The Martian (film)

The Martian
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ridley Scott
Screenplay by	Drew Goddard
Based on	The Martian by Andy Weir
Produced by	Simon Kinberg Ridley Scott Michael Schaefer Mark Huffam
Starring	Matt Damon Jessica Chastain Kristen Wiig Jeff Daniels Michael Peña Kate Mara Sean Bean Sebastian Stan Aksel Hennie Chiwetel Ejiofor
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Edited by	Pietro Scalia
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Production company	Scott Free Productions Kinberg Genre TSG Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11) (TIFF) September 30, 2015 (2015-09-30) (United Kingdom) October 2, 2015 (2015-10-02) (United States)
Running time	141 minutes
Language	English
Country	United Kingdom United States
Budget	$108 million
Box office	$630.6 million

The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from the 2011 novel The Martian by Andy Weir. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind and the efforts of NASA to rescue him and bring him home to Earth. It also stars Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Benedict Wong.

Produced through 20th Century Fox, The Martian is a coproduction of the United Kingdom and the United States. Producer Simon Kinberg began developing the film after Fox optioned the novel in March 2013, which Goddard adapted into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move forward. Scott replaced Goddard as director, and with Damon cast as the main character, production was approved. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted approximately 70 days. Twenty sets were built on one of the largest sound stages in the world in Budapest, Hungary. Wadi Rum in Jordan was also used for exterior filming.

The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2015. It was released in the UK on September 30, 2015, and in the US on October 2, 2015, in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX. It received positive reviews and grossed over $630 million worldwide, becoming Scott's highest-grossing film to date and the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2015. The Martian received praise for its direction, visual effects, musical score, screenplay, scientific accuracy, and likability, largely due to Damon's performance. It was nominated for seven awards at the 88th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades.

Plot

Ares III mission landing site (Acidalia Planitia region)

In 2035, the crew of the Ares III mission to Mars is exploring Acidalia Planitia on Martian solar day (sol) 18 of their 31-sol expedition. A severe dust storm threatens to topple their Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The mission is abandoned, but as the crew evacuates, astronaut Mark Watney is struck by debris. The telemetry from his suit's bio-monitor is damaged, and Watney is erroneously presumed dead. With the MAV on the verge of toppling, the remaining crew takes off for their orbiting vessel, the Hermes.

Watney awakens after the storm, injured and with a low-oxygen warning. He returns to the crew's surface habitat ("Hab") and treats his wound. As Watney recovers, he begins a video diary. Unable to communicate with Earth, his only chance of rescue is the next Mars mission; in four years, the Ares IV will land 3,200 kilometers (2,000 mi) away at the Schiaparelli crater. Watney's immediate concern is food; being a botanist, he creates a garden inside the Hab using Martian soil fertilized with the crew's bio-waste and manufactures water from leftover rocket fuel. He then cultivates potatoes using whole potatoes reserved for a special Thanksgiving meal. He also begins modifying the rover for the journey to the Ares IV MAV site.

On Earth, NASA satellite planner Mindy Park, reviewing satellite images, notices moved equipment and realizes Watney must be alive. NASA director Teddy Sanders releases the news to the public but decides not to tell the Ares III crew so that they will remain focused on their mission, over flight director Mitch Henderson's strong objection.

Watney takes the rover on a one-month journey to retrieve the Pathfinder probe, which fell silent in 1997, and its associated Sojourner rover. Using Pathfinder's camera and motor, he establishes visual contact with NASA. NASA transmits a software patch to link the mission's rover with Pathfinder, enabling communication by text. Sanders finally allows Henderson to inform Watney's crewmates.

Mars missions director Vincent Kapoor and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) director Bruce Ng prepare a space probe to deliver enough food for Watney to survive until Ares IV's arrival. Meanwhile, the Hab's airlock blows out, exposing the Hab to the harsh Martian environment, killing all the potato plants. Sanders orders the routine safety inspections be bypassed to save time. As a result, the Atlas V rocket explodes soon after lift-off.

