Tonight I had the very good fortune to be invited to a private event with Mr. "Lord of the Rings" himself, Peter Jackson. It was the latest in a series of cool happenings that also had me catching an early screening of "District 9" -- the upcoming Jackson-produced sci-fi flick that already feels destined to change the face of genre filmmaking.
"It cost thirty million dollars," Jackson said to audible gasps in a function room at a Comic-Con hotel. Not that you could tell watching the movie, which boasts intense effects shots that make “Transformers” look like "My Dinner With Andre." "In raising the money, I had to sign off on everything, final cut, etc... but it was Neill's film." Read more...
Contributed by Silas Lesnick
James Bond actor Daniel Craig has officially signed on as the pirate Red Rackham in the newly titled "The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn," joining the previously-announced Jamie Bell as the boy reporter Tintin, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson. But wait, there's more: In addition to Steven Moffat (of "Doctor Who" fame), Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish have come aboard as writers.
Rope of Silicon has the news that should please current "Tintin" fans and, hopefully, excite even those cynical about the project. Read more...
FROM SPLASH PAGE: Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the classic 'Tintin' comics isn't having an easy time making it to the big screen. Production is only a month away, but the film lacks all but one cast member: Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock. But Ain't It Cool News is reporting that the film finally has a grand total of three cast members -- and the newest additions are as close to geek gods as you can get: Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.
Frost and Pegg will play the Thomson and Thompson twins, two men who are identical on the page except for the curl of their moustaches. As the film is using motion capture technology, it will be easy to actually make them resemble each other. But who wants to bet Spielberg will stray from the comic page, and allow their true looks to shine through? Why cast Pegg and Frost unless you want them to, well, be themselves?
Read more about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost joining the "Tintin" cast at SplashPage.MTV.com.
- Warner Brothers loses Indian “Hari Puttar” copyright case. (BBC News)
- The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg scope Keira Knightley in “The Beautiful and the Damned,” a love story about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre. (THR)
- Re-imaginings of classic properties continue as "Wanted" helmer Timur Bekmambetov tackles "Moby Dick." (Variety)
- Slackers of the world unite...Michael Moore’s “Slacker Uprising” available today for free download. (Slacker Uprising)
- Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reportedly offered roles of Thompson Twins in Spielberg’s “Tintin.” And because everything else on this list has a literary reference, ummm, something, something Holden Caulfield. (Times Online)
Tags hari puttar, keira knightley, michael moore, moby dick, nick frost, simon pegg, slacker uprising, spielberg, the beautiful and the damned, thompson twins, timur bekmanbetov, tintin, wanted
- Steven Spielberg's "Tintin" coming first, says Andy Serkis. Peter Jackson seen stewing. (Indie London)
- Rachel Weisz takes a journey to ancient Egypt in "Agora," about some 4th century history something or other. Really, though, Rachel Weisz in a toga. (Variety)
- George Lucas says "Red Tails" will be flying into theaters in 2009. Story centers on Tuskegee Airmen. (Coming Soon)
- MGM is resurrecting "Robo-Cop." (AICN)
-Producer David Heyman on splitting "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." (Empire)
Two of the most powerful forces in Hollywood are coming together to produce and direct a trilogy of films based on the Belgian comic book strip, "Tintin" (read more here.)
Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will each direct one film in the series that will rely on computer-animated characters and tell the story of the famed young reporter and his dog, Snowy.
The reprecussions of this partnership will be felt for a while. Some things we're expecting to see...
- Comic strip heroes are hot! Robert Zemeckis will rush into production his $300 million interpretation of "Marmaduke" starring Tom Hanks and a bunch of motion capture sensors.
Read more...
