BATTERY PARK, New York — In the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books, the second smartest computer of all time has figured out the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. The answer is 42.
And darned if it doesn't seem like there have been 42 different versions of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," starting in 1978 with a BBC radio series, the subsequent novel, a BBC television mini-series and then various stage plays, video games, comic books and other multimedia interpretations and spin-offs.
"It was never (the late author Douglas Adams') intention to have just one definitive version of 'Hitchhiker's Guide,' " said Adams' longtime friend Robbie Stamp. "It was always meant to change with times and tastes."
Stamp also said that it was Adams' wish that there be a film version of "Hitchhiker's Guide," though, ironically, it's taken nearly 42 years for that to happen.
"It was one of the great frustrations in his life that this material that seemed so well-suited to a feature film just couldn't get made," said Stamp, who also served as one of the producers on the new science-fiction comedy, which opened worldwide today. (Some of "Hitchhikers' " cast and filmmakers were interviewed by the Deseret Morning News during a press gathering in New York's Ritz Carlton Hotel.)
The film had several false starts over the years, one of them occurring just after the first book became an international best-seller in 1980. But it was Adams himself who scrapped that version, which involved Columbia Pictures and director Ivan Reitman (who went on to direct the 1984 smash hit "Ghostbusters.")
Stamp said the whole process appeared to come to an end when Adams died of a heart attack in 2001. But his widow, Jane Belson, urged Stamp to see the project through to the end.
Enter screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick ("Chicken Run"), who was brought in to work on Adams' seemingly unworkable script treatment.
"Douglas' script was unbelievably funny," Kirkpatrick said, "but it was a bit of a mess, too. It was a lot like the books, which are very idea-driven. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not ideal for movies, which are plot-driven."
So Kirkpatrick worked to give the story a shape and some direction while preserving the unique voice of Adams. "Never mind the fans, I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't done my best to make this sound like Douglas' work."
In fact, he brought back things from the first book that Adams himself had excised from the script. "I don't know that we could have done a movie without the whale scene. Those who have read the books will know what I mean," he said with a laugh.
But then the project had yet another setback when director Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents" and the "Austin Powers" movies) dropped out. Fortunately, Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, better known as the award-winning Hammer and Tongs music-video production team, agreed to come aboard.
Stamp said he wanted to find someone who loved the books but hadn't necessarily grown up during the height of "Hitchhiker's Guide"-mania, and Jennings definitely fit that bill. "To be honest, I was pretty blissfully unaware of them when I was a kid, and caught up with the books kind of late in the game," Jennings said. "But when I did finally read them, I fell in love with them."
So did actress Zooey Deschanel, who plays Tricia McMillan, or Trillian, an Earth woman stuck in the middle of a love triangle between Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and fellow earthling Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman). "The books are so smart and so funny that they've sort of become my generation's 'Lord of the Rings' " Deschanel said. "I'm not sure people understand just how much people love them and are into them."
She and Jennings both described the material as being "the anti-'Star Wars.' "
"It's rooted in real world," Deschanel said. "It feels real, though it's just blatantly ridiculous. And 'Star Wars' is clearly a fantasy that never feels real. That's part of its charm, I suppose."
Or as Jennings explained, "In the 'Star Wars' films, if someone wants to travel through the galaxy, all they have to do is simply flip a switch and away they go. In ours, if you want to zip through the universe, you have to fill out the proper paperwork, which sometimes means standing in long lines just to get the proper approval."
Jennings also said he tried to bring a certain degree of "realism" to the film by trying to use traditional, or "old-fashioned" forms of special effects, including stop-motion animation and puppetry. "I was wary of using computer animation and digital effects, which have been done to death. Eventually, your movie begins to look like a huge video game."
Still, there are things in the film that are distinctly unrealistic, such as the character of Marvin, a depressed android (featuring the acidic voice of Alan Rickman), whose tiny body is dwarfed by his huge round head (with "Willow" star Warwick Davis inside the costume).
When the first images of Marvin were released, there was some hubbub — with complaints from fans of the iconic television version. But Jennings said the design "fits with the production scheme of the whole thing. And there's just something innately hilarious about watching that huge head shrug or bow when he becomes depressed or downbeat."
And besides, the television Marvin does show up in one scene, as does actor Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in the radio and television versions. Stamp said, "We've done everything we can to please Douglas' die-hard fans while making sure the film is still accessible to those who may not have been as familiar with the books — or even those who are coming in cold."
As much time and work as it took to make "Hitchhiker's Guide" a reality, the filmmakers say they're open to the idea of possible sequels. After all, this movie does at least tease that there will be an adaptation of Adams' second novel, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe."
"I can't speak for everyone," said Jennings, "but I know how much fun I had doing this one. So, hopefully we can do it again — and hopefully this time it won't take so long to get it done."
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com