Tintin's Out of Australia's Government, Playing Soccer in Texas

Tintin, the timeless, ageless boy reporter, created by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé (Georges Remi), is making news in the United States, a country which has never embraced him as other countries have, because Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are collaborating on three films of his adventures.

Tintin's tenure as Prime Minister of Australia has ended, but now he is playing soccer in Texas. As if that is not enough to keep him in the news, he has gotten in trouble in Turkey, and he has lost a friend, an opera singer, in Canada.

Tintin as Australia's Prime Minister

In the stories of Tintin's adventures (you can find the list of all twenty-four titles here), Tintin just stopped briefly in Australia. But, in recently years, Tintin or, at least, his long lost twin, has been spotted down under. Even before becoming Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd was caricatured by cartoonist Bill Leak as Tintin (as I reported in previous Tintin news here), so often that Moulinsart SA, the Belgian corporation which owns and controls all rights to Tintin, objected to the use of the image of Tintin in Leak's cartoons and demanded royalty payments.

Recently, Kevin Rudd was replaced by Julia Gillard, who is Australia's first woman Prime Minister. Since there are very few women portrayed in the adventures of Tintin, maybe Bill Leak will be safe from further litigation.

Tintin plays soccer in Texas

Tintin, like soccer, enjoys greater popularity almost everywhere else in the world than in the United States. That may be about to change, now that Tintin is playing soccer for a team in Texas.

In fact, native Texan Jamie Watson is a forward for the Austin Aztex who has been given the nickname Tintin because... Oh, well, check his photo (above). I have to illustrate with Tintin lookalikes, because Moulinsart is so protective of the image of Tintin himself, which is, after all, their property. (You can see the original Tintin accompanied by his dog Snowy here , on the homepage of the oldest and largest English language Tintin fan site on the Internet .)

Get a side by side comparison of Jamie Watson and his Belgian twin in a video here. On that page, you'll also notice that Watson answers to a name other than Tintin: "I normally go by that or most handsome guy on the team,"

Tintin has tobacco troubles in Turkey

According to the British newspaper and website, the Guardian (source), Tintin, or more specifically the broadcaster of the Adventures of Tintin (which you can watch for free online here) was fined £21,000 for showing the episode Tintin in America (which I have written about here) because people are seen smoking.

Ironically, the smokers are gangsters that Tintin, whose creator Hergé based on Boy Scout values, is putting out of business. That does not matter, because in Turkey (the home of Turkish tobacco) any representation of smoking in a film is prohibited. Since Captain Haddock, Tintin's best friend, smokes a pipe, there may be more troubles and fines ahead.

In the original twenty-four adventures of Tintin written by Hergé, Tintin never got to Turkey. In the 1961 live-action film, Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (more), however, Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Snowy ended up adventuring through Istanbul, where Captain Haddock is seen smoking a water pipe..

Tintin's favorite opera singer dies

Canadian contralto Maureen Forrester (more) died June 16, 2010 after a long, distinguished career (her New York debut was in 1956), during which she showed a special affinity for the works of Gustav Mahler.

She probably reached more listeners, however, as the voice of Bianca Castafiore, the diva (at least in her own mind) who befriends Tintin and pursues Captain Haddock, in the animated series of Tintin adventures (here). You can hear her performing la Castafiore's signature aria, Gounod's "Jewel Song" (here), complete with memorable images of Tintin's friend.

Tintin's blue cousins are getting in the way

Tintin is just one example of the great tradition of Belgian cartoons, which includes the Smurfs, who are much better known and appreciated in the United States than the intrepid reporter. Their live action film (as I reported here) is scheduled for August 2010, some four months ahead of Tintin's December 2010. Each film is the first in a series of three, and each will be in 3-D.