Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rictor on February 22, 2005, 04:40:16 pm
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http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/main.html
Damnit, I was really looking forward to it!
and now, well....
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Some of it looks ok, glad the main actor has an English accent at least ;) Some of it, however, looks like it was done by the Benny Hill fan club. That is not a good thing.
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My initial skepticism about casting a Mos Def to play Ford had subsided into "hmm, we'll see, it could be ok". Until I saw this.
Secondly, Zaphod is totally and completely stupid. I actually though that he was going to be the one that was done to perfection, but seriously, its just crap. And since when does he have 2 heads, one underneath the other!?
Add to that the fact that I recognized like 2 scenes from the book (keep in mind that this is referncng the omnibus edition, which plainly states that "whatever is wrong here is wrong for good") and you can see why my Hype-O-Meter just dropped significantly.
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Problem is that the producer has caught onto the slapstick side of the books and the deeper humour appears to have passed completely over his head, or possibly he felt it would pass completely over the audiences head?
Yeah, I didn't recognise much of the dialogue either, and there seemed to be about 13 more space battles in the trailer than there was in the entire series of books :(
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Um, yeah. They've changed everything by the looks of it... :no:
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Sweet Zombie Jesus!
That's about as ****ed up interpretation as I've ever seen!
1. Zaphod's heads + general appearance = wrong
2. Ford...is...not...black!
3. Did I see rightly? please tell me that round-headed thing was not Marvin!
4. Gah! I'm just lost for words, even the damn voiceover is wrong!
Stupid people probably never even watched the TV series, damn! damn! damn them to the hell of an instant flop I say! ****ers! :hopping: :hopping: :hopping:
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I agree.
I'll still go and see it, but I won't enjoy it. Even if it turns out alright I'll still refuse to enjoy it, then go home and listen to the radio series on a loop for about 3 weeks.
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Look at it this way, a bunch of Marionettes produced a better performance than Hollywoods attempt at Thunderbirds. War of The Worlds completely missed the entire ****ing point of the book. And now this....
Hollywood - Making dead people spin in their graves for 5 years and counting....
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I say we burn down the cinemas after watching it. Who's with me?
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Originally posted by pyro-manic
Um, yeah. They've changed everything by the looks of it... :no:
:nod::sigh:
You know what I say we do? PANIC!!
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Like always, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. The trailer didn't really give me that "Holy **** this is gonna be total crap" feeling either. I know it's going to be different then the book. Hell, even the radio play that the book is based on isn't as good as the book! :D But still it *might* just *might* be worth the effort to watch.
*fingers crossed*
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Originally posted by Flipside
Problem is that the producer has caught onto the slapstick side of the books and the deeper humour appears to have passed completely over his head, or possibly he felt it would pass completely over the audiences head?
Or maybe they just didn't put it into the trailer :)
I'm going to reserve judgment on this one. There's always the TV series if you want something that's closer to the book :D
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Well, I'll admit, the trailer did make me smile in places, even if it wasn't 'canon', so I'm not writing the film off entirely ;)
'You've..... grown'
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Well, that's one movie off my list.
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How are you people passing judgment on the whole movie based on a minute-long trailer? Hell, most trailers I've seen don't do the movies anything resembling justice. I don't care what the trailer is like; I'm seeing it anyway.
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What would be the point of a trailer if not to allow people to pass judgement on the film?
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Exactly...
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
What would be the point of a trailer if not to allow people to pass judgement on the film?
Thats a scarily good point actually...:shaking:
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
What would be the point of a trailer if not to allow people to pass judgement on the film?
I've never looked at trailers that way. I've always seen them as some overly flashy, "Hey look! We have a movie!" statement that doesn't get close to what the film is really like. I don't see movies based on how impressive their trailers are; I see them because I enjoy the subject matter or because someone has recommended them to me. Or, regrettably, in the case of Episodes I-III, because they have the name "Star Wars" in them. :p
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
What would be the point of a trailer if not to allow people to pass judgement on the film?
The point of a movie trailer is to make the movie appear to be appealing to the lowest common denominator, so that more people will buy tickets. This is the prevailing marketing philosophy. Take any recent movie that isn't your typical Hollywood pulp, and then after watching it go back and watch the trailer. Odds are, the trailer will give an entirely different impression of the movie than the movie itself does, and usually in the direction of pulp films.
For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind's trailers made it seem like a romantic comedy, which it certianly was not. Why? Because rom-coms sell.
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Were any of you actually expecting this movie to be good? Were you actually expecting them to do justice to the concept?
