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'''''The Martian''''' is a 2015 American{{#tag:ref|Director Ridley Scott is British but the film is produced by an American studio.<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web|title=The Martian|url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/galapresentations/the-martian|work=tiff.net|publisher=[[Toronto International Film Festival]]|accessdate=August 12, 2015}}</ref> The book ''Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy'' states, "Following the conventions of international film distribution, the assignment of nationality to a film is normally based on the criterion of economically acquired rights to that nationality. Given that national rights can effectively be 'bought' by any nation providing a large enough percentage of the production funding for a feature film, the conventional economic definition of nationality is clearly not congruent with the supposed role of national cinema as a cultural export emerging from, and representing, a national cultural identity."<ref>{{cite book | last=McGregor | first=Andrew | year=2010 | title=Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy: The Perpetual French Discovery of Australian Cinema | publisher=Peter Lang | page=21 | isbn=978-3-03-430053-7 }}</ref>|group="nb"}} [[science fiction film]] directed by [[Ridley Scott]] and starring [[Matt Damon]]. The film is based on [[Andy Weir (writer)|Andy Weir]]'s 2011 novel ''[[The Martian (Weir novel)|The Martian]]'', which was adapted into a screenplay by [[Drew Goddard]]. Damon stars as an astronaut who is incorrectly presumed dead and left behind on the planet [[Mars]], and who then fights to survive. The film also features [[Jessica Chastain]], [[Kristen Wiig]], [[Jeff Daniels]], [[Michael Peña]], [[Kate Mara]], [[Sean Bean]], [[Sebastian Stan]], [[Aksel Hennie]], and [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]] in supporting roles.
'''''The Martian''''' is a 2015 American{{#tag:ref|Director Ridley Scott is British but the film is produced by an American studio.<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web|title=The Martian|url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/galapresentations/the-martian|work=tiff.net|publisher=[[Toronto International Film Festival]]|accessdate=August 12, 2015}}</ref> The book ''Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy'' states, "Following the conventions of international film distribution, the assignment of nationality to a film is normally based on the criterion of economically acquired rights to that nationality. Given that national rights can effectively be 'bought' by any nation providing a large enough percentage of the production funding for a feature film, the conventional economic definition of nationality is clearly not congruent with the supposed role of national cinema as a cultural export emerging from, and representing, a national cultural identity."<ref>{{cite book | last=McGregor | first=Andrew | year=2010 | title=Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy: The Perpetual French Discovery of Australian Cinema | publisher=Peter Lang | page=21 | isbn=978-3-03-430053-7 }}</ref>|group="nb"}} [[science fiction film]] directed by [[Ridley Scott]] and starring [[Matt Damon]]. The film is based on [[Andy Weir (writer)|Andy Weir]]'s 2011 novel ''[[The Martian (Weir novel)|The Martian]]'', which was adapted into a screenplay by [[Drew Goddard]]. Damon stars as an astronaut who is incorrectly presumed dead and left behind on the planet [[Mars]], and who then fights to survive. The film also features [[Jessica Chastain]], [[Kristen Wiig]], [[Jeff Daniels]], [[Michael Peña]], [[Kate Mara]], [[Sean Bean]], [[Sebastian Stan]], [[Aksel Hennie]], and [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]] in supporting roles.


Producers [[Simon Kinberg]] began developing the film after [[20th Century Fox]] [[option (filmmaking)|option]]ed the novel in March 2013. Drew Goddard adapted the novel into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move forward. Ridley Scott replaced Goddard, and with Damon in place as the main character, production was [[green-light|green-lit]]. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted approximately 70 days. Around 20 sets were built on a sound stage in [[Budapest|Budapest, Hungary]], one of the largest in the world. [[Wadi Rum]] in [[Jordan]] was also used as a practical backdrop for filming.
Producer [[Simon Kinberg]] began developing the film after [[20th Century Fox]] [[option (filmmaking)|option]]ed the novel in March 2013. Drew Goddard adapted the novel into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move forward. Ridley Scott replaced Goddard, and with Damon in place as the main character, production was [[green-light|green-lit]]. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted approximately 70 days. Around 20 sets were built on a sound stage in [[Budapest|Budapest, Hungary]], one of the largest in the world. [[Wadi Rum]] in [[Jordan]] was also used as a practical backdrop for filming.


