The Adventures of Tintin (film) location of Marlinspike Hall, Tintin and Haddock find there some of the treasure and a clue to the "Unicorn"s location. Both men agree on setting up an expedition to find the shipwreck. Spielberg has been an avid fan of "The Adventures of Tintin" comic book series since 1981, when a review compared "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to Tintin. Meanwhile, the comics' creator, Hergé—who didn't like the previous live-action film versions and the animated series—became a fan of Spielberg. Michael Farr, author of "Tintin: The Complete Companion", recalled Hergé "thought Spielberg was the only person who could ever do Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin (film) justice". Spielberg and his production partner Kathleen Kennedy of Amblin Entertainment were scheduled to meet with Hergé in 1983 while filming "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in London. Hergé died that week, but his widow decided to give them the rights. A three-year-long option to film the comics was finalized in 1984, with Universal as distributor. Spielberg commissioned "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" writer Melissa Mathison to script a film where Tintin battles ivory hunters in Africa. Spielberg saw Tintin as "Indiana Jones for kids" and wanted Jack Nicholson to play Haddock. Unsatisfied with the script, Spielberg continued with production