The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn's release date is December 23rd at Christmas but producers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will do a full scan of their Tintin adaptation with a little help of British writer Anthony Horowitz.
London author Horowitz appeared as guest on Richard Bacon's Radio 5 talk show to promote his last Alex Rider novel, and jump on talk about his ongoing work with the American studios:
II'm working in Hollywood at the moment, I'm writing a feature film even as we speak. I've been hired to write Tintin… The Secret of the Unicorn is being directed by Steven Spielberg and was written originally by Steven Moffat, of course the writer of Doctor Who in this country. He did a couple of drafts then it was taken over by Edgar Wright… they've got [that] coming out at Christmas and if that film is a success and works and gets an audience I'm writing the sequel to it, Prisoners of the Sun, which Peter Jackson is going to direct. Joe Cornish is also a named screenwriter with Edgar Wright… That's only three [writers]. Three is not too bad… at the moment on the second one it's just one but you can bet your bottom dollar that by the time the film hits the screen, if it ever happens next year, that I'll be joined by one or two other names there.”
However, Horowitz is a highly eloquent writer — the kind of talent that Jackson and Spielberg would certainly engage. He has a number of credits on British television, especially as creator of the WWII drama Foyle's War, in addition to aforementioned Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish who have also written for British TV.
Steven Spielberg is using motion capture technology to film Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost in The Secret of the Unicorn, whilst Jackson is on board to direct the sequel. (That might mean the film won't happen as The Hobbit will be in the way).
Prisoners of the Sun is the 14th Tintin book by Hergé, published in 1949, and has already been used as first draft for a film Tintin and the Temple of the Sun and other media.
Check out Prisoners of the Sun, a full 38-minute animated adaptation:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmHV38wNnmM[/youtube]
Source: BBC Radio 5
