Variety is reporting that Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are teaming up to direct and produce three back-to-back movies chronicling the adventures of Herge's beloved comic book character Tintin.  Herge's 23 volumes of Tintin adventures have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and remain among the finest 'all ages' graphic novels in the history of the medium.  Jackson and Spielberg will each direct one of the Tintin films and production could start as soon as this fall after Spielberg wraps up Indiana Jones 4.

The films will be produced in full digital 3-D using WETA's motion-capture technology.  Jackson has already completed a 20-minute test reel featuring the Herge (George Remi) characters.  Spielberg told Variety: 'We want Tintin's adventures to have the reality of a live-action film, and yet Peter and I felt that shooting them in a traditional live-action format would simply not honor the distinctive look of the characters and world that Herge created.' Jackson added that although the filmmakers will use Herge's character designs the results will not be cartoonish: 'We're making them look photorealistic; the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people -- but real Herge people!'

Spielberg's Dreamworks purchased the rights to create Tintin movies from the Herge estate some time ago (see 'Herge Foundation Oks Tintin Movie').  The new films will be set in exactly the same time period as the Tintin adventures upon which they are based, and the use of full 3-D technology should produce an immersive experience of the first order.