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Spielberg to Produce Live-Action Tintin Movie (s)

jtauber writes "Looks like the Adventures of Tintin may be the next series of books to be turned into a film franchise with Spielberg in talks to acquire the rights. See the Marlinspike for more information." Tintin was one of my favorite "book" type comics growing up - and they've released collections.

38 of 311 comments (clear)

  1. Spielberg? by I+Am+The+Owl · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not at all familiar with the "Tintin" series, but I have a bad feeling about it already. Does anybody remember the end of AI? Yeah. I thought so.

    --

    --sdem
    1. Re:Spielberg? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 4, Funny

      TinTin will be like Indiana Jones, only with the Nazi-collaborrators as the heroes!

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    2. Re:Spielberg? by b0r0din · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ahh, tintin. Who can forget the years and years of MUD-based carnage done with tintin, or its later predecessor, tintin++.

      Spielberg could not do such text adventure justice.

      I can only imagine such a script:

      # T I N T I N + + v1.5pl9 FINAL
      # (T)he k(I)cki(N) (T)ickin d(I)kumud clie(N)t
      # a DIKU-mud client
      #
      > #se 1 generic.dikumud.com 9999

      FADE IN: Gorath
      password: *********

      > You are in a dark alley. Two muggers are here, their knives flashing at you. An exit lies north.

      #alias {runaway} {n;n;n;n;n;n;n;n;};runaway

      You run like a little girl for the exit. They block you.

      #read ItsWeaponTime;weaponsup
      #OK. 43 ALIASES LOADED.
      #OK. 2 ACTIONS LOADED.
      #OK. 0 ANTISUBS LOADED.
      #OK. 10 SUBSTITUTES LOADED.
      #OK. 13 VARIABLES LOADED.
      #OK. 45 HIGHLIGHTS LOADED.
      You load the uzi.
      You load the minigun.
      You wield the Hammer of Thor.
      You load the rocket launcher.
      You wield the rocket launcher. Mugger #1 begins to piss his pants.
      shoot;shoot
      You aim for Mugger #1.
      You fire. Direct hit. Body parts ooze off the wall.
      You aim for Mugger #2.
      You fire. Direct hit. A blackened spot is all that remains of Mugger #2. You are victorious. But Steven Spielberg shows up with a flak cannon. He aims for your heart.
      look
      You cannot look when you're dead.
      #end
      TINTIN suffers from bloodlack, and the lack of a beating heart...
      TINTIN is dead! R.I.P.
      Your blood freezes as you hear TINTIN's death cry.
      % sniff

    3. Re:Spielberg? by Bonker · · Score: 3, Informative

      Tintin is much more of an episodic adventure story, similar to cliffhangers. The posters who state that it's like 'Indiana Jones' are fairly correct. Tintin is told on a much more juvenille scale.

      --
      The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
  2. Still waiting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm still waiting for the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series to be put to film...

  3. Oh, please... No! by girl_geek_antinomy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You can't! No! They're sacred, damn it!

    Adaptations of Asterix have been bad enough, especially those dreadful live-action ones with Depardieu...

    I grew up on French comics, which I guess is some excuse, but... You just -can't- live action adapt Tintin. It'll be awful! Or at least, if they have to, in the name of all that is Holy -please- adapt them as cartoons...

    ... Please...?

    1. Re:Oh, please... No! by xyzzy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I must admit, I have every bit as much trepidation as you. Tintin is quite literally my childhood -- I read my first one while visting France with my parents when I was 8, in 1976. When Speilberg is good, he's very good... but when he is bad...!

      I actually thought the animated series was quite good -- does anyone know if they will EVER be released on DVD???

