Launch of 2007 events for centennial of Tintin author's birth

(22 May 2006) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of press conference
2. Cutaway of woman looking at press kit with Herge on the cover
3. Wide of Nick Rodwell speaking at podium
4. Fanny Rodwell sitting at press conference
5. SOUNDBITE: (French) Fanny Rodwell, Widow of Herge (Georges Remi)
"100 years is always remembered and celebrated. It's also a tradition. It's the moment to pay homage to this great author who, in the case of Herge, is often overshadowed by his creation."
5. Centennial banner for Herge
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Nick Rodwell, Husband of Fanny Rodwell
"What the Beatles are to the British public, Herge and Tintin is to the Belgians - the French speaking public. It's the same importance. You ask me to explain why the Beatles are such a great success - I can't, they just are. And Tintin is always the major work, is just something very, very special that everybody knows and everybody has come across either the books or television. It has touched people in the same way that the songs have touched people."
7. Cutaway of Rodwells with guests
8. Various of Tintin mural in Brussels
FILE: Brussels, 8 January, 2004
9. Various of covers of Tintin books in different languages
10. Two (black and white) STILLS of Herge, Georges Remi
CENTENNIAL OF TINTIN AUTHOR'S BIRTH TO BE MARKED WITH YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS
The creator of one of the world's best loved cartoon characters - the boy reporter Tintin, is set to be remembered in year long celebrations across the globe, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the author.
Next year, exhibitions of the life and times of Georges Remi, better known by his pen-name Herge, born in 1907 will be held throughout museums from Belgium to Canada.
At the Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts, in Brussels on Monday a news conference was held to launch the event, attended by Herge's widow, Fanny Rodwell.
Rodwell says the centennial celebrations aim to pay homage to the "genius of one man who has often been overshadowed by his creations."
Herge is generally recognised as one of the most influential comic book artists of the 20th Century.
Rodwell's current husband Nick Rodwell, said that Tintin is to the French speaking nation, what the Beatles are to the British.
"You ask me to explain why the Beatles are such a great success - I can't, they just are. And Tintin is always the major work, is just something very, very special that everybody knows and everybody has come across either the books or television. It has touched people in the same way that the songs have touched people," said Rodwell.
By his centennial year, it's expected that sales of Herge's works will have reached 120 million copies in French and 90 million copies in foreign languages.
In 2007, events are set to take place in Belgium, France and Switzerland with exhibitions planned for Barcelona, Quebec and Stockholm.

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