So with Tintin boasting arguably the two most bankable directors in Hollywood behind the camera, the film will be a dead-cert to clean up at the box office, right? Well apparently the bean-counters at Universal weren’t so sure.

With DreamWorks’ parent company Paramount agreeing to stump up half the cash, plans were in place for Universal to provide the rest. However, when Spielberg met with executives to talk numbers in September 2008, the studio balked at coughing up the $130 million required, particularly when it became clear that Spielberg would be requesting his customary 30% of the movie’s total gross.

With shooting having been set to start in October, Jackson and Spielberg were left looking rather red-faced, with Paramount reluctant to foot the whole bill. The shoot was shelved, causing the pair to lose their original pick for the role of Tintin, Love Actually’s Thomas Sangster.

Happily, Sony eventually stepped up to the plate, agreeing to co-fund at least the first two films, with a further option on the third. With the money finally in the bag, Steve and Pete at last had the green light to whip up some ground-breaking WETA wizardry…