Monthly Archives: December 2008

Giddyap Tintin in America

Posted on December 31, 2008 | 4 Comments

File This Under: Slice of Life

Courtesy Of Race Images, Christchurch, New Zealand (CLICK TO VIEW)

A different kind of Tintin in America

I just ran across this rather odd article in The New Zealand Herald about a “Pacer” named Tintin in America. A member of the Auckland New Zealand Trotting Club Syndicate, this horse and driver makes – apparently – a winning team.

I know Australia and New Zealand have large Tintin fan bases, but I never considered it so large as to explain how a racing horse could be named after one of Herge’s less-loved books. What makes this particularly bizarre to me is that it is a Harness racing horse. I am trying to imagine large groups of people holding their betting tickets yelling out over a crowded audience “Go! Tintin in America! Go!”. I wonder if the fans of Tintin in America have abbreviated the name or given the horse a nickname to make it easier to yell? I tried it at home and it is quite a mouthful to scream “Tintin in America” over and over. I ended up with “Go! America!” and “Go! Tintin!”.

For those of you interested in learning more about this duo, or if you are just interested in Harness racing, visit HarnessLink.com. They have international links, and they have “Harness TV” for those who can’t get enough on ESPN. Ha!

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Posted in news

English Person Changed Name to Haddock

Posted on December 27, 2008 | Leave a comment

According to The Telegraph, an English newspaper, there has been a recent spike in name changes, including:

“… a Mr Tintin Captain Haddock Confused Brewer, a N’Tom TheHayemaker Haywardyouliketocomebacktomine and a McLovin, the latter named after the lead character in the teenage film Superbad.”

I wonder how many other people have changed their name to a Tintin character. If you know of any, leave a comment.

People are funny.

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Posted in news, your thoughts

Tintin’s Birthday is Almost Here and We Need Your Help!

Posted on December 20, 2008 | 6 Comments

January 10, 2009 marks the 80th year since Tintin first appeared in a children’s supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle. We at ShopTintin.com want to do something special to celebrate Tintin’s birthday. But what to do? Should we offer a one-day sale on January 10? Should we hold a raffle? Offer a special gift to the 80th customer in January? The possibilities are endless and time is running out!

Post your ideas here, and the person who submits the best one will receive a ShopTintin.com coupon for $25.00! The winner will be announced January 2.

Happy Holidays!

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Posted in events, merchandise, your thoughts

Tintin in The Economist

Posted on December 19, 2008 | 4 Comments

The Economist Tries to Explain Tintin to Americans.

Today, The Economist released an extraordinarily exhaustive article on Tintin, and how Americans might better understand Hergé’s character. The article is far too long to excerpt it here, so I have posted a link. While it is curious to have The Economist publishing such a story, I am glad to read it. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

The Economist

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Posted in news, tintin movie

Andy Serkis is the New Captain Haddock

Posted on December 14, 2008 | 2 Comments

Fantastic interview and bio of our next Captain Haddock

serkis1

Andy Serkis

The TimesOnline has published a great interview with Andy Serkis, who is cast as Captain Haddock in the Spielberg and Jackson Tintin movices, which will begin shooting in March 2009. Here is an excerpt. I have sourced it below.

“Serkis’s reputation as someone who can play iconic, larger-than-life characters has paid off big-time in Hollywood, where the studios like to place their stars in neatly labelled boxes. When Steven Spielberg announced this year that he would be adapting the comic-strip Tintin for the big screen, it was almost inevitable that Serkis would scoop the part of Captain Haddock. Tintin will be a trilogy. Spielberg will direct the first instalment, which starts shooting in March; Peter “Lord of the Rings” Jackson will direct the second, and they plan to co-direct the third. Serkis is not allowed to reveal details, only that the same motion-capture technology that was used to create Gollum will be used to bring the Belgian cartoons to life. “It’s extremely exciting.They will be animated 3-D humanoids, essentially,” Serkis says. He is also excited about playing the 1970s rock star Ian Dury in a biopic that starts shooting next summer.”

Source: TimesOnline

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Posted in peter jackson, spielberg, tintin movie