Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I'm reading them again. Which is ridiculous as I practically know them off by heart. But I need some light reading to escape from my philosophy and HHG is great for that, especially as there are countless philosophical principles posited, realised and ridiculed in the books.
I have many thoughts.
So one day I want to adapt my favourite books into TV shows. It's a dream, not an ambition, as there's so much more I want to do with my life. But if I have time, money and influence enough I'd love to do this. To Kill A Mockingbird (I have a rather odd idea for this) and The Beach are first on my list.
HHG... Now this is a tricky one. I'd never be able to get the rights for it first of all because now whichever studio produced the film now own the rights. Argh. But it's had so many incarnations, including an original tv show (cracky goodness) that I don't know whether I'd want to clutter.
But as for casting... This is where I get really frustrated. In the film, Arthur is perfect. Martin Freeman does an excellent job. I was pissed off that Trillian was American (but apparently Douglas Adams wanted her to be) but Zooey Deschanel is a great actress for her. I'd actually want someone edgier, because I think she hasn't got the ruthless edge that ends up characterising Trillian in the later books. I would never dream of changing Alan Rickman's Marvin because wow. Just an amazing bit of casting there.
My major problems are Ford and Zaphod. WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP WITH FORD?! I mean, come on. Firstly, he's supposed to be GINGER!! Yeah, having a black guy in the main cast was a good idea, because otherwise they're all white (although Trillian is actually described as having Arabian-reminiscent looks, so a bit of ethnicity there might have been possible). But I'd be fine with him not being ginger if the characterisation had been right. Because omg. Just fail. Ford is a very hyper, very alert, very zany, totally insane and anxious person. He zings with energy. Whereas Mos Def's version of Ford was just some stoner off his face. Deary me. The Ford of the original TV series was amazing though. In my version, I would cast Seth Green. Because I just know he'd do it perfectly.
But here's where I stumble. I've got my perfect cast, a few lifted from the film, and Seth Green nicely put in there, and then I come to Zaphod. See, my perfect cast for him IS Sam Rockwell. BUT NOT AS HE ACTS IN THE FILM!! I don't know how this happened. Apparently Douglas Adams and I are the only people who understand Zaphod (because even in the original series the actor fell into this trap). You see, it's very easy to act Zaphod in a sleazy, stupid way, because that is how he behaves most of the time. But the character is actually a tortured genius with a huge dark side. He may act stupid, but in fact he's the cleverest of the group. And that didn't come through at all in the film.
What pisses me off is that SAM ROCKWELL CAN DO THIS. I've seen him to similar characters in other things. And I just KNOW he could do it right. So why the hell didn't he?? Did he just not understand the character at all? Was it a mixture of misunderstanding of the character on the part of the actor, writers and director?
If only Douglas Adams hadn't passed away after writing the first few scenes. Because you can totally tell when his writing stopped - up until that point it's faithful to the book. After that it's like the writers were like "woohoo, let's do it our way!!". It's entirely possible Adams did make some changes to the story (he did that a few times along the way with the radio-to-tv-to-novel process). The Point Of View Gun especially has his fingerprints all over it. But the other writers changed it so dramatically.
Anyway. Just a little rant about Sam Rockwell, mostly. Someday maybe I'll decide on a cast and do an ideal casting post. But for now I leave you with a quote...
"The storm had now definitely abated, and what thunder there was now grumbled over more distant hills, like a man saying 'and another thing...' twenty minutes after admitting he's lost the argument."
Maybe my most favourite quote, as it reminds me of my interactions with my family. Also houses the title of Eoin Colfer's stellar novel sequel: And Another Thing. It's truly excellent - the writing is both reminiscent of Adams and carries Colfer's own style, the characters are (almost, again a problem with Zaphod) perfectly realised, the plot is fun (even if the ending is weak) and overall it's a brilliant homage to the original trilogy of five. I definitely reccomend it. (Also Peter Pan in Scarlet, another classic sequel. Don't refuse to read it because you adored the original - the newest addition is perfect.)
~Lili
PS: CHECK OUT MY GORGEOUS NEW ICONS BY dance_the_dance! Thanks hun!!!
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