Comic-Con: Spielberg, Jackson tackle 'Tintin'; 'Jurassic Park 4' next?

If Steven Spielberg really does make "Jurassic Park 4" -- as the director indicated he would Friday at Comic-Con -- he'll have the experience of "The Adventures of Tintin," the latest attempt to make motion-capture look plausible in an animated film, to draw upon.

Spielberg has never worked with mocap before -- nor had he ever been to Comic-Con, for that matter -- but in the director's hands, "Tintin" looks promising, and may even be able to cross the uncanny valley with human characters that are stylized and yet tactile, with textures as convincing to the eye as live-action, minus the dead eyes and ropey mouths.

Aside from being animated, the footage showed to the Hall H crowd Friday morning was vintage Spielberg -- urgent, propulsive, and with lots of close-ups of faces in awe -- and there's a reason for that. Because the film is entirely digital, with environments that Spielberg could explore with a controller, the helmer "literally had the camera in his hands the whole time; every shot was his," said Peter Jackson, who is producing and whose Weta Digital is handling the effects for Spielberg's film.

Jackson's appearance was a surprise to the Hall H crowd, though he later explained that his two-film project "The Hobbit" was in the midst of a short shooting break, accounting for his rested and relaxed appearance and time to spend in San Diego.

As for another "Jurassic Park" sequel, Spielberg, who'd been rumored to have been mulling the project in the past weeks, disclosed that the story is ready, a writer is busy at work on the script and the movie should come in "two to three years."

"Those dinosaurs had a real effect on me," Jackson said after Spielberg's disclosure. "They still do."

Whether "Tintin," largely a European phenomenon, has an effect on U.S. audiences will depend on Spielberg's ability to put mocap to better effect than, say, "The Polar Express," "Beowulf" or "Mars Needs Moms," all criticized for an off-putting mocap style.

But Spielberg seems to think he's getting into the game at a good time, drawing upon the experiences of everything from "Polar Express" to "Avatar."

"And if all of you decide that this is worth seeing," Spielberg said, pointing to his panel-mate, "then Peter here will direct the next one."

--Josh L. Dickey