At least something good has come from the Peter Jackson/New Line relationship implosion. Free from the claws of "The Hobbit," Variety reports that Jackson is joining forces with Steven Spielberg to produce and direct three "Tintin" flicks, back-to-back. Spielberg and Jackson will direct at least one apiece, with the final’s director yet to be announced.
"[The] 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 states.
Based on the classic Belgium comic series from Hergé (aka Georges Remi), "Tintin" chronicled the adventures of the titular junior reporter and his loyal canine assistant, Snowy. Acquiring the "Tintin" rights has been a 25 year fight for Spielberg, who then commissioned Jackson’s WETA Digital for a 20 minute test film using the same motion capture that brought Gollum to extraordinary life.
Spielberg on the set of "Munich."
"We’re making them look photorealistic," Jackson says, "The fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people — but real Hergé people!"
Adds Spielberg: "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 Hergé created."
Jackson on the set of "King Kong."
Spielberg and Jackson already have their three "Tintin" story choices, chosen from the 23 books published between 1929 and 1976. Spielberg will start after the fourth "Indiana Jones" wraps this fall, while Jackson will be free after he finishes "The Lovely Bones," based on the bestselling novel by Alice Sebold, by the end of the year. "The Lovely Bones," along with the "Tintins," will be developed through DreamWorks.
Cool news. Two brilliant directors, but, specifically, melding Jackson’s technical savvy with Spielberg’s nostalgic adoration for adventure serials should produce films nothing short of astonishing.
Source: Variety
