§ Oh boy, Anne Thompson unpacks the snarl of financing the TINTIN movie, and despite Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson being involved, it’s been quite complicated. The uncertain status of Dreamworks was part of the problem, and Universal bowed out. However, now Sony and Paramount are talking about co-financing. However, it’s for only one film. That’s down from THREE movies.

Spielberg and Jackson were originally teaming to direct and produce three consecutive features based on Georges Remi’s beloved comicstrip hero Tintin. Spielberg and Jackson selected three stories from Remi’s “The Adventures of Tintin” series, which encompassed 23 books published between 1929 and 1976 about an intrepid junior reporter and his dog Snowy, who track down stories to the ends of the Earth.

The director of the third film in the planned trilogy was always up in the air, and a script was never written.

§ EW gets the scoop on Terrence Howard’s removal from the Iron Man franchise. It seems he was difficult on the set AND had a hefty payday, bigger than any other cast member.

As such, when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard’s story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor’s agents with a new and drastically reduced offer — a number that’s similar to what supporting cast members were paid for the first movie. The agents, according to sources, were so taken aback by this new figure — estimated at somewhere between a 50 and 80 percent pay cut — that they questioned it. Why did they blanch? Multiple sources say that Marvel execs never told Howard’s reps that they had issues with the star’s on-set conduct.


§ Geoff Boucher talks to Frank Miller about cat food. Psyche! It was about The Spirit movie!

“I adored Will Eisner and took a real ‘Don’t tread on me’ approach when I came to this movie. At the same time, I was willing to tread all over it. I knew Will always wanted to do something fresh and new, not some stodgy old thing that aspires to be revered. I don’t want anybody to bow to this movie. I want a ripping good yarn. It is not an antique.”


§ There are reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire will write SPIDER-MAN 4. Maybe this outing will be called “Your Arms Too Short to Box with Kraven.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Honestly, I think a Tintin movie would do better overseas, I don’t think the market is the US audience.

    I don’t care about the Howard, Iron Man drama.

    Interesting choice for the next Spider-Man.