The film premiered at the [[2015 Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 11, 2015. 20th Century Fox released the film in theaters in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2015 and in the United States on October 2, 2015. The film was released in 2D and [[3D film|3D]].
The film premiered at the [[2015 Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 11, 2015. 20th Century Fox released the film in theaters in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2015 and in the United States on October 2, 2015. The film was released in 2D and [[3D film|3D]].

Revision as of 20:44, 6 October 2015

The Martian
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRidley Scott
Screenplay byDrew Goddard
Produced by
  • Simon Kinberg
  • Ridley Scott
  • Michael Schaefer
  • Aditya Sood
  • Mark Huffam
Starring
CinematographyDariusz Wolski
Edited byPietro Scalia
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11) (TIFF)
  • October 2, 2015 (2015-10-02) (United States)
Running time
141 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$108 million[3]
Box office$98.9 million[4]

The Martian is a 2015 American[nb 1] science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. The film is based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel The Martian, which was adapted into a screenplay by Drew Goddard. Damon stars as an astronaut who is incorrectly presumed dead and left behind on the planet Mars, and who then fights to survive. The film also features Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, and Chiwetel Ejiofor in supporting roles.

Producer Simon Kinberg began developing the film after 20th Century Fox optioned the novel in March 2013. Drew Goddard adapted the novel into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move forward. Ridley Scott replaced Goddard, and with Damon in place as the main character, production was green-lit. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted approximately 70 days. Around 20 sets were built on a sound stage in Budapest, Hungary, one of the largest in the world. Wadi Rum in Jordan was also used as a practical backdrop for filming.

The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2015. 20th Century Fox released the film in theaters in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2015 and in the United States on October 2, 2015. The film was released in 2D and 3D.

Plot

When the Ares III manned mission to Mars is hit by an intense storm, astronaut Mark Watney is lost and presumed dead. With the lives of her crew at stake, mission commander Melissa Lewis is forced to leave the planet, leaving Watney behind. Watney has survived with the destruction of his communications equipment. Unable to contact NASA, he uses his knowledge as a botanist to grow food within the mission's artificial habitat, anticipating that he will need to survive for at least three years and journey to the landing site of Ares IV which already has some of its infrastructure on Mars. He keeps a series of video logs to maintain morale and begins to modify the habitat's rover to make it capable of long journeys.

Ares III Mission - Landing Site
(Acidalia Planitia region) (NASA).

Reviewing satellite photos of Mars, NASA engineers Vincent Kapoor and Mindy Park realize that Watney has survived, and immediately start planning to establish contact. Fearing that Watney may die soon, NASA director Teddy Sanders orders them not to tell the rest of the Ares III crew aboard the Hermes. Watney locates the Pathfinder probe, defunct since 1997, and uses it to regain contact with Earth.

As Watney continues to grow his crops, crew supervisor Mitch Henderson and JPL director Bruce Ng formulate a plan to send a probe to Mars and resupply Watney to let him last the four years until Ares IV can reach him. As the launch date approaches, an increasingly optimistic Sanders authorizes them to tell the crew. Desperate to launch the probe quickly, mistakes are made and the probe explodes during the launch. Watney suffers his own disaster when the airlock on the habitat explosively decompresses, killing his crops and reducing his projected supply of food.

Ares IV Mission - Landing Site
(SW Schiaparella crater) (NASA).

The China National Space Agency (CNSA) offers NASA a lifeline: a classified booster rocket that can carry a payload to Mars. They can send it to Mars, arriving barely in time to reach Watney, or follow astrodynamicist Rich Purnell's plan to have the Hermes extend its mission, intercept the probe and recover Watney back on Mars. Sanders and Henderson clash over the best plan: while Sanders insists on sending the probe, Lewis and her crew force the issue by setting their craft into a gravitational slingshot back to Mars.

