Slashdot Mirror


HHGTG Screenwriter Interviews Himself

Overly Critical Guy writes "The screenwriter for the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy film has interviewed himself. A snippet: 'Who am I? "Not Douglas Adams" is the answer that concerns most people.'"

7 of 257 comments (clear)

  1. I believe Adams himself once wrote... by fpga_guy · · Score: 4, Interesting
    "The only problem with talking to yourself, is that you are rarely surprised by the answers..."

  2. The first question he asks himself.. by nadavspi · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "WHO THE H*#&! ARE YOU AND WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO MUCK AROUND WITH THIS TREASURED PIECE OF LITERATURE, YOU AMERICAN HOLLYWOOD HACK?"
    I like this guy already.

    Seriously though, the attitude he has in this self interview gives me (some) hope for this movie. He seems concerned with keeping the movie parallel to Douglas Adams' intentions and style.
    He also noted how his initial reaction after reading Douglas's script was "I can't write this, this guy's a genius and I'm no genius."
    "I was never trying to put my stamp on this material or bring my 'voice' to it (whatever the h*#&! that elusive thing is)."
    Who knows, it may even turn out decent. Eh, who am I kidding.
  3. eddy by Random_Goblin · · Score: 3, Interesting
    doesn't eddy the ship board computer ask exactly the same question?

    I know purists might argue that "think of a number" isn't really a question. However if they think that would have stopped Adam's they are quite mistaken.

    I think actually it's like the question "Why is a raven like a writting desk?". Lewis Carroll didn't intend there to be an actual answer... but he found the readers' solution "...because Poe wrote on both." to be be true and funny.

    BTW has anyone else noticed the similarity between "genuine people personalities" and everyones favourite windows application clippy the paperclip?

    Adam's was a genius...

  4. fools by CAIMLAS · · Score: 3, Interesting

    for those saying that a brit should've been picked for the screen writer: bullshit.

    genius is indiscriminate, and british cultural humour is not only "gotten" by brits, as the last 20-some years of Monty Pyton fandom in the US has demonstrated. Nor are brits the only ones that can create such humour.

    Furthermore, kirkpatrick said he didn't even make all that many changes, just organized it so it would fit the film format (ie, so that the action wouldn't be crouded at one end of the film, with the other 3/4ths of it boring as fuck).

    I don't know about anyone else thought about Chicken Run, but I thought it was very similar in style to Wallace and Grommit. Are not the writers/makers of W&G british? (I personally thought Chicken Run was more fun and humorous overall, but what do I know. I'm a stupid American, right? bigots.)

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  5. Re:Who is interested in the questions... by dspeyer · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Prak may not be telling the truth anymore -- after all, the drug has worn off and he may feel free to mess with peoples' heads.

    In the radio series, it is revealed that the question/answer annihilation theory may have been concucted by "a wily editor of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy to increase the general level of nervousness in the galaxy and, thereby, sales of the book."

  6. One thing not to loose: subtlety by sela · · Score: 3, Interesting


    I think the biggest problem with american works vs. British is the lack of subtely.

    In Hollywoodic movies everything needs to be explicit. We need to know who are the good guys and bad guys right ahead. If there is a moral to the story, they make an effort _nobody_ will miss it. If there is a commical situation, they make every effort to make us understand that we just experianced a funny moment - or otherwise Joe sixpacks might miss the fact that someone said something funny, which is not good for their wallet.

    And this is exactle what I hope _will not_ happen to HHGTTG. If it will remain a truely British film, they will be able to present the most commical, rediculous and improbable situation with a sence of casuality, as if it were an absolutely normal situation. If it will become a typical an hollywoodic film, every scene will be accompanied with a "Look - what a cool concept this is!", and "wasn't this just hillarious?". Every element in the story will be explained to death.

    I sure hope this won't happen to this movie.

  7. Re:Who is interested in the questions... by Nintendork · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I don't think he was lying. The very next line in the original radio broadcast is Arthur saying, "I always knew there was something fundamentally wrong about the universe."

    -Lucas