Movie: The Martian w/ Matt Damon, Sean Bean & Ridley Scott

[MongGrel]

China was actually part of the novel and it actually made complete sense. In the story NASA needed a booster that could lift enough mass, with enough delta V, and be ready in time to meet Hermes. There was only one booster available that they knew about. That booster was lost going up hill due to the rush job on getting the payload ready.

If you wanted to write a story where the world rallies to save a stranded astronaut and it appears your one and only rocket blows up it has to be China who comes to the rescue. In real-life NASA works closely with it's commercial partners, (ULA, SpaceX), ESA (Ariane V), JAXA (H-II), and the Russians (Soyuz, Proton). They would have known if there was another booster available. The only space agency with a large booster NASA doesn't have direct insight into is China's.

Now I'm sure when they pitched the movie to the studio the execs told them to add China into it for commercial reasons. When Drew Goddard told them China already was in the story I bet they said when can you start filming and would you like another $15 million for the budget.

:thumbsup:

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

China is a huge market now for movies. Regulations forbid distribution in China if it doesn't feature major roles by China or Chinese citizens. It has been that way for a long time. Look at almost any big blockbuster.

Even the female assistant to the protagonist in the latest Terminator movie was Chinese and she spoke broken English which really bothered me because it was painfully obvious why the role was given to her.

 

[Paratus]

Also everything wrong with the Martian is now up, (with guest star NDG)

http://youtu.be/HzNyMUuQfmE

 

[CZroe]

Yea, I thought it was great but I didn't understand the ending, I thought the worm-hole was closing so how could he (MM) go back?.

Spoiler

Huh? The Earth evacuees had not even made it to the wormhole yet. The Tesseract was closing, not the wormhole. The 5th-dimensional beings were closing it after Cooper had accomplished what they needed (getting the data back to Murph). They then chose when and where to return him, choosing to return him to our solar system (not the Gargantua system) in a time and place where the people traveling to the wormhole will find him.

 

[John Connor]

So, what was the significance of the Chinese space agency involvement? Did the Chinese bankroll this movie?

I thought the same thing! I'm like, "WTF is this China crap in movies?" Then I quickly realized they have our balls in their hands.

There's a politician I hope can end this absolute fuckery. But I'm on the fence as to whether I'd support him.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I thought the same thing! I'm like, "WTF is this China crap in movies?" Then I quickly realized they have our balls in their hands.

There's a politician I hope can end this absolute fuckery. But I'm on the fence as to whether I'd support him.

Trump can't undo the fact that soon China will be the biggest market in the world for movies. Either we keep feeding them our stuff, or we let them build a Chinese Hollywood that can compete with ours internationally.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Also everything wrong with the Martian is now up, (with guest star NDG)

http://youtu.be/HzNyMUuQfmE

Watched a minute of the video. They are really stretching it.

 

[Muse]

Now I'm sure when they pitched the movie to the studio the execs told them to add China into it for commercial reasons. When Drew Goddard told them China already was in the story I bet they said when can you start filming and would you like another $15 million for the budget.

Yeah, the China connection was already there. I think they were very true to the book, it's remarkable how well the book worked as a movie, and I think that's not really common. I have no idea if the author had a movie in mind when writing the book. It was, I believe, his first novel, so it would seem to be presumptuous to consider making plot elements translate into cinema. Anyway, I thought the book and movie were resounding successes.

I thought the same thing! I'm like, "WTF is this China crap in movies?" Then I quickly realized they have our balls in their hands.

I read the book first, so I had no such reaction. In making the movie, they were just sticking to the book and they did so almost religiously the whole way.

 

[McLovin]

China was actually part of the novel and it actually made complete sense. In the story NASA needed a booster that could lift enough mass, with enough delta V, and be ready in time to meet Hermes. There was only one booster available that they knew about. That booster was lost going up hill due to the rush job on getting the payload ready.

If you wanted to write a story where the world rallies to save a stranded astronaut and it appears your one and only rocket blows up it has to be China who comes to the rescue. In real-life NASA works closely with it's commercial partners, (ULA, SpaceX), ESA (Ariane V), JAXA (H-II), and the Russians (Soyuz, Proton). They would have known if there was another booster available. The only space agency with a large booster NASA doesn't have direct insight into is China's.

