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We all remember when growing up there were a few treasures that we held onto and still enjoy to this day. For me, one of those (besides Watties Baked Beans) is Tintin, a Belgium comic series that is widely popular 80 years after it was first penned by author Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). The series first appeared in French in a children’s supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle on 10 January 1929.

The hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures from the beginning by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in French). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash, cynical and grumpy Captain Haddock, the bright but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (Professeur Tournesol) and other colourful supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (Dupond et Dupont). Hergé himself features in every comic, as a background character.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn is the first in what is expected to be a trilogy of Tintin movies directed and produced by Steven Spielberg but bought to life by Peter Jackson’s (LOTR, King Kong) Weta Digital as reported in Variety:

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.

Weta was chosen because of their expertise at motion-capture, a technique of rendering an actor inside a virtual world which Peter Jackson is well known for.

(Kathleen) Kennedy and Spielberg acquired the project in 1983 after Spielberg’s interest in the project was piqued by critics’ insistence that his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” harkened back to Tintin’s escapades in exotic locations.

But the pair couldn’t realistically begin developing the pic until about two years ago, when motion-capture technology finally caught up with the demands of the story. Spielberg received his introduction into the fledgling technology via his producing role on “Monster House.” But Jackson, who joined Kennedy and Spielberg on the project in early 2007, is clearly a master of the form. Both the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “King Kong” elevated performance-capture to never-before-seen realism.

Such is the stature now of Jackson, that there has been intense discussion on the various roles the two directors will be credited with. There was even a discussion on Spielberg having one movie, and Jackson doing another sequel.  Although Spielberg owns the rights (acquired after Raiders) to the series, Jackson is now the superstar when it comes to high budget super movies and creative motion capture.

All of this talent is housed in the sleepy seaside suburb of Wellington called Miramar. Jackson was born in Pukerua Bay, approx 15 minutes from Kiwibloke’s New Zealand home.

Related Posts:

• Weta Podcast: Richard Taylor and Shane Rangi
• Peter Jackson Talks Lovely Bones
• Hobbit Will Be Two Movies But….
• Speculation on Hobbit Trilogy
• Weta Cast – EpisodeVII – The Wotty Cast