In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we look at several music videos by director Garth Jennings. If you ask me who my favorite music video director is, the answer won't be Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze or David Fincher, even though I think all of them are great. No, for me there is one director who really stands above the rest of the crowd and that is Garth Jennings. As a duo with producer Nick Goldsmith, under the moniker Hammer and Tongs, he made not one, not two, but three of my favorite music videos of all time. The...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/4/2024
- Screen Anarchy
In envisioning the design of Redshore City for “Sing 2,” director Garth Jennings thought back to when he first visited Las Vegas and met a friend to see a show in the hotel he was staying at. “We meet and we’re walking for 20 minutes and we’re still inside the same hotel! It blew my mind,” Jennings tells Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: Film Animation panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). In designing the city, he also attempted to capture the grand experience that many people have when visiting Las Vegas. “I was inspired by that trip also about how much people love it, how many families go and people have a totally different experience. I was trying to capture how grand, enormous and how loved it is.”
“Sing 2,” which will be released in theaters by Universal on December 22, picks up shortly after where the first film,...
“Sing 2,” which will be released in theaters by Universal on December 22, picks up shortly after where the first film,...
- 11/29/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Mark Harrison Sep 20, 2019
As Rambo: Last Blood arrives on the big screen, Mark revisits Garth Jennings’ Son Of Rambow, an altogether gentler First Blood spin-off…
Placed next to First Blood and the unexpectedly long-lived Rambo franchise, Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow doesn't seem so odd. More than 30 years after the original adaptation of David Morrell’s novel, we’re now looking at Last Blood, or Rambo No. 5, as Lou Bega might have called it. Although the original film represents some of Sylvester Stallone's best acting work, it doesn't necessarily have “action franchise” written all over it.
With that in mind, it’s not so odd that a family-friendly British comedy would position two 12-year-olds in 1980s Hertfordshire as the makers of an unofficial sequel. Released in 2007, Jennings’ film is an ode to how we interact with films as youngsters--specifically with a film the characters are definitely too young to see.
As Rambo: Last Blood arrives on the big screen, Mark revisits Garth Jennings’ Son Of Rambow, an altogether gentler First Blood spin-off…
Placed next to First Blood and the unexpectedly long-lived Rambo franchise, Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow doesn't seem so odd. More than 30 years after the original adaptation of David Morrell’s novel, we’re now looking at Last Blood, or Rambo No. 5, as Lou Bega might have called it. Although the original film represents some of Sylvester Stallone's best acting work, it doesn't necessarily have “action franchise” written all over it.
With that in mind, it’s not so odd that a family-friendly British comedy would position two 12-year-olds in 1980s Hertfordshire as the makers of an unofficial sequel. Released in 2007, Jennings’ film is an ode to how we interact with films as youngsters--specifically with a film the characters are definitely too young to see.
- 9/19/2019
- Den of Geek
In a press release issued today about Universal's slate of upcoming animated movies produced by Illumination Entertainment, we got word on when the already announced "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the properly assumed "Despicable Me 3" would hit theaters nationwide. But they also announced an untitled project for 2016, one that is infinitely more interesting than either of these projects—an animated feature written and directed by Garth Jennings, who was responsible (alongside frequent creative partner Nick Goldsmith) for some of the more unforgettable videos in recent memory—bands such as Radiohead, Blur, Pulp, Badly Drawn Boy, Beck, Hot Chip, Supergrass, R.E.M.—as well as big-screen vehicles "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Son of Rambow." Color us intrigued.Not much is known about the project (you can read the annoyingly cryptic synopsis below), although it should be known that this is the first big-screen project...
- 1/15/2014
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
Interview Simon Brew 23 Dec 2013 - 07:18
The star of Son of Rambow and now We're the Millers sits down for an unusual interview with us...
Since he broke through with Son Of Rambow, Will Poulter has built himself quite a career. Now, at the age of 20, he's found himself one of the four stars of hit comedy We're The Millers. As the film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, he spared us some time for a chat...
Can we start with Son Of Rambow? If you're going to have a breakthrough movie, that's really not a bad place to start. Is it the film that people talk to you about the most?
You know what, I was so lucky for two reasons. One because the experience was just so lovely. For that to be your first film, spending eight weeks over your summer holiday with zero expectation... Everyone was so lovely.
