I never thought I’d live to see the day when Steven Spielberg, without question the most powerful and influential film director in showbiz, is told, “No thanks!”

According to the folks over at Radar Online, Paramount Pictures has opted out of co-producing Tintin, the mega-budget 3-D motion-capture adaptation of the popular European comics.

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Ever since I was a kid Tintin has been one of my favorite graphic novels. I was lucky enough to make it over to the Animation Museum in Belgium last year, where Tintin and his creator, Hergé, are both considered to be national treasures.

Well, apparently I’m a man of good tastes, because if you haven’t heard, two Hollywood heavyweights are bringing my favorite cartoon reporter and his pals to the big screen. That’s right: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are already working to bring Tintin fans the movie they’ve been waiting for, despite the WGA strike.

Looks like directors Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson have found their Tintin in young actor Thomas Sangster. He joins fan favorite Andy Serkis (Gollum, King Kong) as Captain Haddock. Now all they need is a Snowy the dog; I vote my dog, Peanut.

Of course, it won’t matter WHO plays the dog, since the movie will be CGI-motion capture, and will have a semi-realistic look. Spielberg and Jackson aren’t letting the writers strike, or the threatened actors strike stop them from their planned trilogy. (Though a September 2008 start date could get pushed back in an actors strike happens in July and it lasts a long time.)

The news of a photorealistic, CGI Tintin movie trilogy, to be directed by Stephen Spielberg, Peter Jackson and a third director to be named later (my guess, along with others, is Robert Zemeckis), isn’t new. But it’s still incredibly cool!

A writer has been named, who will likely end up writing all three films. Steven Moffat has the honor of putting pen to paper, so to speak, on this groundbreaking idea (c’mon, Spielberg and Jackson? Throw in Zemeckis, or even Lucas, and you have the granddaddy of all film trilogies!). Moffat has worked on Dr. Who, and has other credits in England.