Some titbits of details on the DVD release of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy have come to light from MTV via Twitch.
It appears that there will be additional scenes included, oh, but not deleted scenes. Scenese that were never intended for the movie release.
“Extras and deleted scenes are such a big thing now, but most of those are deleted for a reason.”…”Of course they’re deleted, they’re awful!” director Garth Jennings laughed. “But ours were never going to be in the movie.”…
…such as when a Vogon soldier is about to throw…Arthur Dent (played by Martin Freeman), and his alien friend Ford Prefect (played by Mos Def) off his spaceship. In the book, Dent and Prefect desperately try to change the mind of the rather mindless soldier, who isn’t exactly keen on killing them but feels bound to their duties. But the theatrically released movie never reveals that hilarious conversation and never intended to — you’ll only see it on the DVD.
…scenes depicting an evil version of one supporting character, Slartibartfast (played by Bill Nighy), who is actually kind to Dent in the theatrical release. John Malkovich’s character, religious leader Humma Kavula…got to show a different side of himself…”We recorded this thing where John sang this whole hymn about blowing your nose,” Jennings said. “He sang it with real gusto. It was quite bizarre.”
In addition to the fake scenes, the filmmakers commissioned Grant Gee (who helmed the Radiohead documentary “Meeting People Is Easy”) to film a making-of piece for the DVD.
Sounds like there’s a lot of material on there, and I hope a lot more than is listed here too. It would be fun to see much more of the Guide too, after all that’s one of the main props of the movie and I think we see far too little of it.
Hollywood has done it again! Having missed the boat on “The Avengers” and “Dr. Who” adaptations, producers have now totally missed the whimsy of Doug Adams’ book(s) and the far-superior-though-technically-flawed BBC series. Instead of the exasperated indignation of Arthur Dent in the BBC version, we get a whiny and depressed version here. Instead of the optimistic-against-all-odds-breathlessness of Ford Prefect (BBC version), we get Mos Def playing it straight and boring. Zooey Deschanel provides very little quirky charm and, worst of all, the book itself is hardly in the movie and, when it is, the graphics are far inferior to the BBC version of high-tech oddity. Only the Zaphod and Slartybartfast characters come close. Unfortunately, the creepiness of Zaphod second head in this version and the minimal screentime of Bill Nighy minimize. Any good scene has been previewed on the trailer and only one good line (“I’m British so I know how to queue”) are left to salvage this flat and dull(!) movie version. I wonder how much revision of the late Adams’ script was done, even after Adams succumbed to the pressure from Hollywood to make the movie version more “accessible.” In this version, Marvin the robot has one line that sums up the movie: “It’s even more awful than I imagined it would be.” Definitely read the book(s) and buy the BBC TV version for lots of laughs and clever mind-bending dialogue and situations. Definitely don’t waste your money on this non-event.