    2. Re:Oh, please... No! by Giraldus · · Score: 3, Informative

      Tintin has already made it to the screen a looong
      time ago; there were a couple of movies if I
      remember correctly -- twas in the early 70s -- not
      adaptations of existing books, but new stories
      written for that purpose by Herge ("Tintin et la
      toison d'or" is one of the title I remember,
      it was taking place in Greece); it was not too
      bad precisely because it was a purpose made story
      and not an attempt at adapting existing books;
      and there was at least one long cartoon which
      title I don't remember -- a story about Tournesol
      inventing a Startrek like replicator, with
      underwater scene at the bottom of an artificial
      lake, anyone remembers? (twas not these short
      low quality cartoons one see occasionaly on
      French tv these days);

      --Giraldus

    3. Re:Oh, please... No! by DennisZeMenace · · Score: 5, Informative

      I grew up on French comics, which I guess is some excuse, but...

      Tintin is not a French comic, it's from Belgium. Herge (Tinin's belgian author) laid down the foundation of an entire school of belgian comic writers.

      DZM

    4. Re:Oh, please... No! by kzinti · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You can't! No! They're sacred, damn it!

      I couldn't agree more. I read a lot of Tintin when I was young - in English translations - and I just loved them. I can't imagine any actor acting quite like I imagined the characters did, nor will their voices sound like I imagined them sounding. I don't want Mr. Spielberg messing around with Herge's creations, and I won't go to see the movies. There are some things you don't want to see "live-action".

      --Jim (Thompson, not Thomson)

    5. Re:Oh, please... No! by Scrameustache · · Score: 4, Informative

      Too late...

      There was one already in 1961, and another in '64.

      in the name of all that is Holy -please- adapt them as cartoons...


      Hmmm...that would be 1969 and 1972

      Adaptations of Asterix have been bad enough, especially those dreadful live-action ones with Depardieu...

      Shut up, the first one was rather lame, but the one with Cleopatra totally captured the comic's feel, and was so close to the animated version too (wich I'll just assume you haven't seen).

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

  4. Let the casting begin... by tgrotvedt · · Score: 3, Funny
    Any ideas for the stars of the movie?

    Maybe...

    Ben Afleck for Tintin?

    Oh, and that boat guy has to be Sean Connery.

    --
    What makes a man want to be a mouse? (Python's Flying Circus)
  5. Underpants Math. by EverStoned · · Score: 3, Funny

    1)Come up with a crappy idea for a movie.
    2)Add Speilburg
    3)Profit!

  6. Billions of.. by samgrover · · Score: 5, Funny

    bilious blue blistering barnacles!

    About time :-)

    1. Re:Billions of.. by bayankaran · · Score: 3, Funny

      Bashi Bazouks, Kleptomaniacs, filibusters!

      --
      Tat Tvam Asi
  7. This is wrong. by jericho4.0 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Nooooooooooooooo!!!!! Don't let this happen. Tintin is attractive for two reasons. The gourgeous art, and the european feel.

    Speilberg is going to produce some stupid action film that glosses over all the subelties and ruins Tintin for the next generation.

    Man I sound old.

    --
    "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    1. Re:This is wrong. by Theodore+Logan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Tintin is attractive for two reasons. The gourgeous art, and the european feel.

      Actually, there are some tintin mags that are attractive for quite different reasons. Oh, would I love to see Spielberg do that movie!

      --

      "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok

    2. Re:This is wrong. by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'm glad someone understands.

      A lot of the stuff that kids liked about tintin was just the Hardy Boys + James Bond story line. Which really wasn't so special.

      The innovative thing about tintin was the art. An uncommon thing about tintin was the feel. If Speilberg just copies the plot of one of the comics, it'll be worthless trash. That won't bother me too much, even though I read plenty of them when I was a kid.

      However, if he uses some new digital process technique to reference the subtly different solid colors of the comic, and he lets it stay innocent, that'd be excellent.

      I hate Speilberg more than anyone I know. But he doesn't always make action movies, and sometimes he can do good things with the look of a movie. Compare AI to Minority Report to Private Ryan. Actually, the unifying characteristic of those three movies is the contrast and dark blacks. That would kindof kill any attempt to copy the look of Herge's art.

      Whatever. Tintin was one of my first experiences being disappointed by the fact that a storyteller was using formula. I felt ripped off. I'm more upset that those sons of bitches are destroying The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sure, it's not a classic, but it could make an excellent fucking movie. 'Scuse me.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
  8. Re:Tintin? by ibcmax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The subject of this thread is the exact reason why Spielberg shouldnt do this film.

    Not only do the youth culture of today (and lets face it, its the kids buying tickets that make the box-office money) have no idea who Cuthbert Calculus is, let alone Tintin,there is no way that Spielberg even at his best could make it appealing to the masses without totally destroying what the comic series was, and in the process annoying all the real fans. The Tintin style of story is not the Hollywood style of story, and neither are the characters. No-one (except perhaps the youngest of children) could find the bumbling antics of Thompson and Thomson actually funny when played by actors in a real live setting.

    The comic format was just too integral to what made Tintin fun, as was Herge's talent and attention to detail, which Spielberg and Hollywood may have no patience for.

    --
    Do not meddle in the affairs of SysAdmins, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
  9. Snowy by ocie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As long as they don't pick a goofy voice for snowy. His thoughts were some of the funniest parts of the book, but he wasn't goofy. Closer to Brain than Scooby. He also found a lot of the clues, even if accidentally.

    --
    JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
  10. Not just belgian influence, but comics in general by unfortunateson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The adventures of Tintin established the visual language now standard in comic strips and books: word and thought balloons, moving to the right to signify 'progress' and the left to signify failure, etc.

    See Scott McCloud's history of comics for further praise.

    What Spielberg will do to it, I have no idea. It is cited by him as an influence on Raiders.

    --
    Design for Use, not Construction!
  11. South of the Border by jkitchel · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't know what tintin is, but from the sounds of these posts, maybe we should send this one to "Steven Spielberg's non-union Mexican exquivalent" and keep it south of the border.

    [2F31] A Star is Burns

    Burns: Get me Steven Spielberg!
    Smithers: He's unavailable.
    Burns: Then get me his non-union Mexican equivalent! [later] Listen, Senor Spielbergo, I want you to do for me what Spielberg did for Oskar Schindler.
    Spielbergo: Er, Schindler es bueno, Senor Burns es el diablo.
    Burns: Listen, Spielbergo, Schindler and I are like peas in a pod: we're both factory owners, we both made shells for the Nazis, but mine worked, dammit! Now go out there and win me that festival!

    -- Burns puts his foot down, "A Star is Burns"

  12. complete list... by avdp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Accapareur, amiral de bateau-lavoir, amphitryon, anacoluthe, analphabète, analphabète diplômé, anthropophage, anthropopitèque, apache, apprenti-dictateur à la noix de coco, arlequin, astronaute d'eau douce, athlète complet, autocrate,...

    Here is a complete list of "insults" (in french). He has quite a collection of them, each more entertaining than the other, and none are even remotely like f*ck, *ss, etc. All banal words from the dictionary, used creatively :)

    Ahhh... I love Tintin. Being Belgian I grew up on these "comics" (a term that really doesn't do justice to the art, at least not the Begian/French kind of "comics"). Aside from owning the whole collection, I have several older copies with my dad's dedication in them (got them for birthday gifts, etc) which makes them even more valuable to me.

    I am also a fairly big fan of Spielberg - with E.T. being the first major movie I have ever seen, and I still remember going to see it (in Belgium) when I was 11 like it was yesterday! I just hope he doesn't screw this up!

    1. Re:complete list... by Floyd+Turbo · · Score: 4, Informative

      There's a list in English available here.

      Great stuff. (Anacoluthons! Hydrocarbon! Technocrat! Odd-toed ungulate!)