The star of Son of Rambow and now We're the Millers sits down for an unusual interview with us...
Since he broke through with Son Of Rambow, Will Poulter has built himself quite a career. Now, at the age of 20, he's found himself one of the four stars of hit comedy We're The Millers. As the film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, he spared us some time for a chat...
Can we start with Son Of Rambow? If you're going to have a breakthrough movie, that's really not a bad place to start. Is it the film that people talk to you about the most?
You know what, I was so lucky for two reasons. One because the experience was just so lovely. For that to be your first film, spending eight weeks over your summer holiday with zero expectation... Everyone was so lovely.
- 12/20/2013
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
Feature Mark Harrison Jan 3, 2013
The 2005 adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy divided fans. Mark takes a look back...
In 2005, director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, better known collectively as Hammer and Tongs, finally brought Disney's long-gestating film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy to the big screen. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. But as this article will contend, on the subject of the 2005 cinematic adaptation of the same name, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would have this to say: mostly harmless.
This is not a popular opinion amongst those fans who have derided the film ever since its release, but we don't intend to persuade people that they were wrong about this version of the beloved Douglas Adams story. But it was liked by some, including this writer, and so it's worth re-evaluating.
The 2005 adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy divided fans. Mark takes a look back...
In 2005, director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, better known collectively as Hammer and Tongs, finally brought Disney's long-gestating film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy to the big screen. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. But as this article will contend, on the subject of the 2005 cinematic adaptation of the same name, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would have this to say: mostly harmless.
This is not a popular opinion amongst those fans who have derided the film ever since its release, but we don't intend to persuade people that they were wrong about this version of the beloved Douglas Adams story. But it was liked by some, including this writer, and so it's worth re-evaluating.
- 1/2/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Garth Jennings is better known to most folks as one half (along with Nick Goldsmith) of the music video and commercial directing duo, Hammer & Tongs. Best known for their work on music videos for Blur (“Coffee & TV”) and Supergrass (“Pumping on Your Stereo”), Hammer & Tongs have moved on to directing movies, their debut being the 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and it was followed a couple of years later with low key charmer, Son Of Rambow. The phrase “hammer and tongs” means “with great energy and force”, often phrased “to go at it with hammer and tongs”. The origins of this phrase is from blacksmithing, where tongs are used during forging to hold the hot iron as it is hammered into shape.
Garth Jennings directed the first video from Radiohead‘s brand new album “The King Of Limbs” and the result is strangely compelling with...
Garth Jennings directed the first video from Radiohead‘s brand new album “The King Of Limbs” and the result is strangely compelling with...
- 2/23/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Jason Solomons on Iñárritu, the screen version of Fela!, and the rise and rise of Jane Goldman
Sin nombre
For his, er, understated new movie Biutiful, Mexican director Alejándro Gonzáles Iñárritu seems to have undergone a modest name change. Posters for the film, which stars Javier Bardem in a gritty Barcelona, proclaim that the mooted awards contender is "a film by: Iñárritu". Although he still introduces himself as Alejándro, the director of Babel and Amores Perros has clearly become a one-man brand, like Prince, or Madonna, or McG.
Mr Follow Follow Fela
Trash saw the musical Fela! at the National theatre last week and enjoyed it thoroughly, even if though it lacks real drama. While Kuti's music is energetic and raw enough to propel any action, I kept wondering how Steve McQueen will be making it into film. The director and Turner prize-winning artist will be working on it with Chiwitel Ejiofor,...
Sin nombre
For his, er, understated new movie Biutiful, Mexican director Alejándro Gonzáles Iñárritu seems to have undergone a modest name change. Posters for the film, which stars Javier Bardem in a gritty Barcelona, proclaim that the mooted awards contender is "a film by: Iñárritu". Although he still introduces himself as Alejándro, the director of Babel and Amores Perros has clearly become a one-man brand, like Prince, or Madonna, or McG.
Mr Follow Follow Fela
Trash saw the musical Fela! at the National theatre last week and enjoyed it thoroughly, even if though it lacks real drama. While Kuti's music is energetic and raw enough to propel any action, I kept wondering how Steve McQueen will be making it into film. The director and Turner prize-winning artist will be working on it with Chiwitel Ejiofor,...
