'Tintin' Getting Only Two Films?

You might remember that at the end of September, word came that Steven Spielberg was having trouble financing his Tintin trilogy. Universal Studios had passed on the film, leaving Spielberg and co-director Peter Jackson without a major backer. According to Variety, they've found one. Sony and Paramount Studios are in talks to co-finance the franchise, with Sony handling the foreign release, and Paramount overseeing the domestic. DreamWorks will have no association with the film whatsoever.

The news that Tintin will still go ahead is good for fans -- but as always, there's a catch. Under the deal currently being negotiated, it looks as though there will only be two Tintin films. Considering that a director was never assigned, or a script written, this may have been decided long before the financing fell through. Perhaps a third film hinges on the success of the first two installments, and its a project Spielberg and Jackson plan to return to. It's going to be a hard sell here in North America, where Tintin is largely unknown, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sony and Paramount are hedging their bets a little.

It's also unclear when this film will ever start shooting. When the deal fell apart with Universal, Spielberg lost the participation of his lead actor, Thomas Sangster. They're going to need another Tintin -- and fast, as the first film is still expected to make its 2010 release.

This is a passion project for Spielberg and Jackson -- and at this point, it's going to take every ounce of that enthusiasm to ever get a motion-capture Tintin on the big screen.