MUMBAI: Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures will jointly produce the next instalment of Tintin to be directed by Steven Speilberg.

Hence the day the crucial meeting was held, forty-six members including Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton, co-Chairman Amy Pascal, Paramount Film Group President John Lesher and marketing teams from around the globe - sat together to delve into the matter.

The occasion was the presentation on Tintin, the 80-year-old comic strip series by Belgian artiste Hergé about a boy reporter and his loyal dog, Snowy.

The $200-million production The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is expected to be one of the big event movies of 2011.

Despite the pedigree of the filmmakers, 'Tintin' presents a difficult challenge for both studios: The comic is widely popular abroad but is largely unknown in the U.S.