- 11/28/2010
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
While many American filmmakers still rely on the ever present tax incentives that their respective states bring them (it’s the sole reason Michigan, for example, has any sort of film culture), nowhere is this governmental involvement more present than in the UK.
Read more on UK Film Council announces funding, new Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith project among them…...
Read more on UK Film Council announces funding, new Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith project among them…...
- 11/24/2010
- by Joshua Brunsting
- GordonandtheWhale
This week Jason Solomons meets the Italian actor Violante Placido to discuss her electric performance with George Clooney, and how her role in Anton Corbijn's The American might propel her to international fame as Italy's new Sophia Loren.
Hammer & Tongs, aka creative duo Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, have long been beguiling audiences with their music videos for Blur and Radiohead alongside feature films such as The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Son of Rambow. Garth and Nick join us to discuss the re-release of much of their video work and short-form films on a new DVD, Hammer & Tongs: The Collection.
Xan Brooks joins Jason to review some of this week's other big releases including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Palme d'Or winning Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and the 50th-anniversary reissue of Michael Powell's Peeping Tom.
Xan BrooksJason...
Hammer & Tongs, aka creative duo Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, have long been beguiling audiences with their music videos for Blur and Radiohead alongside feature films such as The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Son of Rambow. Garth and Nick join us to discuss the re-release of much of their video work and short-form films on a new DVD, Hammer & Tongs: The Collection.
Xan Brooks joins Jason to review some of this week's other big releases including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Palme d'Or winning Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and the 50th-anniversary reissue of Michael Powell's Peeping Tom.
Xan BrooksJason...
- 11/18/2010
- by Xan Brooks, Jason Solomons, Jason Phipps
- The Guardian - Film News
Toy Story 3; A Town Called Panic; The Hammer and Tongs Collection; How to Train Your Dragon
With the arrival of Toy Story 3 (2010, Disney, PG), cinema (and now DVD) arguably has its first note-perfect trilogy. While Coppola lost the plot in The Godfather's third act, Kieslowski fumbled the ball with Three Colours: White and Jackson's The Two Towers (inevitably) sagged a bit in the middle, Pixar's bittersweet final outing with Woody and Buzz has all the poignant beauty of the last chapter of Winnie the Pooh. Remember that strange sensation (loss, elation, befuddlement) you got as Christopher Robin tried to explain to Pooh why he might not be coming back to the Hundred Acre Wood but Pooh would always have Piglet and Eeyore to play with? Well, prepare to shed those same tears again – all the more so if you're a grown-up who has long since put away childish things,...
With the arrival of Toy Story 3 (2010, Disney, PG), cinema (and now DVD) arguably has its first note-perfect trilogy. While Coppola lost the plot in The Godfather's third act, Kieslowski fumbled the ball with Three Colours: White and Jackson's The Two Towers (inevitably) sagged a bit in the middle, Pixar's bittersweet final outing with Woody and Buzz has all the poignant beauty of the last chapter of Winnie the Pooh. Remember that strange sensation (loss, elation, befuddlement) you got as Christopher Robin tried to explain to Pooh why he might not be coming back to the Hundred Acre Wood but Pooh would always have Piglet and Eeyore to play with? Well, prepare to shed those same tears again – all the more so if you're a grown-up who has long since put away childish things,...
- 11/14/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
A Town Called Panic is an anarchic comedy from Belgian animators Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier. The film centers on Cowboy, Indian and Horse and their many adventures.
A Town Called Panic is incredibly funny and unique and the off kilter humour feels both original and inventive.
In order to help the film find its audience in the UK Optimum have enlisted Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith (Aka Hammer & Tongs). Responsible for a wide range of advertisments and music videos (probably most famously the video for Blur’s Coffee & TV) the pair were also the brains behind the 2005 version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Son of Rambow in 2007.
The pair were kind enough to give us some time to talk about A Town Called Panic and their own projects on their wonderful office on a barge.
How did you become involved in helping to promote A Town Called Panic?...
A Town Called Panic is incredibly funny and unique and the off kilter humour feels both original and inventive.
In order to help the film find its audience in the UK Optimum have enlisted Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith (Aka Hammer & Tongs). Responsible for a wide range of advertisments and music videos (probably most famously the video for Blur’s Coffee & TV) the pair were also the brains behind the 2005 version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Son of Rambow in 2007.
