Tintin came home to Brussels Saturday, 22 October 2011, the city where the comic-book character was created 80 years ago by Belgian artist Georges Remi. Published under the pseudonym Hergé, his Tintin stories have pleased millions since.
The city is decorated with banners and massive posters taken from the art of director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson's movie, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Celebrations began in the morning with a parade of vintage vehicles from the era of Hergé 's Tintin, recognisable in the film, through Brussels. Public access to the exhibition of the vehicles followed, after an acrobatics show in the square outside the cinema.
Spielberg and Bell expected on the red carpet
The red carpet celebrities, led by director Steven Spielberg, begin arriving at 1 pm for the private preview of the movie at the UGC de Brouckère, Place de Brouckère, Bruxelles. Jamie Bell, whose performance-capture of the hero is set to delight his fans, was one of a host of the movie's stars to appear. The whole cavalcade of stars then moved on to Paris for an evening premiere there.
Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig star in this performance-capture feature. All have worked on the production at Peter Jackson's New Zealand studios, where much of the filmmaking process took place, Bell fitting his stint in between phases of filming the very different thriller, Retreat, in Wales, UK.
The Adventures of Tintin publicity campaign
A carefully orchestrated publicity campaign included periodic releases of teasers and trailers as well as a variety of posters. News has been streaming out via Facebook, in particular, for several months, but with an absolute storm of material in the last few days. There are three different Tintin FB sites, plus Weta, who have been responsible for the movie's Art Direction, Design and Visual Effects and post-production.
Weta has launched a range of related merchandise in recent weeks, including collector's models of the movie's characters. An artists' signing marathon at Weta Cave, Wellington, of the newly launched book, The Art of the Adventures of Tintin, was closely followed by a feature of Tintin concept art in the 18 October Empire Magazine.
Further preview and release dates for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Following the UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, the Medicinema preview on Monday 24 October is at 9.15pm at BAFTA's Princess Anne Theatre, London. Tickets are £30 to £50 for what promises to be a smart occasion, with actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who play Thomson and Thompson in the movie, as the stars in attendance.
Paramount's release schedule shows a staggered release for this first Tintin movie, which is available in 3D and other advanced formats. Release dates are 26 and 27 October 2011 for most of Europe, with the USA having to wait until prime Christmas release date, 21 December, for their taste of the action.
Valerie Williamson - Dr. Val Williamson is a freelance journalist and academic specialising in historical and popular culture topics.
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