Filmonic » Tintin

Nick Frost talks Paul and Tintin

Liam — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:27:19 +0000

ComingSoon.net recently caught up with Nick Frost and he spoke about two films I can’t wait to see. Paul is his third outing with Simon Pegg after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and will follow the duo travelling across the U.S. after Comic Con. During their adventure they encounter an alien called Paul outside Area 51, who will sound a lot like Seth Rogen.

During the interview, Frost discussed how difficult the movie’s filming had been. “Any shot that Paul was in, we had to do him with no-one there, then with a little fella wearing a green suit, then a kid with a mask on, then a man holding a grey ball, then a lighting puppet, then ‘Mr. Eyes,’ which is a stick with eyes on it. Then nothing. Then red lights, which was our eye-line.”

Frost also commented on The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn which will see him team up with Simon Pegg once again, however this time they will be fully CG in the form of twins Thompson and Thompson.

Asked how that compared to the entirely CG animated The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, the first of two “Tintin” movies directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, respectively, Frost told us, “‘Tintin’ was weird enough. At least with ‘Tintin’ everyone’s there. Everyone’s on the set and you’re acting with real people”.
This led to an anecdote about how Spielberg came to be involved with the “Tintin” franchise. According to Frost, Spielberg had originally been made aware of “Tintin” during the publicity tour for the original “Indiana Jones” film. Various members of the press had compared Jones to Tintin, which inspired Spielberg to research the character, and eventually purchase the rights.

Paul hasn’t received an official release date yet, however it will be out sometime in 2010. Tintin on the other hand has a release date of December 2011, which is long time for us to wait!

John Williams says his Tintin score ‘will become a classic’

Liam — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:56:12 +0000

Composer John Williams has worked with Steven Spielberg many times over his long career and is the man behind the legendary music from Indiana Jones, E.T, Jurrasic Park and Jaws. So when it was announced Williams would be scoring The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn I knew we’d be getting something special. Funnily enough William’s himself thinks so too:

From The Examiner:

I’m currently orchestrating a large piece with a number of ideas. The main theme is highly energetic, filled with great tonal twists and turns, reflecting, I suspect, Tintin’s heroic energy. It will become a classic, I think. To give more information would be to reveal things that I don’t … want to say.
We are at the beginning of the process. The main scoring sessions are off in February.
Also, let me say with regard to Tintin, I believe, as with “Potter” and Catch Me if you Can, people will be both surprised and not surprised by how the music is both “expected” and “UN-expected”— before you hear it.

Usually when someone starts declaring their work a ‘classic’ before they have even finished it I get the feeling they are a bit arrogant and believe their own hype too much. But this is John Williams. He’s proved throughout his career that he can create memorable music that will be remembered for years to come, and in some cases define a film. I have no reason to believe he won’t do the same with Tintin.

Stuntman Garrett Warren talks Iron Man 2 and Tintin

Liam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:35:42 +0000

It’s not very often that we hear from stuntmen, however MovieLine got the chance to interview Stunt Choreographer of the Year Garrett Warren and he spoke about a few upcoming movies he has worked on, including Iron Man 2 and Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.

Below is what he had to say about being a stunt double for Mickey Rourke:

I had brought two whips with me that are made of kangaroo hide that are incredibly well made. You can perform all sorts of tricks and cracks with them. In the movie, you won’t see those whips. They’ll digitally replace it with other types of whips. I don’t know if I’m at liberty to say what the whips will look like, but they’re going to be these super whips that have an awful lot of power. They can cut through cars, they can do an awful lot of damage. And when the movie comes out, you’ll see that he doesn’t do just whip-cracks and grabbing people. He lays waste to an awful lot of vehicles and street pieces and other things.
At one point, Whiplash had to get hit by a car, and Mickey did the lead up to the stunt, and I did the stunt where the car came in and hit me and took me to the fence. So yes, you’ll see a combination of Mickey and myself. And when it comes to the whip routine, I have to admit, Mickey Rourke did a really good job with the whips. However, the suit was very painful at times. It was this big metal piece that wasn’t very comfortable, so he didn’t always want to do the whip routines every take. So I’d go in and do the whip routines.