The pair were kind enough to give us some time to talk about A Town Called Panic and their own projects on their wonderful office on a barge.
How did you become involved in helping to promote A Town Called Panic?...
- 10/6/2010
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Here’s something a little different to the CG infused mega budget fare we’re often talking about, and this new clip from A Town Called Panic is just the thing to slap a smile on your face this evening.
With Tim Burton returning to marvel of stop motion animation with Frankenweenie the time is right for the spotlight to fall on two masters of the form who are offering up a sublime and surreal toy story for your edification.
Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, better known as Hammer and Tongs, were in town recently to help spread the word on this wickedly quirky animation and we had the chance to find out more about Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier’s film.
Our chat with them will be up on the site shortly, and in the meantime why not check out this new clip?
This is Empire‘s doing, and...
With Tim Burton returning to marvel of stop motion animation with Frankenweenie the time is right for the spotlight to fall on two masters of the form who are offering up a sublime and surreal toy story for your edification.
Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, better known as Hammer and Tongs, were in town recently to help spread the word on this wickedly quirky animation and we had the chance to find out more about Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier’s film.
Our chat with them will be up on the site shortly, and in the meantime why not check out this new clip?
This is Empire‘s doing, and...
- 9/23/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There's more strings to Garth Jennings' bow than to a life sized Harp lager logo. Along with producer Nick Goldsmith and (sometimes) editor Dom Leung, Jennings is one part of Hammer and Tongs, creators of world-beating music videos and commercials; he's part of Squid Vicar, a Tongs offshoot musical... thing that has played a fair sized handful of gigs and released an album of telephone hold music; he's the best presenter that The Adam and Joe Show on 6 Music doesn't always have; he directed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Son of Rambow; and he's particularly good at telling Mark Kermode to "Fuck off" on TV. Basically, he's living the dream. In interview to discuss his new video for Vampire Weekend's Cousins (which you can see below the break, alongside a test/pitch version), Jennings also gave a minor update on the two big-screen projects he's got...
- 12/10/2009
- by Brendon Connelly
- Slash Film
The creators of the sentimental coming-of-age film Son Of Rambow can go ahead and make that check out to Wes Anderson, care of Rushmore Academy, with a portion of the residuals due to Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) and his signature Rube Goldberg setpieces. Or at least a producer's credit for Rushmore character Max Fischer, whose homemade stage productions of Serpico and Heaven And Earth have a child-like visual stamp that carries over into Rambow's grade-school take on Sylvester Stallone's famed vigilante. Director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith—the team better known as "Hammer & Tongs"—made a name for themselves in music videos, but much like their uneven adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, the film works better in sequences than as a whole, and suffers from an overly familiar homemade aesthetic. Son Of Rambow centers on the tentative friendship between two outcast kids in early-'80s England.
- 5/1/2008
- by Scott Tobias
- avclub.com
By Neil Pedley
The Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing, but if you don't live in New York, there's no need to fret. No less than three films ("From Within," "Mister Lonely" and "Redbelt") on this list of coming attractions have played the festival in recent days. Then again, if you are in New York and want to catch something outside the fest, there's always that intimate character drama starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and a red and gold metal suit of armor.
"The Favor"
Writer/director Eva J. Aridjis brings us a quiet tale of angst and alienation starring former New York subway busker Ryan Donowho as Johnny, a high school loner who's taken in by Lawrence (Frank Wood), a quiet pet photographer, after his mother (Paige Turco) is killed in an accident. In order to be the father he needs, Lawrence must fight through Johnny's rebellious...
The Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing, but if you don't live in New York, there's no need to fret. No less than three films ("From Within," "Mister Lonely" and "Redbelt") on this list of coming attractions have played the festival in recent days. Then again, if you are in New York and want to catch something outside the fest, there's always that intimate character drama starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and a red and gold metal suit of armor.
"The Favor"
Writer/director Eva J. Aridjis brings us a quiet tale of angst and alienation starring former New York subway busker Ryan Donowho as Johnny, a high school loner who's taken in by Lawrence (Frank Wood), a quiet pet photographer, after his mother (Paige Turco) is killed in an accident. In order to be the father he needs, Lawrence must fight through Johnny's rebellious...