Now I'm sure when they pitched the movie to the studio the execs told them to add China into it for commercial reasons. When Drew Goddard told them China already was in the story I bet they said when can you start filming and would you like another $15 million for the budget.

Perfect response.

I thought the same thing! I'm like, "WTF is this China crap in movies?" Then I quickly realized they have our balls in their hands.

There's a politician I hope can end this absolute fuckery. But I'm on the fence as to whether I'd support him.

Stupid and closed-minded response. Makes sense you'd support Trump.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTRy9etXnfs

This is a scene that got cut from the movie but I think really captured the essence of the character from the book.

My opinion still stands that while The Martian is not the best motion picture I've ever seen, it is one of the best original Sci-Fi movies I've seen. I understand totally why they would cut out the scene from above, but having read the book I feel like this kind of scene would have made it a much closer adaptation.

Spoiler

For instance, when he is communicating with NASA this is part of their exchange:

Spoiler

JPL: Good, keep us posted on any mechanical or electronic problems. By the way, the name of the probe we’re sending is Iris. Named after the Greek goddess who traveled the heavens with the speed of wind. She’s also the goddess of rainbows.

WATNEY: Gay probe coming to save me. Got it.

Also:

Spoiler

JPL: what we can see of your planned cut looks good. We're assuming the other side is identical. You're cleared to start drilling.

WATNEY: That's what she said

JPL: Seriously, Mark? Seriously?

And:

Spoiler

In other news, I got email from Venkat Kapoor:

Mark, some answers to your earlier questions:

No, we will not tell our Botany Team to “Go fuck themselves.” I understand you’ve been on your own for a long time, but we’re in the loop now, and it’s best if you listen to what we have to say.

Bonus for you Engineers:

Spoiler

They say no plan survives first contact with implementation

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Watched a minute of the video. They are really stretching it.

agreed, stretched it like Mr. Fantastic. A movie he had to reference moments in. I made it 5 minutes and the narrator is a douche. I would like to offer him head or gut while he is picking apart the last boyscout. Some of the "sins" were excellent movie making devices that helped make it so enjoyable a watch for my family.

 

[SSSnail]

Trump can't undo the fact that soon China will be the biggest market in the world for movies. Either we keep feeding them our stuff, or we let them build a Chinese Hollywood that can compete with ours internationally.

You mean Hong Kong?

 

[Ichinisan]

agreed, stretched it like Mr. Fantastic. A movie he had to reference moments in. I made it 5 minutes and the narrator is a douche. I would like to offer him head or gut while he is picking apart the last boyscout. Some of the "sins" were excellent movie making devices that helped make it so enjoyable a watch for my family.

"Sin" # 2
Opens with gorgeous cinematic shot of an alien world.

"Sin" # 3
They showed the name of the area they were exploring on Mars.

"Sin" # 4
???

"Sin" # 5
Mission commander cuts off radios.
I think they misunderstood what was going on with the radios and whether-or-not they were a factor in Watney being left behind. I dunno. I have to watch it again.

"Sin" # 6
"How many samples do we need commander?"
Apparently, it's inconceivable that he would ask! Exposition is a sin?

"Sin" # 7
"Commander, you should come inside. You're gonna want to see this."
That's a "cliche?" We're talking about a abnormally huge and fast-moving Martian storm. It was important for the commander to see.

"Sin" # 8
Storm was faster than they were prepared for.
I think they made it obvious that it was exceptional storm, even for Mars.
NASA wouldn't "warn them too late." The people on the planet would know about it several minutes before NASA would. The movie establishes that transmissions to/from Earth have a significant delay. It takes time to send weather data from a reconnaissance orbiter to Earth, analyze it, and then send a message back to Mars to be analyzed before a decision could be made. Nah. The folks on the planet would know it first.

"Sin" # 9
The MAV leaned a little farther than they thought it could lean. OH NOE! MOVIE SIN!

