Androids and aliens

Director, robot-star of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy describe film

BY KEVIN GARCIA

The Brownsville Herald

April 29, 2005 In the corner, the robots head swung up sharply, but then wobbled about imperceptibly. It pulled itself to its feet as if it was about 56 pounds heavier than the 77 pound actor inside the suit was used to.

Warwick Davis practiced for weeks to convincingly play paranoid android Marvin in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a film released today based on the wholly remarkable book by Douglas Adams.

The weight made it difficult for Davis to move, but he said the lethargic character would prefer it that way.

Being in a room and not being able to move would probably suit him better, Davis said. The story revolves around a hapless human who survives the destruction of earth thanks to a group of strange spacefarers including the robot with the flat-topped triangular eyes.

His depression is caused by the fact that he is so clever and he knows the answer to everything and hes not surprised by anything, Davis said. Hes also depressed to be this lovely shape and being so pleasing to people.

Director Garth Jennings is proud of the satiric comedy.

I knew it would be big but it was colossal, the London-based director said.

To tell the story of the book it is best to tell of its history. Adams wrote the Guide as a BBC radio series in 1978, re-wrote it as a novel in 1979, again as a TV series in 1980 and once more as a video game in 1984. Each version added new situations and removed others. Adams died in 2001 while working on the theatrical script.

The Hitchhikers is always changing and Douglas would always invent new stuff for each medium, Jennings said. With all of these amazing ideas it becomes almost impossible to decide what you should keep.

Over the next 20 years Adams wrote four more Guide novels and worked towards a theatrical release.

One thing all of us die-hard fans knew was that Douglas spent most of his life trying to get this off the ground, Jennings said. It may not be word for word what was in the radio series or what was in the books, but this is genuine hitchhikers and it obeys all the rules.

The droll droid was one element that could not be removed, Jennings said.

Marvin is one of my favorite characters and was actually one of the first things I designed, he explained.

Its this idea of a robot with a brain the size of a planet that kind of ways him down, Jennings said. Hes probably the most human character in the film; hes kind of the antidote to the whole jolly madness. I find him incredibly endearing.

Davis, whose character will be voiced by Alan Rickman, enjoyed working on the film.

Its a very different type of film, but at the same time its refreshing I think, Davis said.

kgarcia@brownsvilleherald.com