The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science-fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28 2005 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in the USA. It was rolled out to cinemas worldwide during May, June, July, August and September.
The screenplay was begun by Adams and completed by Garth Jennings and Karey Kirkpatrick after Adams' death in 2001.
Cast
- Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent
- Mos Def as Ford Prefect
- Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox
- Zooey Deschanel as Trillian
- Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast
- John Malkovich as Humma Kavula
- Anna Chancellor as Questular Rontok
- Jack Stanley and Dominique Jackson as Lunkwill and Fook
- Steve Pemberton as Prosser
- Albie Woodington as the barman
- Jason Schwartzman as Gag Halfrunt
- Simon Jones as "Ghostly Image"
- Mark Longhurst as "Bulldozer Driver"
- Su Elliot as "Pub Customer"
- Terry Bamber as "Technician"
- Kelly MacDonald as "Reporter"
- Helen Mirren as the voice of Deep Thought
- Bill Bailey as the voice of the whale
- Thomas Lennon as the voice of Eddie the Shipboard Computer
- Warwick Davis as the body of Marvin
- Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin
- Stephen Fry as the voice of The Guide
- Ian McNeice as the voice of Kwaltz, a Vogon
- Richard Griffiths as the voice of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
- The League of Gentlemen (Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) as the voices of the Vogons
Production
In a Slashdot interview [link], Robbie Stamp, one of the film's executive producers, noted the following about the cast of the film:- The hardest character to cast was "the voice of the Guide itself and in the end came back to somebody who was one of the people Douglas himself had wanted, namely Stephen Fry."
- "Douglas himself is on record as saying that as far as he was concerned the only character who had to be British, indeed English, was Arthur Dent."
Stamp also commented on how much role the studio and the other screenwriters (other than Adams that is) had on the film:
- "I think that a lot of fans would be surprised to know just how much of a free hand we have been given in the making of this movie. I know how easy it is to see every decision to cut a scene as 'studio' pressure but it was always much more to do with pacing and rhythm in the film itself."
- "The script we shot was very much based on the last draft that Douglas wrote....All the substantive new ideas in the movie...are brand new Douglas ideas written especially for the movie by him....Douglas was always up for reinventing HHGG in each of its different incarnations and he knew that working harder on some character development and some of the key relationships was an integral part of turning HHGG into a movie."
Soundtrack
The complete motion picture soundtrack was released as an iTunes Music Store exclusive (in the US and UK) on 12 April 2005, two weeks before the scheduled CD release. The iTunes Music Store also has two further exclusive sets of tracks related to the movie:
- The Marvin Mixes are remixes of a new version of Reasons to be Miserable, here performed by Stephen Fry, as well as a new vocal and a new instrumental track for Marvin, also performed by Fry. Stephen Moore had recorded the vocals of both tracks in 1981.
- The Guide Entries are new spoken "Hitchhiker's Guide" entries, all read by Fry, with accompanying music by Joby Talbot (with further orchestrations by Christopher Austin), who wrote the film score.
The track "Humma's Hymn" on the soundtrack is notable for the fact that it was sung in St. Michael's Church in Highgate, London by members of local church choirs along with a congregation consisting of members of the public. The recording was open to anyone wishing to attend, and was publicised on the internet, including in [this post] to the Usenet group alt.fan.douglas-adams.
Plot
The movie begins with the narrator explaining that dolphins, the second-most-intelligent mammals on Earth, have been trying to warn mankind about the impending destruction of Earth. Their backflips and swimming patterns, according to the Guide, are their way of communicating with humans. Considering their mission a failure, the dolphins decide to leave after singing the song So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.
One morning, waking to the sound of bulldozers encroaching upon his house, Arthur Dent tries to prevent the destruction of his home by lying in the path of the bulldozers. His attempts are interrupted by his friend Ford Prefect, who convinces Arthur to accompany him to the local pub, where he reveals that he is actually an alien (and not from Guildford after all).
As a favor, Ford rescues Arthur from certain death when the Earth is demolished by the Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass. The duo hitchhike aboard a Vogon ship, and then they are thrown into empty space after being tortured by the Vogon Captain's poetry (the third worst in the universe).
Improbably, they are rescued by the Heart of Gold, a spaceship stolen by Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox, accompanied by Tricia McMillan (whom Arthur once met at a party), now calling herself Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android.