After seven months, Watney has driven all his key life support systems to the base of the Ares IV mission. Following instructions from Kapoor, he strips the Ares IV launch vehicle down to save weight, using his spacesuit to protect against the vacuum of space. As Lewis and the crew of Hermes orbit Mars, they launch the landing vehicle remotely, intending to intercept him in space. When Watney's vehicle fails to achieve the altitude needed to intercept him, they improvise an explosive device to slow Hermes down without wasting fuel, by rupturing an airlock to release the ship's atmosphere and generate thrust. Still too far away, Watney pierces his pressure suit in order to come close enough for Lewis to catch him in her MMU.

After returning to Earth, Watney begins "Day One" of his new life, taking up a position with NASA as an instructor for new candidates to the astronaut training program, emphasizing his own experiences as problem solving and creative engineering.

Cast

Matt Damon
Jessica Chastain
Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain star as Mark Watney and Melissa Lewis respectively

Jessica Chastain prepared for her role by meeting with astronauts and scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Chastain said she was inspired by astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, "She's very matter of fact, very straightforward. My character is dealing with the guilt of leaving a crew member behind, but she's still responsible for the lives of five other crew mates. I tried to play her as Tracy would have been in those moments."[6]

Matt Damon did not prepare as Chastain did. Instead, "For me the rehearsal process was sitting with Ridley and going kind of line-by-line and moment-by-moment through the script and playing out a plan of attack for what we wanted each scene to accomplish."[7]

Themes

According to Scott the film is about how no one is ever alone. He said in an interview, "when you see an earthquake in Nepal and people coming to help, you realize that. When you see any tragedy around the world and all the efforts to do something, you realize that. That’s what I think the movie is about."[8]

Production

Development

The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott based on a screenplay by Drew Goddard that was adapted from Andy Weir's 2011 novel The Martian. The studio 20th Century Fox optioned the novel in March 2013, and producer Simon Kinberg was attached to develop the novel into a film.[9] In the following May, Drew Goddard entered negotiations with the studio to write and direct The Martian.[10] Goddard wrote a screenplay for the film,[11] and Matt Damon expressed interest in starring under Goddard's direction. Goddard then pursued an opportunity to direct Sinister Six, a comic book film about a team of supervillains.[12] Kinberg then brought the book to Ridley Scott's attention.[13] In May 2014, Scott entered negotiations with the studio to direct the film with Damon cast as the film's stranded astronaut.[14] Scott said he was attracted by the emphasis on science and thought a balance could be struck between entertainment and learning. Damon said he was attracted by the novel, the screenplay and the opportunity to work with Scott.[15] Following Scott's commitment, the project picked up the pace and was quickly green-lighted.[16]

Filming

Wadi Rum in Jordan was a practical backdrop for Mars in filming The Martian

Korda Studios outside Budapest, Hungary was selected for filming The Martian, due to having one of the largest sound stages in the world.[17][18] Filming began in Hungary on November 24, 2014.[19] Ridley Scott chose to film The Martian with 3D cameras.[7] Around 20 sets were constructed for The Martian (where 70 were built for Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings and over 100 for American Gangster).[18] Actual potatoes were grown in a sound stage next to the one used for filming. They were planted at different times to be used to show different stages of growth in the film.[20] A team of six people built 15 suits for the film. Filming also took place at Wadi Rum in Jordan, which served as a practical backdrop for Mars.[18] Wadi Rum had been used as a backdrop for other films set on Mars, including Mission to Mars (2000), Red Planet (2000), and The Last Days on Mars (2013).[21] Filming lasted approximately 70 days.[18]

Andy Weir avoided writing Watney as lonely and depressed in his novel. While Watney's humor is preserved in the film, Scott balanced it against visually depicting the character's isolation in the inhospitable territory. Damon said he and Scott were inspired by the 2003 documentary film Touching the Void, which featured trapped mountain climbers.[22] Scott also expected to film Watney as a Robinson Crusoe, a character in full isolation, but learned to film Watney differently since the character would be self-monitoring his behavior under the watch of various mission cameras.[20]

NASA involvement

Damon while making hand prints in cement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is accompanied by Jim Erickson (left) and Andrew J. Feustel (right).

