Why you must not miss The Adventures of Tintin

As you know, movie history is based upon technical innovation. First there was the movie, then the first colored movie, the first talking movie, the first movie in cinemascope, the first animated movie, the first in 3D and more recently (2004, to be precise) the first movie shot in Performance Capture. Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express was a revolution, being the first movie shot that way.

 

 

But what is "Performance Capture" ? As its name explains it, this technology is based upon the performance of the actor. Beyond the rechnique, it is a new way of directing movie. Like Jamie Bell explained it in an interview I've read, Performance Capture is the technique that free the director of all techniques. Till then directing a movie was so complex that the director only had few time to focus on his actors. He had for example to place the camera, which means to find the right angle, but also to bear with every unexpected things to happen during the movie making (weather conditions, strikes, fire, …). Producers expect him to be able to improvise quickly and would for example hardly work with a director waiting for the perfect weather conditions before shooting anything. John McTiernan uses to say that his movies shows only 20% of what he had in mind because shootings are only concessions.

 

 

With the Performance Capture (or PF), these problem are over, the first step in the elaboration of this movie is the recording of the actor’s performance. It is taken at once, the only break are lunch break or pee break. It’s like theatre (I advise you to watch the bonuses on Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol's blu-ray). All actors wear captors on them, so their performance is associated with a digital representation. Imagine the performance of Ray Winstone as a dragon.; or Jim Carrey playing multiple characters without wearing make up. In Beowulf, Ray Winstone plays Beowulf and the Dragon (his son). In A Christmas Carol, Jim Carrey plays Scrooge and the three ghosts (that are emanations of Scrooge’s mind). In Monster House, Kathleen Turner plays a house ! It’s Kathleen Turner’s performance that you see when the house moves !

 

The next step is post-production. With Performance Capture, this is the step where the movie is really “elaborated”. This is now that the director chooses camera angles, with a control never seen before; actually a total control. Performance Capture grants actors an incredible register of possible character to play; and grants directors the possibility to get rid of the compromises and to artistically express themselves as never before. No surprise then in seeing so many fans for this technology among high rated directors like James Cameron, David Fincher, Alex Proyas, Andrew Stanton or Steven Spielberg. James Cameron used it in his mega masterpiece Avatar and Steven Spielberg is using it for his new movie The Adventures Of Tintin.

 

 

Next to this technical revolution, we see a new Hollywood appearing, or like Guillermo Del Toro named it “Hollywood dreamed by Gods”. This new place is New Zealand where a genius man, Peter Jackson, acquired his independence with his studio, Weta. James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Edgar Wright and Guillermo Del Toro already joined him. While none expected it, there is really something new happening in the movie industry.

 

The first collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson is The Adventures Of Tintin. A movie finally becoming realityafter 30 years of developpement Hell. In 1981, after he saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Hergé, Tintin's creator, though he had found the only director able to bring Tintin to the big screen. He recognised the creativity of Steven Spielberg and gave him the rights for a Tintin movie. Sadly because of numerous bad circumstances, it was never made. The project was finallybrought back to life some years ago by Steven Spielberg. Thinking first about a live movie with only Snowy made in CGI, he asked Peter Jackson a test sequence for Snowy. Watching it made him so enthusiastic that Spielberg started to think about making the whole movie using Performance Capture and, therefore being faithful toHergé's draws. Peter Jackson was seduced by the project and he became producer (and future director of the sequel).

 

 

When this movie was already getting every movie geeks (like your servant) totally hysterical, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornisch joined Spielberg and Jackson for the script writing. And then came the cast! I mean, who do you think can play Tintin, if not the young Jamie Bell? On the other hand, Haddock is played by Andy Serkis, THE acting icon of performance capture with roles like Gollum, Kong or Ceasar. If you need more well, the names of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost or Daniel Craig should make you figure out why I am so excited about this movie!

 

I mean Steven Spielberg, the man behind Indiana Jones, A.I., War Of The Worlds, E.T. and Close Encounter of The Third Kind is about to release a movie without any technical concession. If the project doesn’t excite you as well, I bet you don’t like movies! Believe it or not, The Adventures Of Tintin is about to rock, to make you get back in the skin of the 5 years old kid astonished by what's going on on screen. So be part of movie history by being in an IMAX 3D theatre of on October 26 for European, in December for American, and when the time will come everywhere else. I'm telling you: you won’t regret it!