When they explained what does project Elrond mean and i realized that it is Boromir who is sitting there i cried a little and after that i immediately thought one does not simply fly to mars
+Maxx B I think he's talking about the different suits between the Hermes and the Mars pair. In the movie they have suits similar to traditional EVA suits onboard Hermes whereas the suits mentioned in the book are the Mars pair only (Flight and EVA).
I agree with Norm about the final rescue and how that played out..it also seemed like the most implausible scene. I also felt that leaving out a lot of the other challenges he faced such as the issues with his drill, the storm as he is travelling to Ares 4, rolling the rover, etc. It felt too easy for him at times and I think it took away opportunities to show how intelligent he is -- he wasn't given as many chances to fail and science/engineer his way to a solution.
+mynineridesshotgun YES! He called himself a space pirate, but he never lost communication with Earth! He was only a pirate because no one gave him permission to enter the MAV. Except in the movie, he had full permission and the build plan before he even GOT to the MAV.
I saw The Martian with my Dad and my Sister. My dad and I had read the book, and of course we loved the movie. My sister hadn't read the book, and hadn't even really heard anything about it, she had just seen trailers for the movie. I was interested to see what she'd think... ...she loved it! She went and got the audiobook the next day, and is currently listening to it on her commutes to and from work!
I was lucky enough to attend a showing in Los Alamos, NM (Drew Goddard's hometown) where Drew actually presented the film and answered questions. He really is a great writer and I admire his drive and what he was able to do with Andy's book. I loved the book and was grateful that he did it justice. One person asked, "what was the one thing that he had to leave out that he wished he could have put in the film?" He said it was the dust storm on his trip to the Ares IV MAV. I am glad to see that you three were happy with Drew's adaptation as well.
The only other product placement I noticed was the Wahl shaver at the end, but it's only because I own the same one. I don't think the brand was showcased during usage. Also, kudos on the recognition of someone's point of view. It's important to be respectful of everyone, even if it's "just a joke."
+Tested For the sake of Norm... If you don't want the run of your simulation to be logged then you aren't going to run it over the network, are you? He was logged directly into the machine's serial console, something which many sysadmins would be familiar with and expect 90% of the rest of humanity to ignore. Details like that, not just the props, made the movie.
Hey Tested crew! I just came from The Martian and I wanted to drop a line about Norm's remark about the epilogue. Disclaimer: I have not read The Martian and I am, by no means, a sociologist, nor do I have any knowledge of much of the film industry. However, I wanted to say that I felt that Mark Whatney's final monologue felt aimed towards the potential scientists, not just the general fans of the movie. The concept of "huge problems, astrophysical, mathematical, or compuational, can be solved through small steps and small solutions that build to a result" was incredibly inspiring, as a beginning computer scientist and mathematician. That being said, I might start reading The Martian so as to understand where you're coming from. Nonetheless, I love your work and have a nice day!
i feel like they made watney look like andy weir at the end of the film because andy said something about putting his "character" into watney. what do you think?
Also, I loved the throwback to the book when he finally gets back to Hermes and in the book he says something like "if this was a movie everyone would be crowded in the airlock giving me high fives but we are astronauts and there is shit to do" and then in the movie they do just that, they cram into the airlock and are hugging and giving highfives.
If you're going to stop making a certain joke or type of joke you should just do it and not say anything. Whenever you give even the slightest impression of not wanting to offend a group of people who might be watching the idiots come out of the woodwork and start screaming SJW at you.
+SlightlyNotorious Worse: If you stop making a certain joke because it might offend people (and not because you yourself don't want to make the joke), then you should stop making any joke which might offend anyone, which is almost all jokes. If someone doesn't want to make a joke because they just don't want to, fine. But don't stop just because it might offend. If it is deeply hurtful, that's a different matter. But merely offense?
