It’s been 20 years coming, but at last an all-new film version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is being released. Morag Bruce searches for the meaning of life with star MARTIN FREEMAN.
n the beginning there was a radio programme
called Hitch/likens (futile to the (iii/(ix): The
people heard it. and it was good. Then the people wanted to see the characters they were hearing. so the BB(‘ made it into a television series. The people watched it. and it was good in a Io-ti retro doing the best with what technology was available kind of way. The people rejoiced. but asked it one day they might see a film version. ‘Yesf said Our Lord. Douglas Adams. ‘but you'll have to wait a while . . .‘
And waited we have. Alter an almost biblical saga of near misses. cancelled production schedules and other hoo ha. Adams‘ tale of the last remaining human male alive. intergalactic travel. improbability. tea and human l'oibles blown up on a galactic scale linally comes to the big screen.
.-\s Martin l-‘reeman steps into Arthur Dent's dressing gown and slippers. does he l’eel the weight of a million Hitchhiker anoraks resting on his shoulders'.’ ‘We want as many people to like it as possible. including fans and people who love the whole entity ot‘ Hitchhiker] he says.
‘You can’t worry about it too much obviously. as then you stop paying attention to doing the work. The film had to be in the spirit of Douglas‘ writing. which I think it delinitely is.
'There is such an affection for him and his
22 THE LIST H—QS At" .j.“ ‘
legacy. but that also exists amongst the cast and crew ol' the lilm. lispecially since Douglas is dead. it would be a travesty it we had said. “It doesn‘t matter now. we can do it our way and ignore everything else.”
Over two decades to get the lilm made doesn't come as any surprise when one considers this Adamsism: ‘I love deadlines. I like the “whoosh" noise they make as they go by.‘ 'l‘ravelling back to the dawn of Hitchhiker titnc (I978). we find Adams. an ex-(‘ambridge
liootlighter about to unleash the inner working ol‘
his mind to Radio 4 listeners in the form ol‘ the six-pan series. In a country gripped by all things space l‘ollowing the release of Star lliirv a mere six weeks earlier. the show is an instant hit and paves the way for the novel adaptations in I979.
The books let Adams go oil. on his tangents oi
delightful lunacy. developing ideas that barely got a mention in the radio series. But it‘s probably the 1981 television series that sticks in most people‘s minds. Watching it again. it's still funny and the clunky animation sequences and shoddy production values belie the tact that it has used up the entire et‘l'ects budget ot‘ the BBC Light Entertainment Department for I980.
:\s early as I982. Adams is hinting that a film is in the pipeline and by the end of that year the rights have been sold to Columbia Pictures with
Martin Freeman (above) and fellow space travellers Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Anna Chancellor and
John Malkovich (right).
director Ivan Reitman ((ihmt/mvterxl at the helm and with Adams writing the screenplay. The release is announced l‘or I985. .-\ l'ew years ol ‘Will it‘.’ Won't it‘." behaviour I‘ollow, with ('olumbia renewing its option in that year. but by 1987 the project has been all but abandoned. Jumping ahead to 1992. Adams is trying to buy the rights back from ('olumbia and by the l'ollowing year says the lilm is linally going to be made. Well. soon anyway.
Back in the time machine and set coordinates to 1998. when Austin l’uwerv director Jay Roach is made producer. A l‘cw more years oi mucking about l'ollow but things really start happening when Roach sends the script to Spike .lon/e. lle decides to pass but sends back Hammer and Tongs' show reel as an alternative. More used to making tttttslc videos such as the promo liot‘ Blur's '(‘ot‘l‘ee and T\". H&T guys (iarth Jennings and Nick (ioldsmith pop oil to LA to present their Hitchhiker vision to distributor Disney.
The lirst time filmmakers get the green light to go. They have great al‘l‘ection tor the story so don‘t want it mucked about with too much. 'Uut first reaction was to reject the script before it had even popped through the letter box.‘ Jennings is quick to point out to t'ans on a BBC website shortly after the completion of the lilm. ‘We