The Martian (Matt Damon, Ridley Scott)

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Link to the trailer

Of course, it feels like, with a slight change of setting, this could be the expansion of an interstellar subplot.

I'd definitely watch it for the story, but it feels a bit predictable.

 

[Beagleman]

The book is fantastic, definetely looking forward to this!

 

[hux]

I'm glad someone had the good sense to flesh out Voyager: One Small Step and make a movie out of it

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Both the book and the audiobook are excellent. If you haven't read/heard it I definitely recommend you check it out. I hope this movie can capture at least some of the feel of the book.

 

[Samurai8472]

Heh. Edmunds/Mann and Brand

Some photos released

 

[Corran Horn]

I loved the book. Really looking forward to this.

 

[The Wormhole]

Trailer doesn't quite convey the book's light-hearted and comedic side, hoping the actual movie is faithful in this regard.

 

[Miss Chicken]

This is the movie I am most looking forward to this year. I loved the audiobook and I ended up buying the hardcover version and read it.

 

[auntiehill]

Watched the clip earlier; this certainly looks like it has potential.

 

[JD]

Since this wasn't posted yet, I thought I'd share this.
The other day they released an in universe video introducing the Ares crew. I think there is a bit of swearing in this possibly, but I can't remember for sure.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9UPrFKDbKA[/yt]

I haven't read the book, but I have been aware of it. Coming in as a someone with no knowledge of the story other than the basic, guy stranded on Mars, it looks really good. I am a big fan of Ridley Scott and most of the cast, so that also raises this pretty high in my anticipation list.

Does all of the stuff with the people back on Earth and the rest of the Ares crew trying to rescue him all come from the book? All I ever heard about for the book was the stuff with Whatney on Mars.

 

[Starbreaker]

All of the mission control stuff is in the book. The characters are pretty one dimensional, but they're there.

The trailer just gave away the entire third act of the book.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, it's all there in the book, and the ship crew has a very minor role as they're only seen very briefly. But it makes me wonder if maybe the movie will expand on that.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The feeling I have for this film is deja vu and huh?.

From the Martian Chronicles on TV and the two Martian films that appeared in the same year, and now this trailer for the new film, it seems that when humans do make to Mars, they will experience a calamity.

And, while I was watching the trailer, I was asking myself, wouldn't there be technology which would give a regular status update on the health of individual crew members? Is it addressed in the book how a crew could abandon a member on a planet?

 

[Starkers]

Its explained in the book.

The book is fantastic, best thing I'd read in a very long time, as The Wormhole says I hope they keep the humour, I do notice the line “If I’m going to survive I’m going to have to science the shit out of it,” which bodes well!

It does look like they’re expanding the roles of the rest of the Ares crew. I am dismayed that the trailer gives so much away re

Spoiler: about the film

him getting in touch with NASA and Ares turning around to go get him

, why the fuck do trailers have to do that?

 

[The Wormhole]

why the fuck do trailers have to do that?

Well, we do recently have Tomorrowland being vague in its trailers and then bombing at the box office. Then there's all the criticisms thrown against STID for being secret about Khan. Perhaps all this is sending the message that you don't dare be secretive with movies anymore.

I don't see the big deal with revealing he gets in contact with NASA anyway, that happens relatively early in the book. The bit about the crew defying NASA orders to mount a rescue is a rather significant spoiler, but then it is probably the most dramatic scene involving the crew other than their departure from Mars at the beginning, so I guess they'd want to include it just to showcase the big name actors cast as the crew.

EDIT: After watching the YouTube clip in JD's post above, I got to say as far as the crew interactions are concerned they do seem to have replicated the same vibe from the book, which makes me hopeful.

 

[JWPlatt]

STID's criticisms about Khan weren't about secrecy. They were about coy - maybe call it smarmy secrecy. The only voice I liked coming out of the coyness was Pegg's who actually lied about Khan. Somehow, I respected that more as a statement against fans who find power in spoiling other fans.

There is a lot of backlash against spoiling trailers lately. Deservedly. But since it's a chronic issue, it, like crime and politicians and marketing departments - all very related topics - will never go away no matter how much we complain.

 

[Harvey]

Its explained in the book.

The book is fantastic, best thing I'd read in a very long time, as The Wormhole says I hope they keep the humour, I do notice the line “If I’m going to survive I’m going to have to science the shit out of it,” which bodes well!

It does look like they’re expanding the roles of the rest of the Ares crew. I am dismayed that the trailer gives so much away re

Spoiler: about the film

him getting in touch with NASA and Ares turning around to go get him

, why the fuck do trailers have to do that?

