• Pages

  • Social Networks

  • Subscribe

  • The Loop

  • Statistics

    • Total Stats
      • 1,011 Post
      • 55 Tags
      • 3,892 Comments
      • 889 Comment Posters
      • 17 Post Categories

  • My Bookshelf

    Widget_logo

  • Recent Photos

    www.flickr.com
    This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from Haggis Mac. Make your own badge here.

Update On Hitchhiker’s Guide Casting

Okay okay okay.. Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent I can see. I just recently became a fan of the BBC Series “The Office” and that actor fits Arthur’s character to a “t”. Zooey Deschanel I had no idea of, but luckily to Google’s handy image search, seems to fit the part pretty good as well.

But Mos Def as Ford Prefect? Now i’m worried…

Trio cross ‘Galaxy’ for Disney film

Hip-hop artist/actor Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and “The Office” star Martin Freeman have hopped aboard the Spyglass Entertainment/Walt Disney Co. project “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” a big-screen adaptation of the cult hit novel by Douglas Adams. Mos Def will play Ford Prefect, an alien disguising himself as an out-of-work actor who sets out on an intergalactic journey with his best friend, mild-mannered earthling Arthur Dent (Freeman). The duo hitch a ride through space with the two-headed president of the galaxy, the beautiful and brilliant scientist Trillion (Deschanel) and a depressed robot while on a quest to discover the meaning of life.


Comments on Update On Hitchhiker’s Guide Casting

Viewing 7 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    I'm starting to like Mos Def as an actor, and I think his performance in The Italian Job shows he is just quirky enough to capture the spirit of Ford Prefect.

    I see two different problems with this movie:
    - Disney is producing it. Any bets on whether Marvin ends up being either animated or CGI?
    - Douglas Adams wrote the script, but someone was brought in to do a re-write. I think after a radio drama, several books and a BBC production, Adams can properly capture the feel of his own characters.

    No, wait, three problems: since it got a re-write, there's no telling how much of that wonderful British humour will be discarded for fart jokes.

    All that being said, I do look forward to this movie, and intend to give it every chance I can (apart from the previously mentioned misgivings). And if it sucks, I can just watch my DVDs of the BBC production a few times to cleanse the memory from my head.
    • ^
    • v
    I was a little concerned about Mos Def, but I do remember his performance in The Italian Job was excellent. We'll see..

    As far as the Disney thing goes, I think it may end up alright. Not all Disney movies have to end up like the remake "Parent Trap". My two biggest concerns, one of them I share with you:

    - Marvin The Paranoid Android: If they don't do him CGI then I hope they get the same people they got to do Doctor Octopus's Arms in Spider-Man 2. Just from the previews alone they look amazing.

    - Zaphod Beeblebrox: We've all seen when they put his creation in the WRONG hands (the BBC TV show). I know it won't be easy to do a two-headed, three armed Intergalactic President from Betelgeuse, but if they can make digital actors, they can certainly do a second head. (Shrug)

    As far as the re-writes go, I hope they do stay true to the original DA script in lieu of "fart jokes" like you said, James.. Hehhe..

    I have read this series more times than I can remember, and the importance of them doing this right will be my basis for ever seeing a Disney produced film again.

    Sigh.. Time for a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
    • ^
    • v
    Arthur Dent is the only one they've cast correctly.

    First off, Trillian is a black woman. This is obvious if you read the description of her in
    the first book:

    ...Slim, darkish, humanoid, with long waves of
    black hair, an odd little knob of a nose and
    ridiculously brown eyes... she looked vaguely
    Arabic.1

    Gretchen Palmer (who played Ariella (the woman
    who is turned into a mannequin) in the first
    Wishmaster movie) would be a more suitable
    person for the role.

    (1)Excerpts from page 31 of the More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide

    Secondly: Ford Prefect had red (ginger) hair
    and the beard is wrong for him. To be completely
    honest, giving the role of Ford Prefect to anyone
    other than Jim Carey (with his hair dyed properly) seems utterly ludicrous.

    Thirdly: Arthur Dent, as I have said, seems to
    have been cast rather well. The face I'm seeing
    in the picture has that worried look which Adams
    described Arthur as having. So, no worries there.