- 4/30/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
- #59. Son of Rambow Director/Writer: Garth JenningsProducers: Nick Goldsmith Distributor: Paramount Vantage The Gist: Son Of Rambow is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set on a long English summer in the early 80's, Son Of Rambow is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. Fact: Jennings has a knack for directing non-traditional comedies as with his last film: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. See It: I caught this at Sundance - and it was generally regarded as an audience-pleaser. Coming of age flick mixed with actual scenes from degraded VHS copy of First Blood. I say this is a hell of a lot better of a nostalgic trip than the Rambo that just came out in theaters. Release Date/Status?:Paramount Vantage might have waited more than a
- 1/30/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- Last year’s most expensive pick up in Park City was the crowd pleasing Little Miss Sunshine – this year another crowd pleaser was the center of a bidding war. This year a film pegged as a "Millions" meets "Billy Elliott" was given the biggest paycheck of them all. Paramount Vantage beat out rivals for worldwide distribution (excluding 3 countries) for Son of Rambow. Writer-director Garth Jennings’ film is set on a long English summer in the early 80's, this is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. We see the story through the eyes of Will, the eldest son of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. The Brethren regard themselves as God's 'chosen ones' and their strict moral code means that Will has never been allowed to mix with the other 'worldlies,' listen to music or watch TV, until he finds himself caught up in
- 1/24/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Opens Friday
Arthur Dent fans need not panic.
After succeeding splendidly first as a BBC Radio series, then as a five-book "trilogy" and a subsequent TV series, Douglas Adams' beloved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has taken that tricky leap to the cinema with largely pleasing results.
While the long-awaited movie version has some trouble sustaining the blissfully ironic, witty irreverence that was the Adams sensibility, the fact that it hits the nail on the head to the extent it does should come as great relief to the legions of fans who had reason to be dubious following the author's death in 2001.
That Monty Python-esque target demographic, the one also responsible for making Spamalot a big, fat Broadway hit, should reward the Touchstone Pictures release with stellar though less than astronomical boxoffice, followed by some very smart DVD business.
Using Adams' own second draft as a blueprint, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) and innovative music video director Garth Jennings remain true to the highly distinct brand of sci-fi satire that would go on to influence the likes of Men in Black and Ghostbusters.
For those unfamiliar with the Babel Fish, Vogons and Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters that occupy the Hitchhiker galaxy, the movie actually begins back on Earth, where everyman Arthur Dent (perfectly cast everyman Martin Freeman, late of The Office) is fighting a losing war with a bulldozer that's about to raze his home.
Coincidentally planet Earth also happens to be minutes away from total annihilation in order to make way for a hyperspace freeway, and Dent, still wearing his pajamas, is rescued in the nick of time by his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) who's really an alien who has just been posing as an out-of-work actor.
The two briefly stow away on a spacecraft belonging to the highly bureaucratic, bad-poetry-reading Vogons, before ending up on the Heart of Gold spaceship, which was stolen by the energetic but rather dim President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell channeling George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and assorted rock stars).
Much to Dent's surprise, Beeblebrox is accompanied by comely astrophysicist Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), who went by the name of Trish McMillan back when he met her at a costume party.
And that's just for starters.
Also along for the metaphysical mash-up is Marvin, a chronically depressed robot (ideally voiced by Alan Rickman), rather crazed intergalactic missionary Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) and Magrathean planetary construction engineer Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), who has overseen the building of a back-up planet Earth.
Jennings, creatively blending bits of CGI with old school FX and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, gets the tone down cold, but like a number of other novice feature directors who cut their teeth on videos, the inspired sequences don't always effectively link together to form a cohesive, involving whole.
Still, there is much to appreciate here, from the terrific casting (heard but not seen are Helen Mirren as the voice of the Deep Thought computer and Stephen Fry providing the amiably glib narration) to production designer Joel Collins' fanciful sets and especially the rousing musical number, "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish," performed by some very wise dolphins who manage to get out while the going's good.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present a Barber/Birnbaum prodn./A Hammer and Tongs prodn./An Everyman Pictures prodn.
