Steven Spielberg

The director who finally brought Hergé's hero to the big screen.

Steven Spielberg directed and produced The Adventures of Tintin (released as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in some territories), a 2011 animated adventure film. He produced it with Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. Spielberg and Hergé admired each other's work; Spielberg acquired the film rights to The Adventures of Tintin after Hergé's death in 1983, and re-optioned them in 2002. The film stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig. Spielberg suggested Serkis for the role of Captain Haddock, given he played Gollum in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong in the 2005 remake, and because he considers Serkis a "great and funny actor."

Quick Facts

Role: Director and Producer
Project: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Medium: 3D Computer Animation
Collaborator: Peter Jackson (Co-writer/Producer)

Facts from the source article.

Background

Spielberg and Hergé admired each other's work, and Spielberg acquired the film rights to The Adventures of Tintin after Hergé's death in 1983, re-optioning them in 2002. Filming was due to begin in October 2008 for a 2010 release, but the release was delayed to 2011 after Universal Pictures backed out of producing the film with Paramount Pictures, which had provided $30 million in pre-production; Columbia Pictures replaced Universal as co-financer.

The delay resulted in Thomas Brodie-Sangster, originally cast as Tintin, departing and being replaced by Jamie Bell. Spielberg described Sakharine as a "champagne villain, cruel when he has to be but with a certain elegance to him." Jackson and Spielberg decided to promote Sakharine from a relatively minor character to the villain. Spielberg came up with Daniel Craig for the role, with whom he had worked on Munich.

Spielberg invited Simon Pegg to the set and offered him the role of Thompson after Pegg had completed How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Cary Elwes came across Spielberg in the cereal aisle of a grocery store shortly after Spielberg visited Robert Zemeckis on the A Christmas Carol set; Spielberg appreciated Elwes' devotion to the franchise and cast him as one of the seaplane pilots.