When I was at the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy 30th anniversary celebration, Robbie Stamp introduced me to Frank Halford, Douglas' famous teacher who gave him a ten out of of ten for an english essay when he was ten years old. This 77 years old retired teacher is a marvelous man, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to interview him for this website.
You can find the interview in the Douglas Adams section of this website (in the extras).
Of course there are references to Hitchhiker's including this surprising statement from Garth :
"- Did the success of your previous film, Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, afford you better financial clout for this one? - Garth I thought it would have. I mean, it went to number one and I thought, great. If anything it made it harder though, it took over a year of going to see everyone in the UK and getting turned down repeatedly, it was almost impossible to get people to stop thinking about the sci-fi film and buy into this. That’s why the money came from France in the end." http://www.screenjabber.com/sonoframbow_feature
83% at the tomatometter
http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_rambow/
8,1/10 sur imdb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0845046/
EMPIRE ON LINE
A potentially disposable, tongue-in-cheek First Blood pisstake turns out to be a deeply effective, surprisingly touching tale of family and childhood friendship. If you only see one Rambo movie this year, make sure it’s this one.
Four stars out of five
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=134768
You can also watch video interviews with Garth Jennings and Jessica Hynes on http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/
YAHOO.CO.UK
"Son Of Rambow is so loveable it could give heart-warming movies a good name... Son Of Rambow is delightful, nostalgic, but never schlocky - if you only watch one Stallone-related film this year, make it this one. Unlike John Rambo's misfiring latest, Son Of Rambow hits the bullseye."
Four stars out of five. http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/s/Son-Of-Rambow/review-3812516.html
BBC
"A joyous spirit of mischief is ever-present and Jennings has an eye for brilliant visual gags too... Crucially, their rapport feels totally authentic, so beyond the belly laughs and sunny 80s nostalgia, this is a portrait of friendship which is truly tender and moving."
Four stars out of five.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2008/03/31/son_of_rambow_2008_review.shtml
Video http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/bbci/new_bbci/?video5
INDIELONDON
"YOU’VE got to hand it to Garth Jennings for persevering with Son Of Rambow, a deeply personal labour-of-love that emerges as one of the feel-good British treats of the year." http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/son-of-rambow-review
Interviews : http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/son-of-rambow-garth-jennings-interview
Video Interview with Garth Jennings and Jessica Hynes (you can see some Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy toys behind Garth when he's talking) http://www.kewego.co.uk/video/iLyROoafYJvn.html
TIMEOUT
"Garth Jennings’s last film, ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, had visual imagination to burn, but was less sure-footed when it came to plot and character. It’s a pleasure, then, to find that his follow-up shows just as much wit and verve in its production design, while also succeeding as storytelling: ‘Son of Rambow’ is a schoolboy yarn with a bracing emotional honesty that packs a real kick."
Four stars out of six http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/84083/Son_of_Rambow.html
Garth Jennings interview http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/1642/
EYE FOR FILM
"The script sizzles with humour, but more importantly, like Danny Boyle's Millions, it carries an emotional weight. Keeping the cast small means the characters of Will and Lee are well fleshed out and, though firmly rooted in British culture, their experiences are universal. Sure to be a box office smash."
Five out of five http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=12122
Interview http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature.php?id=510
TWITCHFILM
Interview http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/garth-jennings-talks-son-of-rambow/
The new Hammer & Tongs movie is going finally to hit theatres in UK and US very soon. "Son of Rambow" will be released in UK the 4th April and in US the 2nd May.
The movie had some great reviews when he was shown at The Sundance Film Festival last year and at The London Film Festival last october.
Hammer & Tongs has also organized a competition to celebrate the release of their movie."Submit your own original short film about anything. Literally, anything! Be creative and have fun with it. The folks over at Hammer and Tongs will be judging the videos and the winning submission will have their short film placed in the Special Features section of the Son of Rambow DVD"
The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy 30th anniversary live performance was a great success. The historical event, which occured just after the Douglas Adams 6th Memorial lecture on wednesday 12th march at the Royal Geographical Society, was sold out.
First surprise of the evening : John Lloyd (who co-wrote with Douglas the episodes 5 and 6 of the original radio series - and later "the meaning of Liff") introduced the lecture.
The lecture by Steven Pinker ("The stuff of thought : language as a window into human nature) was smart and rather funny. I didn't understand everything because 1) I'm french and 2) i didn't have glasses and couldn't read what was on the screen.
James Thrift, Douglas' brother, made a wonderful job as the auctioneer during the fundraising auction for Save the Rhino and the Environnemental investigation agency. Sadly the rare handcrafted model Vogon wasn't sold. 2.000 pounds was however a worthy price for this masterpiece!
It was really very moving to hear "the journey of the sorcerer" and see most of the original cast performing the second episode of the Hitchhiker's radio series (sadly Mark Wing Davey - Zaphod - could not be here).
On stage we had Simon Jones (Arthur), Geoffrey Mc Givern (Ford), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Stephen Moore (Marvin) from the original cast. Roger Gregg played Eddie (a role he already performed in the new H2G2 radio series). Philip Pope was Prostetnic Vogon jeltz. And we had two fine guests : Michael Cule who was the Vogon guard in the TV series and not least than Geoffrey Perkins (who directed the original radio series and became afterwards one of the biggest british TV producer) as the voice of the book.
All the cast made an excellent work and the result was really enjoyable. Dirk Maggs who directed the performance wanted it to be as close as possible as the original... and it was a success, a very moving event for all the fans of the original show. Thank you to Dirk (but also to James Thrift who co produced the live performance).
For those who have missed this event, I should add that the great Kevin Davies (auhtor of H2G2 TV making of and artistic director of the illustrated guide) has filmed the performance. So let's cross our fingers.
You can see exclusive pictures of the evening HERE.
I hope you already have bought your tickets. Please don't forget to be in London the 12th March for the annual DNA memorial lecture. You'll have the opportunity to :
- listen to a fascinationg lecture (Steven Pinker: “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”)
- watch original radio cast members of Hitchhikers performing live extracts of the more fabulous radio series in the world
- buy an auction Item - A rare handcrafted model of Vogon Commander Kwaltz (see picture below)
- Have a nice meal in a great restaurant with other fans and celebrities (but you'll have to pay £35 for the meal)
You can book for the evening on Save the Rhino website
The Sixth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture (Steven Pinker: “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”) will be followed by an incredible event. To mark the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" the original cast will be doing a very special 20 minute script reading following the lecture.
Among the original cast, here are the actors who should be here : Simon Jones (Arthur), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford), Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Roger Gregg (Eddie), Stephen Moore (Marvin).... and a very special guest as The Voice of the book (could it be Stephen Fry???).
The event will take place Wednesday 12 March 2008 at 7.30pm (doors open at 6.30pm), Royal Geographical Society, South Kensington, London
you can read more about the event and make reservations on Save the Rhino's website.
I don't know about you, but I won't miss this event for all the money in the world.
A few hours before the broadcast of Dirk Gently's first episode on Radio 4, its director Dirk Maggs kindly answered to a few questions. He reveals a lot of interesting facts, so don't forget to read this interview. You can find the interview in the radio series section of this website.