Credits:
Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriters: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the book by Douglas Adams
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman
Executive producers: Douglas Adams, Robbie Stamp, Derek Evans
Director of photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Production designer: Joel Collins
Editor: Niven Howie
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Music: Joby Talbot
Cast:
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Sam Rockwell
Ford Prefect: Mos Def
Trish McMillan/Trillian: Zooey Deschanel
Arthur Dent: Martin Freeman
Slartibartfast: Bill Nighy
Marvin: Warwick Davis
Questular: Anna Chancellor
Voice of Marvin: Alan Rickman
Voice of Deep Thought: Helen Mirren
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Humma Kavula: John Malkovich
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 108 minutes...
Arthur Dent fans need not panic.
After succeeding splendidly first as a BBC Radio series, then as a five-book "trilogy" and a subsequent TV series, Douglas Adams' beloved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has taken that tricky leap to the cinema with largely pleasing results.
While the long-awaited movie version has some trouble sustaining the blissfully ironic, witty irreverence that was the Adams sensibility, the fact that it hits the nail on the head to the extent it does should come as great relief to the legions of fans who had reason to be dubious following the author's death in 2001.
That Monty Python-esque target demographic, the one also responsible for making Spamalot a big, fat Broadway hit, should reward the Touchstone Pictures release with stellar though less than astronomical boxoffice, followed by some very smart DVD business.
Using Adams' own second draft as a blueprint, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) and innovative music video director Garth Jennings remain true to the highly distinct brand of sci-fi satire that would go on to influence the likes of Men in Black and Ghostbusters.
For those unfamiliar with the Babel Fish, Vogons and Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters that occupy the Hitchhiker galaxy, the movie actually begins back on Earth, where everyman Arthur Dent (perfectly cast everyman Martin Freeman, late of The Office) is fighting a losing war with a bulldozer that's about to raze his home.
Coincidentally planet Earth also happens to be minutes away from total annihilation in order to make way for a hyperspace freeway, and Dent, still wearing his pajamas, is rescued in the nick of time by his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) who's really an alien who has just been posing as an out-of-work actor.
The two briefly stow away on a spacecraft belonging to the highly bureaucratic, bad-poetry-reading Vogons, before ending up on the Heart of Gold spaceship, which was stolen by the energetic but rather dim President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell channeling George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and assorted rock stars).
Much to Dent's surprise, Beeblebrox is accompanied by comely astrophysicist Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), who went by the name of Trish McMillan back when he met her at a costume party.
And that's just for starters.
Also along for the metaphysical mash-up is Marvin, a chronically depressed robot (ideally voiced by Alan Rickman), rather crazed intergalactic missionary Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) and Magrathean planetary construction engineer Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), who has overseen the building of a back-up planet Earth.
Jennings, creatively blending bits of CGI with old school FX and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, gets the tone down cold, but like a number of other novice feature directors who cut their teeth on videos, the inspired sequences don't always effectively link together to form a cohesive, involving whole.
Still, there is much to appreciate here, from the terrific casting (heard but not seen are Helen Mirren as the voice of the Deep Thought computer and Stephen Fry providing the amiably glib narration) to production designer Joel Collins' fanciful sets and especially the rousing musical number, "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish," performed by some very wise dolphins who manage to get out while the going's good.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present a Barber/Birnbaum prodn./A Hammer and Tongs prodn./An Everyman Pictures prodn.
Credits:
Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriters: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the book by Douglas Adams
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman
Executive producers: Douglas Adams, Robbie Stamp, Derek Evans
Director of photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Production designer: Joel Collins
Editor: Niven Howie
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Music: Joby Talbot
Cast:
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Sam Rockwell
Ford Prefect: Mos Def
Trish McMillan/Trillian: Zooey Deschanel
Arthur Dent: Martin Freeman
Slartibartfast: Bill Nighy
Marvin: Warwick Davis
Questular: Anna Chancellor
Voice of Marvin: Alan Rickman
Voice of Deep Thought: Helen Mirren
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Humma Kavula: John Malkovich
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 108 minutes...
Opens Friday
Arthur Dent fans need not panic.
After succeeding splendidly first as a BBC Radio series, then as a five-book "trilogy" and a subsequent TV series, Douglas Adams' beloved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has taken that tricky leap to the cinema with largely pleasing results.
