SCOOP: Is this the HITCHHIKER movie's Marvin?

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Friday, January 16, 2004
Source: Anonymous, Magrathea, Douglas Adams Continuum

Switch on your truth detector and take this rumor with a pound of salt until it's proven otherwise, but according to this report on the Magrathea fansite (which tracks news about THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY film), a prototype costume for Marvin the Paranoid Android has been accidentally made available on the internet (see photo). Magrathea webmaster M.J. Simpson tells readers in today's news report that the photo in question was brought to his attention by a fan "who innocently looked at a site which turned out to be producer Nick Goldsmith's blog!" Apparently the image was shortly removed from the blog thereafter.

Simpson goes on the record as stating that the photo of the costume, alleged to be one of several prototypes manufactured by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, is not a hoax. "A reliable source at Henson's has confirmed that several other prototype Marvin suits have been produced - though they're all about three feet tall! - and a final selection has not been made," writes Simpson on his website.

While it's impossible to independently confirm the Magrathea discovery since the photo on the blog in question is no more, Simpson's credentials as a HITCHHIKER'S expert aren't in doubt. He's the author of two books about Douglas Adams sci-fi comedy series, THE POCKET ESSENTIAL HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE and HITCHHIKER: A BIOGRAPHY OF DOUGLAS ADAMS. He has also updated Neil Gaiman's HITCHHIKER'S book DON'T PANIC.

The current scuttlebutt is that actor Warwick Davis (best known for his role as Wicket the Ewok in RETURN OF THE JEDI) has been hired to play Marvin the Paranoid Android in the movie. Warwick stands three-foot-six, which meshes with the Magrathea report that the Marvin costumes are around three feet tall in size.

At least one other website is saying that the image is legitimate. The HITCHHIKER'S website Douglas Adams Continuum is also reporting that it's a prototype manufactured by the Creature Shop and thus may not be the final robot design we'll see in the movie.

[Sent straight from anonymous.]


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