Aboard the ship, Zaphod reveals his intention to visit the planet Magrathea using the Heart of Gold, which he stole for this purpose. He introduces the other characters to the story of Deep Thought and the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, via a Magrathean data archive cube. He reveals that he is seeking the computer built to discover the "Ultimate Question," whose identity isn't mentioned in the data archive.
They take the ship to Viltvodle VI, home of the Jatravartids and Humma Kavula, who was Zaphod's opponent in the election for President of the Galaxy. Kavula has a small red cube that contains the coordinates to Magrathea, and offers it to Zaphod in exchange for a gun (the Point-of-view gun) that can be found near Deep Thought. Kavula requires a "hostage" in order to ensure that Zaphod will complete the quest, and removes Zaphod's second head.
During their departure from Viltvodle VI, Trillian is captured by the Vogons and brought to their homeworld, Vogsphere. Arthur, Ford, and Zaphod go to the Vogon homeworld and try to rescue Trillian. Upon stepping off their ship they briefly encounter subterraneous fauna that attack people who exhibit original thought, which they manage to evade once they reach an urban area. The excessive bureaucracy associated with many governing bodies is parodied when they are confronted by the amount of red tape that they must forge through to rescue Trillian.
Arthur, Zaphod, and Ford manage to fill out the appropriate Presidential Prisoner Release forms to have Trillian released just before she is fed to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. As Trillian is processed, she learns of the destruction of the Earth, which Arthur had not told her about (after he had been threatened on the subject by Zaphod). She also learns that Zaphod was the one who absent-mindedly autographed the demolition order for Earth (by signing "Love & Kisses, Zaphod"). Then the crew escapes Vogsphere.
Just as the Vogons are about to give pursuit, a klaxon sounds, and they delay the chase as they take an hour off for lunch. Throughout the film, the Vogons remain in pursuit of Zaphod and the Heart of Gold, at the behest of the Galactic Vice-President Questular Rontok who wishes to "rescue" him from his abductor (Zaphod abducted himself when he stole the Heart of Gold).
The Heart of Gold heads for Magrathea, where the company is separated--Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford meet Deep Thought, while Arthur meets Slartibartfast, and learns of Earth's origin. While touring the Magrathean Planet Factory Floor, Arthur is introduced to the Earth Mark II, a backup copy. He is eventually led to his newly restored house in England.
Meanwhile, beneath Deep Thought, Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford find the Point-of-view gun, the object sought by Humma Kavula. According to the Guide, it was built by Deep Thought for a council of angry housewives who were tired of ending arguments by complaining to husbands that "you just don't get it, do you?" When fired, the Point-of-view gun causes the target to experience the point of view of the wielder. Trillian uses it to make Zaphod understand her conflicting feelings about their relationship.
Back at Arthur's house, Arthur is reunited with Ford, Zaphod and Trillian, who are busy enjoying a lavish meal provided by the mice. The meal however has been laced with sedative, and consequently Arthur finds his three companions falling fast asleep. It is a trap to enable the mice to restrain Arthur and extract his brain (being the most recent component left from the Earth after its demolition, and thus needed to complete the Earth's computer program). Faced with his demise, Arthur finally expresses his love for Trillian. Before the mice manage the extraction, Arthur breaks free from his restraints, and squishes the mice with a teapot. The flattened mice morph back into the representatives of the builders of Deep Thought before fading away.
The heroes exit Arthur's house, only to find themselves surrounded by a battalion of Vogon soldiers, who try to kill them. While Zaphod attempts to operate Arthur's "spaceship" (which is in fact just a caravan), Arthur and Trillian try to retrieve the dropped Point-of-view gun, but are forced to use the caravan as cover from the wild hail of fire the Vogons direct at them. Marvin goes to catch up with the rest, remarking that Vogons are the worst marksmen in the universe, but he is hit in the back of the head by a Vogon blast, exclaims "Now I've got a headache..." and collapses.
Just as it seems that they are doomed, Marvin reactivates and picks up the nearby Point-of-view gun. He fires, hitting all of the Vogons and exposing them to his perspective on life; they all instantly become incredibly depressed and collapse.
As the depressed Vogons are taken away and the final touches are applied to Earth Mark II, Slartibartfast asks Arthur if there is anything that the new Earth could do without; Arthur replies, "Yeah, me." Earth's life cycle is restarted just as it was before the Vogons demolished it, and the movie ends with Arthur and his companions reboarding the Heart of Gold, bound for Milliways, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Differences from preceding versions
The sequence of events in the film generally resembles the story in prior editions. Although the radio series, books and TV series are famous for their inconsistencies, they each describe the same story until the characters get to Magrathea, except for some narrative rearrangement. The movie also rearranges the narration, but to a far greater extent than any of the other media. Not only are scenes omitted and reworked, but entire new storylines, characters and locations are introduced.