SlightlyNotorious That's exactly my point. Only choose not to make a joke if you really don't want to, and that is mostly because we realise that some jokes offend people who can't help being who they are. So compassion. Choosing not to make a joke purely because it might offend is, on the other hand, going too far, because some people can help being who they are, and a bit of offense might shake them enough to make them think.
Bram Kaandorp I think we can agree on that. I'm just saying I think what Adam is doing here is the former case. Transgendered people are ridiculed all the time for something they can't help and he doesn't want to be a part of that.
+Bram Kaandorp Almost all jokes could offend someone, but not all jokes are disrespectful of a group of people who deserve respect. I find people often conflate the idea that one should not be offensive and the idea that one should be respectful, and they're not equivalent.
The Space Pirate scene really bothered me because he was only a space pirate because he lost communication with Earth. Except, he didn't lose contact with Earth in the movie. He had permission to go into the MAV. He wasn't a pirate.
LOVED The Martian [book and movie]! Loved that they stuck to the book and didn't add too much extra stuff that wasn't in the book [eg. the Weasley's house catching fire]. The landscapes were beautiful, too. I'm not generally a fan of 3D movies, and I was worried about too much crap coming out of the screen. I have to say it did not inhibit the movie at all, but made the landscapes come alive. Was 3D well done. I wonder what other movie/character Adam is talking about at 11:50. Also, Mark, in the epilogue, looked like Andy Weir.
My favorite link between the book and the movie is that in the book, Mark says "if this were a movie they'd all be in here we'd be hugging and congratulating and back slapping but this is real so that didn't happen". and then that happened in the movie
Warning - SPOILERS! Do not read if you have not seen the movie. Having just watched the Martian, my off the cuff commentary on issues I had with the movie. Opening storm scene - why were the astronauts not connected with the tethers given each already had one hanging by their side (you can clearly see it in every scene Matt is wearing his suit)? You would think this would be standard protocol in a storm, where visibility was limited, wind was high and one could easily get disoriented, fall, etc? The ship could not hold its position against the storm however, the inflatable shelter weathered it just fine? With 1% the atmosphere density of earth why use this as a plot device (I think Norm touched on it)? Side note - why not just build the habitat underground to remove the danger altogether? The rover looked capable of moving soil. Seems as if they had planned to stay on mission longer and the storm interrupted it. If they were one man down, would standard protocol not call for trying to contact him and also use the orbiting satellites + onboard optics/sensors to review the aftermath, in the very least to learn what to do in future missions. They go to orbit and head for home with no explanation. Illogical. The habitat entrance blows up because of an air leak? Why? Would NASA design an entry lock that explodes at the slightest tear? Are they pipping in pure oxygen? He reseals the habitat but cannot replicate the farming method he discovered using the potatoes he already collected? NASA sent at great expense a large, battery powered 6x6 rover with only a 60km range? Really? Even with 1/3 the gravity and practically no wind resistance due to the atmosphere being only 1% the density of earth’s it can only summon 38 miles? Give Tesla a call. Given they already carried a reactor to Mars (which Matt uncovers to provide heat), why not incorporate it as the central power source for the habitat - perhaps even have Matt carry it on the rover to have incredible range? What is the purpose for removing the top of the rover to place a hodge podge of plastic bags on the roof? Increase the volume of the cabin to trap more air? Makes not sense. Seems like an afterthought at best. I doubt the explosive decompression taking place at the front of the ship would have slowed down something that size by 30m/s. They could have just opened the hatch quickly by disconnecting the hydraulics - why blow it up and risk damaging the ship? Why not use the still attached Chinese module thrusters? Maneuver it to the front and run out the fuel or use it to grab Matt? They calculate what it takes to get to Mars but not how the transfer is to take place once they get there? How about connecting two tethers together? How did he know to manually power up a 20 year old probe? Unfolding the solar panels I understand but flipping a manual switch to turn it on? Why would a switch even be present on a fully automated device. NASA uses GoPros? Even if they did develop a model for NASA, I doubt it would look like the standard, bulky Hero model with an unnecessary battery pack - suspension of disbelief is needed. At least use the Session - more inline with something they would carry. I also liked the 30 pound, 20 year old ToughBook laptop he used. Ridley, are you the same maker who created BladeRunner and Alien?
