I have been looking at movie trailers for "The Martian" and decided to go to the movies.
I live in the dark ages and had never gone to a movie in "3D".
Probably to cheap to pay for glasses.
I waited for the previous showing to finish and folks to file out. The lights came on and I was the first one in. A bit early as the cleaning crew came in and proceeded to fill a very large trash can with popcorn and drink containers and other trash.
Talked with them while standing out of the way.
October 2, 2015 was the opening weekend and it seems some of the relatives of the author, Andy Weir, had seen the movie earlier.
(Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory is just over the hill from Tracy and he had programmed at Sandia.)
The theater's previews were shown in ear splitting sound level that made me wish I had brought ear plugs and thought I would go deaf for a whole movie. I was very pleasantly surprised when "The Martian" started and everything was at an appropriate sound level for the action being portrayed and the "3D" viewing was like we were there for real. No silly jumping out of a screen. Nice and added to the realism.
Having watched a number of the trailers and YouTube interviews I appreciated, and expected to see the Duck Tape and MacGyver, can do attitude. I was not disappointed. I laughed at one liners, had tears in my eyes at unexpected moments, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.
No matter the Martian wind would probably not been able to blow things around at the start of the movie, I am sure a real mission would have enough of its own problems to test ones survival instincts. It was interesting to see how Mark Watney handled his.
I also appreciated how the movie managed to have enough camera monitors to provide statistical and personal information to update the full movie camera presentation.
All in all I thought well done.
I had not read the book so have ordered a used one. Watching the YouTube interviews we get to see the movie teaser trailer and hear about how he managed to get published. That in itself was enlightening. A lot of work, writing, while working, and developing a website and going finally to post the book on line in several forms and then posting to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
There has been some question as to whether NASA has taken advantage or made announcements about water on Mars to coincide with the movie release. I will let you check out the links that follow and make your own opinion.
- LRK -
------------------------------
"The Martian" and real Martians
---
The film adaptation of the bestselling novel "The Martian" opened to rave reviews and a big box office take this weekend, days after NASA also announced evidence of liquid water on the surface of present-day Mars. Jeff Foust examines what effect -- if any -- these events could have on NASA's plans for actual human missions to the Red Planet.
http://www.thespacereview.com/
---
The film adaptation of the bestselling novel "The Martian" opened to rave reviews and a big box office take this weekend, days after NASA also announced evidence of liquid water on the surface of present-day Mars. Jeff Foust examines what effect -- if any -- these events could have on NASA's plans for actual human missions to the Red Planet.
http://www.thespacereview.com/
Just as Mark Watney, the central character of the book and film The Martian, used this rover to make a long-distance trek across the surface of Mars, some Mars advocates hope the film helps power NASA’s own long-term plans to send humans there. (credit: 20th Century Fox)
...
------------------------------
A bit from NASA
- LRK -
------------------------------
Nine Real NASA Technologies in 'The Martian'
Aug 19, 2015
Mars has held a central place in human imagination and culture for millennia. Ancients marveled at its red color and the brightness that waxed and waned in cycles over the years. Early observations through telescopes led some to speculate that the planet was covered with canals that its inhabitants used for transportation and commerce. In “The War of the Worlds”, the writer H.G. Wells posited a Martian culture that would attempt to conquer Earth. In 1938, Orson Welles panicked listeners who thought they were listening to a news broadcast rather than his radio adaptation of Wells’s novel.
The real story of humans and Mars is a little more prosaic but no less fascinating. Telescopes turned the bright red dot in the sky into a fuzzy, mottled disk that gave rise to those daydreams of canals. Just 50 years ago, the first photograph of Mars from a passing spacecraft appeared to show a hazy atmosphere. Now decades of exploration on the planet itself has shown it to be a world that once had open water, an essential ingredient for life.
The fascination hasn’t waned, even in the Internet Age. A former computer programmer named Andy Weir, who enjoyed writing for its own sake and posted fiction to his blog, started a serial about a NASA astronaut stranded on Mars. The popularity ultimately led him to turn it into a successful novel, “The Martian”, which has been made into a movie that will be released in October 2015.
“The Martian” merges the fictional and factual narratives about Mars, building upon the work NASA and others have done exploring Mars and moving it forward into the 2030s, when NASA astronauts are regularly traveling to Mars and living on the surface to explore. Although the action takes place 20 years in the future, NASA is already developing many of the technologies that appear in the film....
The real story of humans and Mars is a little more prosaic but no less fascinating. Telescopes turned the bright red dot in the sky into a fuzzy, mottled disk that gave rise to those daydreams of canals. Just 50 years ago, the first photograph of Mars from a passing spacecraft appeared to show a hazy atmosphere. Now decades of exploration on the planet itself has shown it to be a world that once had open water, an essential ingredient for life.
