Sci-fi star Andy Weir loves movie from his book ‘The Martian’
Six years ago, Andy Weir was a computer programmer and science geek writing a novel in his spare time. Now he is one of the hottest names in sci-fi, thanks to “The Martian.”
Often described as “Robinson Crusoe” in space, the novel follows astronaut Mark Watney, who is left behind on the Red Planet after an accident separates him from the rest of his crew. Using his ingenuity and optimism, he figures out how to survive with limited resources until he can be rescued.
Originally self-published in 2011, it quickly became an Amazon bestseller and, after a bidding war, was picked up for widespread release last year.
And on Friday, Oct. 2 “The Martian” hits theaters, with Ridley Scott directing Matt Damon as the affable astronaut.
We chatted with Weir briefly about “The Martian’s” journey from e-serial to silver screen and what the future holds for the budding author.
Question: “The Martian” is one of the great success stories in self-publishing. Can you talk about its journey from self-published novel to Matt Damon movie?
Answer: Originally the book was just a serial I posted a chapter at a time to my website. Once the book was done, people started requesting that I make an e-book version so they didn’t have to read it in a web browser. So I did and posted it to my site.
Then other people e-mailed saying they want to read the e-book, but they aren’t technically savvy and don’t know how to download a file from the Internet and put it on their e-reader. They requested I make a Kindle version they could just get through Amazon. So I did that as well. I set the price at Amazon’s minimum allowable price of 99 cents. More people bought the book from Amazon than downloaded it for free from my website. Amazon has a truly amazing reach into the readership market.
The book sold very well and made its way up various top-seller lists on Amazon. That got the attention of Julian Pavia at Crown. He told his colleague David Fugate (a literary agent) about it. David ended up becoming my agent, and Julian offered me a book deal. It was a whirlwind of activity because 20th Century Fox optioned the movie rights that same week.
Q: Have you seen the film yet?
A: I’ve seen a cut of the film, and I love it. It really shows the story amazingly well.
Q: How much input did you have in the scripting process?
A: Mostly my job was just to cash the check. Though they did send me the screenplay to get my opinion. They are not required to listen to anything I have to say. They keep me updated on the production because they’re cool.
Q: Part of the great appeal of “The Martian” is that it presents traditional, science-based “hard sci-fi” in such a way that the science is approachable and engaging. Was that a difficult balancing act between accuracy and readability?
A: That was one of the biggest challenges for me. I needed the reader to understand the science behind what was going on, but I didn’t want to deluge them with facts and figures. I didn’t want the book to read like a Wikipedia article. So it was a constant balancing act to make sure the reader understood Mark’s problems without boring them to tears. I think I got away with a lot of exposition that would have been boring because of Mark’s personality and wit.
Q: How much research was devoted to the novel?
A: That’s hard to quantify, because I did the research while I was writing. It took me three years to write the book, and a large percentage of that was spent doing math and research.
Q: With all the new science coming from Mars research, is there anything that you would have changed in the novel?
A: Well, recently, NASA has invented a new life-support system for removing CO2 from air without needing expendable filters. So that’s out-of-date tech for the time period of the book.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: I’m working on my next book now. It’s a more traditional sci-fi novel with aliens, faster-than-light travel, etc. It’s tentatively titled “Zhek,” and it should be out in mid-2016.
Source
Six years ago, Andy Weir was a computer programmer and science geek writing a novel in his spare time. Now he is one of the hottest names in sci-fi, thanks to “The Martian.”
Often described as “Robinson Crusoe” in space, the novel follows astronaut Mark Watney, who is left behind on the Red Planet after an accident separates him from the rest of his crew. Using his ingenuity and optimism, he figures out how to survive with limited resources until he can be rescued.
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| Sci-fi star Andy Weir loves movie from his book ‘The Martian’ |
And on Friday, Oct. 2 “The Martian” hits theaters, with Ridley Scott directing Matt Damon as the affable astronaut.
We chatted with Weir briefly about “The Martian’s” journey from e-serial to silver screen and what the future holds for the budding author.
Question: “The Martian” is one of the great success stories in self-publishing. Can you talk about its journey from self-published novel to Matt Damon movie?
Answer: Originally the book was just a serial I posted a chapter at a time to my website. Once the book was done, people started requesting that I make an e-book version so they didn’t have to read it in a web browser. So I did and posted it to my site.
Then other people e-mailed saying they want to read the e-book, but they aren’t technically savvy and don’t know how to download a file from the Internet and put it on their e-reader. They requested I make a Kindle version they could just get through Amazon. So I did that as well. I set the price at Amazon’s minimum allowable price of 99 cents. More people bought the book from Amazon than downloaded it for free from my website. Amazon has a truly amazing reach into the readership market.
The book sold very well and made its way up various top-seller lists on Amazon. That got the attention of Julian Pavia at Crown. He told his colleague David Fugate (a literary agent) about it. David ended up becoming my agent, and Julian offered me a book deal. It was a whirlwind of activity because 20th Century Fox optioned the movie rights that same week.
Q: Have you seen the film yet?
A: I’ve seen a cut of the film, and I love it. It really shows the story amazingly well.
Q: How much input did you have in the scripting process?
A: Mostly my job was just to cash the check. Though they did send me the screenplay to get my opinion. They are not required to listen to anything I have to say. They keep me updated on the production because they’re cool.
Q: Part of the great appeal of “The Martian” is that it presents traditional, science-based “hard sci-fi” in such a way that the science is approachable and engaging. Was that a difficult balancing act between accuracy and readability?
A: That was one of the biggest challenges for me. I needed the reader to understand the science behind what was going on, but I didn’t want to deluge them with facts and figures. I didn’t want the book to read like a Wikipedia article. So it was a constant balancing act to make sure the reader understood Mark’s problems without boring them to tears. I think I got away with a lot of exposition that would have been boring because of Mark’s personality and wit.
Q: How much research was devoted to the novel?
A: That’s hard to quantify, because I did the research while I was writing. It took me three years to write the book, and a large percentage of that was spent doing math and research.
Q: With all the new science coming from Mars research, is there anything that you would have changed in the novel?
A: Well, recently, NASA has invented a new life-support system for removing CO2 from air without needing expendable filters. So that’s out-of-date tech for the time period of the book.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: I’m working on my next book now. It’s a more traditional sci-fi novel with aliens, faster-than-light travel, etc. It’s tentatively titled “Zhek,” and it should be out in mid-2016.
Source