When the novel was first published, NASA invited Andy Weir to tour the Johnson Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. When Ridley Scott began preparing the film, Weir contacted NASA to collaborate on the film.[23] When Scott and producer Mark Huffam had their first production meeting, they called NASA and spoke with its film and television liaison Bert Ulrich.[24] NASA decided to assist the filmmakers with depicting the science and technology in The Martian since it saw potential in promoting space exploration.[23] Key NASA staff members that joined the partnership were James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA, and Dave Lavery, the Program Executive for Solar System Exploration.[24] Scott conversed with Green twice before filming started. Over a period of a month, NASA answered hundreds of questions—on a weekly basis—on everything from radioisotope systems to the look of potential "habs"—the residences for future Mars astronauts. The questions were answered by Green or passed on to the right expert, and then came back to Scott's team to make their way into the production.[25][26] The space agency also sent hundreds of files of real images of Mars and images of control centers, down to what the computer screens look like, to the production team.[27] Green arranged a tour of the Johnson Space Center for production designer Arthur Max, who met with individual specialists, taking hundreds of photos as he went for eight hours.[27][25] The production designers created a futuristic, heavily modernised Mission Control as a studio set; Ars Technica described its depiction as "the space agency that we all dream of" and the opposite of the real Johnson Centre's appearance as "a run down college campus."[28]

Newsweek said NASA collaborated more with The Martian than most other films, "Staff from many NASA departments consulted on the film, from script development through principal photography, and are now helping with marketing timed to the theatrical release."[24] As part of the collaboration, the production's NASA liaison included the front page of the script for The Martian in the payload of the spacecraft Orion during its Exploration Flight Test 1 on December 5, 2014.[29]

The Los Angeles Times said NASA and the wider scientific community anticipated the film as a way to publicize a human mission to Mars. The New York Times reports that the film, "serves as a nice plug for NASA, which has returned the favor by pushing the movie on its website. (On Monday [September 28, 2015], scientists announced that signs of liquid water could be seen in photographs taken on Mars by a camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,[30][31] timing that suggests NASA certainly has the whole cross-promotion thing down.)".[32] Jim Erickson, NASA project manager, said the film would show moviegoers "the risks and rewards" of humans traveling to Mars.[33]

Music

Harry Gregson-Williams composed the incidental music for The Martian. It is the third collaboration between Gregson-Williams and Scott. Williams previously worked on music for Scott's films Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Prometheus (2012) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014).[34]

A running gag in the film is mission commander Melissa Lewis's love for 1970s music (especially the disco genre), which form the only music available to Watney on Mars and often appear as diegetic music. Non-original songs featured in the film include:[35]

Marketing

Studio 20th Century Fox launched a viral marketing campaign for The Martian.[36] On June 7, 2015, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino shared via Twitter an in-universe video diary depicting Matt Damon's character and the other crew members.[37][38] Ars Technica compared the video diary to similar viral videos marketed for Ridley Scott's 2012 film Prometheus in having a similar "style of slickly produced fictional promotional material". The studio then released an official trailer on June 8.[39] Forbes said, "20th Century Fox has cut together a pretty perfect trailer in that it absolutely makes the sale. It establishes the stakes, offers a sympathetic lead character, shows off an all-star cast, tosses out a potential catchphrase, and ends on a grimly humorous tagline."[40] In response to the trailer, Jimmy Kimmel, host of the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, released a spoof trailer The Mastronaut: Emission to Mars that edited the original to parody the film.[41]

As a part of promotional cooperation from NASA, the space agency screened The Martian at the International Space Station on September 19, 2015.

