Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The (film) Earthman Arthur Dent is having a very bad day. His house is about to be bulldozed, he discovers that his best friend is an alien, and to top things off, Planet Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace freeway. Arthur’s only chance for survival is to hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft with the help of his best friend Ford Prefect. Arthur sets out on a journey in which he finds that nothing is as it seems—for example, a towel is the most important thing in the universe. He finds the meaning of life, and discovers that everything anyone ever wanted to know can be found in one fantastically entertaining electronic book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. A Touchstone Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment film. Released on April 29, 2005. World premiere was in London on April 20. Directed by Garth Jennings. Stars Mos Def (Ford Prefect), Zooey Deschanel (Trillian), Martin Freeman (Arthur Dent), Sam Rockwell (Zaphod Beeblebrox), Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast), Warwick Davis (Marvin), Anna Chancellor (Questular), John Malkovich (Humma Kavula). The film is narrated by Stephen Fry, and includes the voices of Alan Rickman (Marvin) and Helen Mirren (Deep Thought). 109 min. Based on the novel by Douglas Adams, which was created after a 1978 BBC Radio 4 play. Over the years, the book and five more in the series have become more than mere best sellers; they were a cultural phenomenon in their own right with fans the world over discussing and debating them. Adams passed away shortly after finishing the second draft of the screenplay. Filmed in Super 35-Scope at Elstree Studios in England.