While the long-awaited movie version has some trouble sustaining the blissfully ironic, witty irreverence that was the Adams sensibility, the fact that it hits the nail on the head to the extent it does should come as great relief to the legions of fans who had reason to be dubious following the author's death in 2001.
That Monty Python-esque target demographic, the one also responsible for making Spamalot a big, fat Broadway hit, should reward the Touchstone Pictures release with stellar though less than astronomical boxoffice, followed by some very smart DVD business.
Using Adams' own second draft as a blueprint, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) and innovative music video director Garth Jennings remain true to the highly distinct brand of sci-fi satire that would go on to influence the likes of Men in Black and Ghostbusters.
For those unfamiliar with the Babel Fish, Vogons and Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters that occupy the Hitchhiker galaxy, the movie actually begins back on Earth, where everyman Arthur Dent (perfectly cast everyman Martin Freeman, late of The Office) is fighting a losing war with a bulldozer that's about to raze his home.
Coincidentally planet Earth also happens to be minutes away from total annihilation in order to make way for a hyperspace freeway, and Dent, still wearing his pajamas, is rescued in the nick of time by his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) who's really an alien who has just been posing as an out-of-work actor.
The two briefly stow away on a spacecraft belonging to the highly bureaucratic, bad-poetry-reading Vogons, before ending up on the Heart of Gold spaceship, which was stolen by the energetic but rather dim President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell channeling George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and assorted rock stars).
Much to Dent's surprise, Beeblebrox is accompanied by comely astrophysicist Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), who went by the name of Trish McMillan back when he met her at a costume party.
And that's just for starters.
Also along for the metaphysical mash-up is Marvin, a chronically depressed robot (ideally voiced by Alan Rickman), rather crazed intergalactic missionary Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) and Magrathean planetary construction engineer Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), who has overseen the building of a back-up planet Earth.
Jennings, creatively blending bits of CGI with old school FX and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, gets the tone down cold, but like a number of other novice feature directors who cut their teeth on videos, the inspired sequences don't always effectively link together to form a cohesive, involving whole.
Still, there is much to appreciate here, from the terrific casting (heard but not seen are Helen Mirren as the voice of the Deep Thought computer and Stephen Fry providing the amiably glib narration) to production designer Joel Collins' fanciful sets and especially the rousing musical number, "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish," performed by some very wise dolphins who manage to get out while the going's good.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present a Barber/Birnbaum prodn./A Hammer and Tongs prodn./An Everyman Pictures prodn.
Credits:
Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriters: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the book by Douglas Adams
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman
Executive producers: Douglas Adams, Robbie Stamp, Derek Evans
Director of photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Production designer: Joel Collins
Editor: Niven Howie
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Music: Joby Talbot
Cast:
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Sam Rockwell
Ford Prefect: Mos Def
Trish McMillan/Trillian: Zooey Deschanel
Arthur Dent: Martin Freeman
Slartibartfast: Bill Nighy
Marvin: Warwick Davis
Questular: Anna Chancellor
Voice of Marvin: Alan Rickman
Voice of Deep Thought: Helen Mirren
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Humma Kavula: John Malkovich
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 108 minutes...
Arthur Dent fans need not panic.
After succeeding splendidly first as a BBC Radio series, then as a five-book "trilogy" and a subsequent TV series, Douglas Adams' beloved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has taken that tricky leap to the cinema with largely pleasing results.
While the long-awaited movie version has some trouble sustaining the blissfully ironic, witty irreverence that was the Adams sensibility, the fact that it hits the nail on the head to the extent it does should come as great relief to the legions of fans who had reason to be dubious following the author's death in 2001.
That Monty Python-esque target demographic, the one also responsible for making Spamalot a big, fat Broadway hit, should reward the Touchstone Pictures release with stellar though less than astronomical boxoffice, followed by some very smart DVD business.
Using Adams' own second draft as a blueprint, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) and innovative music video director Garth Jennings remain true to the highly distinct brand of sci-fi satire that would go on to influence the likes of Men in Black and Ghostbusters.
For those unfamiliar with the Babel Fish, Vogons and Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters that occupy the Hitchhiker galaxy, the movie actually begins back on Earth, where everyman Arthur Dent (perfectly cast everyman Martin Freeman, late of The Office) is fighting a losing war with a bulldozer that's about to raze his home.