Major plot changes
In particular, the film adds two new major sequences after Arthur and Ford are rescued by the Heart of Gold:- The main characters travel to Viltvodle VI and meet the new character Humma Kavula. Zaphod's second head is stolen by Kavula and Trillian is kidnapped by Vogons. (Note that although Viltvodle VI was mentioned in the radio series and the book The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the characters never traveled there).
- They then travel to the Vogon planet, Vogsphere, where they rescue Trillian, before continuing to Magrathea and re-joining the traditional story arc. In previous versions, the planet Vogsphere is described, but the characters never go there as it was said to have been long abandoned.
- In the first book, Zaphod is pursued by Galactic Police for stealing the Heart of Gold. The Vogons disappear from the story altogether after Ford and Arthur are rescued by the Heart of Gold (but resurface in later books). The film finds the Vogons and a new character, Galactic Vice-President Questular Rontok chasing the Heart of Gold, to save Zaphod from his kidnapper, who happens to be himself.
- The love story between Arthur and Trillian is new for the film, and potentially conflicts with the love story between Arthur and Fenchurch in the fourth book, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. In prior versions, Trillian was fairly ambivalent toward Arthur and never really a romantic interest.
- *In the radio show, Arthur also had romantic interests in Lintilla, but that character does not appear in the novels.
- In the film, the Earth is restored completely back to normal and then the main characters set off for the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. But in previous versions, the main characters escape Magrathea one way or another, and eventually end up at the Restaurant without saving the Earth.
- *The restoration of Earth conflicts with some story elements of the succeeding books in the series. In particular, the Earth is restored in the fourth book, following two books in which the Earth did not exist.
Character changes
- Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox both have American accents in the film. In the radio series and TV series, they spoke with British accents. Similarly, the character of Trillian was first cast in the radio series to a British actress, and was explicitly described in the novels as British, but was played in the movie by an American actress, as had been done in the TV series.
- Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is usually shown with two heads side-by-side, instead has his second head inside his throat for the film. Under this new mechanism, his second head is not seen for the most part, but occasionally, his "top" head flies up and backwards and his second head moves into place, and is able to talk. When this "transformation" occurs, the second, meaner head controls his personality, although only ever briefly.
- The movie originally was to have made a major change to Trillian's character by revealing that she is only half-human. This is described in the official book on the making of the film, the DVD commentary, as well as the film tie-in edition of the original novel (which contains an interview with Zooey Deschanel in which she describes this aspect of her character). However it was decided to remove this character change from the film.
- Two new major characters were added: Humma Kavula and Questular Rontok.
List of other differences
Some of the other differences between the film and previous versions, in plot order:- The film opens with the monologue about the dolphins' message, "So long, and thanks for all the fish", while other versions begin with the monologue about the Earth, or the Guide itself.
- The scene in which Arthur is blocking the bulldozers from destroying his house: In the radio series, Arthur convinces Prosser to pretend that he is still blocking the bulldozers while he and Ford go to the pub. In the book, TV series and computer game, Ford convinces Prosser to lie in front of the bulldozer in place of Arthur while Ford and Arthur go to the pub. In the movie, Ford gives the demolition workers beer to distract them from their work, and Arthur's dialogue with Mr. Prosser is much shorter.
- The movie interrupts the pub scene between Ford and Arthur with two flashbacks:
- *The party where Arthur met Trillian. In prior versions of the story this party isn't mentioned until shortly before Ford and Arthur are rescued from asphyxiation in deep space by the Heart of Gold, and Trillian isn't identified as the girl from the party until they meet her.
- *The day that Ford met Arthur. In previous versions of the story, it was merely explained that Ford had skimped on his initial research (mistaking cars as the dominant species of Earth) and thus chose what he thought was a "normal" name. The film flashback adds that Arthur saved Ford from being hit and possibly killed by a Ford Prefect.
- In radio and book, when the Vogons address the Earth shortly before demolishing it, someone manages to talk back to them. Their subsequent exchange reflects the bureaucratic attitude of Prosser in the exchange between him and Arthur about the plans for demolishing Arthur's house. In the film, only a short part of this scene, the Vogon's reaction, is seen (though a 2003 draft of the script included more of this, and the dialogue with Prosser).
