B-52 GUNNER Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 (edited) I don't think this has been posted yet but there is going to be a movie made out of this classic Sci-Fi series. Official Site It will be out May 6th. Just in time to compete with Star Wars Episode III Edited January 3, 2005 by B-52 GUNNER Quote
eriku Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Heh, the juggernaut that Star Wars is it's pretty naieve for ANY movie to think it can compete with it. Regardless of wether it's good or bad, it'll overshadow everything else that month. That said, I'm looking forward to the Hitchhiker movie. Hopefully it will at least be better than the BBS series (which did have it's charm). Quote
B-52 GUNNER Posted January 3, 2005 Author Posted January 3, 2005 That's true butall BBC shows have there own charm. NEXT TO THE BIG SCREEN!!! RED DWARF THE MOTION PICTURE Quote
Otaku-Smeghead Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Yeah I just saw the Trailer for the movie in theaters and Any one who was at comic con saw the same trailer nothing new here Quote
zeo-mare Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 pardon my ignorance i have never really seen this series before what is the plot? was it based on a book? it seems to have picked a bad time to come out though against star wars? sometimes i wonder about hollywood they always put their other big movie against movies they know are going to take the number one spot and end up losing money on it you think that would have learned by now Quote
HWR MKII Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 i cant wait to see this. i liked the BBC version for how weird it was. i hope the robot is as depressed in this as he was in that. they had better have the babelfish in it too. 42 he he he Quote
eriku Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 they had better have the babelfish in it too. AltaVista probably wont let them use that term. Quote
Chowser Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 It will be out May 6th. Just in time to compete with Star Wars Episode III maybe i'll watch it, i still have to go look at the dvds my brother gave me of the original show. old thread was here but not much talked about it. gotta get ready for the big day, after working night shift, we're going to watch EP. 1 and 2, go to the theater, watch EP. 3, then go back and watch the special editions of EP, 4,5,6. then go back to work. haha Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Being a fan of the books I'd be interested in the movie IF they did not take a bunch of liberties with it and start changing things around. I love the campy '80s BBC miniseries and for some reason it just feels "right" for Hitchhiker's Guide. Plus the books really needed the context of a miniseries or series of movies as there is just so much material to be covered from the first three books. Even the 3 hour long BBC miniseries felt rushed with several things "missing". For those not in the know Hitchhiker's Guide is about an Earthling, Arthur Dent, his alien companion who looks like an Earthling, Ford Prefect, and their kooky misadventures across the galaxy. It all starts when Earth is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic expressway and just goes from there. The titular tome, the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is sort of a super guidebook (of which Ford Prefect was working on his part of, writing about Earth in two words or less) for intergalactic vagabonds and travellers. The book is a constant aid to Arthur as he learns who's who in the known (but unknown to him) universe. The books are fantastic if you love that quirky "not right" humor. That being said the sort of deadpan descriptive humor of the books is hard to translate to film and the BBC miniseries did a respectable job but it came at the price of being very, very narration heavy... which is generally a theatrical no-no to modern film makers. Quote
Radd Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 I imagine the film needs that deadpan, dry british humour to make things work. I expect I'll be horribly dissapointed if that's missing from all of this. Still, I can't help but be optimistic, and find myself eagerly awaiting this movie. Quote
eugimon Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Being a fan of the books I'd be interested in the movie IF they did not take a bunch of liberties with it and start changing things around. I love the campy '80s BBC miniseries and for some reason it just feels "right" for Hitchhiker's Guide. Plus the books really needed the context of a miniseries or series of movies as there is just so much material to be covered from the first three books. Even the 3 hour long BBC miniseries felt rushed with several things "missing".For those not in the know Hitchhiker's Guide is about an Earthling, Arthur Dent, his alien companion who looks like an Earthling, Ford Prefect, and their kooky misadventures across the galaxy. It all starts when Earth is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic expressway and just goes from there. The titular tome, the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is sort of a super guidebook (of which Ford Prefect was working on his part of, writing about Earth in two words or less) for intergalactic vagabonds and travellers. The book is a constant aid to Arthur as he learns who's who in the known (but unknown to him) universe. The books are fantastic if you love that quirky "not right" humor. That being said the sort of deadpan descriptive humor of the books is hard to translate to film and the BBC miniseries did a respectable job but it came at the price of being very, very narration heavy... which is generally a theatrical no-no to modern film makers. I think douglas adams, before he passed away, did write new material for the movie. Apparantly the studio asked him to trim the movie so he wrote more. heh. he'll be missed, hopefully this movie will be a fitting tribute. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Of all the books in the world that are "difficult" to translate to film I still think Hitchhiker's Guide is at the top. Mostly because a good deal of the humor comes from the writing about things in the books, not necessarily the things themselves or what they do. That is why I liked the BBC mini so much because it was just topheavy with narration to capture all that unspoken, unacted humor that the books are chock full of. Hearing that Adams himself had something to do with the new movie is more comforting. Then again I am more of a Dirk Gently fan than a Arthur Dent fan. Holistic Detective movie all the way. Quote
eugimon Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 http://www.darkhorizons.com/news05/050103d.php 2 pics from the movie. Quote