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Originally posted by Jetmech Jr.
Were any of you actually expecting this movie to be good? Were you actually expecting them to do justice to the concept?
Considering that Douglas Adams has been aiding in the planning of the movie for a long time, then yes, I do expect that.
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Originally posted by Mongoose
Considering that Douglas Adams has been aiding in the planning of the movie for a long time, then yes, I do expect that.
Even though he's been dead for 3 years? ;)
Jetmech: I expected them to make it at least partly true to the book. Given that the market for this film is split in two - fans of the book, who expect it to be something like the book, and the general public who want a comedy film, I'd expect them to at least make some attempt to cover both areas. Though that's probably just my misplaced faith in humanity showing me up again....
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Originally posted by pyro-manic
Though that's probably just my misplaced faith in humanity showing me up again....
You really should squash those thoughts ;)
I really don't expect any movie based on a book or other source to be true to it any more (with a few possible exceptions).
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Ach.
Marvin looks wrong (in fact, he look more like I'd expect a bloody krikkit robot to look like), Zaphod looks wrong, Ford looks wrong, the Heart of Gold looks wrong (it's not even ****ing gold!), the explosions look wrong (i.e. why are there explosions?), the Vogons look wrong, and.... there's not even any cups of tea.
(Oh, and am i the only one who thinks Zaphod if anyone should have been black, not Ford? )
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I can't think of very many trailers that actually represented a movie very well. And even then, it doesn't look that bad to me. And when I think about it, I don't really think it would be practical to put the deeper humour from the book in the trailer. I agree with Mongoose.
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Originally posted by aldo_14
(Oh, and am i the only one who thinks Zaphod if anyone should have been black, not Ford? )
You're not. I was thinking that a few days ago.
Also, the Heart of Gold shouldn't be gold anyway. It's white in all the existing incarnations of the Guide. Only the core of the improbability drive is gold.
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...there...should...be...no...black...people...in...this...fil m...
Don't even think about it..
All the scenes on Earth depict a white middle-class area of southern England, much like Surrey. If I walk down the street where I live, there are no black people, it's a fact of geography, end of story...
To change one of the central characters so completely is both pandering to the PC thugs, and unrealistic in the kind of setting that is portrayed in the books and TV series.
The studio execs don't have a friggin clue about this stuff - It is precisely because Arthur lives in a quiet, middle-class, non-integrated place, that makes it funny when a) His best friend turns out to be an alien and b) the Earth gets destroyed...
This is why Arthur spends most of the time completely bewildered and trying to work out what's going on. It's not slapstick, it's culture shock.
And look at Marvin - was that round-headed thing him? NO! He is supposed to have a long face - it's part of the whole 'depressed' thing - it's part of the joke FFS!
I'm leaving now, before I get angry...I mean more angry...Hollywood can S my D...
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
You're not. I was thinking that a few days ago.
Also, the Heart of Gold shouldn't be gold anyway. It's white in all the existing incarnations of the Guide. Only the core of the improbability drive is gold.
Whoops. It should still be shaped a bit like a running shoe, IIRC.
Originally posted by Clave
...there...should...be...no...black...people...in...this...film...
Don't even think about it..
All the scenes on Earth depict a white middle-class area of southern England, much like Surrey. If I walk down the street where I live, there are no black people, it's a fact of geography, end of story...
To change one of the central characters so completely is both pandering to the PC thugs, and unrealistic in the kind of setting that is portrayed in the books and TV series.
The studio execs don't have a friggin clue about this stuff - It is precisely because Arthur lives in a quiet, middle-class, non-integrated place, that makes it funny when a) His best friend turns out to be an alien and b) the Earth gets destroyed...
This is why Arthur spends most of the time completely bewildered and trying to work out what's going on. It's not slapstick, it's culture shock.
And look at Marvin - was that round-headed thing him? NO! He is supposed to have a long face - it's part of the whole 'depressed' thing - it's part of the joke FFS!
I'm leaving now, before I get angry...I mean more angry...Hollywood can S my D...
Zaphod's not exactly from Surrey, though it he (and before you pick up on the Ford Prefect thing, Zaphod wasn't living in Surrey...). But I always thought of Zaphod as a crazy jive-turkey style guy with an afro and the heads side-by-side.
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Yeah, Zaphod....hmmm....
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1250000/images/_1252041_hitchhikers_300.jpg)
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Ford:
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/gallery/images/340/fordprefect.jpg)
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Arthur:
(http://www.sadgeezer.com/hhg/b3.jpg)
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Trillian:
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/gallery/images/340/trillian.jpg)
See a pattern emerging?
