Jamie Bell to play 'Tintin' in Spielberg-directed film

Bell, best known for his role in the hit 2000 film "Billy Elliot," will star as the intrepid young reporter while James Bond actor Daniel Craig will play the villain Red Rackham, reports said. Bell and Craig recently costarred in the World War II drama "Defiance."

The film is set to be the first in a series of two or three films based on Tintin, whose first adventure, created by George Remi who is better known by his pen name Herge, appeared 80 years ago in January 1929.

The first film is being produced by Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and "Lord of the Rings" Oscar-winning New Zealand director Peter Jackson. Jackson is set to direct the second film in the series.

Both Jackson and Spielberg have said the Tintin adaptations would feature groundbreaking computer animation technology.

"Herge's characters have been reborn as living beings, expressing emotion and a soul that goes far beyond anything we've seen to date with computer animated characters," Spielberg said in a 2007 interview.

Jackson said although the movies would be computer generated, the characters would not look cartoonish.

"Instead we're making them look photorealistic," Jackson said. "The fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They will look exactly like real people Ğ but real Herge people!"

Principal photography for the movie, "The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn," began Monday. The film is tentatively scheduled for release in 2011.