Artwork by Benef
The classic comic book series which began as a weekly strip in a Belgian newspaper, and served to bolster the stance against social oppression with it’s irrepressible titular character Tintin, will finally come to life in digital 3d cinemas. Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has owned the rights to produce a film adaptation since the mid eighties but the question was whether it would be live action or CG. Now it would seem that the concept has come full circle and will strive to blend the best of both worlds.
Spielberg using the performance capture system with co-producer Peter Jackson
The pioneering performance capture technology used in the worldwide hit Avatar convinced Spielberg that this was the right time to bring the iconic character to life. Whilst some actors are opposed to the use of performance capture as the loss of their art form, Spielberg explains how it was more about being faithful to the world of Tintin and to the ‘ligne claire‘ style artwork that Hergé developed.
It was based on my respect for the art of Hergé and wanting to get as close to that art as I could… It just seemed that live action would be too stylized for an audience to relate to. You’d have to have costumes that are a little outrageous when you see actors wearing them. The costumes seem to fit better when the medium chosen is a digital one.
Ligne Claire style art from Hergé's Secret Of The Unicorn
With preliminary shooting and motion capture completed the animation of the project will be supervised by Peter Jackson and Weta Digital. This co-directing team will allow the film to blend the best of the real and the virtual worlds by their respective masters. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn will hit theaters on December 23rd 2011 from a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish starring Jamie Bell as Tintin and Daniel Craig as Red Rackham with Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Simon Pegg as Inspector Thompson.
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