H2G2 Cast Finalized, Starts Shooting in April

akahige writes "According to The Hollywood Reporter, Martin Freeman (The Office, Love Actually), Mos Def (Showtime, The Italian Job), and Zooey Deschanel (Big Trouble, Elf) have signed on to play Arthur, Ford, and Trillian, respectively. Stephen Moore is once again doing the voice of Marvin. No word on who's playing Zaphod (but wouldn't Eddie Izzard be great?). It worries me when they say things like, "Adams adapted his own novel for the screen. After his death, Karey Kirkpatrick came aboard for a rewrite." But it's Disney, so what do you expect? Shooting begins in April."

What to expect..

[grub]

But it's Disney, so what do you expect?

Probably not what you expect..

Multiple Hitchiker toys at (McDonalds|Burger King) so people have to make several visits to buy them all.

Perhaps a Hitchiker Ride at Disney World if the movie proves very successful.

A DVD release followed soon after by a "collectors edition" release.

A re-release of the books all spiffied up for the new consumers.

A movie where quality will be second to the marketting of junk collectibles.

bah.. /. needs a "+1, Cynical Bastard" mod.

Disney

[funny-jack]

But it's Disney, so what do you expect?

Umm... a happy ending?

Zombies on the board

[phoenix321]

After his death, Karey Kirkpatrick came aboard for a rewrite.

Written in hell. No doubt...

Eddie Izzard - Both Male and Female?

[Filmwatcher888]

Would he have one head with makeup, and the other without? - Cake or Death, Little Red Cookbook!

Elf

[Dreadlord]

Zooey Deschanel (Big Trouble, Elf)

Wow, I didn't know that the elves started to do movies for Hollywood ;)

H2G2 a common abbreviation?

[Dimensio]

I admit that I'm not a fanatic like some, but I have never heard that particular string used as a short way to refer to the Hitchiker's Guide series. I've seen HHGttG once or twice, but usually I just see the whole thing written out.

It took me a moment to figure out the meaning of the headline. I had to actually read some of the additional commentary. If I had to actually read some of the commentary before posting on all articles, how could I shoot off an ill-informed comment that so blatantly exposes my ignorance?

they forgot the most important part!!

[xao gypsie]

....what company will be supplying the towel???

This doesn't match at all!

[synth7]

When I read the story, Arthur was black and Ford was chinese. How dare they change the characters all around!

(And what's with them removing the Dutch accent that all the Orcs had in LotR? Everyone knows that's how they talked!)

Re:H2G2?

[Anonymous Coward]

I prefer:

H1i1t1c1h1h1i1k1e1r1s1space1G1u1i1d1e1space1t1o1 sp ace1t1h1e1space1G1a1l1a1x1y1

This must be Thursday.

[wildsurf]

I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

Re:What to expect..

[grahams]

Perhaps a Hitchiker Ride at Disney World if the movie proves very successful.

Yeah, and then 20 years from now they will make a movie based on the ride.

Re:What to expect..

[petabyte]

bah.. /. needs a "+1, Cynical Bastard" mod.

I believe its called "insightful" :)

OMG SCO IS TEH SuXX0R LOLOLOLOL HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Darl is dumbo HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Obvious response

[elsilver]

It worries me when they say things like,...

Don't Panic.

E.

Head going to explode!

[onyxruby]

I think my head shall explode. Have loved the books for longer than I can remember. I even adapted part of one book for a play in college - went over well. Have also been boycotting Disney for longer than I can remember. Refuse to give them any money since long before their whole DRM, MPAA etc behavior. Head going to explode! Have I been sent to hell, with this as my punishment?

A black, American Ford?

[EverStoned]

That's gonna be a tough one to pull off..

Re:What to expect..

[thegoofy]

Yes, I can see the advertising blitz now...

"Towels in the kids meals - Yes, Kids! You can hide from your parents simply by placing this over your head!"

"This weeks special, the so long and thanks for all the McFish"

At Least there's no Will Smith.

[Dolemite_the_Wiz]

The last thing Hollywood needs is another crappy adaptation of cool Sci-Fi media by Will Smith. Wild, Wild, Wild West and MIB were enough.

Dolemite
_________________________

Disney is involved?

[FFFish]

...that can't be good.

Re:A black, American Ford?

[NaugaHunter]

They'll probably change him from Ford Prefect to Ford Taurus, or even Ford F-150.

Re:H2G2

[iminplaya]

Thank god...I thought it was one of those new elements that some mad scientist invented.

