Jamie Bell brings iconic globe-trotting character to America with “The Adventures of Tintin”
Iconic comic-book character Tintin (Jamie Bell) goes on a big-screen treasure hunt in the new movie "The Adventures of Tintin."
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Jamie Bell brings famous globe-trotting reporter to America with “The Adventures of Tintin”
The English actor plays the iconic comic-book character in his first motion-capture movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson.
For Jamie Bell, round-faced, ginger-haired boy reporter Tintin is more than just an intrepid journalist with a knack for finding danger along with a good story.
“He’s really dealing with injustices, he’s really dealing with political tensions, he’s really dealing with issues. He’s also kind of a pioneer of technology and science: I think he landed on the moon 16 years before Neil Armstrong did,” the actor said during an interview earlier this year at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
“He’s also part of history; I think he’s one of the very first comic book characters ever. He’s way older than Batman; he’s way older than Superman. This is the definitive comic book character. This is where it all started.”
Actor Jamie Bell attends the premiere of "The Adventures of Tintin" at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 in New Yok. (AP Photo)
After growing up watching a French-Canadian cartoon based on Belgian artist Herge’s classic comics, the English actor is helping introduce the adventuresome writer to American audiences with the Hollywood film “The Adventures of Tintin,” which opened Wednesday in U.S. theaters.
“It’s a massive responsibility, obviously. I know Tintin as someone who’s ingrained in my home continent’s culture. Like every European at some point will pick up a Tintin book or will refer to Tintin or … see a silhouette of him and be able to say, ‘Yeah, that’s Tintin,’” Bell said last week in a follow-up interview from New York City, where he was promoting the film.
“So the fact that he is unknown on these shores presents us with a great opportunity to introduce the character to a new generation of people and kind of tell them what they’re missing.”
“The Adventures of Tintin” is the first animated film from director Steven Spielberg, who became a fan of the character when French reviewers likened his Indiana Jones to the comic-book hero. Spielberg teamed with fellow three-time Academy Award winner Peter Jackson, who grew up on the comics in New Zealand and produced the film.
To bring Tintin to the big screen, Spielberg used a blend of digital animation and the motion-capture technology Jackson pioneered to create the villainous Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” films and the giant ape in “King Kong,” which co-starred Bell.
“It’s a little intense to have these two very powerful, very creative, very visionary powerhouses on the same set,” Bell said. “I’m very grateful for that experience. It’s a great experience to have. It was daunting, but they work so well together and “I learnt a lot about the way you can work with someone and come up with ideas. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson just have this ability to make things work, on a visual level, on a storytelling level.” They just have this gift. It’s a gift.”
The movie is based on three of Herge’s (the pen name for Georges Remi) books — “The Secret of the Unicorn,” “The Crab with the Golden Claws” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure” — and sends Tintin, his valiant dog Snowy and boozy seafarer Capt. Haddock (Andy Serkis) on a globe-trotting treasure hunt that pits them against the sinister Sakharine (Daniel Craig).
“We stayed very true to the books in the depiction of the world and the embodiment of the characters,” Bell said. “I think when we were making the film that was paramount to everyone.”
While his co-star Serkis is considered the master of mo-cap, having used the technique to embody Gollum and King Kong for Jackson and hyper-intelligent chimpanzee Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Tintin” marked Bell’s first film made with the high-tech process. Although the story hops from forbidding desert to lashing seas, Spielberg shot the movie on a Hollywood soundstage, while the actors were covered in reflective dots recorded by dozens of digital cameras.
“I kind of couldn’t believe the work of the animators. We made the film basically in one room, so for us to see this finished product was just eye-popping because for us we’d been used to pretty shabby pre-vis kind of animation, which has no rendering to it, and the graphics are so like 1990s,” Bell said with a laugh.
While the animators fleshed out the characters in post-production, Bell, 25, said the actors were tasked with bringing them to life in the first place.
“You’re doing the exact same thing that you do in a live-action film,” he said. “Without the actors, the digital puppets are lifeless. They don’t move and they don’t think and don’t feel and don’t speak. And we’re bringing all of that to the table.”
“Tintin” began showing in overseas theaters two months ago and is already is a global blockbuster, nearing $250 million at the worldwide box office. Jackson is planning to direct a sequel, and Bell would be thrilled to reprise the role, especially if Americans flock to theaters to meet the iconic character.
“Getting to work with Peter on a Tintin movie would be great. I think he’d make a really good movie,” Bell said. “I don’t think that’s ever decided by the filmmakers; it’s often decided by the public … if they embrace the film and want to go on more adventures with the character. So we’ll see.”
Contributing: The Associated Press.
-BAM
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