The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Country of Origin: USA / UK
Year of Production: 2005
Running Times:
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present  a Barber / Birnbaum production  a Hammer & Tongs production  an Everyman Pictures production
Executive Producers: Douglas Adams, Robbie Stamp, Derek Evans
Produced by: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman
Co-Producers: Todd Arnow, Caroline Hewitt, rebekah Rudd
Unit Production Manager: Peter Heslop
Unit Manager: Bobby Prince
Production Coordinator: Deryn Stafford
2nd Unit Production Coordinator: Judy Britten
Assistant Coordinator: Eve Petcher

SCRIPT
Screenplay: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the Book by: Douglas Adams
Script Researchers: Raffi Paloulian, Act One Script Clearance Inc

DIRECTION
Directed by: Garth Jennings
2nd Unit Director: Dominic Leung
1st Assistant Director: Richard Whelan
2nd Unit 1st Assistant Director: Terry Bamber
2nd Unit 2nd Assistant Director: David Cain
3rd Assistant Director: Samar Pollitt
2nd Unit 3rd Assistant Director: Fraser Fennell-Ball
Additional 3rd Assistant Director: David Decio
Assistant Directors: Mark Hopkins, Iain Lawrence
Crowd Assistant Director: Chris Croucher

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Steadicam Operator: Paul Edwards
1st Assistant Camera: John Gamble
2nd Assistant Camera: Chris Dale, Paul Wheeldon
Camera Equipment: Panavision (UK) Ltd
Cranes and Dollies: Panavision Grips Ltd
Lighting: AFM Lighting Ltd

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Niven Howie
1st Assistant Editor: Mark Harris
2nd Assistant Editor: Russell Pawson
Assistant Editor: Lionel Johnson
Trainee Assistant Editor: Tolly Swallow
Negative Cutters: Mark Wright, Cutting Edge

MUSIC
Music by: Joby Talbot
Supervising Music Editor: Michael Connell

SOUND
Sound: Mark Holding
Supervising Sound Editor: Ian Wilson
Assistant Sound Editor: Robin Knapp
Sound Effects Editor: Alastair Sirkett

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up / Hair Designer: Elizabeth Tagg
Make Up: Paul Gooch, Nikita Rae
Costume Designer: Sammy Sheldon

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Director: Paul Dunn
Special Effects: Scott McIntyre
Special Effects Pyrotechnician: Cat Hart

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: Cinesite (Europe) Ltd; Asylum Models and Effects; Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Graphic Displays: Shynola
Visual Effects Supervisor: Angus Bickerton
Visual Effects Coordinator: Ben Flatter
Visual Effects Producer: Andy Fowler
CG Supervisor: Jonathan Neill
Digital Effects Supervisor: Adam McInnes
Digital Artist: Matt Redhead
Digital Effects Artists: Ilyas Kaduji, Kaduji Ilyas
Previsualisation Artist: Sean Mathiesen
Texture Artist: Ben Dishart
Digital Compositor: Mark Bakowski
Lighting Technical Director: Sebastien Beaulieu
Visual Effects Editor: P.J. Harling
Visual Effects Assistant Editor: Steve Pang

Cinesite (Europe) Ltd
Visual Effects Producer: Ken Dailey
Visual Effects Line Producer: Aimee Dadswell
Digital Compositors: Andy Robinson, Jörg Schulz-Gerchow, Richard Baker

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Joel Collins
Supervising Art Director: Frank Walsh
Art Directors: Daniel May, Daniel Loren May
Assistant Art Director: Jason Knox-Johnston
Standby Art Director: Robyn Paiba
Set Decorator: Kate Beckly
Senior Propmaker: Colin Childs
Prop Makers: Chris Rosewarne, Jim Gaffney, Piero Di'Giovanni, Simon Gosling
Prop Sculptor: Jo Fenton
Prop Runner: Astrid Goldsmith

