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Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Sam Rockwell to play Zaphod Beeblebrox according to Hollywood Reporter. (He was the moustachiod, medallioned 'redshirt' guy in Galaxy Quest.)

Link here from Sci Fi Wire.

Oh yeah, and the script Adams finished off before he died? It's being re-written. :hmph:
 
Isn't this all going to turn into something like the US version of 'Red Dwarf' or 'Fawlty Towers'? It's too horrible to think about. I'm sure poor Douglas spinning in his grave will kick off a new version of the Inifinite Improbability Drive. The great thing about the HHG is that is completely english in it's style and approach (i.e. self-deprecation, sarcasm, etc.) - it's like trying to rewrite all of Monty Python so that it 'works' for a US market. Argh!
 
Zygon said:
Sam Rockwell to play Zaphod Beeblebrox according to Hollywood Reporter. (He was the moustachiod, medallioned 'redshirt' guy in Galaxy Quest
He was good in that, but Beeblebrox should be played by either, Johnny Depp, or Bruce Campbell.

Or, possibly both, playing a head each. ;)
 
I'm so glad this has landed in the hands of the men in suits whom Adams must have fought so hard against. I can see it now, a glistening boardroom in LA with some salt and pepper haired exec in a tight black polo neck saying "Hey, you know what? Let's expand the demographic here a little. We can increase our mass market appeal by having Ford Prefect played by a fast-talking, hip n groovy rap star!"
"Superb idea! That will increase grosses by at least 20%"
"So how do we get the kids in?"
"Let's have a romance between Arthur Dent and Trillian. And a happy ending for Marvin, all that negativity is bad for box office..."
 
and of course everyone will see the film, oh! lets say 6 times each!. sweeping all the film award cemorenies outright, earn a trillion $'s with exclusive options for the next 4 books/films aswell, with merchandising rights aswell :rolleyes:

then hollywood will make a film about a book properly or even a real-life historical situation portraying the facts correctly (with no us bias) :rofl:
 
Dark Detective said:
"Hey, you know what? Let's expand the demographic here a little. We can increase our mass market appeal by having Ford Prefect played by a fast-talking, hip n groovy rap star!"

Yes, I can just picture the scene now...'I'm game. We'll see who rusts first, motherf*ckah!'...

If Will Smith or Kevin Spacey get involved, I think I'll go mad...
 
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040416/325/er6iu.html
Malkovich to star in "Hitchhiker's Guide"
By Liza Foreman

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - John Malkovich is thumbing a ride on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", a Disney adaptation of the Douglas Adams novel.

Malkovich will play a religious cult leader called Humma Kavula, created by the late author especially for the long-gestating film.

"Galaxy" begins shooting this month in London, with Garth Jennings at the helm.

Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Sam Rockwell and Martin Freeman also star. Mos Def plays Ford Prefect, an undercover alien who sets off on an intergalactic journey with his best friend and the film's protagonist, earthling Arthur Dent (Freeman).

The duo hitch a ride through space -- with the two-headed ex-hippie Zaphod (Rockwell); his girlfriend, the beautiful scientist Trillion (Deschanel); and a robot -- to discover the meaning of life.

Adams adapted his novel for the screen. After Adams' death in 2001, Karey Kirkpatrick did a rewrite before Robert Ben Garant came on board. Malkovich's recent acting credits include "The Dancer Upstairs", which he also directed, and "Knockaround Guys".
 
<Homo Aves marches in with an `The End of the World is Nigh` placard.>
 
This has been 'greenlit' so many different times, and with so many different directors attached ( if memory serves, at one time it had supposedly gone into preproduction with the guy who directed 'Ghostbusters' at the helm ) so I'm not getting my hopes up until I see an actual trailer. If this is, at last, the real deal, just hope they don't screw it up - the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is...22...?
 
Forty is naughty, and doesn't have a "U".

Well, it's how I was taught it.
 
