By GFR | Published
An old adage says, “Dying is easy. But comedy is difficult.
Well, science fiction comedy is much more difficult.
There have been many attempts at the world of films, and the box office cemetery is cinematographic corpses like The adventures of Pluto NashBuried alive with his battery of Bucks Hillary.
The closest science fiction comes regularly to comedy is in adventure films with a healthy heap of comic elements, like the excellent Black men or the various Galaxy goalkeepers Flicks.
But while these films have laughter to lose, this is not the main purpose of these stories.
This almost changed in 2005 when the most loved comedy author of all time tried to transform his hilarious science fiction novels into a big Hollywood budget comedy.
And it almost worked, until the tragedy strikes and destroys not only its film, but perhaps the future of its franchise.
Why the Galaxy Hoofing Stopper Guide failed
THE Hooffire guide on galaxy The film opens with a Dolphin musical number and ends with the floating head of Douglas Adams.
One would think that a film with these Bonkers’ hounds would have captured the spirit of the ADAMS hitchhiking guide franchise, a series of beloved projects that started as a 1978 radio series and finally led to many award-winning novels and a program on TV and all the other media you need to call you an appropriate franchise.
The film started in the right way. Adams wrote the script and was directly involved in the project.
Then his body made the decision exceptionally rude to stop working.
Douglas Adams died tragically on May 11, 2001 at the age of 49, putting a new draft from the film script a few days earlier.
Without Adams as part of the project, it seemed that no one wanted to run the film. The film ended up being directed by Garth Jennings, known to shoot clips for popular groups like Blur and Fatboy Slim.
Douglas Adams dies but the show continues
After the death of Adams and the addition of Jennings to production, the writer Karey Kirkpatrick was brought to make rewritings on the Adams script. Kirkpatrick’s history was mainly in children’s films with credits on good films like Rescuers under,, The road to El DoradoAnd Chicken.
But Kirkpatrick, hot by writing the vehicle Jonathan Lipnicki Star, the little vampire, seems definitely the kind of writer brought to give a script a special approach to all ages. It was the guy who wrote Yeti’s film “Zendaya is meechee”, folks. Sorry, but it’s not Douglas Adams.
Despite Kirkpatrick’s participation, probably softening the potential edges of the Adams script, there is still a good amount of tone and voice of the author in the final product. This could have been enough to make this film work if it did not take a series of decisions that fans would find at best confusing and sacrilege at worst.
Yasiin Bey is interpreted as Ford Prefect, the companion to direct the Arthur Dent character. At the time, Bey went through the nickname Mos Def as part of his musical personality.
And while he had been acting for more than a decade when he was thrown Hooffire guide on galaxyHis point of view on Ford Prefect is hampered by the decision to mumble many of its lines, which makes its dialogue difficult to distinguish sometimes.
And that could have been an instruction as a global actor for the rest of the distribution. Add another level of audio confusion by making the actors speak of each other and mixing the sound to stifle their voices. The ADR on this film was probably not a fun moment.
The result is a film based on a franchise known for its superbly written and hilarious dialogue, with all the dialogue delivered in a way that obscures a large part of its potential comedy.
The casting
Despite this, Hoofing guide has its light points.
Martin Freeman is an ideal choice to be Arthur Dent. He embodies the character with an appropriate perplexity, while Arthur crosses the galaxy in his dirty green robe.
Stephen Fry serves as a voice of the real guide. It was the choice of Douglas Adams and Douglas Adams without surprise was right. Fry’s voice is easily the strongest asset of the film.
The guide serves as a background narration in the film and is used as a device that the characters can consult to bring them and the public to the next Beat of the plot.
By the way, if you have never read hitchhiking guides, we strongly recommend that you listen to the audiob versions told by Fry.
Sam Rockwell should have been the ideal Zaphod Beeblebrox. In 2005, he had already established himself as an essential character actor for the bizarre games. Unfortunately, he is the victim of the same dialogue problems that afflict a lot of this film.
The film’s budget was not large enough to give Zaphod two heads and three arms, which probably disturbed unconditional fans of the source equipment. Instead, the film sets up on half a measure in which it has somehow only two heads, and his third arm is hidden.
Zooey Deschanel is Trillian, the only other survivor of the destruction of the earth other than Arthur, is not really substantial to work. Aside from her short shorts, which should indicate that she is treated as a kind of hot and little more girl girl.
Not as big budget as you think
The budget reported in the film was $ 45 million, so just over $ 70 million today. An important budget but even less than what you expect from a well -known property in the hope of launching a successful film franchise.
On his credit, the design of production and practical work of special effects mainly retained twenty years later.
But there is clear patchwork work when you start looking for them. Whether it is spraying a bunch of fogs around sets or conveniently transport the characters to a desert, it is clear that it is a film that works against its budget instead of really feeling supported by it.
For example, they should probably have cut this scene with John Malkovich. The digital FX does not work and its character is useless in history.
However, the film deserves praise for what it did well. The heart of gold, the improbable starship in the history of the center of Douglas Adams, has a lot of love.
They even found a way to visualize the improbability reader and it is a success gag each time the crew is forced to use it.
The first half of Hoofing guide seems to be well enough, as you look at it. Our suspicion is that this part of the film is approaching the original script of Douglas Adams.
As the film progresses, things are starting to collapse and it becomes clear that production does not have the money or the will to take the story where it must go.
As the film reaches Magrathea, the final point of this version of Hoofing guide History, you are ready to finish, after spending 20 minutes to be bored to death with a bunch of vogons.
There are many vogons. Too many vogons. For any reason, we go to the native planet of Vogon, although we are told from the start that they are the most boring species that exist. Thus, the film spends 20 minutes hanging around in the most boring place in the universe.
It is logical in terms of film to launch the vogons as pure and simple bad guys, but they end up leading the film in something much less unique and interesting than its source material.
Box office and reception
The film obtained a solid marketing push and managed to open in the first place at the box office, ending its race with just over $ 51 million in the United States, and an additional $ 53 million in international markets.
Even if it looks like a decent success, the context is essential. Considering The hitchhiker guide on the galaxy The budget and the fact that he had to launch a whole film franchise, the bean meters did not see this as something with the investment more money.
Maybe they would have done it if the film managed to stimulate a lot of support from criticism, but the reactions were mixed with SpawnThe biggest fan, Roger Ebert, giving the film two stars.
In addition, there did not seem to be a wave of support for the film once he was in the world. The new arrivals did not find that it was an entry point sufficiently exciting for the franchise, and the fans were mostly resigned to the interpretation by the film of the work of Adams or did not really recognize it.
The worst thing about The Galaxy Hoofing Hoofing Guide It is that it was probably our only shot to obtain a big budget vision widely appreciated by the seminal fiction work of Adams.
The film’s failure killed most of Hollywood’s interest in property, and if this interest was rekindled, you would need some of the talent of Adams to do it properly. Unfortunately, it is an exceptionally rare company.
While we obtain parodies like Spatial balls Or Galaxquest From time to time, the films of purely and simple science fiction comedy feel rarer and rarer. The best that comes to mind is the excellent tribute of Edgar Wright The end of the world. It seems that we only get something really original and focused on comedy like Return to the future Once by generation.
Regarding science fiction comedies, it seems that we are more likely to obtain The adventures of Pluto Nash Or Beautiful. I forgot so many happy memories with my loved ones but my brain refuses to let me forget Beautiful.
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