At the start of August, Fox released another video, depicting interviews with each of the main crew members.[42] Mid-month, the studio released another film trailer, and NASA hosted a "Martian Day" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to both promote The Martian and highlight the space program's ongoing efforts to carry out a human mission to Mars.[26] At the end of August, Fox released another video, presenting it as a special episode of the TV show StarTalk in which astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses the hazards of traveling to Mars.[43] In September, Ridley Scott's RSA Films released a teaser for The Martian that depicted Matt Damon wearing Under Armour sports clothing and being active in his off-world tasks.[44] The teaser originated from a collaboration between RSA Films and the marketing shop 3AM (under theatrical advertising agency Wild Card), initiated in 2014, to produce advertising content for The Martian. RSA contacted the advertising agency Droga5, under whom Under Armour is a client.[45] Droga5 ultimately collaborated with WME and 3AM to produce the teaser.[44]

Forbes's Peter Himler said American astronauts had traditionally been used by public relations to promote commercial products, starting with the drink Tang. Himler said it "came as no surprise" that NASA astronauts in the International Space Station were reported by The Guardian and CBS News as having read Weir's novel and hoping to see the film on board the ISS.[46] NASA participated in the marketing of the film despite its lack of involvement with previous films. Though it turned down a request for Interstellar to be screened on the ISS,[27] The Martian was screened on board[47] 402 km (250 miles) above the Earth's surface on September 19, 2015, and also at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on October 1, 2015.[27]

Release

Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Bozán Barroso at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival

The Martian premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2015.[1] The film screened in a sneak preview at the New York Film Festival on September 27, 2015.[48] It also screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 29, 2015.[49][50]

Box office forecast

Two months before The Martian's release, BoxOffice forecast that the film would gross $46 million on its opening weekend in the United States and ultimately $172 million in its theatrical run in the U.S. The magazine said positive factors for its performance included the continued sales of Andy Weir's novel, Ridley Scott's success with past science fiction films, and the positive reception of prior space-based films Gravity (2013) and Interstellar (2014). The magazine said negative factors included Matt Damon not being a consistent draw at the box office, Gravity and Interstellar setting high expectations, and Ridley Scott's "stumble" with his previous film Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014).[51] A week before the film's release, pre-release trackings in North America (United States and Canada) showed that the film is on pace to earn between $40—50 million in its opening weekend from 3,826 theaters.[52]

In comparison to other contemporary space films, Gravity, facing far less competition, opened to a better-than-expected $55.8 million in 2013. In November 2014, Interstellar debuted to $47.5 million.[52] Unlike Gravity and Interstellar, which had the benefit of IMAX locations, boosting profits, The Martian is not playing in IMAX, since IMAX is instead committed to an exclusive run of Robert Zemeckis' The Walk. The Martian is playing in more than 350 premium large-format theaters including 2,550 3D locations.[52][53] Also, the film was released several days after the announcement of NASA's discovery of water on Mars' planetary surface,[30][31] which might aid in boosting its opening.[54] Ticket selling website Fandango reported that the film was outselling Gravity.[54] Unlike Gravity, The Martian does not contain abundant 3D spectacle and is an hour longer than Gravity which means fewer showtimes.[55] Box office forecasters suggested that Hurricane Joaquin could hurt the opening weekend results, especially for the East Coast of the United States. Experts and studio executives say that should it hit New York City or other major metropolises, it will significantly impact moviegoing, costing millions of dollars in lost receipts. The worst-case scenario being New York—one of the biggest markets for film, representing as much as 7% of the weekend box office—which would significantly hamper the weekend box office results.[56] In December 2009, James Cameron's Avatar failed to break December opening records when a blizzard blanketed the East Coast of the United States.[56][57][58]

Theatrical run

As of October 4, 2015, The Martian has grossed $54.3 million in North America and $44.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $98.9 million, against a budget of $108 million.[4][59]