"Sin" # 11
He woke up just before he would run out of oxygen.
Well, the low oxygen alerts are what startled him back to consciousness.

"Sin" # 12
He removed the rod that was embedded in his gut.
"Shouldn't you get some medical supplies ready first?"
I'm pretty sure he did. He couldn't remove his space suit with the rod sticking out.

"Sin" # 13
"Jason Bourne, astronaut."
Wait? Was that line in the movie? No?


"Sin" # 14
How did he survive overnight on Mars?
I don't think he was unconscious overnight. He was unconscious for a while after the storm passed. It only seemed dark because there was a lot of debris in the air.

"Sin" # 15
Viewer might pass out from seeing self-surgery depicted on-screen.

"Sin" # 16
Something about movie theater employees pushing sales of concessions. Really?

"Sin" # 17
I'm not sure what they are saying. They say he needs to close the wound, and he does.

"Sin" # 19.1
Munching while recording a video log.

Just after 2m35s, the sin counter ticks down from 19 to 18...so there are 2 sins that are numbered "19"

"Sin" # 19.2
Man of science judges other people's shit.
It's a "sin" to remark about how bad something smells?

"Sin" # 20
Major wound almost healed after 3 days (assuming he got the timeline correct).
The wound wasn't very "major." Just a small hole. It missed vital organs.

"Sin" # 21
Sent to Mars with episodes of Happy Days instead of Breaking Bad or The Wire.
Who says they didn't have all of those? Perhaps Watney had already seen those.

"Sin" # 22
Premature celebration.
There was an unexpected explosion. It surprised Watney like it surprised the viewer. I don't see how that's a "movie sin."

"Sin" # 23
They had a funeral on Earth about a month after he was left behind and presumed dead.
Um..yeah. What's wrong with that? It's just a ceremony. They waited as long as they could before even telling the public that he had been left behind and presumed dead.

"Sin" # 25
NASA director's name is "Teddy Sanders" instead of something like "Stuffy Williams" or "Sparky Smith."
Big deal? Sometimes people have boring names.

"Sin" # 26
They showed the name and location of Johnson Space Center.

"Sin" # 27
They identified the Mission Control room at Johnson Space Center with an on-screen title.

Around 3:40, the sin counter ticks down again from 28 to 27.

"Sin" # 28.1, 28.2
Music selection limited to a crew member's disco collection.
I'd have to watch the movie again, but I'm pretty sure he didn't have access to all of his own stuff after multiple disasters.

"Sin" # 27

Aw, fuck it. I give up. Almost none of these are actual movie sins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNyMUuQfmE#t=8m35s
"Where did the back wounds come from?"
I don't see any back wounds. What the fuck is he talking about?

 

[Ichinisan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNyMUuQfmE#t=10m23s
"They're broadcasting this live?! I mean...shit...at least use a 10-second delay in case he dies...right?!"

Oh. You mean like PRACTICALLY EVERY "LIVE" BROADCAST?

How is he so sure there's no delay in the live broadcast?

 

[DaveSimmons]

That's a very weak list of "sins," thanks for sparing me from giving their video a view it doesn't deserve.

 

[Paratus]

"Sin" # 2
Opens with gorgeous cinematic shot of an alien world.

"Sin" # 3
They showed the name of the area they were exploring on Mars.

"Sin" # 4
???

"Sin" # 5
Mission commander cuts off radios.
I think they misunderstood what was going on with the radios and whether-or-not they were a factor in Watney being left behind. I dunno. I have to watch it again.

"Sin" # 6
"How many samples do we need commander?"
Apparently, it's inconceivable that he would ask! Exposition is a sin?

"Sin" # 7
"Commander, you should come inside. You're gonna want to see this."
That's a "cliche?" We're talking about a abnormally huge and fast-moving Martian storm. It was important for the commander to see.

"Sin" # 8
Storm was faster than they were prepared for.
I think they made it obvious that it was exceptional storm, even for Mars.
NASA wouldn't "warn them too late." The people on the planet would know about it several minutes before NASA would. The movie establishes that transmissions to/from Earth have a significant delay. It takes time to send weather data from a reconnaissance orbiter to Earth, analyze it, and then send a message back to Mars to be analyzed before a decision could be made. Nah. The folks on the planet would know it first.

