“The Adventures of Tin Tin”, a new film directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, will be released here in Nyon next Wednesday the 26th October at the Capitole cinema with two screenings of the film at 15:15 and at 18:00.
There are lots of events happening around this big event due to the link between Nyon and one of the Tin Tin books written by Belgian artist Hergé. The story, “The Calculus Affair” (in French – “L’affaire Tournesol”) is set both in Geneva and in Nyon and some of the landmarks in the illustrations in this book can still be seen in Nyon today.
Above – Le Maitre Jacques statue in Nyon featured in The Calculus Affair.
Nyon tourist office organises tours throughout the year to see these landmarks such as: the 1953 fire service jeep, the house of Professor Topolino in Route de St Cergue, the Maitre Jacques statue in Rue de Rive, and the walk along the Quai des Alpes along the lake side. The latter has barely changed since the illustrations were first drawn in the book, the plane trees and the green benches are still there! Check out the UK Tin Tin site for more interesting information..
Events happening around next week’s launch of film in Nyon.
13:00 Guided tour in the steps of Tin Tin in the company of Jean- Michel Paccaud and Luc Paracchini (Tin Tin experts from the Alpart association (Les amis suisses de Tintin). The tour begins at Place Saint-Martin. Note: Reservations necessary for the tour and must be made by Tuesday afternoon. Call Nyon tourist office on 022-365 66 00 Places limited to 25.
From 13:00 The 1953 Fire service jeep Willys will be displayed in Place St Martin for fans to see.
Competition for dogs!
Do you have a dog that looks like Milou (Snowy) in the Tin Tin books? If so, take it to Place St Martin from 15:00 to be judged in a look alike competition. The winning dog will have its photo taken and published in La Côte newspaper with other prizes.
Shop window competition
There are 21 shop windows around Nyon that have Tin Tin posters displayed to coincide with the launch of the film. Each window has an extract of a sentence, piece all these together and you will discover another sentence. Send your answer to Nyon tourism before the 6th November to win a prize!
MAIN EVENT Screenings of the film “The Adventures of Tin Tin” at 15:15 and at 18:00 at the Capitole Cinema.
From the 26th Ocotber different Tin Tin products will be on sale at the cinema.
A few fun facts about the new Tin Tin film (courtesy Nyon tourist office)
Hergé is the pen name for Georges Remi. The name is a play on the French pronunciation of his initials in reverse: R.G.
Hergé created Tintin in 1929 as a comic strip in Le Petit Vingtième, a children’s supplement to the Belgian newspaper
Le XXe Siècle (The 20th Century). Hergé was himself a Boy Scout and created Tintin with the Boy Scouts in mind.
The Adventures of Tintin have been collected into 24 books in total. The last complete adventure was published in 1976. The 24thtitle, Tintin and the Alph-Art, was never completed but published posthumously in 1986.
The Tintin books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 100 languages.
Hergé’s signature ligne claire style (or clear line) influenced such artists as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Tintin’s adventures took him to both real and fictitious locations. Hergé was an “armchair traveller” and based his drawings by meticulously recreating places around the world based on pictures in National Geographic and other references.
The Tintin stories incorporate a number of genres, including mystery, adventure, fantasy, science fiction and satire, all with elements of comedy.
Hergé based Tintin’s environment on his own home town of Brussels, Belgium, though the city is not mentioned by name. One of the film’s conceptual designers travelled to Brussels to gather references for designing iconic locations like Tintin’s apartment at 26 Labrador Road and Marlinspike Hall.
Tintin is the character’s last name (we don’t know his first). He is somewhere between 17 and 19 years old. He is an investigative reporter by profession, an adventurer and a detective, skilled at nearly everything, and honest and decent by nature. Tintin lives at 26 Labrador Road. He is played by Jamie Bell in the film.
Snowy is a white Fox Terrier (technically not a breed that exists as fox terriers have brown and black markings). He often finds the missing clue or saves the day but quickly reverts to his animal nature when Mrs. Finch’s cat is around. He is also known to take a sip of Haddock’s liquor when the opportunity arises.
Captain Archibald Haddock’s first name is unknown until the final book, Tintin and the Picaros. He is a salty sea captain fond of colorful insults and partial to drink. He is introduced in The Crab with the Golden Claws. He is played by Andy Serkis in the film.
Thompson & Thomson (mind your p’s) are plain-clothed policemen. Though they’re often referred to as the “Thom(p)son Twins”, they are not twins. In fact, they are not related. Their only discernable difference is the shape of their moustaches—Thompson’s curls up at the ends, while Thomson’s does not. They tend to garble, bumble and bungle anything they can, including words. They are played by Nick Frost (Thomson) and Simon Pegg (Thompson) in the film.
Omar Ben Salaad is a wealthy businessman who lives in Morocco. He appears to be the pillar of his community, but in realty has some shady dealings and shadier friends. He is played by Gad Elmaleh in the film.
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine is a collector of model ships with a mysterious past. He has come to live at Marlinspike Hall. He is played by Daniel Craig in the film.
Hergé believed Steven Spielberg was the perfect director to bring his characters to the big screen. Unfortunately, he passed away just days before he and Spielberg were to meet for the first time.
The film’s story is taken from The Secret of the Unicorn (book #11, published 1942-1943), The Crab with the Golden Claws (book #9, published 1940-1941) and Red Rackham’s Treasure (book #12, published 1943-1944).
When Steven Spielberg approached Peter Jackson about his company Weta Digital creating an animated test for Snowy, Jackson sent him a clip with the Lord of the Rings director himself playing Captain Haddock while an animated Snowy cavorts around him. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost worked with movement coach, choreographer and Cirque de
Soleil veteran Terry Notary for a week to create the carefully coordinated pratfalls of Thompson and Thomson.
Jamie Bell said the physical demands of the role of Tintin exceeded even those of his performance as young dancer in
Billy Elliot. Most of the Weta animators working on the film were lifelong Tintin fans.
Among the images Hergé meticulously researched were the vehicles that appeared in the comics, such as a 1937 Ford and a sea plane. The animation team followed suit, locating even the model and year to use as reference for the versions that appear in the film.
Over a dozen countries were represented by the film’s cast and crew, including Czech Republic, South Africa, Germany, Italy, France, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.