One the reasons behind the late start to the shooting of the Tintin movie was Spielberg’s breakaway from Paramount Studios with his Dreamworks production company. This coincided with the banking crisis making it very hard for Spielberg to get funding for Tintin.

That was resolved sometime ago but now Spielberg appears to have secured long-term financing for his company.

But getting money, even for Hollywood’s most bankable director, didn’t come without strings. These sources have confirmed that to get the loan the new DreamWorks was forced to reduce the risk to banks to unheard-of levels. As part of the new debt agreement, Spielberg and company will be required to put up half the money for each film that it puts into production—much more than the 20% or less that studios traditionally have put up when they have bank lines to cover the rest. There is also a provision, still not fully fleshed out, that might require DreamWorks to put up more money under specific circumstances if the film doesn’t hit certain targets, according to one source who has seen the loan documents. DreamWorks would not comment on the pending loan.

Source: Loan Deal for Spielberg Is Near

Continuing our occasional series of posts on current artists using Herge’ Ligne Claire technique, my I present Jonny Crossbones.

Read it from the beginning. Thanks to Twitter user a_band for this link.

Nick Frost (Thompson or possibly Thomson) is intervied in today’s Observer about his new film The Boat That Rocked and about filming Tintin.

Nick finds acting difficult because he doesn’t have the back-up of training. On the Tintin film, the script kept changing, to such an extent that he and Simon were sometimes handed their words just minutes before they went on. “I need a week to really get a scene into my head. And you’ve got Steven Spielberg and Kathy Kennedy, who’s the most powerful woman in Hollywood, and Peter Jackson, who’s co-directing from New Zealand using iChat! It was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Having said that, Spielberg was amazing. Sometimes he’d run on at the end of a scene and do a little dance and punch the air.”

From – The interview: Nick Frost

In the latest episode of The Simpsons (In the Name of the Grandfather), there is Tintin reference when Homer takes his Dad to Belgium. I’ve not seen the episode or been able to find the clip online but I did find this screen grab thanks to CloudyBrussels.

This is not the first Tintin reference on The Simpsons. In Husbands and Knives (a comic book special featuring Alan “Watchman” Moore amongst others) Lisa’s accidently rips a Tintin album. There is further chatter about this on Tintinologist.

Until the first Tintin trailer comes out, we will have to get by on trailers for films from other classic children books.

If you have children and haven’t brought them a copy of Where The Wild Things Are then you are a bad parent. It is an essential part of every young child’s discovery of reading.

A couple of choice quotes from the a LA Times article about the Tintin Movie.

“The actors have green dots on their faces and wear a kind of wetsuit, and the computer reads every movement and every facial expression.” He said computers can also manipulate facial appearance. “It means we can freeze the age,” he said. “Tintin will never age.”

Source: ‘Tintin’ project brings moguls together

From: He’s a Journalist, Still.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is one of those iconic books from my childhood. It seems to perfectly capture a small boys imagination and dreams and the pictures were just iconic. One glance and they are instantly recognisable.

Like most of my children favourites, it is being made into a film. Spike Jonze is directing so I’m expecting something stunning. His previous films, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, are just incredible works that play with reality and cinematic conventions. There are rumours that the first edit of Where the Wild Things are were too dark and disturbing forcing the director to re-shoot large parts of the film.

How ever the film turns out, it looks like it is going to be stunning and match the books iconic images.

Source and more images: Where the ‘Wild Things’ Pictures Are

Below is a photo from the 1942 – 1943 Tolstoy Expedition to Tibet, a secret American mission to find a supply route between India and China. The expedition found the a route but political problems between the Tibetans and the Chinese prevented its use. Had the mission been successful the Americans and British could of supported their ally, China, in the fight against the Japanese with weapons and equipment.

Though the mission failed, the expedition took a series of photographs. They are remarkable because they capture Tibet and its people only eight years before the Chinese invasion and occupation. Few if any photographs were taken between the expedition and the early 1980s when China relaxed its iron fist slightly and allowed a handful of Western tourists into the area.

It is unclear what sources of information Herge had on Tibet when writing Tintin in Tibet. It has always been a remote and isolated country where few Westerners have travelled but Herge must of had good photographic sources for his drawing. Did he see photos from the Tolstoy Expedition? Probably not but these photographs are the last permanent record of country and way of life that no long exist.

Source: Travelin Tibet – Note the text accompanying the photos is unconnected to the Tolstoy Expedition.

One dedicated Tintin fan has started a Channel on Youtube (basically a collection of videos) all about Herge. I’ve only had a quick look so far but it seems that most are interviews with or programs about Herge and Tintin.

Check it out: Quiestce88

Source: Tintin on YouTube