This is actually definatley go. It starts filming very very soon. See IMDB for more. Good cast so far. Shame that John Malkovich is going to be in it though.
 
'Good cast so far?' Does that mean Mos Def is no longer playing Ford Prefect...?
 
Mos Def is a lot more "quirky and serious" than "hip and groovy", and is a really good actor. he's not really what I'd call a rap star either, arguably his biggest hit to date (outside of his old group Black Star) was the collaboration he did with Massive Attack for "Blade 2" ("I Against I"), or maybe his work with DJ Shadow. He may well be brilliant in the role. It's not the same as casting Ja Rule, DMX etc. in a film; a lot of the younger people who'd go and watch a film because it starred one of their favourite musicians wouldn't have the foggiest who Mos Def is. He's also a brilliant, brilliant rapper.

I also think that Sam Rockwell would be brilliant as Zaphod (although I heard it was originally going to be Bill Nighy, who would have been even better), he's ace in "Matchstick Men" and very Zaphod-esque in his arrogance.
 
Nah, I don't think it's going to work - in his own odd way, FP is essentially quite English. His quirkiness is quite muted, unless something odd happens - so I don't think Mos Def will fit the bill. He also doesn't look anything like FP as described by Adams.
 
this is true, his american-ness was the only thing I could see being a problem. He'd have to perfect his Guildford accent.
 
so disney has a hand in the making of this travisty :rolleyes:

so can someone wake me up when it bombs please :snore: :D
 
Well Disney owns alot of different companies or has affiliation with them. Miramax is a good example and they occasionally turns out a good flick. But casting is everything and if they try to turn it into a "blockbuster" type movie then it will definitely suck!!
 
A couple of pieces of H2G2 news - first the fillum:

Hitchhikers Scribe Speaks

To himself, in fact
28 May 2004

A highly amusing and informative interview has just gone up on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy website. Karey Kirkpatrick, screenwriter of Chicken Run among others, took over the screenplay of the cult novel after Douglas Adams' tragically early death. On the website he has now posted a long interview with himself, explaining his take on the story.

And what did Kirkpatrick have to say to himself? Well, he talked a lot about working with Adams' drafts of the script, going back to the original radio plays and books to find the right structure for the film, and then trying to get as much Adams magic in as possible. "I took what he did and enhanced, expanded and connected (much like a wonder bra)," he says. "Arthur, Ford, Trillian, Zaphod, Marvin, Eddie, Vogons, Slartibartfast, Deep Thought, Lunkwill & Fook, the mice, whales, petunias, dolphins, 42, even Gag Halfrunt; all present and accounted for."

All of which is very encouraging. He also had nothing but praise for his directors. "Each conversation I had with either of them improved the script in some way. In retrospect, it feels like it was meant to be." By the sounds of this interview, the directors have flung themselves headfirst into the material. "Garth Jennnings sent me a note once that said, "When Zaphod first comes out of the temple and is approached by well wishers, the banana alien on the mole-horse needs to replace the multi-headed groupie." You just don't get notes like this every day."

Well quite. Everyone cross your fingers, because it sounds suspiciously like Hitchhikers might get the film it deserves. Assuming no one bulldozes the earth to make way for an interstellar bypass in the next few months, we're there with bells on.

Read the full interview here.

http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/newsstory.asp?news_id=15885

That interview link:

http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/hitchblog/interview.htm

Emps
 
And on new radio adaptations of the remaining books and Douglas Adams finally gets his wish to star in one of them (also discussed on radio 4 news):

Mon 21 Jun 2004

3:55pm (UK)

Douglas Adams Stars in 'Hitchhiker' Radio Adaptation

By Sherna Noah, Media Correspondent, PA News


Douglas Adams, creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, can be heard on the first new radio adaptation of his work for more than 25 years.

The author recorded the part of Agrajag at his home studio 18 months before his sudden death in 2001, at the age of 49.