When people are surveyed about trailers, two things become clear:

(1) almost universally, people hate trailers that give away the whole movie
(2) by far, trailers that give away the whole movie are also the most effective in getting people in the theater

It's a paradox.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I don't see the big deal with revealing he gets in contact with NASA anyway, that happens relatively early in the book. The bit about the crew defying NASA orders to mount a rescue is a rather significant spoiler, but then it is probably the most dramatic scene involving the crew other than their departure from Mars at the beginning, so I guess they'd want to include it just to showcase the big name actors cast as the crew.

And chronologically speaking, those scenes in the book happen very briefly, so in terms of a trailer, I think they wanted to cover all the bases, which happens to be a pivotal scene. I've been very curious about how they were going to do this, as most of the book is internal monologue. The interaction with the crew is mostly long-distance.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I (literally) just finished the novel and loved every page of it. The humor, the science, the adventure, the survival, the drama, every bit of it. I've read a lot of great novels recently but none of them left with the same kind of excitement, mental engagement, and emotional satisfaction as The Martian has provided in the past week.

I'm really looking forward to this film and I had forgotten what a stellar cast it has. Fortunately, aside from Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, I couldn't recall who was in the film and I was able to "cast" the characters in my own way without prejudice. I freely admit, I heard Damon and Chastain in their respective roles, but they also felt like natural fits (aside from Watney saying he's no James Bond or woman magnetic).

As for the trailer giving away too much, I watched it several times when it first came out a couple of months ago, I had forgotten most of it, although that's partially due to my shitty memory as well as deliberately avoiding it and the cast list when I got the book. But does it really give away the story? I mean, what's the point of the story if Watney doesn't make contact with NASA (and it's portrayed differently from the novel as well as NASA discovering he's alive)? That seems like a given; otherwise it's two hours of watching Matt Damon slowly die. The crew coming to rescue him? Yeah, I forgot that was brought up in the trailer, but I came to that idea independently while reading the book although I wasn't sure how it would be viable. And again, that seems likes it a given.

Don't get me wrong, I agree a lot of trailers these days give away too much (for instance, I don't see any need to see the new Woody Allen film, I feel like I've already watched it during the trailer), but I just don't think this is one of those cases. It isn't a matter of whether these events happen (as I said, I think they're a given), it's how they happen. How does Watney survive and how is he rescued? That's what's interesting about the novel and presumably the film.

 

[Reverend]

Its explained in the book.

The book is fantastic, best thing I'd read in a very long time, as The Wormhole says I hope they keep the humour, I do notice the line “If I’m going to survive I’m going to have to science the shit out of it,” which bodes well!

It does look like they’re expanding the roles of the rest of the Ares crew. I am dismayed that the trailer gives so much away re

Spoiler: about the film

him getting in touch with NASA and Ares turning around to go get him

, why the fuck do trailers have to do that?

When people are surveyed about trailers, two things become clear:

(1) almost universally, people hate trailers that give away the whole movie
(2) by far, trailers that give away the whole movie are also the most effective in getting people in the theater

It's a paradox.

Yeah I found the best way to experience a good movie is to go in blind with no expectations or preconceptions. That generally means you're basing your decisions on recommendations, which is a terrible way to try to sell a movie to people en mass.

The needs of the audience and the needs or the filmakers have always been at odds like this, which is why in recent years we've seen a few cases of filmakers (JJA leaps to mind) trying to promote their movie without giving *anything* away if they can help it.

The trouble with that approach is that it can (unintentionally or otherwise) mislead the audience and wind up being counter-productive, from a perception/audience reaction standpoint if not a box office one. Case in point I think a lot of people felt 'Cloverfield' was hyped as being something more that it was. Same for 'Super 8' IIRC.

As far as the Martian in concerned, I don't think the trailer really spoiled anything if you define spoilers as *pivotal* plot points and money shots that you're either not supposed to see coming (he was a ghost/Keyser Soze the whole time, the Enterprise self-destructing, you maniacs you blew it all up! Damn you all to hell!...and so forth) or is meant as a reward or moment of catharsis at the climax (Death Star/Barad-dur blowing up, Fievel re-uniting with his family, Andy Dufresne on a beach in Mexico etc.) The latter needn't be something you weren't expecting, but it's a good idea not to show that particular card in the trailers.

Yeah the "mutiny" thing (if you could call it that) is a pivotal moment in the book, but it's not what I'd exactly call a twist. If you'd been paying attention to who these people were and what was going on then it's not much of a surprise, nor I think is it intended as such.