He had the idea of opening the first Tintin store in the British capital four decades ago and a few years later Nick Rodwell (London, 1952) would meet Hergé's widow, Fanny Vlaminck, in Los Angeles and marry her in 1993. He would become a strict administrator of the image rights of Hergé's characters and would not hesitate to file suits with artists and fan clubs. He assures that it was necessary to defend a legacy that was unprotected. Far from the topic, in the presentation in Madrid of the Hergé exhibition materialized by his team, he exhibits affability and humor.
Who is Hergé for you?
My work of the last 35 years. It is important. But I have always done everything for my wife and my wife for Hergé. So there are three in the marriage, like Diana, Charles and Camilla.
He admits he has a bad reputation. deserved?
I deserve it or not, I have it. I always say that I am the equivalent of Bernard Tapie in France and since he has died, I am the only one left. You get used to it. We all have a role in life. I am the bad one.
Has he been too harsh on fan clubs and artists?
I have done what I thought should be done. It has been very instinctive. It is not marketing from Columbia University, he is self-taught, as Hergé was self-taught drawing. I am happy with the result, I think it is better promoted and protected than ever.
In the use of the image of Tintin by artists, what is the border?
There are tributes, pastiches... and everything is defined by law. Our way of working is to say no, we don't want it. You can be inspired by Hergé but do something different, don't take a picture of him and change an arm or a head, you can't. You can do the acting on film, in theater, in another medium. If it's art on paper, we don't like it. If I were to play Harry Potter, Dickens or Shakespeare I would say I want to keep them pure, I don't need the acting.
Why is Tintin still in such a good time?
First, we haven't made any new albums, Hergé said don't do them. Then, we have done a good job of protection and promotion, but because the creation is good. Everybody wants a piece of Tintin. A few days ago we had the twentieth request from a Zara supplier to work with Tintin. We do not work with suppliers. If Inditex wants to do something big, we will work with them. Inditex came yesterday to offer us a test with Tintin. We don't want a test, if you don't understand, leave us.
What is the future of Tintin?
We don't knock on doors. We hope that people will contact us. We now have an immersive experience with L'Atelier des Lumières in Paris opening this month and traveling. We are going to create an NFT, something daring considering the situation, and we are making a video game, which is a big investment. The albums sell more or less always the same.
And the movie with Peter Jackson?
It's so complicated... Because of covid and because my wife is not well and I can't travel as much as I used to. I haven't been back to Los Angeles. Spielberg's contract has been outsourced to Peter Jackson, who I've seen twice, but who has been taken over by the Beatles... Crazy world.
Why have you changed the name of your company from Moulinsart to Tintinimaginatio?
The Moulinsart name had a terrible reputation and he was tired of hearing the criticism. It was all Moulinsart's fault. Now no one is going to be able to pronounce it or write it down, so no one is going to be able to criticize us.
He has said that he would like to be tried in 50 years for what he is doing now. How would you like to be judged?
Honestly. If you judge Churchill today, he made many mistakes, he is responsible for many deaths, but everyone sees him as a hero. My parents were Jewish German refugees and were accepted by the British government. I am indebted to the British government. It is very different how Hergé is judged now and how he was seen after the world war. My job is to keep my wife happy and to protect and promote Hergé's work. The rest is judged by others.