Oh, BTW: It seems Arthur was living in the West Country, so I stand by my comment, it's still a location thing...
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You know, you could simply put all in one post :rolleyes:
Anyway, this movie had better end up being good to warrant using music from Aliens in the trailer.
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Hmm yeah Trillian's supposed to be blonde, isn't she?!
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She looks like...a crackwhore. Thats just wrong, totally wrong.
I actually quite like how they cast Trillian. Not perfect, but OK,
Dude, the 80s are over. Learn to let go. I know we all loved big poofy hair and huge shoulder-pads, but its gone.
*shudders*
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Casting someone other than Stephen Moore as Marvin is also a cardinal sin.
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
Casting someone other than Stephen Moore as Marvin is also a cardinal sin.
Enough already, all of you. You realize that not everyone has seen the TV series, right? I, for one, never have. To me, the portrayals of Zaphod and Trillian above are absurd and flat-out wrong. This isn't the TV show; it isn't the trilogy. It's an interpretation of the movie. You're as bad as the people complaining about omissions in the Lord of the Rings movies. If you want the real story, just stick to the books. If you want to see a cinematic adaptation of the books, then give the movie a chance. It's as simple as that.
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Looks awesome to me. I can't wait for it.
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Originally posted by Mongoose
Enough already, all of you. You realize that not everyone has seen the TV series, right? I, for one, never have. To me, the portrayals of Zaphod and Trillian above are absurd and flat-out wrong. This isn't the TV show; it isn't the trilogy. It's an interpretation of the movie. You're as bad as the people complaining about omissions in the Lord of the Rings movies. If you want the real story, just stick to the books. If you want to see a cinematic adaptation of the books, then give the movie a chance. It's as simple as that.
No
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I'll second that.
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Yeah, but there is such a thing as adaptation and such as bastardisation.
This movie is the later.
HHGTG is not about slapstick but clever humour, which is a thinly veiled critique of our society.
When Dougles Adams manages to sum up the whole of Aristotele's teaching in 3 sentences witouth sounding ackward, you have to realize that the man was a genious.
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You cannot assume the movie is a bastardisation from the trailer. One minute does not equal one and a half hours or however long the film is.
According to this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/), Douglas Adams wrote the screenplay.
Edit: This is confirmed in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/board/nest/13732108, a FAQ thingy which all you naysayers might want to read.
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Originally posted by Ransom Arceihn
You cannot assume the movie is a bastardisation from the trailer. One minute does not equal one and a half hours or however long the film is.
According to this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/), Douglas Adams wrote the screenplay.
Edit: This is confirmed in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/board/nest/13732108, a FAQ thingy which all you naysayers might want to read.
That wouldn't stop the studios ruining it for profit, though. As it stands, the trailer strikes me as being in almost completely the opposite spirit to the book(s).
Oh, and imbd also gives a screenplay credit to another person (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0456732/)
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Regardless, I find it pointless to become so pessimistic over a trailer, especially since in general movies are quite different from their trailers. They're designed to get interest from the largest amount of people as possible, which includes people who haven't read it or even heard of it. Frankly it doesn't surprise me it comes off as a generic slapstick comedy.
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Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
What would be the point of a trailer if not to allow people to pass judgement on the film?
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Originally posted by Sesquipedalian
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind's trailers made it seem like a romantic comedy, which it certianly was not. Why? Because rom-coms sell.
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What would be the point of watching a trailer if not to pass judgement on the film?
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I also reserve the right to b!tch and complain about Hollywood...:p
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Well I don't know about you but I've never passed judgement on a film because of a trailer. When I see a trailer, I use it to decide if it's worth looking into, not how good the film itself is before even seeing it.
Though I get the impression a lot of you actually want to see this film suck.
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Why would i want to see the - or in fact any - film suck?
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I pass judgement on everything all the time - Being more judgemental every day is one of my core skills, along with irrational responses to sensible questions, ludicrous suggestions, bad puns, inflammatory views, and strange ideologies. You know I'm nearly fitting in here...:ha:
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:ha: indeed.
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Originally posted by aldo_14
Why would i want to see the - or in fact any - film suck?
I have no idea. I wasn't necessarily talking to you, either. I was referring to comments like:
Originally posted by Petrarch of the VBB
I'll still go and see it, but I won't enjoy it. Even if it turns out alright I'll still refuse to enjoy it