5 Reasons We Can’t Wait for Ridley Scott’s The Martian
Andy Weir’s The Martian walked a very unique, very modern path to success: having faced rejection from literary agents in the past, Weir initially published his manuscript serially, and for free, on his website, and then as an finished ebook. When it became a viral success, publishers took note, and last year his novel about an astronaut stranded on the red planet was given a wide release in print and became an immediate bestseller. On October 2, the film adaption starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain is opening. Oh, and Ridley Scott is directing. That’s about as big as movies come, and here are just five of the reasons we can’t wait.
The Martian (Movie Tie-In)
Paperback $15.00
The Martian (Movie Tie-In)
By Andy Weir
Paperback $15.00
The Book
It starts here, no question. Weir’s novel is the story of Mark Watney, a NASA astronaut on a mission to Mars, believed killed during an emergency evacuation attempt, but very much alive, and very much alone. With no way to call home, he begins what initially seems like a pointless quest to prolong his survival, keeping a (potty language-filled) log of his experiences. Later, as real hope begins to creep in, the tension builds with every advance and every setback. The book is full of technical details, but Mark’s not just a capable narrator: he’s funny and sarcastic, and the novel strikes just the right balance between jargon and jests. In the expletive-laden opening paragraph, Mark explains exactly how…let’s use the word “doomed”…he is, and then immediately gets to work. Getting Mark Watney right is half the battle for the movie, but based on the trailer, Matt Damon’s looking like a pretty good choice.
Ridley Scott
Here’s a guy’s with enough classics on his resume to ensure each new film is a major event, especially when he’s working in sci-fi mode. The director of Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down is a certified Legend (which he also directed), and his three previous SF films, Alien, Blade Runner, and Prometheus, are tech-laden stories that take place in grounded worlds with believably human characters. He’s created gritty, lived-in environments before, so a Martian dust storm or two shouldn’t be a problem. He’s a perfect fit for the almost-here, almost-now world of The Martian.
Science
Math as a superpower? Computer programmer Weir made a commitment to ensuring that the math and science in his book was as accurate as possible. He worked out in minute detail the dangers of a manned trip to Mars, and proceeded to subject his main character (and us as readers) to most of them. Dust storms, exploding fuel, the need to calculate caloric needs and orbital paths: all of that detail could be disastrously boring, but the believability is part of the fun. If things go to plan, we’re only two or three decades out from a manned mission to Mars that would likely look very similar to what we’re going to see in the movie (hopefully without so much of the crashing and exploding). NASA collaborated with the production, even allowing the use of its logo, so there’s every reason to believe that the movie will convey a good deal of the real science that makes the book so cool.
We’re On a Roll
The last couple of years have delivered a bevy of smart, big-budget science fiction movies full of ideas and with mass appeal. Superhero movies are great, but films like Gravity and Interstellar wow us with happenings set a little closer to home, with science that’s believable. Modern special effects have given us wildly imaginative adventures set in the furthest reaches of space, but sci-fi that isn’t quite so far removed from our lives has the power fire the imagination in a way other movies can’t.
Mars
Sure, Pluto is grabbing the headlines these days, but Mars is still our favorite celestial neighbor. Next year will see two new landers and a couple of new orbiters arrive at the Red Planet, and we’re still getting cool images and data from the probes that we’ve got running around there right now. Government and private organizations are working on plans for manned journeys to Mars, and a few of them might actually be viable sooner than you think. It’s been a favorite subject of science fiction for centuries, but the facts are every bit as exciting. A movie like this one might be the thing that encourages us to push further. Mars isn’t surrendering its grip on our imaginations anytime soon.
Are you excited for Ridley Scott’s take on The Martian?
The Book
It starts here, no question. Weir’s novel is the story of Mark Watney, a NASA astronaut on a mission to Mars, believed killed during an emergency evacuation attempt, but very much alive, and very much alone. With no way to call home, he begins what initially seems like a pointless quest to prolong his survival, keeping a (potty language-filled) log of his experiences. Later, as real hope begins to creep in, the tension builds with every advance and every setback. The book is full of technical details, but Mark’s not just a capable narrator: he’s funny and sarcastic, and the novel strikes just the right balance between jargon and jests. In the expletive-laden opening paragraph, Mark explains exactly how…let’s use the word “doomed”…he is, and then immediately gets to work. Getting Mark Watney right is half the battle for the movie, but based on the trailer, Matt Damon’s looking like a pretty good choice.
Ridley Scott
Here’s a guy’s with enough classics on his resume to ensure each new film is a major event, especially when he’s working in sci-fi mode. The director of Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down is a certified Legend (which he also directed), and his three previous SF films, Alien, Blade Runner, and Prometheus, are tech-laden stories that take place in grounded worlds with believably human characters. He’s created gritty, lived-in environments before, so a Martian dust storm or two shouldn’t be a problem. He’s a perfect fit for the almost-here, almost-now world of The Martian.
Science
Math as a superpower? Computer programmer Weir made a commitment to ensuring that the math and science in his book was as accurate as possible. He worked out in minute detail the dangers of a manned trip to Mars, and proceeded to subject his main character (and us as readers) to most of them. Dust storms, exploding fuel, the need to calculate caloric needs and orbital paths: all of that detail could be disastrously boring, but the believability is part of the fun. If things go to plan, we’re only two or three decades out from a manned mission to Mars that would likely look very similar to what we’re going to see in the movie (hopefully without so much of the crashing and exploding). NASA collaborated with the production, even allowing the use of its logo, so there’s every reason to believe that the movie will convey a good deal of the real science that makes the book so cool.
We’re On a Roll
The last couple of years have delivered a bevy of smart, big-budget science fiction movies full of ideas and with mass appeal. Superhero movies are great, but films like Gravity and Interstellar wow us with happenings set a little closer to home, with science that’s believable. Modern special effects have given us wildly imaginative adventures set in the furthest reaches of space, but sci-fi that isn’t quite so far removed from our lives has the power fire the imagination in a way other movies can’t.
Mars
Sure, Pluto is grabbing the headlines these days, but Mars is still our favorite celestial neighbor. Next year will see two new landers and a couple of new orbiters arrive at the Red Planet, and we’re still getting cool images and data from the probes that we’ve got running around there right now. Government and private organizations are working on plans for manned journeys to Mars, and a few of them might actually be viable sooner than you think. It’s been a favorite subject of science fiction for centuries, but the facts are every bit as exciting. A movie like this one might be the thing that encourages us to push further. Mars isn’t surrendering its grip on our imaginations anytime soon.
Are you excited for Ridley Scott’s take on The Martian?