Obligatory Disney Joke

[2names]

Mickey Mouse is in court and the Judge says, "I'm sorry, Mickey, but I can't grant you a divorce simply because you think your wife is a bit odd."

Mickey says, "I didn't say she was odd, I said she was FUCKING GOOFY."

So I guess

[iminplaya]

we're not going to boycott disney anytime soon, eh?

Re:What to expect..

[Mononoke]

You can tell a lot about a person if they know anything about Douglas Adams' books.

Yeah, just ask them if they can figure out how the couch got stuck in the stairwell. If the don't know, then pass 'em by.

Re:At Least there's no Will Smith.

[PHoRD42]

like this? [imdb.com]

A Black Arthur Dent?!

[thelizman]

...why not, it worked in blazing saddles...

Re:What to expect..

[YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT]

Multiple Hitchiker toys at (McDonalds|Burger King) so people have to make several visits to buy them all.

I will gleefully whore out my favourite childhood novel if I can get a plastic Vogon figure with my Bugblatter Burger of Traal.

YLFI

Infinitely improbable...

[Kaishaku255]

...that Tux will make an appearance as Ford Prefect turns into a penguin (the first movie) [imdb.com] since he didn't even make the slashdot poll for favorite mascot!

Re:A Black Arthur Dent?!

[zoobot]

There was a Black Arthur Dent in Blazing Saddles?

Re:H2G2: It changes every time!!!

[jellisky]

Oh, I definitely understand your drift... it's just that now, every time I hit upon Fenchurch in the books, I will get the mental picture of Harvey Fierstein in my head. Eeeee... *laughs.*

-Jellisky

ekoJ OCS diputS

[NanoGator]

"No word on who's playing Zaphod (but wouldn't Eddie Izzard be great?"

I nominate Darl McBride, he's already two-faced!

Re:What to expect..

[TomV]

* Counter staff with Genuine People Personalities (tm)

* A cup of something which tastes almost (but not entirely) unlike tea.

* Shoes that not only do not fit, but which are actually joined at the heels.

DNA was always a bit close to the bone.

Re:What to expect..

[jafac]

Don't forget the lawyers putting the kibosh on the Babelfish and Learning to Fly, due to potential liability lawsuits ("My son Bobby put a Trout in his ear, and now he's deaf. I want 25 million dollars!" or "My daughter Suzie jumped off the roof trying to miss the ground, and broke her neck, and I want 50 million dollars!")

So, the Babelfish will need to be wrapped in a towel and placed on the head,
and Flying? well, with Disney, we're talking about at faerie dust, right?

I don't see what all the fuss is about...

[iapetus]

I thought everyone knew that Fords could be any colour you like, as long as they're black...

Mickey Mice made Earth?

[allrong]

Surely the mice won't all look like Mickey will they? So long and thanks for all the Nemo?

Adams' thoughts on TV and Hollywood...

[Dr. Zowie]

I heard Adams speak, in 1984, about the television series and, in particular, the HHG sequences within the series. Those sequences were all hand-animated (since computer graphics were actually expensive then!). He talked about how he saw the initial draft animations, and figured that that they were too complex for an American audience (in keeping with conventional Hollywood wisdom). Then he happened to be in the U.S. (maybe to cut a deal for the series, I forget why) and spotted some teenagers playing video games. That was the time when Xevious, Defender, and Sinistar were all the rage. Adams went back to the studio, he told us, and insisted that they redo the animations to make them more complicated.

Here's hoping the creative/adaptive tam here has the same spirit of humorous overload!

Please god, no, no

[OriginalArlen]

Mercy... save us all from this incipient horror... I speak as someone who's been listening to the Guide since 1979, can probably recite every line of the radio show in the saddest fanboy manner imaginable so yes, I'm never going to be happy but...

Imagine this was LotR. Imagine they'd announced Tim from the Office as Frodo, Mos Def - who IS a great rapper, I only got into him after listening to Scritti Politti's wonder 'Anomie and Bonhomie' alubm but that's a tangent for another time - as Gareth, and that the film was going to be made by Disney.

Ladies and Gentlemen... Disney presents: The Lord of the Rings!

Ah well, what better reason to break out a bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit could you ask for? I may sing a little, it's just been - well, you know how it is.

Re:zaphod actor

[sxe_p06]

Actually, I always pictured Ozzy Osborne as Zaphod. I mean, come on... THIS [imdb.com] is Zaphod. He's got the glasses, the personality, and the accent.