Thanks to First Showing, we have some revealing and detailed highlights from the packed out Hall H panel which wrapped up just a few moments ago. The following are literally just a small selection of the sites coverage, so be sure to head on over to the site to read them in full by clicking on the link below.
Spielberg didn't know what Tintin was until he read a review that kept comparing his film to Tintin and he decided to look into it. "I didn't need to read the words, when I got to the end of it I could see the point."
How do you cast? "I simply find the best person for the part." Talking about how to cast for performance capture. "You won't see his face, but you'll see every nuance of his performance."
"I have to make the decision do I shoot this live-action with a digital dog, or do I animated the film. So I want to Weta and asked them to do test. Show me a digital dog against a human character, especially with a costume. And that's how I started this entire process... six years ago."
They said "we have the test" and let's roll it. Who walks out on the video? Peter Jackson decked in Tintin gear on a dock, with Snowy running around him.
And look who walks on stage as soon as the lights go up - PETER JACKSON!
They wanted a direct translation art-to-art and they wanted to honor Herge and use animation to get as close as they could to the characters he invented, not characters they invented or movie stars.
Steven: Motion capture is much more of a direct-to-canvas art form and doesn't require the hundreds of crew doing so many jobs (like a dolly grip) that he's had before on live-action.
Jackson says he recognizes all of the Hollywood film influences in Herge and they wanted to make a film that had all of the different layers that Herge had in it and they didn't do anything different from the tone that wasn't in the books.
Just watched a select sequence of clips with a montage of footage at the end from Tintin in 3D. It looks great, lots of adventure and fun, yet lots of story and dialogue, too. Saw the scene where he first meets Haddock and is asking him about the Unicorn.
Steven: Every person who animated this, animated every frame of Avatar, and they're very lucky to "end up in Peter's backyard."
The movie is really a dense story, a really dense detective story, a murder mystery, it's funny when it needs to be. "What you saw is just the tip of the iceberg" because the footage is some of the early renderings from Weta and it has even "gone beyond this in terms of spectacle and production values" and we'll see more of that very soon, he promises.
Steven: All of the big epic scenes, chases and battles, which they haven't even show because they're still in development. "I could put my camera in places I never could in a live-action movie."
Steven says the first time he ever met Peter Jackson was when he handed him his Oscar when he won it for Lord of the Rings. "This has been such a wonderful treat for me to work with [PJ]. He's like my brother." And he also likes working in New Zealand because it doesn't have the hyper-energy of Los Angeles.
And courtesy of the film-makers, here are some updates on the status of
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and
Jurassic Park IV.
Peter on Hobbit: "I'm having a hell of a time. I'm enjoying it way way more than I thought I would. I'm so glad I'm doing it, I'm having a blast. It's an interesting way to make the movie, since they're on a short break."
Couldn't think of anyone else better than Martin Freeman to play Bilbo. The break is enforced because Martin has to go back to the UK to shoot Sherlock, but it's currently going fantastically well.
Question about Jurassic Park IV - has anything happened? Spielberg: "Yes it has, we have a story, I can happily announce right now." They have a writer and hopefully they are going to make Jurassic Park IV sometime in the near future.
Click on the image (courtesy of HeyUGuys) to view it in full-size.
RELEASE DATE: October 26th, 2011. (UK) December 23rd, 2011. (US)