Coincidentally planet Earth also happens to be minutes away from total annihilation in order to make way for a hyperspace freeway, and Dent, still wearing his pajamas, is rescued in the nick of time by his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) who's really an alien who has just been posing as an out-of-work actor.
The two briefly stow away on a spacecraft belonging to the highly bureaucratic, bad-poetry-reading Vogons, before ending up on the Heart of Gold spaceship, which was stolen by the energetic but rather dim President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell channeling George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and assorted rock stars).
Much to Dent's surprise, Beeblebrox is accompanied by comely astrophysicist Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), who went by the name of Trish McMillan back when he met her at a costume party.
And that's just for starters.
Also along for the metaphysical mash-up is Marvin, a chronically depressed robot (ideally voiced by Alan Rickman), rather crazed intergalactic missionary Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) and Magrathean planetary construction engineer Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), who has overseen the building of a back-up planet Earth.
Jennings, creatively blending bits of CGI with old school FX and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, gets the tone down cold, but like a number of other novice feature directors who cut their teeth on videos, the inspired sequences don't always effectively link together to form a cohesive, involving whole.
Still, there is much to appreciate here, from the terrific casting (heard but not seen are Helen Mirren as the voice of the Deep Thought computer and Stephen Fry providing the amiably glib narration) to production designer Joel Collins' fanciful sets and especially the rousing musical number, "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish," performed by some very wise dolphins who manage to get out while the going's good.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present a Barber/Birnbaum prodn./A Hammer and Tongs prodn./An Everyman Pictures prodn.
Credits:
Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriters: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the book by Douglas Adams
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman
Executive producers: Douglas Adams, Robbie Stamp, Derek Evans
Director of photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Production designer: Joel Collins
Editor: Niven Howie
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Music: Joby Talbot
Cast:
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Sam Rockwell
Ford Prefect: Mos Def
Trish McMillan/Trillian: Zooey Deschanel
Arthur Dent: Martin Freeman
Slartibartfast: Bill Nighy
Marvin: Warwick Davis
Questular: Anna Chancellor
Voice of Marvin: Alan Rickman
Voice of Deep Thought: Helen Mirren
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Humma Kavula: John Malkovich
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 108 minutes...
- 5/23/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's sure to be a foot race for a fan base this weekend at the movies. Both new wide releases -- Buena Vista Pictures' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Sony Pictures' XXX: State of the Union -- are looking to draw young males, and the winner will be decided by whichever group of fans shows up in greater numbers and how wide that core fan base expands. Suspense is sure to build because industry insiders are hoping these two broad-based pictures will provide the necessary shot in the arm that the recently beleaguered boxoffice needs. The Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures might have the upper hand with the first film adaptation of Douglas Adams' uber-popular book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Originally done in 1978 as a BBC radio show about a group of interplanetary travelers and later turned into the widely successful novel and a TV series, the cult satire has a loyal and devoted following. Whether that fan base translates into moviegoers remains to be seen, but sources say tracking puts the film in the mid-$20 million range. The film version is based on a screenplay originally written by Adams. After the author died unexpectedly in 2001, the script was rewritten by Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, James and the Giant Peach.) Directing the film is Garth Jennings, who along with Nick Goldsmith make up the British commercial and video production and directing team of Hammer & Tongs. Hitchhiker marks Jennings' feature film debut. Spyglass Entertainment is co-producing the PG-rated film. The sci-fi adventure stars Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, with Mos Def filling the role of Ford Prefect. Also featured are Bill Nighy, Zooey Deschanel, Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich. Hitchhiker is sure to play huge on college campuses, but its weekend gross is likely to be more dependent on positive reviews than the other wide opener in the market. The film bows in 3,133 theaters. Sony will open Revolution Studios' XXX: State of the Union on 3,480 screens. A continuation of 2002's high-octane spy actioner XXX, which earned $141 million after opening to $44.5 million, the sequel features neither the original film's star nor its original director. Vin Diesel declined to reprise his role as Xander Cage, an extreme sports athlete-turned-secret agent. And Rob Cohen, who bowed out of directing the sequel, took an executive producing role. Neal Moritz and his Original Film production company produced the movie for Revolution.
- 4/28/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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