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Writing comes easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until your forehead bleeds.

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That's pure hilarity (is that a word...?)!
 

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Posted by Locke2525 (Member # 7554) on :
 
im only to chapter 115
but its the 7th best book..behind all of the shadow seires and eg..and the bible...
 

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Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
 
I loved the first one, but they seemed to grow old after a while. The description of Earth that begins the first one is clasic though.
 

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Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
 
Be warned that the book is very much a product of the late 70s/early 80s...a lot of the humor is funnier if you're up on that period.
 

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Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
 
Nah, I'm a freshman in high school, and I think his quotes/jokes are pure genius.
 

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Posted by Hot Soup (Member # 7840) on :
 
likewise. The pure genius part, not the freshman.
 

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Posted by AutumnFire (Member # 7320) on :
 
Puffy Treat: The thought never even occured to me. I'm not British, and I'm a child of the 80's. These books are incredible!! I may never have laughed so much in my entire life.
 

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Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I love them. I can quote parts of it almost word for word.

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Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was, " Oh no, not again." Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why it thought this we would know a lot more about the universe than we do.

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Many people believe that if we ever find out what, exactly, the universe if for, it will be replaced by something more weird. Other people believe that we already have.

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"Today must be Thursday," Arthur said sinking low over his beer, " I never could get the hang of Thursdays."

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I'm unhealthily obsessed.
 

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Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
 
I love those books too, God's final message (which I don't want to spoil) somehow makes me feel really good about WHY everything happens
 

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Posted by Mr_Megalomaniac (Member # 7695) on :
 
I read the book yesterday to get ready for it Friday. Can't wait. I was really glad to see that there's a voice for whale in the movie credits.
 

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Posted by DemonGarik (Member # 7793) on :
 
it looks like an amazing movie, though The heart of gold is supposed to be shaped like a tennis shoe and it looks more like a ball in the previews .

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I love the sound deadline's make as the go wooshing by.

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Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was, " Oh no, not again." Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why it thought this we would know a lot more about the universe than we do.

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You!

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I love it!
 

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Posted by Soara (Member # 6729) on :
 
wow i can't wait for the movie. my friends are going, and taking pink fluffy towels in briefcases.
this is going to be even better then being forced into wearing purple cloaks and elf ears to the movies.

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Ford...wait. There's an infinite amount of monkeys out here who want to talk to you about the script for Hamlet they've worked out.

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Posted by Alistair (Member # 7858) on :
 
While I am a child of the early 80's I have never really been familiar with the period yet I still love the books as well as the general humour of Douglas Adams. In fact my favorite anecdote ever told is the story he told in a speech a few months before he died as included in The Salmon of Doubt about accidently sharing some cookies with a stranger at a train station. The story in and of itself is quite funny, but the way he tells it and the timing is just brilliant.

As for the movie I have high hopes because of Adams' close connection to the project (prior to his untimely death) but am nervous about changes that were made posthumously.

The casting looks great and I hope that my favorite line from the TV series is kept in with a similar delivery

Marvin: Did I say something wrong? Sorry, pardon me for breathing which I never do anyway so I don't know why I bother to say it oh God I'm so depressed.

I also hope that they do not change the digital watch joke to something more "appropriately modern" such as cell phones or PDAs. I always thought that joke only got funnier and funnier as the years went on and digital watches became common place.
 

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Posted by val (Member # 7687) on :
 
When I was 5 or 6, the original BBC raido brodcasts were aired on NPR where I lived. Every Sunday after church our whole family would listen to it on the drive home, so I've literally grown up quoting the show. It was formative I absolutely love the books as well, tho - I have never found any other series where I can randomly open any book and crack up laughing at whatever was printed on the page. I must admit I'm a little worried about the movie, but I'll deffinatly be there!
 

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Posted by aragorn64 (Member # 4204) on :
 
I thought they were funny and all. But I just couldn't take them seriously. (No, I know you shouldn't take them seriously, but I couldn't take them seriously as books.) When the earth just reappered for no apparent reason, that's what did it in for me.
 

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Posted by papercrane (Member # 7877) on :
 
I first read HHGG about two years ago, at fourteen. I loved it more or less immediately, and love it more every time I reread it. However...I do understand that it simply doesn't click for many people.

Those who are looking for a more serious epic, an action flick, or a slapstick comedy will be disappointed. However, those who enjoy spontaneous, occasionally cerebral Monty-Python-esque gags and dry, cynical humor will not be disappointed.

If you mind jumping timelines at will (which, incidentally, was what the Earth-reappearance was all about, in conjunction with the parallel universe theory) and having to think a moment before getting some jokes and dealing with infinite improbability, then Douglas Adams may very well not be to your taste. If you mind cubicles and having to pay your bar tab and bulleted outlines and taking things too seriously, then Douglas Adams may very well be to your taste.

- My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes.
 

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Posted by signine (Member # 7671) on :
 
One thing you have to remember about British humor is that it's almost always self-deprecating and failure based.