- In the film version, there are no Dentrassi mentioned on the Vogon spacecraft that Ford and Arthur hitchhike aboard. In previous versions, the Dentrassi letting Ford and Arthur aboard the ship in the Vogon Constructor Fleet to annoy the Vogons. The movie does not explain how Ford and Arthur managed to hitch a ride.
- The entry in the Guide about the Babel fish is shortened in the film, to exclude the proof of the non-existence of God found in previous versions. (See Babel fish). (The DVD release includes most of this extended Guide entry as a bonus feature.)
- The Earth entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide is not mentioned in the film. (In previous versions, the entry read "Harmless," and was to be changed to "Mostly harmless." (The DVD release includes this scene as a bonus feature.)
- In the film, the Vogon fleet does not enter hyperspace until after discharging Ford and Arthur. As a result it is indicated that they are picked up by the Heart of Gold in the same sector of space where the Earth used to be.
- The identity of the Earth poet whose poetry was worse than that of Vogons is changed for the film.
- When Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz reads his poetry to torture Ford and Arthur, they tell Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz that the "interesting rhythmic devices" of his poem "counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor of the Vogonity of the poet's compassionate soul," in previous versions. The film shortens this to "counterpoint the underlying metaphor of the Vogonity of the poet's soul."
- In the radio series, book and TV series, Jeltz then asks if they are saying that he only writes poetry to show that beneath his mean, callous, heartless exterior he just wants to be loved. When Ford and Arthur say yes, he then replies that they're wrong, he writes poetry to throw his mean, callous, heartless exterior into sharp relief. In the movie, this last comment is removed, instead a camera effect "hovers" for a moment over Jeltz, as if implying that he would indeed wish to be loved.
- In the subsequent scene when Ford and Arthur are trapped in the airlock and about to die, Ford cries "Wait a minute! What's this switch!" And then, "No, I was only fooling, we are going to die after all." In the film version, Ford himself believes the switch may save them, but upon investigating, proclaims, "This is nothing; yeah, we're gonna die."
- The phone number for the Islington flat where Arthur met Trillian is changed for the film, partly to take into account London's new area code, and so is the improbability factor for being rescued from asphyxiation in deep space (the same number). The film also does not mention that Ford and Arthur are rescued at infinite improbability, or that the other coincidences among the characters account for the improbability gap.
- In the movie, Zaphod introduces the others to the story of Deep Thought, showing them the two-part video on the Heart of Gold. In previous versions, this story is told much later, on Magrathea by way of Slartibartfast's holo-disks. The film reveals the Ultimate Answer earlier on, and unlike other versions, does not reveal that it is called "The Earth".
- In the film, Zaphod seeks Magrathea so he can find the Ultimate Question, because he doesn't know that Earth was the supercomputer built by Deep Thought. In prior versions, he was only seeking money stored on Magrathea from its lucrative planet building business.
- Only in the film version has Zaphod got to find Humma Kavula, a new character, to get the coordinates for Magrathea.
- The full backstory of the Infinite Improbability Drive is not given in the film, except for a detailed illustration painted on the front of the Heart of Gold, which is never seen close-up.
- In the film, three portals are shown on Magrathea, which lead to other dimensions. These portals did not appear in any previous versions. Zaphod, Ford and Trillian take one of them, leading to Deep Thought (which the characters never met in previous versions); Arthur and Slartibartfast take another, leading to the Magrathea factory floor. In previous versions, the characters simply traveled through tunnels into the underground.
- In the film, Ford, Zaphod and Trillian travel to another dimension to speak with Deep Thought, for the added plot arc of finding the Point-of-view gun. In previous versions, these characters either browse the planet catalogue, or do nothing at this point.
- In the film, Trillian learns of Zaphod's absent-minded ordering of the destruction of Earth, which is part of her motivation for choosing Arthur over Zaphod. In the books, this possibility isn't mentioned until Zaphod meets the Ruler of the Universe in the second book, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and the same scene in the final episode of the second radio series, when Zaphod is said to have ordered Earth's destruction on the influence of many psychiatrists.
- In the book and radio versions, the two mice, Frankie and Benjy, decide not to commission the Earth Mark II from Slartibartfast because they don't want to wait another 10 million years for the Earth Mark II to recalculate the Ultimate Question. Instead, they decide to return to their own dimension with their version of the Ultimate Question, "How many roads must a man walk down?" In the film version, after pondering this, they decide to take Arthur's brain anyway, and are killed by Arthur. Later, Slartibartfast orders the redeployment of the Earth with permission from Arthur.
