The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Chaka's_Mum]

My main problem with marvin is his overall size, his body looks too thick, too like someone in a suit, I always pictured his body being more pathetic.

The TV Marvin most definitely was someone in a suit. He was tall and humanoid - though I now remember that, in the book, Marvin is made of steel, despite the 'plastic pal' advert. I don't recall a description of his appearance in the Radio series, though.

He does look cute. I just want to pick him up and hug him to death.

Maybe I'm just showing my age or something, but that's my particular problem with him. You almost get the feeling he was designed specifically to spawn cuddly toys for the merchandising. Mind you, if they do them small enough, I might well get one and hang it from my rear-view mirror in my car along with the dream-catchers.

I still wish they'd got Stephen Moore in to voice him, though. That would have been a nice bit of continuity - Radio to TV to Movie. Ah well...

Do you reckon we'll get far enough into the story to hear about the Jatravartids and their beliefs about the origin of the universe? Now that's a creation theory and a half!

[BruTak]

Personally speaking, I was hoping they'd cast American comedian Steven Wright as Marvin's voice.

If the name's not familiar, he's the guy who played the K-BILLY DJ in Reservoir Dogs.
He's got this really slow - slow - measured way of speaking, like he's on the verge of falling asleep or something. practically perfect for Marvin.

[Chaka's_Mum]

Alas, Stephen Wright is completely unknown to me (I haven't seen Reservoir Dogs). For a moment I thought you meant Steve Wright off Radio 2!

I imagine the production team had to walk quite a fine line here in casting the film - they've got to attract an American audience who've not got tapes and CDs of the original series on Radio/TV and aren't already drooling at the prospect of HHGttG on the Big Screen (hence Mos Def and Sam Rockwell), but they don't want to alienate the UK fans - many of whom still see Richard Vernon in their mind's eye when they think of Slartibartfast (I think I'm one of them).

Arthur (naturally) has to be from the UK - though I'm still coming around to having that gangly bloke from The Office in the role. Perhaps Simon Jones was a bit too old to play him in the TV series? I'm not sure - but this guy seems a bit on the young side.

The Population Of The Rest Of The Galaxy is a bit more of an open book of course (apart from Trillian), so they can have a lot more fun - as long as they don't lose the whimsiness of it all. Hopefully they can pull it off.

Being used to Ford with a Brit accent, I suppose I was a bit shocked at first that they'd given that part to an American. However, having thought about it, the whole different accent thing would emphasise Ford's laziness with his preparatory research prior to being stranded (as if choosing the name 'Ford Prefect' wasn't bad enough!). But hey, he's Betelgeusian (Ford, not Mos Def). What does he know about living in Surrey? I think that'll work.

As my preferred choice isn't playing 'Voice Of Marvin', I'm happy to have Alan Rickman step in. It's a tough one to do, though. Imagine having to sound dull, monotone and depressed - but still be entertaining!

I suppose, on thinking about it, I'm slowly, slowly coming around to the idea of a mixed UK/US cast. If I don't like it, I can always go home and put on my Radio Series CDs to recover!

[Manic]

I've always been pretty accepting of the cast they chose for this movie, but that's only because I've never experienced the radio show, and I've only seen a few episodes of the TV series. The way I see the characters has mostly been shaped by reading the book, and Adams (funny as he was) was very lacking in the descriptions department. I never got a very good idea of what the characters looked like, so I was only pleased when a cast was finally announced. Somehow, Trillian ended up looking exactly like I imagined her. I always saw Zaphod as a fat man (I also pronounced his name as zah-fudd instead of zay-fodd), so that was a little surprising. I, like everyone, thought Ford would be Caucasion and British. I... um... used to imagine Marvin as looking more like the robot from Lost in Space... only with legs.

[Chaka's_Mum]

Perhaps the lack of descriptions comes from DNA's writing style. He started out by writing scripts (where you don't need to describe people that much) - the books just grew out of the amazing popularity of the radio series. He'd never written a book prior to an approach by Pan Books, who thought the radio story might transfer well to a novel.

The trouble is, DNA was famous for writer's block of almost legendary proportions, which he dealt with by taking lots of baths (seriously!). The upshot of this is that he ended up finding himself having to write things very much at the last minute.

In fact, the second series of the Radio version took this approach almost to the ultimate extreme. DNA got so far behind that it got to the stage where he was virtually locked in a room at the BBC's Maida Vale studios with a typewriter - and he would type scripts. These would be taken (quite literally) from the typewriter straight through to the studio nearby - where the actors would record them. All the technical wizardry would be added immediately thereafter, and the final version would be rushed from Maida Vale to Broadcasting House in a taxi - and go virtually straight to air!

Sometimes it works better that way - a last minute rush against a long planning period. Given DNA's remarkably inventive imagination and extensive intellect, once the barrier was removed, it was perhaps inevitable that the floodgates would be opened and the comic lunacy released. Plus there wouldn't be much time for agonising over the first draft and the adding or subtraction of this bit here, or that bit there.

Thanks to that, we have been entertained with literary wonders such as Veet Voojagig and his Biro theory, Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged and his attempts to insult the entire Universe and (one of my favourites) the ghastly intergalactic war that began with the words 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle' and ended with both battle fleets being swallowed by a small dog.

Sheer genius!

[IMForeman]

There's a new, much funnier trailer here. But be warned, it's in a HORRIBLE streaming Windows Media format. It's in the form of a Guide entry on Movie Trailers.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of Movie Trailers..."

-IMF

[Manic]

Streaming WMV. Slightly more tolerable than Real, if you ask me.

That was a good one, though. A movie trailer that makes fun of movie trailers. Plus we get a glimpse of Rickman's Marvin. Funny stuff. All it needs now is to be available in Quicktime.

[existence]

yeah, rickman's voice was great

[defina91rvc]

just bought the books which r very enjoyable. i look forward to the movie coming out. btw, marvin looks nothin like i pictured him lol.

[Hex.FTB.enabled]

My comp won't play the WMV. (sigh) guess i'll have to wait for quicktime...

[Astrid]

I love all Douglas Adams's works. He is an amazing writer and the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series has to be my favorite book of all time. Can't get enough of it.
I think for me the problem with the movie will be that I will keep comparing it to the BBC TV production. It should be good though and I can't wait for it to come out. Favorite character thought has to be Ford Prefect.

[Chaka's_Mum]

I agree. His way of getting a point across without being preachy was one of his greatest strengths. Anyone who's ever read Last Chance to See would find it hard to disagree with that. The serious points he makes about the mess we're making of our planet is couched in disarming, humorous terms that entertain as much as inform.

"We were told there were three trucks on the whole of the Island of Flores, and we passed six of them on the way in."

I guess a lot of us will be comparing the HHGttG Movie to the BBC TV version - but then, when that came out, people were probably comparing it to the Radio version!

I just hope it does DNA's work justice. Given that he was involved personally right up to the end of his life, there's hope that it will fulfil his vision when he began work on it. I hope so.

It just needs to be daft enough. Then I'll be happy.

[BruTak]

Am I the only one who thinks that Zaphod's lines should be split between his two heads?

[Hex.FTB.enabled]

Am I the only one who thinks that Zaphod's lines should be split between his two heads?

lol, that would be cool. I'm a little worried about his heads not being side by side. One is supposed to be able to watch the other while it's drunk.

[defina91rvc]

the Heart of Gold looks absolutely nothing like it is described in the book. it is described as looking like a sleek shoe, not like a high-tec tennis ball