# What are the odds that the movie adaptation of The Martian will succeed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546 "2015-04-01T21:53:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/61 "2015-06-10T03:17:32Z")
For the record, I’m looking forward to seeing this, but was just expressing surprise at seeing Wiig in the preview. (I know her only from SNL.) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/62 "2015-06-10T03:23:23Z")
Absolutely loved the book, now one of my all time faves. When I heard Scott was making this into a feature film, I was only slightly skeptical, because IMHO he has a better track record directing science fiction than epic dramas. I figured as long as they stuck as close as possible to the book, and have Damon do video diary entries, there’s a good shot it’ll be one of his best films. After seeing the trailer, it might have a good shot at being one of the best films period. _fingers crossed_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/63 "2015-06-10T06:00:11Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Net reaction. Draw a flowchart of a life support system. Only the net reactions matter at each stage. Not to the plant. The purpose of photosynthesis is to produce food; the purpose of respiration is to be alive. The plant doesn’t give a hoot about how it nets out (and indeed it doesn’t necessarily net out as simply as that in all cases). The statement ‘plants only respire in darkness’ is a false one. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/64 "2015-06-10T09:35:29Z")
XKCD is excited about it. > **[The Martian](https://xkcd.com/1536/)** > > I have never seen a work of fiction so perfectly capture the out-of-nowhere shock of discovering that you've just bricked something important because you didn't pay enough attention to a loose wire. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/65 "2015-06-10T13:35:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The statement ‘plants only respire in darkness’ is a false one. Perhaps, but you won’t impress any life support engineers that way. From the perspective of an astronaut stuck on Mars, this detail is irrelevant to his or her survival. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/66 "2015-06-11T22:11:01Z")
The release date has been bumped up from a Thanksgiving release to October 2nd - so we don’t have to wait as long! Yea! [http://www.designntrend.com/articles/54069/20150611/the-martian-release-date-change-reason-matt-damon-ridley-scott-space-movie-moved-up.htm](http://www.designntrend.com/articles/54069/20150611/the-martian-release-date-change-reason-matt-damon-ridley-scott-space-movie-moved-up.htm) Sounds like a smart move - movies perform well in October and there’s a bit less competition so they can capitalize on that. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/67 "2015-06-12T20:12:12Z")
One thing that’s missing from the trailer; the sarcasm. Mark’s dark (and dorky) humour is so essential to the character, and I’m really hoping [Matt Damon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUa5oHgYV2k) can pull that off. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/68 "2015-06-12T20:22:14Z")
Please disregard my last message; it’s there, just not as pronounced as I remember it from the book. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/69 "2015-06-12T22:08:07Z")
Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler He takes a device apart and cleans it while NASA is working on a solution. Astronaut: I was right, it was just dirty. NASA: You’re a dick. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/70 "2015-06-12T22:45:08Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Boy, what a good reason to not want to see a movie. Did you catch a 5th run showing of Interstellar lately, 7 months after its release? Or maybe a toddler in the house that won’t sleep unless he sees Monument Men before bedtime, 16 months after it was first seen in theaters? I get it - he just pumps out movies left and right that no one can get away from. I mean, just look at that massive $219,438 gross from his other 2014 movie, The Zero Theorem! > > And I thought blindly questioning a movie simply because they had cast the very capable Kristin Wiig was threadshitting. When did we start judging a movie based on performances we haven’t seen yet? I understand disliking a premise, or a plot device, or even a director or screenwriter. But actors that have shown themselves to be pretty versatile? Weird. Matt Damon wasn’t in _Interstellar_. But point being, it would be nice to see a movie that didn’t have one of the Hollywood standards in it. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/71 "2015-06-12T22:58:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Matt Damon wasn’t in _Interstellar_. > > But point being, it would be nice to see a movie that didn’t have one of the Hollywood standards in it. That is all. I haven’t read the book, but I saw an interview with the author and he admitted that the character was largely based on himself. Judging by that, Matt Damon seems like pretty good casting as the idealized form of the author. ---
**Author:** ![Snifit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Snifit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snifit)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/72 "2015-06-12T23:00:27Z")
Did you see _Interstaller_? ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/73 "2015-06-12T23:23:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But point being, it would be nice to see a movie that didn’t have one of the Hollywood standards in it. That is all. According to a blog entry by a Tucker Max, when they were making the indie film I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell, they were told they could have a 15 million budget if they had a “bankable” movie star in it, but only a 3-4 million budget with no-names. (obviously, even after paying said star to appear, this would be a massive budget increase) ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/74 "2015-06-13T02:06:15Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Matt Damon wasn’t in _Interstellar_. Yes he was ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/75 "2015-06-13T03:17:25Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Yes he was Then that proves my point even more strongly. He’s in movies that he’s not even supposed to be in!! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/76 "2015-06-13T12:06:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Then that proves my point even more strongly. He’s in movies that he’s not even supposed to be in!! You can’t argue with that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/77 "2015-06-15T17:47:55Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Some good-looking [images](http://thefilmstage.com/news/matt-damon-gets-stranded-in-first-images-from-ridley-scotts-the-martian/) have been released. Ridley Scott (in the link) says the story reminds him of a “21st Century Robinson Crusoe”, but nobody seems to have made the obvious connection to [Robinson Crusoe on Mars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058530/?ref_=nv_sr_2) (a darn good flick). ---
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/78 "2015-06-17T14:44:32Z")
> [@](#): > > The release date has been bumped up from a Thanksgiving release to October 2nd - so we don’t have to wait as long! Yea! I suck at math… can someone convert this to sols remaining until it’s release? ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/79 "2015-06-21T11:04:24Z")
I’m a little busy growing potatoes and watching Three’s Company to figure out your math problems ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546/80 "2015-08-19T17:00:02Z")
'nother [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3ioOneTy8) just out. It looks very 2001-y. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-odds-that-the-movie-adaptation-of-the-martian-will-succeed/716546.md?page=5)