Steven Spielberg

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Lore & 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.

In Their Own Story

In the film, Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock search for the treasure of the *Unicorn*, a ship once captained by Haddock's ancestor Sir Francis Haddock, but face dangerous pursuit by Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, the descendant of Sir Francis' nemesis Red Rackham. The film draws inspiration from the Tintin volumes *The Crab with the Golden Claws*, *The Secret of the Unicorn* and *Red Rackham's Treasure*. Principal photography began in January 2009 and finished that July, with a combination of voice acting, motion capture and traditional computer animation being used. The film premiered at the UGC De Brouckère in Brussels on 22 October 2011, and was released in New Zealand on 26 October and in the United States on 21 December by Paramount. It grossed $374 million against a $135 million budget, and received numerous awards and nominations, including being the first motion-captured animated film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, while John Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. A sequel directed by Jackson has been announced but has since stalled in development hell. In 2026, Jackson said that he and Fran Walsh were working on the script.

Reader's Guide

Spielberg acquired the film rights to *The Adventures of Tintin* after Hergé's death in 1983, and re-optioned 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. Jackson suggested Bell to take on the role after previously casting him as Jimmy in his *King Kong* remake. Spielberg suggested Serkis for 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." 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.

Did You Know?

• Spielberg acquired the film rights to *The Adventures of Tintin* after Hergé's death in 1983, and re-optioned them in 2002.
• Spielberg suggested Andy Serkis for the role of Captain Haddock because he considers Serkis a 'great and funny actor.'
• Spielberg described Sakharine as a 'champagne villain, cruel when he has to be but with a certain elegance to him.'
• Cary Elwes was cast as a seaplane pilot after he came across Spielberg in the cereal aisle of a grocery store and persuaded him due to being a huge Tintin fan.
• The film was the first motion-captured animated film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.