Peter Jackson revealed on Wednesday that he is taking on another cult classic — “Tintin”.
The Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” director said he has been working on a script for a new film about the boy reporter created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé nearly a century ago.
Jackson said the film would serve as a sequel to Steven Spielberg’s 2011 animated feature The Adventures of Tintin, which he co-produced.
“The deal was that Steven directs one and I direct another”, Jackson said at the Cannes Film Festival, where he received an honorary Palme d’Or lifetime achievement award on Tuesday.
“So Steven did his film, then for 15 years I haven’t made mine. I feel very awkward about that”, he said.
Jackson added that he had been using his time in Cannes to continue work on the screenplay alongside his partner, Fran Walsh.
“I’m in the hotel room down the road writing the script and sending pages to New Zealand”, he said.
Although he declined to reveal which Tintin albums inspired the project, Jackson hinted that the story would begin where Spielberg’s film ended, with Red Rackham's Treasure.
“It’s not the way that it carries on, but it begins exactly where the last film ends”, he said.
Jackson said he makes “films that I really want to see myself”, adding that the Tintin sequel would be no exception.
“When we get a draft done we will send it to Steven”, he said. “He might say that he doesn’t like it and maybe we should do it with different books. But I don’t think he will.”The director, who transformed The Lord of the Rings into one of cinema’s biggest box office franchises, said he has long loved Tintin adventures such as Tintin in Tibet and The Blue Lotus, which have remained popular with readers for generations.
Jackson, who owns visual effects company Weta FX, also addressed the debate surrounding artificial intelligence in filmmaking. The company has worked on major productions including Avatar and “The Lord of the Rings”.
While joking that AI is “going to destroy the world”, he said he did not oppose its use in cinema.
“To me, it’s just a special effect. It’s no different from other special effects”, he said.
However, Jackson added that legal and copyright restrictions would likely limit AI’s role in major feature films, saying the technology was more suited to short online videos than large studio productions.
The 64-year-old filmmaker also reflected on his early days in Cannes, recalling how he was removed from the Palais des Festivals for wearing shorts during the premiere of his 1987 debut film Bad Taste.
“I’m now an old fat rebel”, he joked.
Jackson also said he still hopes to make a film inspired by Britain’s famous Dambusters raid on German dams during World War II “if I live long enough”. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