Now producers have used digital technology to bring his voice back to life in the dramatisation of the final three Hitchhiker books: Life, The Universe and Everything; so Long and Thanks For All the Fish; and Mostly Harmless.

The satirical and iconic sci-fi story, which centred around the search for an answer to the meaning of life, began as a radio broadcast in 1978.

Five of the original radio cast – including Simon Jones as Arthur Dent and Geoffrey McGivern as his alien travelling companion Ford Prefect – are in the new Radio 4 series, which will be broadcast in 14 parts starting later this year.

Dirk Maggs, who adapted and directed the series, said that the number 42 – the answer to life, the universe, and everything – kept coming up while they were recording the new series.

Mr Maggs said: “I used to go to his house and talk about music or Hitchhikers.

“One day, he said: ‘I want you to listen to something’ and he put on this cassette of him playing playing Agrajag in Life, The Universe and Everything.

“He asked me ‘who do you think should be playing the character?’ and I thought, I’m on a hiding to nothing here.

“I thought he wanted to hear me say John Cleese but he said ‘no you idiot, it should be me”’.

The creators used the author’s instructions and notes which he made in preparation for the latest radio productions.

Bruce Hyman, the series executive producer, said today: “It is ironic that Douglas plays someone who keeps getting killed but is reincarnated.

“At one point he is a fly who is swatted, at another he comes back as someone who has a heart attack. It’s a part he always wanted to play. He loved the character.”

Radio 4 controller Helen Boaden said: “This is a fantastic way to celebrate a brilliant series and the life and creativity of Douglas, who died far too young.”

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3095383

Emps
 
for some reason, that trailer's got no picture (I've opened it winamp AND media player). It sounds like it could be the backing music to an HHGG trailer, though...
 
Right!

Radio 4 revives Hitchhiker's game

A computer game written by Douglas Adams is being revived to coincide with a new BBC Radio 4 series of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

The text adventure will appear on the station's website and was described by the late Adams as "the first game to move beyond being 'user friendly'".

"It's actually 'user insulting' and because it lies to you as well it's also 'user mendacious,'" he said.

The final three Hitchhikers adaptations will be broadcast from 21 September.

New illustrations

The game, originally published in 1984, contains rare writing by the author and is - in Adams' words - "full of extraordinary ways of dying".

Users can play a number of characters from the book, collect over 40 items and read dozens of Hitchhiker's Guide entries.

The new version of the game will be illustrated by Rod Lord, who won a BAFTA for his graphics for the original Hitchhiker TV series.

Radio listeners will also be invited to submit their own illustrations.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Many of the original TV cast will reprise their Hitchhiker roles

The final three books in the Hitchhiker's series - Life, The Universe And Everything, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish and Mostly Harmless - have been adapted for the six-week Radio 4 series.

A number of actors from the BBC television series are reprising their original roles, including Simon Jones as Arthur Dent and Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Adams' own voice is being used to play Agrajag, a role he recorded before his death.

A movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - starring John Malkovich, Bill Nighy and The Office's Martin Freeman - is due to be released in June 2005.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3615046.stm

Well, the original one is a tiny file available here: http://gamebird.dk/games/community2.php/?gid=519

It's fiendishly evil but very fun. No emulators etc. needed. It'll run through DOS in Windows.

Edit: Classic stuff:

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't...

Leather Godesses of Phobos anyone?
 
Any thoughts on the new Life, the Universe and Everything adaptation on Radio 4? It doesn't really tie in with the end of the last radio series, but it wasn't too bad, made me nostalgic.
 
I enjoyed it a lot. I didn't hear the original series first time round (I watched the Tv program instead). But I really enjoyed this. Good to hear the old cast.

Not looking forward to Mostly Harmless though. You could tell DNA's heart was not in that one.
 
I enjoyed it too and I know the old radio programme practically by heart. Seems like the actors have just slotted straight back in to their original roles. Good one.:cool:
 
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