MISCELLANEOUS
2nd Unit Script Supervisor: Sharon Mansfield
Accountant: Rob Meisenholder
Payroll Accountant: Dan Morrow
Production Controller: Gary Gillingham
Set Production Assistant: Sara Levy
Food Stylists: Adele Rogers, Christine Greaves
Unit Nurse: Lucy Anthony
Unit Publicist: Deborah Simmrin

LOCATIONS
Locations: St Martin's Church, Highgate, London; Beehive Pub, Hare Street, Nr Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England, UK; Cwar yr Hendre, Trefil, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, UK; London, England, UK; Moorgate Tube Station, London, England, UK
Location Manager: David Broder
Assistant Location Manager: Camilla Stephenson
Location Finder: Jamie Lengyel

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Jim Dowdall
Stunts: Lee Sheward

CASTING
Casting by: Susie Figgis, Marcia Ross
Extras Casting: The Casting Collective Ltd
Casting Associate: Nadia Aleyd

CAST
Martin Freeman (Arthur Dent)
Mos Def (Ford Prefect)
Sam Rockwell (Zaphod Beeblebrox)
Zooey Deschanel (Tricia McMillan (aka Trillian))
Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast)
Polly Jane Adams
William Todd Jones (Vogon Captain Jeltz)
Mak Wilson
Richard Coombs, Phillip Eason, Mark Jefferis, Nigel Plaskitt, Robert Tygner (Vogon High Command)
Jerome Blake, Patrick Walker (Vogon guards)
Mason Ball, Brian Herring, Katherine Smee (Vogons)
Anna Chancellor (Questular Rontok)
Warwick Davis (Marvin the Paranoid Android)
Jane Garnier
Simon Jones (Magrathean announcer)
John Malkovich (Humma Kavula)
Steve Pemberton (Mr Prosser)
The League of Gentlemen (real names: Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith) (additional Vogon voices)
Polly Adams, Sue Adams, Bronwen Thrift, James Thrift, Jan Thrift, Jane Thrift, Emily Cox (extras outside Moorgate tube station (all uncredited))

PLOT SUMMARY

When the Vogons demolish the Earth to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, Arthur Dent manages to escape with the help of his friend Ford Prefect, who turns out to be an alien. It's the beginning of a long, strange adventure for Arthur as he travels to the end of the universe and beyond.

AVAILABILITY

Argentina
Theatrical Distributors: Buena Vista International

Netherlands
Theatrical Distributors: Buena Vista International

USA
Theatrical Distributors: Buena Vista Pictures / Touchstone Pictures

TIMELINE

2004
June
19: UK - filming begins

August
20: UK - filming ends

May
6: UK, USA - theatrical release

June
2: Czech Republic - theatrical release
9: Argentina - theatrical release
16: Austria, Germany - theatrical release
30: Netherlands - theatrical release

July
6: France - theatrical release

POSTER TAGS

Don't Panic

Don't leave Earth without it.

The most astonishing adventure in the universe begins when the world ends.

Everything you need to know about out there, is in here.

The answers to what's out there are in here.

Losing your planet isn't the end of the world.

LINKS

REMAKE OF
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (2005b)

WEB LINKS
Official Site
Planet Magrethea - an all-encompassing Douglas Adams / Hitchhikers site by M.J. Simpson, who knows more about Adams than any human being alive!

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Empire no.188 (February 2005) p.21 (UK)
note

Empire no.190 (April 2005) p.21 (UK)
illustrated note (Coming Soon by The Insider)

Film News May 2004 (UK)
credits, production notes (UK & Ireland In Production)

The Hollywood Reporter vol.384 no.36 (13 July 2004) pp.31, 32 (USA)
credits, production notes

Screen Finance vol.17 no.8 (5 May 2004) p.4 (UK)
article

Screen International no.1439 (6 February 2004) p.4  (UK)
illustrated production notes

Starburst Special no.67: Yearbook 2004 pp.104-119 (UK)
illustrated preview

KEYWORDS

aliens, androids, book into film, end of the world, hitchhikers, hitchhiking, radio into film, space travel, time travel

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008