  13. Live action Tintin actually dates back to the 60s by Mr.+Khan · · Score: 5, Informative

    2 live action Tintin films have already been made a long time ago. They might be interesting to fans, but if memory serves they are pretty bland adaptations. Of course, we're talking movies made in 1961 and 1964 respectively. The special effects budget went to making the movies in color I'd wager. :) The movies are Tintin et le mystère de la toison d'or and Tintin et les oranges bleues. You can even find them in DVD on amazon.fr

  14. Re:I wish they wouldn't... by CanadaDave · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes they have totally run out of ideas. Have you seen the preview for that new movie Dare Devil? I mean can you think of a more obscure comic character to make a movie out of? Sure it has Ben Afleck, but it is going to bomb. So to answer your question, YES, they are totally running out of ideas. The ratio of the number of good movies to the number of bad movies has been steadily declining, ever since I started watching lots of movies, when I was young, around 1985 let's say. Although the good movies are getting more and more spectacular. But still if you go by sheer numbers, the ratio I defined above is still doing down. If the pace of movie releases was slowed down a bit, perhaps some of these BAD ideas (like a Tintin movie) could be filtered out before they go into production.

  15. Return of Son of Bonfire of the Vanities... by nigelc · · Score: 3, Funny
    So we'll get what?

    Haley Joel Osment as Tin-Tin

    Robin Williams in a hilarious double casting as The Thompson Twins

    Harrison Ford as Captain Haddock

    Richard Attenborough as the Professor

    And of course, a CGI "Snowy".
    I can't wait!

    --


    Cthulhu Barata Nikto
  16. Re:French Comics by Jonathan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Stop me if I am wrong (and I could, english is not my native language), but when you put a "French" adjective (with a capital letter) you mean "from France" and not "in french".

    Actually, in English, all references to names of languages are capitalized. One speaks in English or French (and not in english or french)

  17. Re:TinTin is ... uummm not to interesting by BitHive · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not all cartoons are supposed to be funny. Tintin has plenty of humor, but its woven into a larger narrative. He's the world-famous Tintin, reporter. He has wild adventures that take him around the world (and to the moon), solving crimes and foiling plots. For someone who wants to sound like they understand Tintin, you sure missed the boat.

  18. Re:Important step by BitHive · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Prepare...to...be...

    ...disappointed.

  19. Casting Nightmare: by LMariachi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jim Belushi as Captain Haddock.
    Leonardo DiCaprio as Tintin, or, if Leo's too old, "Malcolm in the Middle."
    Jim Carrey as Professor Calculus.
    Robin Williams as Thompson & Thomson.
    Snowy will be CGI, voiced by Ahmed Best.

  20. captain haddock by v8interceptor · · Score: 3, Funny

    please please please let it be Bruce Willis...:)

    --
    --- Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit? | Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
  21. Re:Other adaptions.... by iopha · · Score: 4, Informative

    Bill Watterson will *never*, *ever*, permit Calvin and Hobbes to be licensed. He has said this explicitly in interviews and in the introduction to the Calvin & Hobbes tenth anniversary book. He maintains that 'spin-off' products (cartoons, calendars, mugs, etc) are only cash cows which add nothing to the original vision of the comic strip. They ruin the integrity of the strip and reduce the characters to 'advertising hucksters' (actual quote) whose insights on life can no longer be taken seriously.

    Bill Watterson said NO to literally MILLIONS of dollars because he believed the integrity of his strip was worth more.

    That, my friends, is something you don't see anymore; I respect him greatly for his decision, which has gone unheralded and ignored and even mocked by some.

    iopha

  22. Another term... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 3, Informative

    Being Belgian I grew up on these "comics" (a term that really doesn't do justice to the art, at least not the Begian/French kind of "comics").

    A term has been coined which, IMHO, does accurately describe the art form which includes Tintin.

    "Graphic Novel"

    (It has the same relation to a written novel that a stage play or feature movie has to an oral storyteller's story or radio drama.)

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  23. Spielberg had it once before... and lost it by Jaycatt · · Score: 5, Informative
    I'm surprised I haven't seen this mentioned yet. Or maybe it has been mentioned by now. Anyway, there's this interesting text on the www.tintin.com website in the "At The Movies" section.