The film was released in theaters in 2D and 3D.[60] In the United Kingdom, it was released on September 30, 2015, a Wednesday,[61] and in the United States on the following Friday, October 2, 2015.[62] It was also released in 49 markets including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan from the weekend October 2—4, 2015 and expanded to Germany, Russia, and South Korea the following weekend. It will open in Spain on October 16, then France on October 21. Japan will bow in the first quarter next year on February 5 and its debut in China has not yet been set.[63] Various sites estimated the film to gross between $45 million and $50 million over its opening weekend in the U.S.[64] CinemaScore polled sample audiences, who gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Audience demographics were 54% men and 59% over 35.[65]

In the United States and Canada, it opened on Friday, October 2, 2015 and earned $18.06 million on its opening day of which $2 million came from premium large formats from 3,831 theaters.[66][67] The film's Friday gross included a $2.5 million from late-night Thursday screenings that took place in 2,800 theaters.[68] During its opening weekend, it earned $54.3 million from 3,831 theaters ranking first at the box office which is the second biggest October opening (behind Gravity) and the second biggest for Scott (behind Hannibal) and Damon (behind The Bourne Ultimatum). The film made $6 million at 375 premium large format screens.[59] 3D accounted for 45% of the ticket sales while RealD 3D accounted for 42% or $23 million of that sales which is the highest for the 3D company in 2015.[59] The film fell short of breaking Gravity's record which might have been hurt by Hurricane Joaquin, the NFL season and the last day of the Major League Baseball regular season.[59]

Outside North America, it opened on the same weekend in 54 markets and grossed $44.6 million from 9,299 screens topping the international box office as well as opening at No. 1 in over 15 markets.[63] Its opening weekends in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($10.2 million), Australia ($4.5 million) and Mexico ($2.9 million) represented its largest takings so far.[63]

For the US, the film was originally scheduled to be released on November 25, 2015, but 20th Century Fox switched The Martian with Victor Frankenstein, so the former would be its first film for all audiences in the country's autumn season (September – November).[69] On the film's 3D screenings, RealD's chief Anthony Marcoly said 3D technology was proliferating from action-packed blockbuster films commonly released in the United States' summer season. Marcoly said the technology was being used in more immersive storytelling, citing late 2015's The Martian and The Walk as two examples.[60]

Critical response

The Martian received many positive reviews after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.[70] Variety said, "Critics are calling the film a funny, thrilling ride, and a return to form for [Ridley] Scott after The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings fell flat."[71] Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregation website, said critics found Ridley Scott "examining more hopeful territory" in The Martian than in past films, "The result is an awe-inspiring adventure that explores vast ideas while staying grounded in very human emotional territory." Critics commended the visual effects, the scientific accuracy, and the film's likability largely due to Matt Damon's performance.[72] The website, which categorizes reviews as positive or negative, surveyed 227 critics and determined that 93% of the reviews were positive with a rating average of 7.9 out of 10.[73] The similar website Metacritic surveyed 46 critics and assessed 40 reviews as positive and 6 as mixed. It gave an aggregate score of 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[74]

Writing for the New York Post, Lou Lumenick considered the film to be Scott's and Damon's best and felt that it is a "straightforward and thrilling survival-and-rescue adventure, without the metaphysical and emotional trappings of Interstellar."[75] Manohla Dargis, of The New York Times, stated that the film, "involves a dual journey into outer and inner space, a trip that takes you into that immensity called the universe and deep into the equally vast landscape of a single consciousness. For this accidental castaway, space is the place where he’s physically marooned, but also where his mind is set free", from a film director, whose "great, persistent theme is what it means to be human".[32]

Scientific accuracy

See also: Effect of spaceflight on the human body, Human mission to Mars, Mars, Mars rover, and Spaceflight
James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA, worked as an adviser for the film[76]