The China National Space Administration has developed a secret booster rocket, the Taiyang Shen. The decision is made to use the rocket to resupply Watney in exchange for getting a Chinese astronaut on the next Ares mission. Astrophysicist Rich Purnell devises an alternative plan: have the Taiyang Shen rendezvous with and resupply the Hermes, which will then use Earth's gravity to "slingshot" back to Mars two years earlier than Ares IV. Sanders rejects the idea, considering it too risky for the Hermes crew. Henderson surreptitiously sends Purnell's proposal to the crew; they unanimously vote to implement it without seeking NASA approval, disabling NASA's remote controls and making the course change. Sanders is forced to support them publicly, but demands Henderson resign after the Ares III mission is complete.

Watney begins the 90-sol journey to Schiaparelli, where the MAV for Ares IV has been pre-positioned. He must use it to rendezvous with the Hermes, but it needs to be lightened considerably. After takeoff, when the MAV runs out of fuel, its velocity relative to the Hermes is too fast for Watney to be picked up. Commander Lewis quickly improvises, using an explosive to breach a forward airlock, resulting in air escaping violently and slowing down the Hermes. It is still not enough; using a tethered Manned Maneuvering Unit, Lewis is unable to reach Watney. Watney pierces his pressure suit, using the escaping air to propel himself to Lewis, ending his 561 sols alone on Mars.

After returning to Earth, Watney becomes a survival instructor for astronaut candidates. Five years later, as the Ares V is about to launch, those involved in Watney's rescue are seen in their current lives.

Mark Watney's route on Mars

Cast

Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain

• Matt Damon as Dr. Mark Watney, a botanist and mechanical engineer who is part of the Ares III team.
• Jessica Chastain as Commander Melissa Lewis, USN Submarine Warfare officer, oceanographer, geologist and the Ares III mission commander.
• Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose, the director of media relations for NASA.
• Jeff Daniels as Theodore "Teddy" Sanders, the Administrator of NASA.
• Michael Peña as Major Rick Martinez, USAF officer, engineer, pilot of the Ares III mission for MAV.
• Sean Bean as Mitch Henderson, the Hermes flight director
• Kate Mara as Beth Johanssen, the Ares III's system operator.
• Sebastian Stan as Dr. Chris Beck, flight surgeon for the Ares III mission.
• Aksel Hennie as Dr. Alex Vogel, a German national who is the navigator and chemist of Ares III.
• Mackenzie Davis as Mindy Park, a satellite planner in Mission Control.
• Benedict Wong as Bruce Ng, director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
• Donald Glover as Rich Purnell, a JPL astrodynamicist.
• Chen Shu as Zhu Tao (Chinese: 朱涛), deputy chief scientist at the China National Space Administration.
• Eddy Ko as Guo Ming (Chinese: 郭明), chief scientist at the China National Space Administration.
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor, NASA's Director of Mars Missions.

Chastain prepared for her role by meeting with astronauts and scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. She was inspired by astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, saying "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." Damon prepared for the role by a different method than Chastain. He explained, "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."

The Media Action Network for Asian-Americans (MANAA) criticized the casting of white actor Mackenzie Davis as Mindy Park who it said was described by author Andy Weir as Korean-American. The group also criticized the casting of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor, who the MANAA said Weir described as an Asian Indian character. In the novel, the character's name was Venkat Kapoor, and he identifies religiously as a Hindu (a Baptist and a Hindu in the film). The group called the casting whitewashing and said that Asian actors, being under-represented in Hollywood, were deprived of acting opportunities. Weir said in October 2015 he perceived Mindy Park as Korean but said he did not explicitly write her as Korean. He also dismissed criticism of Ejiofor's casting as Kapoor, "[Kapoor]'s an American. Americans come from lots of different sources. You can be Venkat Kapoor and black." In the original novel, Weir intentionally avoided including the physical descriptions of his characters.

