Universal deems Tintin movie too expensive

Universal Pictures has recoiled at the cost of the 3-D animated movie adaptation of the adventures of Tintin by two of Hollywood’s top directors, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The two legendary directors submitted to Universal a 130 million dollar budget to produce a trilogy of films based on the beloved Belgian comic-strip boy reporter.

But Universal refused to green light the project, and production, scheduled to begin in October, is on hold until Spielberg and Jackson find other financing, the Times said.

Paramount — owner of DreamWorks, where Spielberg has been developing the project — had agreed to finance half the film and was hoping to partner with Universal, the Times said.

Now, Spielberg will have to ask Paramount to foot the entire bill, at a time when the director had been looking to end his association with the studio, the paper said.

- from here