He also has good things to say about Tintin:

It’s truly an amazing movie. I was a sleeper to me. It took me by surprise. We did a test for it two years before we shot it, and when we did the test it was fun and interesting. But oh my gosh — when we finally saw the movie, it was amazing. The stuff that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson came up with, the performances of Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis — oh my goodness. You cannot imagine what those guys can do to words on a page. It’s one of the better movies that people are going to see, especially when it comes to being an animated movie.
It looks an awful lot like the cartoon. They really wanted to bring the cartoon to life. So if you know the cartoon, or have seen the books, that’s what it looks like. It’s beautiful. You would have thought to yourself that they would have tried to go for a more realistic look, but they’re actually trying to preserve the look and essence of the original Tintin characters.

Garrett Warren also talks about working on Avatar, which you can read by clicking here!

Peter Jackson talks Lovely Bones, Tintin and The Hobbit

Liam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:32:37 +0000

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson recently spoke to Stuff.co.nz about his upcoming projects, one of which is The Lovely Bones which we would have already seen by now if Paramount didn’t push it back to December. The studio think the film, which centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven, is Oscar bait.

“When we showed them the cut late last year, they decided to delay the release until December to plop it into the “awards season”, which is a nice vote of confidence in the movie,” Jackson said. The delay meant he had more time to work on the final cut and spend more time on visual effects. He wished he had had the same luxury with his last film, King Kong. “I wish we had this time on King Kong, which we badly wanted to reduce by 20 minutes, but we ran out of time before figuring out how to do it,” he said.

He also spoke about The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and The Hobbit which will both be released in December 2011. I know Jackson has a thing for December release dates (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones) but having two of his films competing against each other isn’t a good idea.

Jackson said while Steven Spielberg directed the first Tintin film in Los Angeles, he was helping “beef up” some of the chase scenes and was working on post production at Weta Digital in Wellington.
Jackson said he would start work as the director of the second Tintin film about a year from now. He and Spielberg were also still open to co-directing the third Tintin film, he said.
Jackson is an executive producer and co-writer of The Hobbit. He said shooting was scheduled to begin in March next year. Despite rumours, the two-part film, directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro, would not be 3D.

Peter Jackson will have a busy year next year and I can imagine he will be hopping between The Hobbit and Tintin sets. We knew The Hobbit would start filming sometime next year, so it’s good to know they have a month in sight. Guillermo del Toro and the gang have around 8 months to decide who in Middle Earth will play Bilbo Baggins and the rest of the characters.

Tintin will be released in 3D. It also has numerous release dates.

Liam — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:38:26 +0000

Paramount and Sony have made some big decisions regarding Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. According to Variety the studios have announced that the film will be released in 3D, which was expected considering the idea to make Tintin occurred when Spielberg and Jackson where playing around with the technology on the set of James Cameron’s Avatar. The studios have also announced that the film will be released in December 2011…in the US. Tintin will be released internationally in October and November, which at first seems like a risky move, but once explained the decision seems well thought out.

Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment unveiled plans to release the motion capture pic Stateside on Dec. 23, 2011. But in an unusual move, film will launch internationally in late October and early November 2011, with Sony Pictures Releasing Intl. handling Continental Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and India, and Paramount distributing the film in Asia, Australia, the U.K. and all other English-speaking territories.
The decision signals the two studios’ belief that the property, which has been translated into 70 languages, shows stronger potential overseas than domestically. Not surprisingly, the film’s cast skews international with Brit Jamie Bell starring as the intrepid young reporter. Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook round out the cast.
The two studios also revealed that they will release “Tintin” in 3-D, a move that had been mulled for several months. Insiders said the dailies convinced them that 3-D would offer the best rendition.

Tintin is popular overseas and it is pretty well known here in the UK thanks to a 90’s cartoon which I enjoyed as a child. One of the reasons both Paramount and Sony are working together on this is due to the property not being well known in the US, which meant there was a larger risk involved. Universal backed out of financing it last September which sent Spielberg and Peter Jackson on an epic quest to get financing from another studio. Paramount eventually offered them $135 million, however the idea was to film Tintin in 3D with photorealistic performance-capture technology, so the pair held out for a better deal. After what I expect was a long uncomfortable silence, one of the parties suggested getting another studio in on the action, so along came Sony.