    "More than ever, Hergé was leaning toward live-action movies. "Because that's the way I see it" he said to a journalist from L'Express, "My Tintin is alive, my Captain Haddock as well. But such movies should be produced with budgets equivalent to those a James Bond movie". And isn't it a project of that sort that Steven Spielberg brought to the screen in 1980 with Raiders of the Lost Ark? Although Indiana Jones, embodied by Harrison Ford, does not resemble the young reporter and his golf knickers, many scenes of the movie look as if they come from the adventures of Tintin or Blake et Mortimer. Quite strangely though, it seems that the references to classic Belgian comics are not coming from Hergé's or Jacobs' stories but from a cinematographic intermediary. Indeed, while preparing his own movie, Spielberg screened L'Homme de Rio a dozen times.

    In 1982, Spielberg went one step further by proposing to acquire the rights to adapt The Adventures of Tintin. While weakened by an illness which would take him a few months later, Hergé expressed a strong interest in the venture, hoping that Spielberg would be granted all necessary liberties. But the director of Duel, unconvinced by the first script written by Melissa Matheson, soon decided to take on a production role and leave the directing to Europeans. Many names came up and among them, Jean-Jacques Beineix. But soon, the choice turned to Roman Polanski who said that he always wanted to make a Tintin movie. Wasn't one of the characters of Pirates a sort of Captain Haddock? Polanski declared his preference for King Ottokar's Sceptre, a story full of personal meanings. Nevertheless this project never took off and in 1987, Spielberg abandoned his option on the rights (at about the same time the Franco-Vietnamese producer Lâm Lê abandoned the idea of adapting La Marque Jaune from Edgar Jacobs)."

    --
    "Shared pain is lessened; shared joy is increased. Thus we refute entropy" - Spider Robinson
  24. Tintin books in UK English? by abischof · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, apparently the books are available as a collection now, but does anyone know where I can find Tintin in the UK English translations? (seriously)

    Tintin has been translated into many languages, probably dozens. And, I can attest that there are both UK English editions and US English editions; however, the US English editions are horrible. I'm an American, so you can be assured that this isn't some wacky British pride clouding my judgement, but something was just not right in the US English versions.

    So, does anyone know where I can buy the UK English editions of Tintin? Part of my problem is that, even if I can find Tintin for sale online (not that hard, I suppose), I'm not sure how to be certain which edition I'd be buying.

    --

    Alex Bischoff
    HTML/CSS coder for hire

  25. Chateau de Moulinsart by dachshund · · Score: 3, Informative
    bilious blue blistering barnacles!

    Well, the good news is that they won't have trouble finding a set for Captain Haddock's Chateau de Moulinsarart-- it already exists. Of course, in real life it's known as the Chateau Cheverny and has a couple of large additions on the sides.

    But I'm sure a little digital editing magic and they'll have a great set.

  26. Herge by asciimonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hope they don't change the story of the comics too much... If you only knew how much effort and research Herge, the creator of Tin-Tin, put in to his comics. For instance, in the episode "On a Marche sur la Lune" (We have walked on the moon) captain Haddocks drink starts to float out of his cup when the artificial gravity is swithed off. The boose takes the form of a bubble. Nobody had ever seen that before in real life. When Haddock gets detached from the ship he floats alongside of the spaceship (and does not lag behind). Also, the characters hop over the moon in stead of walk. Remember, this was before Neal ever set foot on the moon. So if they do put the scissors into the story I know Herge is going to, as we say, turn around in his grave.

    P.S. In Flanders (Vlaanderen) and the Netherlands Tin-Tin is called "Kuifje" (cowlick,quiff) because of his unusual hairdo.

    P.S.2: Some years ago, there was a TV-series (cartoon) made from the Tin-Tin stories. Luckely they were smart and did not make any changes in the original storyline.