- In previous versions, the Galactic Police confront the characters on Magrathea, and they never go down onto the Earth Mark II. In the radio series, as with the TV series, the characters accidentally escape from the Galactic Police and leave the Heart of Gold behind. In the book, Marvin kills the Galactic Police by networking with their computer, causing it to become depressed, commit suicide, and shut down the Policemen's life support system. In the movie, the Vogons confront the characters on the Earth Mark II, while it is still being worked on. Marvin saves the day by shooting the Vogons with the Point-of-view gun, causing them to share his point of view and become depressed, though they survive. In an early draft of the movie, the Vogons committed suicide. (The Point-of-view gun was added for the film).
- At the end of the film, when the Earth is restored, the dolphins are shown returning to Earth. In the books, the dolphins never return to the planet.
- Also at the end of the film, it is revealed that "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" is located at a physical end of the universe. The ship flies offscreen to the right, and Marvin says "The restaurant is at the other end of the universe," after which the ship flies back onscreen and departs to the right. In the book it was located in the future, when the whole universe folds in on itself.
Nods to BBC productions
- The original Marvin prop from the 1981 TV version of the story can be seen in one scene, in a queue on Vogsphere, albeit with orange eyes, instead of the original red. Arthur, while passing, does a double-take at this Marvin.
- The theme tune for the BBC radio and TV series, "Journey of the Sorcerer", composed by Bernie Leadon and originally recorded by The Eagles, is used. The music as heard in the film is a new arrangement by Joby Talbot.
- "What A Wonderful World", sung by Louis Armstrong, was used as background music for the film's teaser trailer. This song was also used at the conclusion of the first radio series and at the conclusion of the BBC TV series, both set on prehistoric Earth.
- Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in the radio and TV series, makes a brief cameo appearance. He is credited as the "Ghostly Image", a floating head which appears when the Heart of Gold approaches Magrathea, and warns them that the planet is currently not open for business. When they continue approaching the planet, he reappears and politely informs them that two thermonuclear missiles are headed towards the ship, and their (presumably imminent) deaths "may be recorded for training purposes." He then grins crazily and floats away.
Characters
- Arthur Dent, an "ordinary Earthman," from England, who winds up travelling the galaxy in his pajamas and dressing gown, and carrying a towel.
- Ford Prefect, a researcher for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". He saves Arthur from the destruction of Earth because Arthur had saved his life years earlier.
- Tricia McMillan, who shortens her name to "Trillian" (because "It sounds spacy"). She ran away from Earth with Zaphod Beeblebrox just before most of the events in the movie, but over the course of the movie, she comes to dislike him.
- Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy, who has kidnapped himself and stolen the Heart of Gold to pursue his own selfish schemes.
- Slartibartfast, a coastline designer who reveals the real history of Earth to Arthur Dent.
- Humma Kavula, a religious leader on the planet Viltvodle VI, and Zaphod's vanquished opponent in the recent Presidential election. This character was devised by Adams as the villain for an additional subplot of the movie, not present in previous incarnations of the story.
- Marvin the Paranoid Android, part of the equipment on the Heart of Gold.
- Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, leader of the Vogon Constructor Fleet.
Box office earnings
- The movie remained in the US box office top ten for its first four weeks of release.
- The movie's total box office gross was $104,388,416 worldwide (as of October 2005).
- It is unlikely that a sequel will be made due to this modest box office gross.
Home video releases
The movie was released on DVD (Region 2, PAL) in the UK on 5 September 2005. Both a standard double disc edition and a UK-exclusive "Gift Set" edition were released on this date. The standard double disc edition features:- Making Of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
- Additional Guide Entry
- Deleted Scenes
- Really Deleted Scenes (scenes that were never meant to be in the movie)
- Sing A Long
- Audio Commentaries
- Set Top Games Marvins Hangman
- Don't Crash (68 minute UK exclusive "making of" documentary, directed by Grant Gee)
Single disc widescreen and full-screen editions (Region 1, NTSC) were released in the USA and Canada on 13 September 2005. They have a different cover, but contain the same special features (except the Don't Crash documentary) as the UK version.
Single disc releases in the UMD format for the PlayStation Portable were also released on the respective dates in these three countries. A VHS release has not been announced.
Trivia
- Adams makes four "appearances" in the film - a planet in the shape of his head can briefly be seen during the Magrathean Planet Factory Tour sequence; the entrance to the Temple of the Great Green Arkleseizure on Viltvodle VI is in the shape of his nose; he can be seen on the mural depicting the discovery of the Infinite Improbability Drive; and during the Heart Of Gold's final improbability transformation, the last form the ship takes is that of his face.