"Sin" # 9
The MAV leaned a little farther than they thought it could lean. OH NOE! MOVIE SIN!

"Sin" # 11
He woke up just before he would run out of oxygen.
Well, the low oxygen alerts are what startled him back to consciousness.

"Sin" # 12
He removed the rod that was embedded in his gut.
"Shouldn't you get some medical supplies ready first?"
I'm pretty sure he did. He couldn't remove his space suit with the rod sticking out.

"Sin" # 13
"Jason Bourne, astronaut."
Wait? Was that line in the movie? No?


"Sin" # 14
How did he survive overnight on Mars?
I don't think he was unconscious overnight. He was unconscious for a while after the storm passed. It only seemed dark because there was a lot of debris in the air.

"Sin" # 15
Viewer might pass out from seeing self-surgery depicted on-screen.

"Sin" # 16
Something about movie theater employees pushing sales of concessions. Really?

"Sin" # 17
I'm not sure what they are saying. They say he needs to close the wound, and he does.

"Sin" # 19.1
Munching while recording a video log.

Just after 2m35s, the sin counter ticks down from 19 to 18...so there are 2 sins that are numbered "19"

"Sin" # 19.2
Man of science judges other people's shit.
It's a "sin" to remark about how bad something smells?

"Sin" # 20
Major wound almost healed after 3 days (assuming he got the timeline correct).
The wound wasn't very "major." Just a small hole. It missed vital organs.

"Sin" # 21
Sent to Mars with episodes of Happy Days instead of Breaking Bad or The Wire.
Who says they didn't have all of those? Perhaps Watney had already seen those.

"Sin" # 22
Premature celebration.
There was an unexpected explosion. It surprised Watney like it surprised the viewer. I don't see how that's a "movie sin."

"Sin" # 23
They had a funeral on Earth about a month after he was left behind and presumed dead.
Um..yeah. What's wrong with that? It's just a ceremony. They waited as long as they could before even telling the public that he had been left behind and presumed dead.

"Sin" # 25
NASA director's name is "Teddy Sanders" instead of something like "Stuffy Williams" or "Sparky Smith."
Big deal? Sometimes people have boring names.

"Sin" # 26
They showed the name and location of Johnson Space Center.

"Sin" # 27
They identified the Mission Control room at Johnson Space Center with an on-screen title.

Around 3:40, the sin counter ticks down again from 28 to 27.

"Sin" # 28.1, 28.2
Music selection limited to a crew member's disco collection.
I'd have to watch the movie again, but I'm pretty sure he didn't have access to all of his own stuff after multiple disasters.

"Sin" # 27

Aw, fuck it. I give up. Almost none of these are actual movie sins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNyMUuQfmE#t=8m35s
"Where did the back wounds come from?"
I don't see any back wounds. What the fuck is he talking about?

The reason the number went down was because he took a sin away for something the movie did right. You can tell he liked the movie because of the low number of sins and the shortness of the video. With normal movies its normally well 100 and closer to 20 minutes long.

(With Michael Bay movies he stops counting the minutes and has to go to multiple videos. )

That's a very weak list of "sins," thanks for sparing me from giving their video a view it doesn't deserve.

In general the worse the movie is the more fun the Cinemasins video is. This one was kind of weak.

 

[MongGrel]

I thought the same thing! I'm like, "WTF is this China crap in movies?" Then I quickly realized they have our balls in their hands.

There's a politician I hope can end this absolute fuckery. But I'm on the fence as to whether I'd support him.

You say a lot of really silly things on a daily basis to begin with.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

"Sin" # 2
Opens with gorgeous cinematic shot of an alien world.

"Sin" # 3
They showed the name of the area they were exploring on Mars.

"Sin" # 4
???

"Sin" # 5
Mission commander cuts off radios.
I think they misunderstood what was going on with the radios and whether-or-not they were a factor in Watney being left behind. I dunno. I have to watch it again.

