Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Tintin

British comedians Nick Frost and Simon Pegg first hit big with American audiences in the 2004 zombie film "Sean of the Dead." They've reuinted for "Paul," which the cowrote and costar in; "Paul" opens this coming weekend. But what us bookish types care about is their appearance in "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," based on Hergé's Tintin series, directed by Steven Spielberg. It uses performance-capture technology similar to that used on "Avatar."

Rebecca Keegan spoke with them at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, for our scintinllating sibling blog, Hero Complex.

Spielberg first enlisted Pegg and Frost when Pegg was meeting with him about a writing job. Instead of the writing gig, Spielberg asked the pair to play Thompson and Thomson -- two bumbling detectives from the classic comic series by Belgian artist Hergé. On the set, they were among the first to see Spielberg -- who had never even shot in digital on a film -- as he learned to use new technology....

Pegg and Frost wore performance capture suits on the set, where a bunch of gray-painted chicken wire would stand in for a setting like a marketplace.

“It was like rehearsing a play, like when you’re a kid and you’re pretending that thing over there could be the Millennium Falcon,” Frost said.

"Tintin" is scheduled for release on Dec. 28. It also stars Daniel Craig and Carey Elwes. It is based on the two Tintin comics "Le secret de la licorne" and "Le trésor de Rackham Le Rouge," by Belgian comic artist Hergé.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Top: Nick Frost, left, and Simon Pegg. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Bottom: Thompson (played by Pegg) and Thomson (played by Frost) escort Silk (played by Toby Jones) back to his apartment. Credit: Paramount Pictures

Comments

[lala]

shaun of the dead

[Julie]

Dear Carolyn,

Please don't always rely on the spell check. The movie was "Shaun of the Dead", not "Sean of the Dead" . They were also in the movie "Hot Fuzz" together. Maybe you can get some tips from your fellow LA Times writer Rebecca Keegan....she got the spelling right! :)

[J]

I hate Spielberg so many garbage movies now he looks to bring down some good artist...

[DINESH R MAKWANA]

Potentially, the great Steven Spielberg may have a found a sequel run of films in the Tintin series that could stretch to ten films or more. Georges Prosper Remi (22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. "Hergé" is the French pronunciation of "RG", his initials reversed. His best known and most substantial work is The Adventures of Tintin comic book series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, leaving the twenty-fourth Tintin adventure Tintin and Alph-Art unfinished. His work remains a strong influence on comics, particularly in Europe. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003. A lot will depend on this first film and but what an excellent choice of material by Steven Spielberg. Well done. Regards, DINESH R MAKWANA