h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, the director and producer of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, have graciously agreed to answer questions about the movie, so here's your chance to ask them anything you want to about it. Just post your questions here, and the best 10-15 will be submitted to Garth and Nick. We can't promise they'll answer them all - I'm sure they'll want to keep some surprises back for May 6th - but ask away, and we'll see what happens.

If you want to hear what they've already said about the movie, their previous interview is here: A2257599

Traveller in Time looking
"Where can I order peril sensitive sunglasses? "

Only vaguely movie related but will there be a competition or something for tickets so that h2g2 researchers can attend the premiere?

- When will they be able to announce who's playing the voices of Marvin and the Book?

- We know that there are loads of new ideas for the film, but out of the scenes that remain from the original radio series, which do they think will most surprise the fans?

- If they were to redesign their house in the style of one set, which would it be, and why

Do the graphics from the book appear on screen, and if so, is the design based on Rod Lord's original artwork for the TV series or have you gone for a different approach?

Oh, and for all us fans outside of the UK or the USA - is the film due a fully international release or are we going to have problems seeing it on mainland europe?

I wonder if it's too late to lobby for the inclusion of a the "42 ways not to panic" concept, perhaps in some very obscure (to be sure) visual somewhere. That is, a list of how to say "Don't panic!" in 42 different languages.

http://www.zootle.net/afda/dont-panic.shtml

It was something we'd come up with waaaay back in the heady days of hanging around on the alt.fan.douglas-adams newsgroup, getting slarmy on that ol' Manx spirit (well, at least someone was from the Isle of Man and a lot of us were definitely getting slarmy) and living the simple carefree life that was the internet in the 1990s. Although I am, or was, the original compiler of that very list, I can't take any credit for the content - since it required a lot of help from international hitchhiker's - though I will accept blame since most of the errors are probably mine or my word processor's, it being made in North America.

Anyhow, it just occurred to me it'd be a fun thing to troll across the screen really fast at some point. At least it'd give the hard core fans of linguistic skills something to freeze-frame on the DVD, correct all the inevitable errors, and write nasty snide remarks about it on all the movie boards, BBC, usenet groups, and bathroom stalls, even after the obvious ones are corrected by the studio's language experts.

Just a thought. I'm fairly certain the film will be excellent even without it.

- JD (who once, in an earlier life, was known as PioyuTuyoiP ... just don't ask)

You never know - might be time to get something into one of the guide entries.

Okay, here's a couple (better) questions for them, at least that they might be able to read and answer more quickly.

- imdb.com mentions that Joby Talbot is doing the score for the film - can you describe how that's going, if it's adding an integral part to the film or just keeping itself alongside and not intruding on the film?

- Realizing that the film is not meant as a literal telling of the original story, how much room and is there interest for it to grow past the one film, perhaps including other directions and concepts Adams had had in some of his other works?


- JD

This is to match one of Jim's questions - have they considered using female voices for some of the characters - particulary the book?

Traveller in Time calling the chances
"Where in the improbability is the next episode ?

228046 against one and falling. . ."

- Isn't alabaster great ?!

- was all the script finished before filming started, isn't that going against the ethic of DNA ?

- Can the premier be in Manchester ?

- where's your towel ?

- How is Zaphod's extra head going to be visualised, will there be another actor providing a second voice ?

Any idea what happened/is happening with this thread?

The questions were sent off, and we're expecting the first set of answers shortly. I think we'll be getting the answers in batches.

Thanks Jim...

Actually, the thing that surprised me the most was the lack of response to your original posting ... I'd have thought there would have been hundreds of us all wanting to find out more.

Traveller in Time on alt.fan.hitchhikers
"Well, this was not presumed to be 'just' a fan site. "

*lurking*

The first set of answers should be arriving shortly after 5pm today. I'll link to them from this thread when they're up.

Traveller in Time eternally time confused
"That would be in about five hours ? (when this posting says 5 Hours Ago)"

More than likely it'll be at about 5 pm ... as Jim says.


Why complicate things?