Reviews of the test screening of Hitchhiker's Guide

[Mr. Teatime]

<strong>[Film & TV -> Preview]</strong>

The <a href="http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/">Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy movie</a> has had a couple of test screenings
in Los Angeles recently. Here's what they say on <a href="http://www.douglasadams.se/news/">Douglas Adams
Continuum</a>:


<blockquote><em>The
reviews of the test screening in Los Angeles last night are now
trickling in on various movie sites, like Ain't it cool and imdb. Some
are in favour of the movie, some are not. Those who are not in favour
say that the effects look cheap, the parts played by american actors
would have been better portrayed by british acors and things like that.
Those in favour thinks that the overall design of the movie corresponds
well to Douglas' touch and that the new plot and characters adapt well
to the altered story.



</em></blockquote>They also have a longer review from a fan who went to see one of the screenings:


<blockquote><em>"I
was at the Pasadena, CA, USA test screening last night. Anyone who
believes the effects looked cheap should have remembered the
announcement made at the beginning; mainly, that this was not the final
cut, and that a huge percentage of the music and visual effects were
not finished. I mean, we heard snippets of music from "Back to the
Future," and Deep Thought was introduced with the "Well of the Souls"
track from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"!

As to the American actors,
I felt fine with them. I think perhaps the aversion to Mos Def as Ford
was because it might have been weird to hear Ford's dialogue
(previously acted with a British accent) coming out in an American
accent. To me, it made no difference.

The movie makes no
qualms about having fun with the story and characters. It's not a
serious movie, nor is it a stupid fart-jokes movie that seems to go
over well here in the US (my head is down in shame). I have been a
HHGTTG fan for 17 of my 28 years on this planet; I know the radio show,
books, and TV show almost by heart. While the movie is not perfect,
I've never thought that was the point of anything Douglas Adams wrote.
He was always experimenting, adding, subtracting, dividing and, yes, a
bit of multiplication too. I believe this movie captured his humor and
was filled with the essential soul that is a part of every single
HHGTTG incarnation to date. I relaxed the first 30 seconds in to the
film as soon as I heard Stephen Fry speak. Those who are so entrenched
in the "dogma" of the radio show, books, and tv program should (IMHO)
keep an open mind, erase the details from their HHGTTG Bibles, and look
upon the movie with fresh eyes. As long as the actors and script and
director captured the essences of these characters, they have done
Adams justice.

And I felt a lump in my throat when Douglas Adams himself made a "small" cameo a few times, as well.

When it comes out, just go in, share, and enjoy."



</em></blockquote>
So it doesn't sound too bad, and remember, these are early cuts of the film.

<blockquote>
</blockquote>
Spotted @ <a href="http://www.douglasadams.se/">Douglas Adams Continuum</a>

[Mr. Teatime]

Oh, and apologies for the broken links. I can't edit the news post because of a bug in the new code we're using.