Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 16:04:47 +0100 From: Douglas Adams Subject: Where does all this stuff come from? I've just been glancing through the forum for the first time for a few weeks. Oh boy. First of all, no, that is not part of my screenplay for the movie. Not even remotely. Though, as a matter of fact, I do recognise it. The guy who posted it to the group originally emailed it to me on June 8th saying he had written it and asking what I thought of it. Second. Jim Carrey is not going to play Arthur Dent. Here's a clue as to why not. Arthur Dent is English. All casting at the moment is highly speculative. Nobody has been cast. Nobody has been signed. The problem is that every time I say idly, in an off-the-cuff conversation, that maybe so-and-so might be an interesting possibility in such-and-such a part, a few days later I read on the net that the actor has definitely been signed, what his deal is and so on. (Though usually the actual part is misreported). Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose. Here's where we are at. On Christmas Eve I agreed the deal with Disney to sell them the film rights, to write the screenplay, and to be executive producer. Robbie Stamp, my partner from The Digital Village, is also executive director. I have only just actually signed the deal. Everything in between has been lawyer stuff. Really. The producer is Roger Birnbaum, of Caravan Pictures (now Spyglass Pictures). There is no decision about which of Disney's various imprints (Touchstone, Hollywood, etc) it will go out under. The director will be Jay Roach, who directed Austin Powers, and is just finishing a new movie called Mystery, Alaska. Now that the contract is signed, I am about to deliver a first draft of the new screenplay. Other than me, nobody has seen it. No copy of it exists outside my study. Jay is about to go into production of Austin Powers II. I will do rewrites to the screenplay after Jay, Roger and Disney have reacted to it. Once everyone is happy that it's right, casting will start. If all goes according to current intentions we should be filming next summer for release in the following summer. That's it. Anything else is hearsay and Chinese whispers. Especially the stuff from unnamed 'reliable sources'. I'd like to try a little experiment, and here it is. I hereby categorically deny that the part of Arthur Dent is going to be played by Oprah Winfrey. Now. Let's see... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Douglas Adams | The Digital Village | http://www.tdv.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------