- Deep Thought has a logo for Apple Computer just to the right and above its electronic eye (which can be seen in closeups when Ford, Trillian and Zaphod are speaking to the computer). It is said Douglas Adams owned the first two Apple Macintosh computers to enter the UK and that Stephen Fry, who is the voice of the Guide, allegedly owned the third.
- Ford's last name is never mentioned in dialogue in the film, though the character is listed as "Ford Prefect" when first introduced in the screenplay and when listed in the credits. Also, Ford is called "Ix" by Zaphod when they meet on the Heart of Gold, which is Ford's previous nickname; this is the first time in any format other than the book that the nickname is mentioned.
- In the flashback scene when Arthur saves Ford from being hit by a car, the car was an actual Ford Prefect.
- The animations of the book were made by the UK-based design studio Shynola.
- The theatrical release of the film includes references to the titles of every Hitchhiker novel, with the exception of Mostly Harmless. A scene that would have used the phrase was filmed, but cut before the movie's release. (The original novel did contain references to all of the titles).
- Marvin the Paranoid Android is played by Warwick Davis and voiced by Alan Rickman. Both actors play professors in the Harry Potter series of movies, as Flitwick and Snape, respectively.
- The dolphin scenes at the beginning of the film were made at Loro Parque in Tenerife.
- During the panic scenes in the beginning of the movie several members of Adams's family participated. The elderly woman calmly reading a newspaper is Douglas Adams's mother.
- The scene where Arthur Dent and Trillian meet at the party contains a nod to Douglas Adams's interest in evolution. Arthur stands reading The Selfish Gene by Adams' friend Richard Dawkins, and Trillian is dressed as Darwin.
- Trillian's desire to visit Madagascar also relates to a trip Douglas took to study some of the vanishing species of the island for his book Last Chance to See.
- Su Elliot, credited as "Pub Customer", reportedly played Trillian in one of the stage adaptations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
- This PG-rated film was originally slated as a Hollywood Pictures release, but was instead released by Touchstone Pictures, because Hollywood Pictures was retired as a distributor.
- During Simon Jones' cameo appearance as the warning system at Magrathea, you can see the hologram (which in reality is an anaglyph) in three dimensions if you put on a pair of 3D glasses.
- In the introduction of the compilation book, "The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide", Adams joked that the filming of this movie would begin "shortly before the Last Trump". Midway through the movie's production, Douglas Adams died, which could well be considered his personal "Last Trump".
- The song So Long and Thanks for All the Fish was considered for a possible nomination (coincidentally, out of a list of 42 songs) in the Academy Award for Best Song category for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Ultimately, the song was not nominated.
- In the U.S. release of the DVD, in the second half of the Deep Thought scene, the Computer's declaration that the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42 coincides with the timer for the film reading 42:00.
Awards
The movie was nominated for seven different awards and won one of them. It won the Golden Trailer Award under the category Most Original. It was nominated for: the Artios award from Casting Society of America, USA under the category Best Featured Film Casting-Comedy in 2005; the Empire Awards from Empire Awards, UK under the categories Best British Film and Best Comedy in 2006; the Golden Trailer from Golden Trailer Awards under the category Best Voice Over; and Teen Choice Award from Teen Choice Awards under the categories Choice Movie: Action/Adventure and Choice Rap Artist in a Movie- Mos Def.External links
Owners' sites
- [Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Site (UK)]
- [Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Site (USA)]
- [Official Trailer]
Interviews
- [Interview with executive producer Robbie Stamp], from Slashdot
- [Online chat with executive producer Robbie Stamp]
- [Online chat with director Garth Jennings]
Independent reviews
- [Washington Post] "...more than a pleasant surprise."
- [San Francisco Chronicle] "The movie hangs together and gets by with more than a margin of goodwill because the dazzle it offers is one of the mind."
- [New York Times] "...hugely likeable..."
- [Planet Magrathea (2005/3/31)] "This is a terrible, terrible film and it makes me want to weep."
- [BBC - Review: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] "Don't panic - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is not as bad as I had feared. Then again, it is not as good as I had hoped."
- [The Register] "The film version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is faithful to author Douglas Adams' legacy. The trouble is it's simply not especially funny."
- [Slashdot] Some comments are by people who say they saw the movie.
- [Rotten Tomatoes] Reviews by professional critics.
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