Spielberg Coming To First Comic-Con

Deadline Comic-Con film correspondent Luke Y Thompson reports:

What do you do when you have a big-ticket movie planned as the first of a trilogy that uses a technology most fans are still skeptical about? Bring the big gun to Comic-Con. And so I’ve confirmed that Steven Spielberg is coming on the morning of July 22nd. Bear in mind that Spielberg didn’t even show for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in person, but by video. That was a sure thing. The Adventures Of Tintin isn’t, at least as a movie. But as a panel? It’s become the must-see. Spielberg will be presented with the Inkpot award, which Comic-Con apparently gives out every year (though I can’t recall seeing it done at a panel before). It worked for James Cameron and Avatar, when people still thought 3D and 9-foot blue people were bad bets. Now comes Tintin, a beloved international property less-known in the U.S. adapted to the big screen using the kind of motion-capture technology that Robert Zemeckis loves but audiences aren’t on board with yet. Spielberg’s decision to use motion capture was based in part on the notion that famous actors in wigs and make-up would look too much like, well, stars in wigs and make-up. So he wanted characters that looked more like the actual cartoons. But so far, the Belgian comics are charming in 2D, and look weird as blobby 3D CG characters. There’s little doubt Spielberg will show the best bits. It’ll be interesting to see if they turn the corner on audience perception.