Steven Moffat clarifies 'Tintin' departure

LONDON, July 23 (UPI) -- Scottish screenwriter Steven Moffat said he didn't turn down the the "Tintin" film project, the recent U.S. writers' strike caused him to bow out of the job.

Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg is planning a trilogy based on Herge's comic books, and starring Thomas Sangster from "Love Actually" and Andy Serkis from "The Lord of the Rings" movies.

Moffat was to write the scripts for two of the "Tintin" films before he began his job as new show runner for TV's iconic "Doctor Who" series, but the Writers Guild of America strike held the "Tintin" project up and Moffat had to move on, the BBC said.

Moffat called a newspaper report claiming he had "turned down" a two-film deal with Spielberg "a bit misleading."

He told the BBC that "nothing less than Doctor Who could have torn me away" from "Tintin," which he said was a "stunning project" he was "proud" to be part of.

"(Spielberg had been) very patient and understanding about the situation, despite the problems it created," Moffat said, noting "the figures quoted" in the erroneous newspaper report regarding his salary "are also entirely speculative and wildly inaccurate."