The fascination hasn’t waned, even in the Internet Age. A former computer programmer named Andy Weir, who enjoyed writing for its own sake and posted fiction to his blog, started a serial about a NASA astronaut stranded on Mars. The popularity ultimately led him to turn it into a successful novel, “The Martian”, which has been made into a movie that will be released in October 2015.
“The Martian” merges the fictional and factual narratives about Mars, building upon the work NASA and others have done exploring Mars and moving it forward into the 2030s, when NASA astronauts are regularly traveling to Mars and living on the surface to explore. Although the action takes place 20 years in the future, NASA is already developing many of the technologies that appear in the film....
------------------------------
In the interviews Andy Weir mentions he has a website that isn't the greatest but he could post chapters serially and get feedback from his readers. He mentions that after the book publishing they asked for some changes. (no more free copies)
- LRK -
------------------------------
There are some comments to Andy Weir on his website.
- LRK -
...
------------------------------
The YouTube links following will probably start off with the earlier
TEASER TRAILER for "The Martian".
A later one is labeled the OFFICIAL TRAILER.
The Martian | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX
Andy Weir's trip to LLNL
- LRK -
------------------------------
Author of ‘The Martian’ thrills Lab employees
Published on Sep 4, 2015
Imagine being inadvertently left for dead on Mars, completely alone and abandoned by your crew, with nothing but your wits and a scant amount of precious supplies to keep you alive.
That’s the enthralling premise of the best-selling science-fiction survival novel and soon-to-be released motion picture, “The Martian,” scheduled to run in theaters nationwide on Oct. 2.
Amidst a whirlwind media blitz, the book’s author, Andy Weir, took time to visit the Laboratory on Wednesday, entertaining a packed house of nearly 400 Lab employees and special guests with his wit, vast and varied scientific knowledge and tales of his sudden rise to stardom.
“It’s kind of a homecoming,” Weir said. “It’s special for me because it’s where I grew up.”
That’s the enthralling premise of the best-selling science-fiction survival novel and soon-to-be released motion picture, “The Martian,” scheduled to run in theaters nationwide on Oct. 2.
Amidst a whirlwind media blitz, the book’s author, Andy Weir, took time to visit the Laboratory on Wednesday, entertaining a packed house of nearly 400 Lab employees and special guests with his wit, vast and varied scientific knowledge and tales of his sudden rise to stardom.
“It’s kind of a homecoming,” Weir said. “It’s special for me because it’s where I grew up.”
Read more about Andy's visit to LLNL:
...
------------------------------
These trips are just before the October 2 opening.
- LRK -
------------------------------
"The Martian" Visits JSC
Published on Sep 15, 2015
On Sept. 15, NASA’s Johnson Space Center hosted the media and cast members of the soon-to-be-released 20th Century Fox movie, “The Martian, for a variety of events offering a fresh perspective on NASA’s Journey to Mars and the confluence between the science fiction of the movie and NASA’s science fact, on which the film is based. NASA innovation is fueling the Journey to Mars, and information about the cutting edge technology being developed by NASA is available at: http://go.nasa.gov/1NqheRR
...
------------------------------
------------------------------
Comic-Con: Journey to Mars and The Martian
Published on Aug 19, 2015
For the second year in a row, NASA participated in Comic-Con International in San Diego.
NASA experts took part in two panel discussions during the conference on Thursday, July 9.
NASA's participation continues the agency's efforts to engage and inspire the next generation of American innovators and explorers in our #JourneyToMars.
NASA experts took part in two panel discussions during the conference on Thursday, July 9.
NASA's participation continues the agency's efforts to engage and inspire the next generation of American innovators and explorers in our #JourneyToMars.
...
------------------------------
You may like this interview if you like Adam Savage and his TV program.
Adam asks a lot of newbie questions.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Adam Savage Interviews 'The Martian' Author Andy Weir - The Talking Room
Published on Jun 11, 2015
Adam Savage welcomes author Andy Weir to The Talking Room! Andy wrote 'The Martian', the story of an astronaut stranded on Mars--it's a book we can't recommend enough. Adam and Andy talk about the research that went into writing the book, the portrayal of astronauts in fiction, and the upcoming film adaptation!
Thanks to Andy Weir! Find out more about his books at http://www.andyweirauthor.
Thanks to Andy Weir! Find out more about his books at http://www.andyweirauthor.
...
------------------------------
I now waiting for book, "THE MARTIAN", to arrive and will see how print reads.
Thanks for looking up with me
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.
BlogSpot: http://
WordPress: http://lrkellogg.
Newsletter: https://mailman1.
BlogSpot: http://
WordPress: http://lrkellogg.
Newsletter: https://mailman1.
=======
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
==============================
Posts