JELEINEN Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Of all the books in the world that are "difficult" to translate to film I still think Hitchhiker's Guide is at the top. Mostly because a good deal of the humor comes from the writing about things in the books, not necessarily the things themselves or what they do. That is why I liked the BBC mini so much because it was just topheavy with narration to capture all that unspoken, unacted humor that the books are chock full of.Hearing that Adams himself had something to do with the new movie is more comforting. Then again I am more of a Dirk Gently fan than a Arthur Dent fan. Holistic Detective movie all the way. Considering that they started out as a radio play script, I don't think they should be hard at all. Plus, as you've already mentioned, they've already been done as a TV series. I don't think a movie will be a problem. Personally, I think the first couple of books are really fun. The last couple should be avoided like the plague. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Interesting. I might be alone in this but I like them making Ford Prefect black. The kooky white guy they got to play him in the BBC show reminded me too much of that frizzy haired Doctor Who actor. Zaphod looks spot on... but missing his extra head and arm. Trillian does not look quite right but then again I feel that the bubbly blonde they had playing her in the BBC mini was spot on. And Arthur Dent looks perfect. Totally confused goofy looking guy. My interest in this movie is rising. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Considering that they started out as a radio play script, I don't think they should be hard at all. Plus, as you've already mentioned, they've already been done as a TV series. I don't think a movie will be a problem.Personally, I think the first couple of books are really fun. The last couple should be avoided like the plague. The only reason I think they might be "hard" is that the BBC mini uses heavy, if not omnipresent, narration to convey most of the unspoken content of the books. American directors seem to have this almost distaste for narration in their movies, some even going so far as to call it a "cinematic crutch". I'm just worried that the lion's share of the descriptive humor from the books will be "lost in translation" if the american director chooses to omit large chunks of narration. Quote
dr_vandermeer Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 (edited) i cant wait to see this. i liked the BBC version for how weird it was. i hope the robot is as depressed in this as he was in that. they had better have the babelfish in it too.42 he he he 4 I'm excited to see this story in cinematic form too! 2 Never saw the BBC series though. I'll have to look around to find out more. Edited January 3, 2005 by dr_vandermeer Quote
EXO Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Never read it... but that robot guy looks cool. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 If you are a Hitchhiker's fan and you like shows like Dr Who for their campiness then the BBC mini is a must have. It's been out on DVD for a few years now but is getting harder to find. I love my copy... all the bad costumes, bad sets and terribly brittish acting. Add to that the Supertramp-ish musical score and it's comedy gold. Quote
McKlown Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 I predict that this movie will make 42 million in it's first weekend. Quote
Seven Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 So far, I'm not liking the robot design for Marvin. He looks like a bigger version of that Robo Sapien toy that is on sale at every Best Buy. I thought he was described as a rusty metal robot in the books, not a globe headed shiny new plastic robot. It's been a while, but wasn't the whole "falling apart" appearance of Marvin the whole deal with him and his depressing personality? Quote
Prime Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 For those of you looking to find out more about the story, you can get the original BBC radio "dramas" here. If they stay true to the source material, this should kick ass! Quote
Amped Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Zaphod looks spot on... but missing his extra head and arm. Ahhhh... actually, from what I've heard... Zaphod does still have a 2nd head... it's just that in this movie version... it's in one of his nostrils. Seriously. Still, I am cautiously optimistic to see how this translates to film. The vibe thus far seems right! Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 The extra head up his nose is somehow... fitting... for Zaphod. I guess hiding it up his nose makes his scoring Trillian away from Arthur even more plausable at that infamous "Flat Party". As for Marvin the Paranoid Android here are two versions of him that exsist: Neither of which really capture the "feel" of Marvin from the books... although the top one certainlly has the depression working for him. I think the big "character design" angle of Marvin has always been that he is first encountered on the Heart of Gold ship... a ship so new that the pastic is still on the seats. A lot of people have assumed that Marvin was built and supplied with the Heart of Gold and thus is as new and shiny as that ship. But the books don't say that. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 It also seems the "new" Marvin is quite vertically challenged. Quote
McKlown Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 That last picture makes him look like a rip off of one of the early Tom designs from Cartoon Network's Toonami... By the way, what's that really depressed looking version from? I recognize the one below it from that old miniseries. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 The really depressed looking one only exsists as press stills I think. I have only seen three pics of it. From what I have been told it was used for pictures for the books. Outside of that I have seen that version nowhere else. Quote
Otaku-Smeghead Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Yeah the First Still of MArvin was for an Illstrated version of HitchHikers that was publsihed years ago. Quote
Max Jenius Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 read the first chapter... never got into it... maybe someday Quote
eugimon Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 Zaphod looks spot on... but missing his extra head and arm. Ahhhh... actually, from what I've heard... Zaphod does still have a 2nd head... it's just that in this movie version... it's in one of his nostrils. Seriously. Still, I am cautiously optimistic to see how this translates to film. The vibe thus far seems right! hmmm. dunno... one of my favroite parts is when zaphod walks around with a covered bird cage on his second head and pretends that it's his shy pet parrot. Quote
dr_vandermeer Posted January 3, 2005 Posted January 3, 2005 It also seems the "new" Marvin is quite vertically challenged. About 4"2'? Quote
one_klump Posted January 4, 2005 Posted January 4, 2005 About Altavitsa allowing them to use the name "Babelfish", they will have to let then use that name, they got it from the books Quote
Prime Posted January 4, 2005 Posted January 4, 2005 It also seems the "new" Marvin is quite vertically challenged. Is that Warwick Davis? Quote
eriku Posted January 4, 2005 Posted January 4, 2005 About Altavitsa allowing them to use the name "Babelfish", they will have to let then use that name, they got it from the books Of course, I wasn't being serious. Please see the at the end of that post. As for Marvin, I like the look of that fat little roundy robot a lot, but not as Marvin. Oh well, it'll make a cool action figure. Quote
Prime Posted January 4, 2005 Posted January 4, 2005 As for Marvin, I like the look of that fat little roundy robot a lot, but not as Marvin. Oh well, it'll make a cool action figure. He kind of looks like a superdeformed stormtrooper... Quote
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