Naomi Scott was cast as Ryoko, a member of the JPL team. She filmed her scenes but they were removed from the final cut, resulting in her appearance becoming a silent role.

Production

Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard

• Ridley Scott – director, producer
• Simon Kinberg – producer
• Michael Schaefer – producer
• Aditya Sood – producer
• Mark Huffam – producer
• Drew Goddard – screenwriter, executive producer
• Andy Weir – author (source material)
• Dariusz Wolski – cinematographer
• Arthur Max – production designer
• Janty Yates – costume designer
• Pietro Scalia – editor
• Harry Gregson-Williams – music composer

Development

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Filming

Wadi Rum in Jordan was used for external scenes on Mars in filming The Martian.

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NASA involvement

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

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Music

Main article: The Martian (soundtrack)

Harry Gregson-Williams composed the score for The Martian. It is the fourth collaboration between Gregson-Williams and Scott. Gregson-Williams previously worked on music for Scott's films Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Prometheus (2012) and Exodus: Gods and Kings, composing the main film score for the first and last films, and doing additional music for the other two.

A running gag in the film is commander Melissa Lewis's love for 1970s songs (especially of the disco genre, which apparently Watney hates), the only music available to Watney on Mars which often appears as diegetic music. The soundtrack includes:

• "Turn the Beat Around" by Vicki Sue Robinson
• "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
• "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation
• "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston
• "Starman" by David Bowie
• "Waterloo" by ABBA
• "Love Train" by The O'Jays
• "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (closing credits)

The exit music, which includes "Don't Leave Me This Way" and "I Will Survive," is a commentary on Watney's situation on Mars.

Marketing

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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. The film screened in a sneak preview at the New York Film Festival on September 27, 2015. It also screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, on September 29, 2015. The film was released in the Dolby Vision format in Dolby Cinema in North America.

Box office forecast

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Theatrical run

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Home media

The Martian was released on Digital on December 22, 2015 ^{[citation needed]}

and on Blu-ray and DVD on January 12, 2016. It was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 14, 2016. An extended cut of the film adding an additional ten minutes was released on June 7, 2016.

Reception

Critical response

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Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by The Martian (film)

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Scientific accuracy

See also: Effect of spaceflight on the human body, Human mission to Mars, and Plants in space

James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA's Science Mission Directorate, worked as an adviser for the film.

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Time magazine criticized another duct tape based repair: "When a pressure leak causes an entire pod on Watney’s habitat to blow up, he patches a yawning opening in what's left of the dwelling with plastic tarp and PSA duct tape." Such a repair would not work in an average Martian temperature of −60 °C (−76 °F).

While Martian gravity is less than 40% of Earth's, director Scott chose not to depict the gravitational difference, finding the effort less worthwhile to put on screen than zero gravity. Scott said the heavy spacesuits would weigh the main character enough to make up for not showing the partial gravity. The climate of Mars is also cold enough that it would make Watney's initial plan to disable the rover's heater immediately impractical, since the average temperature is −80 °F (−62 °C); it is cold enough on Mars for carbon dioxide snow to fall at the poles in winter.^{[citation needed]}

However, this issue is almost immediately brought up, and is the reason for the plan failing.

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See also

• Astrobotany
• Project Hail Mary, another science fiction novel by Andy Weir
• List of films set on Mars
  • Robinson Crusoe on Mars
  • Stranded
• Martian
• Oxia Palus quadrangle
• Robinsonade
• Survival film

External links

Template:Wikiquote

• Template:Tcmdb
• Template:Amg movie
• Template:AFI film
• [TBA Mars Trek] at NASA. Search for "The Martian Path" in Data for Mark Watney's trek across Mars.
• [TBA The Martian – Nine real NASA technologies] at NASA
• [TBA The Martian] at Museum of the Moving Image

Template:Ridley Scott Template:Drew Goddard

v - e - dAwards for The Martian
Template:Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Template:Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Template:Andy Weir