That said, it's an inept way to describe Douglas Adams.

Plus I hear some company is Australia is making a hitchikers guide based on g3 phone technology and gps. I think that's incredibly neat.
 

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Posted by Gryphonesse (Member # 6651) on :
 

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wonderful in a Terry Gilliam/Time Bandits kind of way

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and here I thought I was the only person who remembered that movie. I actually have it on DVD, thanks to my hubby. David Warner will ALWAYS be a bad guy, no matter what movie he's in....
 

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Posted by Proteus (Member # 794) on :
 
Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged has gotta bve one of the funniest characters to appear in anything...ever.
 

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Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
 
First of is the movie going to be just the first book or like some other movies is it going to be called "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" but actually include parts of things that where actually in the second book. ALso has anyone besides me seen the first HHGG movie that was made like twenty years ago and was terrible? I got a kick out of it but it was the kind of movie you expect to see them making fun of on Mystery Science THeater 2000 or whatever that show was that made fun of old crappy movies.
 

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Posted by Alistair (Member # 7858) on :
 
For your first question Orange, the movie is not really based on any of the books, it is merely loosely based on the story. Just like the books were just loosely based on the radio show and the TV version was loosely based on the books, and the video game was loosely based on the whole collection of version. Not sure what the towel was based on though.

For you second question you are thinking of the 1981 BBC Mini-Series version. A lot of people don't like it because of the cheesy effects but I always thought it was even more brilliant because of them. I loved Zaphods inarticulate second head that was clearly just paper maché attached to his shoulder, and the book animation were often some of the funniest things I had ever seen. Though Douglas Adams himself has said that the TV version was his least favorite of all of them.
 

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Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
 
I'm sad to hear that OSC isn't a fan (I would have guessed it might have been his cup of tea) but I'm glad he plans on seeing the movie since I enjoy his film reviews so much.

I'm THRILLED for the movie. I've been following news of its release for a long long long time.

I could probably saftely say that h2g2 is my favorite book ever. I grew up watching Monty Python and the humor was so similiar but with a dash of brilliant observation. It really is a story about humanity and society and culture, that just happens to be hysterical at the same time.

I bought the soundtrack today and will be seeing the movie with my roommate on Friday and we will be dressed in homemade hitchhiker shirts and bathrobes (she's doing a shirt with the sperm whale and i'm doing one for the bowl of petunias.)

I own the BBC miniseries. Its horribly campy but that's what I love about it. Its not my favorite incarnation of the story (i hated the actors for Ford and Trillian) but it puts a smile on my face.

The radio series is best and the BBC has brought it back, writing a show based on the remaining books in the series and using the original actors (atleast those that are still alive.) The fourth series premieres on May 3rd. Check out BBB Radio 4 (available online) for more info.

.....

"Beware of the Leopard."

"Ford, you're turning into a penquin. Stop it."

"Life, don't talk to me about life."

"42"
 

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Posted by Kratos (Member # 7859) on :
 
The movie does seem worth watching, but I've always thought of the book as somewhat of a children's book. I guess that's just me judging a book by it's cover. Well, title actually, it seemed like a fairly immature way to name a book . But, since it seems like a lot of people are fans of it, I suppose it's worth reading?
 

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Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
 
I hadn't read the books since I was in 4th grade, so I went out and bought the new paperback version of HHGTTG (or something to that effect).

I love the dialogue in that book, and the afterword detailed the trials and tribulations of getting the movie made. It was interesting what they had to go through, including about 8 rewrites and 2 or 3 directors.

There was a Douglas quote in the afterword that I thought was priceless. He said "Getting a movie made is like cooking a steak by having a succession of people come over and breathe on it."
 

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Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
"Well, title actually, it seemed like a fairly immature way to name a book...."

Why?
 

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Posted by Evo (Member # 7940) on :
 
being british might make the jokes seem more funny to me... i'm not sure, i often find american humor... not very funny and i know some americans often find british humor... not very funny.

But i read all 5 hitchikers books and they were all amazingly fun to read. From a purely comedy frame. i paid very little attention to the science involved and loved every second.

They are books to be read lightly, to delve deeply will cause you to be thoroughly confused.

Enjoy
 

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Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
 
Book >> Movie
 

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Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
 
Isn't every book better than the movie? I've never seen a movie that was better. It is the nature of such things.
 

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Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
 
I think it's more of book =! movie
than book >>> movie

And it's a function of the type of book it is. It's skinny on story. They essentially had to create a plot that they could fit a story arc to.
 

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Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
 
radio show in UK >>>>>> book >>>> movie >> TV show
 

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Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
 

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Isn't every book better than the movie? I've never seen a movie that was better. It is the nature of such things.

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radio show in UK >>>>>> book >>>> movie >> TV show

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radio show in UK >>>>>> book >>>> movie >> TV show

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Isn't every book better than the movie? I've never seen a movie that was better. It is the nature of such things.

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