In Christopher Nolan‘s "Interstellar," Matt Damon plays an astronaut stuck all alone on a distant planet. In Ridley Scott‘s "The Martian," Matt Damon plays an astronaut stuck all alone on Mars. So, basically the same movie right? Well, Damon himself had some concerns about starring the upcoming sci-fi flick, though he makes it clear in a chat with Yahoo, the aforementioned pictures are each distinct ventures.
“I went in to meet [Ridley Scott], then I signed on really quickly. I went in and I said, I really love this script, but my only hesitation is I’ve just done ‘Interstellar’, in which I played a dude stranded on a planet, it might be weird if, after taking a year and a half off, I played another dude stranded on a planet," Damon said. "I explained ‘Interstellar’ to him, and he said ‘The movies are totally f***ing different, this is going to be f***ing fun. Let’s do this!’ He was so infectious, I couldn’t really say no to him.”
Based on the book by Andy Weir, and penned by Drew Goddard ("World War Z," "Cabin In The Woods"), Damon goes on to explain that "The Martian" is unlike any previous Mars adventure movie. “One of the biggest differences is it’s primarily me on my own for a lot of it,” he said. “That’s the big challenge. It has all the bells and whistles of NASA and the b-side of the story, the rest of the world trying to get this guy back. But the other half of the movie is me and Ridley on Mars, so that part’s different. You start there, there’s that mystery-what happened, how did he get left there? The mission part is the b-side, trying to figure out how to get back. So, structurally it’s different to [anything] that’s ever been done.”
It sounds like something unique and 20th Century Fox certainly thinks this one has potential, recently moving the film’s release date up to October 2nd. Let us know if you’re ready to go to Mars below.
Loved the book, although I wished for illustrations, a few line drawings so I could better envision the equipment, the Hab, the rover, etc. The book is very technical (but readable), but if you don\’t have a background in space exploration equipment, it\’s hard to visualize exactly what Watney is doing. So I look forward to the film just to see what he was constantly modifying. What saves the book is that there is other action besides Watney–NASA & a crew in a space vehicle, so it\’s just not a one-man show like Tom Hanks and his basketball on an island.
I\’m there.
It\’s obviously at LOT closer to Gravity!
I love the scene when the pathfinder blows apart. oh wait. spoiler
I\’m reading the book now, the stories really are nothing alike so I don\’t think it\’ll be an issue.
I dunno, man…when someone involved so intimately in a project comes out like this and has to swear up and down that their project/product REALLY IS radically different SRSLY GUYS! REALLY! DIFFERENT! That is just…so rarely a good sign. And more\’s the pity, because to me the movie looks pretty good; and I wasn\’t at all unsettled by the similarities between it and "Interstellar"…the Nolan flick concerned itself for the SPACESHIP crew, not the Damon stranded. Good enough for me, so long as the script is good and the character(s) interesting.
The book is so GREAT! In some ways it\’s a total wonkfest, but it\’s also flat out funny. Watney is such a great character, and it looks like Damon really nailed the performance. I\’m soooooo excited! Pleasebegoood, pleasebegood, pleasebegood, pleasebegood….
And how are they different again. I don\’t think he really proved his point. Sounds like this could easily just be what Dr. Mann did when first arriving at the planet.