"Let me take your coat and push in your stool."
Posted on 05/29/2015 9:01:02 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Self-published in 2012 and lauded for its scientific accuracy, The Martian follows the exploits of astronaut Marc Watney (played by Matt Damon in the upcoming film) as he struggles to stay alive on Mars....
The 20 Century Fox film adaptation is directed by Ridley Scott (of Alien and Blackhawk Down fame) and promises to have a ‘successful failure’ vibe in the tradition of Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. Heck, reading The Martian, we simply love how it breaks the convention advocated at innumerable writing workshops that exposition is somehow always bad. Engineering and science geeks want to peek under the hood, and see what makes that warp drive tick. The Martian breaks very few rules when it comes to getting the science right, and there’s high hopes that this will translate well on the big screen. From the design of Watney’s Mars excursion suit to the expedition rover he uses to cross the Martian terrain, we’re seeing lots of actual NASA designs being incorporated into the production.
“NASA was very involved in consulting for the film,” author Andy Weir told Universe Today. “The production got numerous people in both NASA and JPL involved and listened very closely to what they had to say.”
One of our favorite bits from the book is where Watney must use the rising and setting of the twin Martian moons Phobos and Deimos for a rough dead reckoning while travelling over the open Martian terrain. It’s a terrific scene with some possibilities for some great panoramic vistas, and we hope it survives into the film adaptation.
We also hope that the first NASA rover to roll across the soils of Mars (hint: it wasn’t Curiosity, Spirit or Opportunity) makes an appearance in the movie, as it did in the book.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Matt Damon was unintentionally very good in Interstellar. A subversively worthwhile film.
I still love Robinson Crusoe on Mars!
“The Martian” was a fantastic book, and I’m hoping the movie is good too. No political correctness in the book at all, just ingenuity and drive to survive.
I’d pay 5 cents to see him stranded on Mars.......................
Yes, he was killed in the descent...................
Interstellar was a yawner of bad science. I’ve never considered it as subversive thought piece. Huh.
Between Matt Damon being in it and Ridley Scott not changing his name to Alan Smithee on that POS movie Prometheus i will be waiting for this flick on the USA network in a few months instead of wasting $$$.
I agree. First book I loaned out just to share the experience.
Didn’t we already have dueling “survival on Mars” movies a few years back, “Red Planet” and “Mission to Mars”?
At least Matt Damon is no Val Kilmer.
I’m assuming.
I’ve never seen them both in the same room.
I read the book. It was chiefly enjoyable in the sense of engineering survival with what was at hand.
Right now I am maintaining my optimism. I am CHEERING that this author, Andy Weir, made it from self-publishing to Grade A Movie. Of course, the number of hard SF titles to be successful in cinema can almost be counted on one’s fingers, but I’ll probably see it if the initial reviews are good. It looks like the movie should be around Thanksgiving this year.
I didn’t know that, but I heard he had a thing for Asteroids.
Loved the book - even bought a copy for my brother. It’s a page turner that I bought on a Friday for something to read on the commute home and finished it up on Sunday morning. It was that good. Good science in there.
Loved the book, but if Matt Damon was alone on Mars, he would be the third best actor on the planet.
That was my thought, too. (aside from Damon)
"Let me take your coat and push in your stool."
Check the movie “Martian Chronicles.”
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