[The cool Tintin image was made by Benef]

First pic from the Tintin set!

Liam — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:47:43 +0000

Steven Spielberg invited Empire to the set of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and the shot above was taken during a few moments of down time on the set. It shows Jamie Bell (Tintin) and Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock) talking with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.

Jackson is currently work with WETA to turn them dots, costumes and hi-tech helmets into “pure awesomeness” according to Empire.

Nick Frost on Tintin – “most stressful thing I’ve ever done”

Liam — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:06:16 +0000

In an interview with The Guardian Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) spoke a little about working on The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.

Nick finds acting difficult because he doesn’t have the back-up of training. On the Tintin film, the script kept changing, to such an extent that he and Simon were sometimes handed their words just minutes before they went on. “I need a week to really get a scene into my head. And you’ve got Steven Spielberg and Kathy Kennedy, who’s the most powerful woman in Hollywood, and Peter Jackson, who’s co-directing from New Zealand using iChat! It was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Having said that, Spielberg was amazing. Sometimes he’d run on at the end of a scene and do a little dance and punch the air.”

Spielberg recently finished the performance-capture stuff and Peter Jackson is now working on the special effects for 18 months with WETA in New Zealand.

Spielberg hands Tintin over to Jackson

Liam — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:00:02 +0000

Steven Spielberg will hand Tintin over to Peter Jackson after finishing 32 days of performance-capture filming according to Variety. Jackson will focus on the film’s special effects for the next 18 months.

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 travelled to Los Angeles for rehearsals and for the first week of shooting.
“It’s hard to delineate between directing and producing on films like this,” explains one project insider.
Kennedy insists that the transitions between the two creative talents are relatively seamless. “They are amazingly collaborative, even more so than Steven and George (Lucas were on the ‘Raiders’ films).”
And then, there are the two filmmakers’ differing styles and thematic vibes: Spielberg is more character-oriented and relatively lean while Jackson revels in lavish visuals … and running times.

While it seems like an odd state of affairs, both film-makers know what they are doing and I can’t wait to see how the film develops between now and 2011.

John Williams to score Tintin

Liam — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:15:23 +0000

Legendary composer John Williams will be scoring The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn according to Upcoming Film Scores and Tintinmovie.org. Williams has worked with Steven Spielberg on Indiana Jones, E.T, Schindler’s List, Jurrasic Park and Jaws. He also composed the famous Star Wars theme, and has been nominated for an Oscar 45 times throughout his career.

The video below features some of his best work!

In other Tintin news Simon Pegg told t5m.com that he and Nick Frost would be heading to Los Angeles this weekend to start filming.

Jamie Bell and Daniel Craig Join Tintin!

Liam — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:10:14 +0000

Sony and Paramount have just made one big announcement for Tintin. The big news is that Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell will be joining the cast. Both actors were seen in Defiance, and I have a feeling a friendship may have formed which resulted in them both joining Tintin. The second bit of news is that the films official title has revealed: The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.

From ComingSoon.net

Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced the start of principal production in Los Angeles on the 3D Motion Capture Film “The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn,” directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Jamie Bell (”Billy Elliot,” “Defiance”) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (”Quantum of Solace,” “Defiance”) as the nefarious Red Rackham.
Bell and Craig are joined by an international cast that includes Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook.
“The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn,” from a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, is produced by Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy, is the first in the series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character created by Georges Remi, better known to the world by his pen name “Herge” and is due for release in 2011. Executive producers are Nick Rodwell, Stephane Sperry and Ken Kamins. Paramount Pictures will release domestically and in all English speaking territories and Asia, excluding India. Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute the film in Continental Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, India and the remainder of the world.
The second feature in the series is scheduled to be directed by Jackson, with a potential for a third film as well.

Things are looking good for this movie. Some sites haven’t been too enthusiastic about Tintin due to the comics not being well known in the US. Hopefully this casting, along with the fact Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are the men behind it, will make people a little more optimistic!

[Note: I'm still going to call it Tintin as typing that beast of a title out everytime will get tiresome]