"Sin" # 6
"How many samples do we need commander?"
Apparently, it's inconceivable that he would ask! Exposition is a sin?

"Sin" # 7
"Commander, you should come inside. You're gonna want to see this."
That's a "cliche?" We're talking about a abnormally huge and fast-moving Martian storm. It was important for the commander to see.

"Sin" # 8
Storm was faster than they were prepared for.
I think they made it obvious that it was exceptional storm, even for Mars.
NASA wouldn't "warn them too late." The people on the planet would know about it several minutes before NASA would. The movie establishes that transmissions to/from Earth have a significant delay. It takes time to send weather data from a reconnaissance orbiter to Earth, analyze it, and then send a message back to Mars to be analyzed before a decision could be made. Nah. The folks on the planet would know it first.

"Sin" # 9
The MAV leaned a little farther than they thought it could lean. OH NOE! MOVIE SIN!

"Sin" # 11
He woke up just before he would run out of oxygen.
Well, the low oxygen alerts are what startled him back to consciousness.

"Sin" # 12
He removed the rod that was embedded in his gut.
"Shouldn't you get some medical supplies ready first?"
I'm pretty sure he did. He couldn't remove his space suit with the rod sticking out.

"Sin" # 13
"Jason Bourne, astronaut."
Wait? Was that line in the movie? No?


"Sin" # 14
How did he survive overnight on Mars?
I don't think he was unconscious overnight. He was unconscious for a while after the storm passed. It only seemed dark because there was a lot of debris in the air.

"Sin" # 15
Viewer might pass out from seeing self-surgery depicted on-screen.

"Sin" # 16
Something about movie theater employees pushing sales of concessions. Really?

"Sin" # 17
I'm not sure what they are saying. They say he needs to close the wound, and he does.

"Sin" # 19.1
Munching while recording a video log.

Just after 2m35s, the sin counter ticks down from 19 to 18...so there are 2 sins that are numbered "19"

"Sin" # 19.2
Man of science judges other people's shit.
It's a "sin" to remark about how bad something smells?

"Sin" # 20
Major wound almost healed after 3 days (assuming he got the timeline correct).
The wound wasn't very "major." Just a small hole. It missed vital organs.

"Sin" # 21
Sent to Mars with episodes of Happy Days instead of Breaking Bad or The Wire.
Who says they didn't have all of those? Perhaps Watney had already seen those.

"Sin" # 22
Premature celebration.
There was an unexpected explosion. It surprised Watney like it surprised the viewer. I don't see how that's a "movie sin."

"Sin" # 23
They had a funeral on Earth about a month after he was left behind and presumed dead.
Um..yeah. What's wrong with that? It's just a ceremony. They waited as long as they could before even telling the public that he had been left behind and presumed dead.

"Sin" # 25
NASA director's name is "Teddy Sanders" instead of something like "Stuffy Williams" or "Sparky Smith."
Big deal? Sometimes people have boring names.

"Sin" # 26
They showed the name and location of Johnson Space Center.

"Sin" # 27
They identified the Mission Control room at Johnson Space Center with an on-screen title.

Around 3:40, the sin counter ticks down again from 28 to 27.

"Sin" # 28.1, 28.2
Music selection limited to a crew member's disco collection.
I'd have to watch the movie again, but I'm pretty sure he didn't have access to all of his own stuff after multiple disasters.

"Sin" # 27

Aw, fuck it. I give up. Almost none of these are actual movie sins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNyMUuQfmE#t=8m35s
"Where did the back wounds come from?"
I don't see any back wounds. What the fuck is he talking about?

Bravo sir. :thumbsup:

And my best guess on the back wounds bit you linked, is that he mistook Mark's ribs and scapula showing through his skin as wounds? He was emaciated from the restricted calories. It could also be he had "bed sores" type wounds, from having spent so much time in the space suit in the rover? Point being, there were plausible explanations and easy refutations for almost all of his "sins". Even using the term sins is dochetastic.

 

[PlanetJosh]

I keep forgetting people on the forums read books and not just tech magazines and web articles & news. Referring to the book before the movie came out.