When Andy Weir wrote the novel The Martian, he strove to present the science correctly and used reader feedback to get it right.[77] When Ridley Scott began directing the film, he also sought to make it realistic and received help from James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA. Green put together teams to answer scientific questions that Scott asked.[78] Green said, "The Martian is reasonably realistic," though he said the film's hazardous dust storm, despite reaching speeds of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) would in reality have weak force.[79] Green also found the NASA buildings in the film to be more stylish than the functional ones in reality.[80] With critics also stating that winds would amount to "barely a light breeze" in their reviews of the film,[81][82] screenwriter Drew Goddard agreed that the winds were exaggerated for the film's dramatic effect.[83][84][85]

The process used by the character Watney to produce water was accurate and is being used by NASA for a planned Martian rover. The radioisotope thermoelectric generator was also appropriately used for heat.[77] When his rations begin to run low, Watney builds an improvised garden using Martian soil and his own feces as a fertilizer. "We could probably grow something on Mars," says Dr. Michael Shara, curator, Department of Astrophysics, Division of Physical Sciences at the American Museum of Natural History.[86] In addition, it is also thought possible that microbial organisms could potentially exist on Mars, rather than it being a dead planet that is incapable of supporting any form of life whatsoever. In a particular scene, the glass face shield on Watney's helmet cracks, leaving him to quickly patch it with tape before he suffocates. Shara says this is possible, "As long as the pressure on the inside is around 30 percent, you could hold it together before your eyes blow out or you had an embolism."[86]

While Martian gravity is less than 40% of Earth's, director Ridley Scott chose not to depict the gravitational difference, finding the effort less worthwhile to put on screen than zero gravity.[23] Scott said the heavy spacesuits would weigh the main character enough to make up for not showing the partial gravity.[33] The climate on Mars is also cold enough that it would immediately invalidate Watney's original plan of disabling the rover's heater. The average temperature is −80 °F (−62 °C), and it is cold enough on Mars to snow carbon dioxide at the poles in winter.[86]

Ed Finn, director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, said, "What this story does really well is imagine a near-future scenario that doesn't push too far of where we are today technically." British physicist Brian Cox said, "The Martian is the best advert for a career in engineering I've ever seen."[87]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Director Ridley Scott is British but the film is produced by an American studio.[1] The book Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy states, "Following the conventions of international film distribution, the assignment of nationality to a film is normally based on the criterion of economically acquired rights to that nationality. Given that national rights can effectively be 'bought' by any nation providing a large enough percentage of the production funding for a feature film, the conventional economic definition of nationality is clearly not congruent with the supposed role of national cinema as a cultural export emerging from, and representing, a national cultural identity."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Martian". tiff.net. Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "The Martian (12A)". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. ^ McCarthy, Todd (September 8, 2015). "From 'The Martian' to 'Truth,' Todd McCarthy's 5 Most Tantalizing Titles at TIFF". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "The Martian (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  5. ^ McGregor, Andrew (2010). Film Criticism as Cultural Fantasy: The Perpetual French Discovery of Australian Cinema. Peter Lang. p. 21. ISBN 978-3-03-430053-7.
  6. ^ Rottenberg, Josh (September 3, 2015). "Heady days for Jessica Chastain as 'The Martian' and 'Crimson Peak' loom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Haricharan (September 20, 2015). "Scott made The Martian really easy: Matt Damon". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  8. ^ Steven Zeitchik (October 2, 2015). "Why Ridley Scott made 'The Martian'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 12, 2013). "Fox Finds 'Martian' For Simon Kinberg". Variety. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 15, 2013). "Drew Goddard in Negotiations to Write and Direct 'The Martian' for Fox". TheWrap. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  11. ^ Lidz, Gogo (June 18, 2015). "Matt Damon Spills About 'The Martian'". Newsweek. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  12. ^ Tilly, Chris (June 17, 2015). "Matt Damon Explains Why The Martian is a Love Letter to Science". IGN. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 24, 2014). "Michael Pena Circles Ridley Scott's 'The Martian' With Matt Damon". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
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