    Fourth: The character of Zaphod Beeblebrox should
    be 100% CG, but he should look 110% human (the other 10% of course being the extra head and third
    arm.) It should be noted that his chins should
    be similar to Shaggy's in Scooby-Doo as Adams
    described them as being "almost always unshaven"(page 30 of More Than Complete...)
    And Douglas Adams and Mark Wing-Davey (the original actor to play Zaphod in the BBC edition)
    both agreed that Zaphod was best described as a
    blonde beach bum. Now as Zaphod would, as I've said before, be best cast as a CG character, the
    options for the actual actor to play his voice
    are a bit more open. However, try as I must I
    feel that to truly capture the essence of Zaphod
    I would have two actors playing him (one for the
    right head and one for the left since the idea
    that people consider one head more popular than
    the other (HHGTTG Radio drama) indicates that both
    heads have distinctly separate personalities. My
    choices (Left head: Howie Mandel. Right Head: Dennis Miller)

    Marvin (also CG) should be played by Ben Stein.
    I can't think of any other voice more suited to
    drone the legendary "Life, don't talk to me about
    life." than that of Mr. Stein
    • ^
    • v
    Wow... thanks for the great comment Zelgadis, but I have to differ with you on a few points:

    I never saw Trillian as a black woman.. Just because the book describes her as having "darkish skin" doesn't mean she's black, she's simply got arabic in her. As long as she's not blonde (like the TV show) i'll be happy. (ie "Dark hair, ridiculously brown eyes")

    Zaphod, however, should NOT be stricly CGI. This character, as alien as he is, is one of the more human characters in the story. The problem with most CGI characters is that it's hard to emphasize with them (save for Gollum), especially in the case of comedic characters. We've all seen what a tragedy a badly done CGI character can be (Jar Jar Binks).

    As far as Jim Carey doing the role, you have simply lost your mind. Zaphod is not some rubber faced noise maker. Zaphod is a happy-go-lucky-hey-lets-have-another-pan-galactic-gargle-blaster-and -chill-mate kind of guy. I think Sam Rockwell will do it justice.. he's got that classy air about him that will make his alcoholism hilarious.

    I think your Ben Stein as Marvin is almost right on the money. Stein has that monotone voice perfect for it, but he doesn't sound near depressed enough. Maybe.. :)

    Keep checking this site for updates about HHG. I plan to keep a CLOSE watch on the production of this movie.
    • ^
    • v
    It amazes me how few of the fans of the books refer to the radio series. That series established everything Douglas Addams wanted for his characters and the feel of his books. The sounds, the SFX, the cadence, everything. Not to mention the top British actors of the time with fabulously fun voices. Both the actors who played in the radio series returned for the very low budget TV series; Arthur Dent and Zaphod. Trillian was a sexy knockout with a sultry British voice - something that was destroyed by the poor choice of the American actress mistakenly chosen for the TV series. I couldn't for a moment feel anything in that mousy New York twang that Arthur would find in her, "Everything he was saving himslef for." To learn that Americans and not Brits or Aussies or New Zealanders are going to do the remake is hugely dissappointing. Does anyone really think Americans can do anything but make a bloody mess. The track record is one of whacking dissappointment time after time after time. Look at PLanet of the Apes, The Time Machine, The Wild Wild West etc. etc. My god when are they going to hire real writers and not schlock hollywood formula hacks? They need real writers from the theatre or radio who have an ear for dialogue and subtle humor - something the Brits have in spades. And Disney...let's just say they should stick to cartoons.
    • ^
    • v
    I can't think of a better bit of casting than Martin Freeman for Arthur Dent. His potrayal of Tim in the office as only-sane-bloke-in-a-mad-place translates perfectly to Arthur Dent.

    Personally, I think Sam Rockwell & Mos Def have been cast the wrong way round. My first exposure to HHG was the radio series. I always pictured Zaphod as being a black guy - a bit like a cross between Huggy Bear in Starsky & Hutch and Cat from Red Dwarf. Ford on the other hand should look like an astrophysics postgrad at a redbrick uni in the home counties - a look that was captured perfectly in the BBC show.

    And no matter what reservations anyone may have about Zooey Deschanel - she's got to be better than that squeaky voiced blonde midget the BBC cast.

    I'm quite looking forward to this film. HHG is a fantastic story - I just hope they stick reasonably close to the original script, keep the subtle & cynical English humour, and don't try to give it a more upbeat ending.
    • ^
    • v
    I personally haven't read this story or seen anything ever made of it so please forgive me. I can, though, qwell your fears of Zooey Deschanel. She's great and you'll love her but she has blue eyes, not brown ones. If any one would like any further info one her e-mail me benbismarck@hotmail.com. Ha ha, maybe someone could tell me about the character so I know whether she'll be any good in the role or not.

Trackbacks

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus

Advertisement: