books, with the iconic hero and his fox terrier Snowy traveling to far-flung lands to fight crime with their posse of oddball friends, including quick-tempered mentor Captain Haddock, absent-minded Professor Cuthbert Calculus, opera diva Bianca Castafiore and bowler-sporting, blundering twin police officers, Thomson and Thompson.
While most Americans aren't familiar with the boy wonder, Tintin has sold over 200 million copies worldwide and has been a passion of Spielberg's going on 25 years now.
He and producing partner Kathleen Kennedy originally purchased the movie rights back in 1983, but as he got sidetracked with other projects, development on Tintin languished and the option ran out.
But his faith in the young Belgian with the kooky coiffure never wavered, and in 2002, he and Kennedy reacquired the film rights.
Spielberg subsequently approached Jackson, himself a Tintin devotee, who had his effects wizards produce a 20-minute test film to see if Hergé's distinctive visual style could be replicated onscreen.
After seeing the results, the filmmakers were sold. "Steven and I were intrigued about the potential of developing this performance-capture technique even further, to apply a real actor’s performance to computer generated versions of Hergé’s vast cast of characters," says Jackson in a press release.
"For well over a year now, artists at Weta have been quietly testing the theory of creating lifelike reproductions of Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and many of the other core cast—faithfully replicating Hergé’s original designs but not rendering them as cartoons or the familiar looking computer-animated characters—instead, we’re making them look photo realistic, the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people—but real Hergé people!"
Spielberg says that motion-capture technology was the only way to do justice to Hergé’s opus and appease Tintin's legions of fans.
"Hergé’s characters have been reborn as living beings, expressing emotion and displaying a soul which goes far beyond anything we've seen to date with computer-animated characters," he says. "The use of capturing the performance of actors on a stage, allows Peter and I to direct these films just as we would with any other film we were making—they won’t have the feel of animation—they will have the style of live-action films."
To further up the ante, Jackson and Spielberg will make the trio of Tintin films in 3-D.
"Just the thought of it makes me feel like a kid again," says Jackson. "I’m thrilled beyond belief that Steven invited me onboard to help realize his long held dream of bringing Tintin to life on the big screen."
Hergé died in 1983, but his widow, Fanny Rodwell, oversees his estate as president of Hergé Studios in Brussels.
"We couldn't think of a better way to honor Hergé's legacy than this announcement within days of the 100th anniversary of his birth—May 22, 1907," she says. "It is also a special honor for us to be associated with these exceptional, creative filmmakers."
All parties hope this Tintin project will be more successful than previous attempts to adapt the comic. There were two forgettable films made in 1960s, as well as three uninspired animated productions. Two animated series were also produced, but didn't use the original stories as source material.
Kennedy will produce all three Tintin flicks, which will be released either by DreamWorks or DreamWorks Animation. Both directors will likely focus on Tintin once they're done with their current high-profile projects.
Spielberg is scheduled to begin shooting the fourth Indiana Jones movie in June, while Jackson is preparing to roll cameras on The Lovely Bones in the coming months. The latter film will be distributed by DreamWorks after the studio beat out its rivals in a bidding war.
But his involvement in Tintin further diminishes his chances of directing The Hobbit, at least anytime soon. Jackson has stated his interest in the LOTR prequel but has been embroiled in a lawsuit against New Line Cinema over unpaid profits.
No word yet which of the filmmakers will be the first to take the reins on Tintin. But if all goes as planned, the first entry in what will surely be a worldwide blockbuster could start filming next year and arrive in theaters by 2009.