Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Spielberg and Jackson on Tintin


According to Variety, "Steven Spielberg this week will quietly wrap 32 days of performance-capture lensing on 'Tintin,' then hand the project to producer Peter Jackson, who will focus on the film's special effects for the next 18 months.

Spielberg and Jackson's respective camps have tried to keep a lid on the details of what is expected to become a three-film franchise while hyping the one-of-a-kind aspects of 'Tintin's' motion-capture technology, which is being created by Jackson's New Zealand-based effects house Weta.

Spielberg will receive sole directing credit on the first film, though even that distinction seems murky given that Jackson is doing the more time-consuming work, spending a year and a half creating the Tintin's world vs. Spielberg's one month on set. Jackson also traveled to Los Angeles for rehearsals and for the first week of shooting.

The conventional wisdom has always been that Spielberg would direct his 'Tintin' film, and Jackson would have his own. (It has long been reported that Jackson will helm the second chapter of three 'Tintin' films.) There was even speculation that the two films would be shot back to back, much like Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings.' However, there is no second film in the immediate future or even a script for one at this point."

Apparently this is a big budget film hovering around $120 million. That is a lot of money and the voice cast doesn't have any big name actors besides Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg.

Another problem is that not a lot of people outside of Europe know "Tintin."
The Tintin comicbook series about a globetrotting teenaged boy reporter, which originated 80 years ago in Belgium, is wildly popular in many countries around the world. In the U.S., however, the character is little-known, especially among children.
So they are going to have to do an amazing marketing job.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

No comments: