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Nick and Garth – The Interview (part 4)
Jim: Talking of things that are out there, a short video of a test of Marvin appeared on the web. Is that real or is it fake like that Roswell stuff?
Garth: “Is it a fake test? No, it’s real footage of when we were testing a prototype at Henson’s. It was a bit of a blow that that got out because it’s just test stuff. But we’ve been working with Henson’s since about July, quite a long time now, and as you can imagine there are an awful lot of elements to the film. As they’re on board to do all that type of stuff, we’ve had to test and test and test again. I’ve spent most of today testing all kinds of things. And that was one of those tests.”
MJ: The reaction to the Marvin costume has been very, very good, but some of the more cynical fans are saying, ‘That looks like it will make a really nice toy.’ A big movie like this makes a lot of its money from its merchandising; how much of a factor is merchandising on the design and the whole ethos of the movie?
Nick: “It’s a very good point and absolutely, we’re working with Disney on this. I have to say though that with the designs of all of the characters, the idea of toys did not influence them in any way or form. All our thoughts as far as designs of characters go, we always go to the book, go to Douglas for reference. We read a lot of the descriptions and also the ethos behind some of them. So with Vogons being very bureaucratic and that whole thing, we actually went back to something else. One of the references is a satirical cartoonist called James Gillray; he’s been a big influence on us. But none of it has been merchandise-related in any way. The fact that we’ve come up with designs that could make great toys is a huge added bonus but it definitely wasn’t the thinking behind them.”
Jim: What do you think is so special about Hitchhiker’s? Why do so many people care about it?
Garth: “We had the pleasure of meeting Mr Stephen Fry the other day who was fantastic and he actually summed it up better than I’ve ever been able to do. He said it’s a bit like when you go to see an Eddie Izzard concert. I don’t know if you’re fans of his; I’m a massive fan. You’re in there with thousands of people – especially now, he has the best gigs in the world – but there you are, cracking up laughing, and you always get the feeling that you’re the one who ‘gets it’ just a bit better than everyone else. Everyone’s laughing but they really don’t quite understand the subtlety of what you’re listening to. That was his comparison to the way we all feel about Douglas’ work: yes, millions of people bought the book but they never quite ‘got it’ as well as you did.”
MJ: Some mates of yours called Shynola have been assigned to do the graphics. What sort of brief have you given them and how are the graphics being approached? Because when the TV series was made computer graphics like that were still really in the future so what we saw was impressive but now, as we saw in the dramatised Hitchhiker’s Guide scenes on The Big Read, computer graphics are nothing to get excited about.
Garth: “Well, that’s a really good point. We’ve all become so used to seeing sci-fi graphics or sci-fi equipment. I think the trick is, you can’t really outdo things like The Matrix for all that sort of super-techno stuff, can you? The thing for us was not to try and make something that was going to be the most massive technological breakthrough as far as designing things go, it was actually to just make something that captured the spirit of the book. Something that was incredibly inventive and bold and original. That’s what I loved about that original animation – it was really bold and it was really original when it came out. I think the thing for us is to create something that has those qualities and not necessarily trying to compete with the kind of computer-type imagery that we’re used to seeing in sci-fi movies.”
Jim: Of all the things you’ve been designing, what are you most proud of so far?
Garth: “That’s a good question. It’s all pretty good, I have to say! That’s not the answer you’re after, is it? The Heart of Gold’s pretty blooming lovely. It’s all gorgeous stuff. We were up in the production designer’s office yesterday and his wall’s are covered with just some of the most lovely things I’ve ever seen. The Vogon ships are fabulous and the Vogons themselves are pretty damn fabulous too. Sorry, I’ve not picked one – they’re all too damn lovely.”
MJ: One of the great things about Hitchhiker’s are the memorable characters who crop up for one or two lines, like Gag Halfrunt. Are you including these and are you having as much fun designing and casting them as with the main characters?
Garth: “That’s a good one. Yes, it’s great. Gag is definitely something that is in the script and we hope to keep, and there are an awful lot of those things. But not just that. One of the things for us is all the little visual ideas that we love so much. I won’t tell you what they are but there’s an awful lot of things that we’ve been able to weave into the scenes. Hopefully people who don’t know the material will just think they’re fabulous and people that do will go, ‘My God, that’s so-and-so!’”
MJ: Are you thinking already about the DVD as well as the theatrically released film?
Garth: “Yes, that’s running parallel with it. I don’t think there’s ever been a film more suited to the DVD format.”
Jim: What kind of reaction would you most like to have from die-hard fans of Hitchhiker’s when they see your movie?
Garth: “The most important thing for us is that we’ve captured the spirit of the work, that we’ve captured what made it so special to all of us. And that they just enjoy it. We hope it’s a really great film for everybody. Is that too little an answer for such a big question?”
Jim: One final question: are you having fun?
Garth: “I’ve been saying since I came on this that the day they greenlit this film, it wasn’t like somebody saying to you, ‘Oh, you’ve got the job. Off you go.’ It was like somebody saying, ‘Here’s your dream come true.’ It’s been complete Jim’ll Fix It for the last nine months. Ridiculously wonderful. Extraordinarily hard work, much more than anything we’ve ever done before. But the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done and probably ever will do, I think. It’s a massive adventure.”
My thanks to Nick, Garth, Robbie and Jim for an enjoyable and enlightening interview.