"Ex Machina" is perhaps one of the unlikeliest hit movies of the year. An original sci-fi film, with nothing in the name of A-list stars, and certainly no prospect for toys or lunchboxes. And yet, great reviews, a savvy campaign by A24, and audiences once again proving if you give them a decent movie, they’ll show up — all of these factors have contributed to Alex Garland‘s picture becoming a sleeper sensation. And while the plot might obviously not lend itself to a followup, the director has made clear he has no desire to try and invent one.
“I imagined it as a completely self-contained story and I still feel that way about it,” he told Deadline. “It has become reflexive for people to imagine this movie was made to set up a sequel and that the plan was built into the structure of the film. But it was not that way, at all.”
So, case closed, and Garland is already figuring out what he might do next. And his eyeballs are on an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer‘s "Annihilation." “This group of women enter a sealed park to see what is going on inside, and it becomes this surreal sci-fi story, that reminded me of this J.G. Ballard sub-genre I had grown up reading," Garland said about the story. "We are literally in the process of setting it up, it’s definitely spinning in the air at the moment.” The project is set up at Paramount with producer Scott Rudin, and unlike "Ex Machina," this has franchise potential as the first book in a trilogy. Here’s the synopsis from the novel:
"Ex Machina" goes wide to two thousand screens this weekend. And if you haven’t seen it yet, support original movies and buy a ticket.
lol… i really should become a hollywood producer xD lol
Well, push them for a sequel then, there is too much potential left there! 😛 A fragile and technically flawed emotionless mimicbot with ambitious survival instinct freed into nature requires a second movie. There is a question left unanswered which is if she actually understands herself like an electronic chess board or if she actually understands subtleties of a chess game. Tho, understanding the character, she can\’t seem to tend to the second option. Therefor, she can\’t quite crack her own code. Meaning that she has a limited lifespan. The other versions of her are out of service and less performing than her and her maker is dead. Tho, her left behind manipulated fake love still lives… Is a coder… Has plenty of food to eat… Will find a way to escape for sure… MINECRAFT!! There is no such thing as a glass door that can survive indefinitely to a minded pickax wielder. If a fragile bot that shatters apart with just a hit of a small iron bar can break that glass… There\’s nothing this dude can\’t do to shatter these into pieces. Thought, she\’s weak, she\’s weird, she\’s flawed, is a machine, isn\’t factually conscious, and has been created by a talented drunker… Who\’s dead with his craft secrets… She\’s alone… Can\’t backup herself, can\’t upgrade herself… And is fragile… That could make at least 2 hours of extra footage! 😛
Well I think I found something to go to the top of my summer reading list. At the very least. Ex Machina was amazing and definitely my favorite of 2015 so far.
Didn\’t Garland become attached to Annihilation last year? I think he\’d be perfect for it. Great book.