As for the use of the word Fuck in a PG-13 movie, besides the part at the beginning, Watney did also say "fucking" later on. Which I noted and was surprised with because they had used the word early. And after the airlock event when he gets in the rover, they cut outside where there was no sound right when Watney starts shouting "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Which I found hilarious.
I'm an engineer. I can't usually engage with sci-fi movies on a deep level since that often requires me to shut my mind off and not reason with technology or possibilities that can't exist or don't make sense. When watching The Martian though, I found myself frequently going "Oh wait....that'll actually work" a LOT. It was really nice to see a movie like that.
I suspect that the changes in how they get Watney from the MAV were in part in order to make something differenly than in the book. The Lewis' intervention and Watney's stunt are like a parallel version to the original, a crazier one. Also made it possible to visualize unique zero-g scenes (bumping inside the MAV, tumbling outside and the rope thing) that wouldn't be there if the book was followed strictly here.
I really wants to see a 3 hour cut of the movie where the sand storm en route to AERS 4 MAV bits in the book is there, the pathfinder can die of other reason(like old age), but that scene really made the book, having said that I understand why they have to cut that part though, having a 3hour science heavy scifi movie are really asking to give general audience movie fatigue, fans are find with a 6 hours movie, but you always have to make the balance between fans and non-fan to make both party happy.
My biggest grievance with the movie as opposed to the book was that the storm occurred on sol 18 in the movie, but sol 6 in the book, so the math with the food rations left is off, what annoys me the most about this is that there is absolutely nothing gained from changing the date and it takes zero effort to keep it the same way.
such a great movie. i never read the book. didn't see in 3D. gave the kid to 1 set of grandparents and had a date night this weekend to see it. probably the only time we've seen a movie on release weekend in 5 yrs. movie runtime is 2:21, so it's over 2 hrs
Such a well done movie. I told my wife as we exited the theater that I felt like we had just watched a docu-drama on something that had actually happened years ago. It didn't feel like absolute fiction to me.
Just a point about the casting that Norm talked about. I read that another actor, Irrfan Khan, was actually supposed to play "Venkat" Kapoor but dropped out of the film a few weeks before filming and was replaced by Ejiofor for what became "Vincent" Kapoor.
Just to let you all know it is now 1 am here in the UK as I post this. And I have just come back from watching 'The Martian' not a big deal I hear you say. Well as I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE CINEMA, so yes I had a private viewing of Andy Weir's amazing book turned into an amazing film....
I read the book almost immediately after Adam recommended it. I also watched it opening night. IT WAS SO GOOD! I think Will said it best, this is the kind of movie I wanted to see based on the book. My brother also went with me, who didn't read the book, and he also loved this movie. One of the best movies of the year
Watching The Martian during a 6pm showing about a mile from JSC was hilarious when they showed Johnson Space Center on screen. The audience was filled with sarcastic laughter.
No one in the cinema I was at got the Boromir/Elrond joke. I find that amazing because frankly, everyone has seen it. I'm surprised Norm and will didn't get it. Me and my brother laughed out loud, and then looked around and said "really, no one got that?"
I had an issue with the long drive at the end. So much time passes and it is just all without incident. After a year of things failing, hatches exploding, and problems rising he just ends up driving for weeks with no issues at all. I understand why they took out that stuff but even a little issue would have gone a long way.
For anyone wondering, I went back to the Birdman spoilercast, and apparently the quote was "The chick in the crying game was a man!" I think it's fine to say that if you're just referring to the spoiler, but I guess we all get offended by different things.
The whole time I was watching the movie, I was thinking of how Adam Savage would obsess over it and build one of the Ares III suits. I hope you do a whole build series when he does!
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."- Mark Twain. I believe this movie along with Interstellar really try to embody this idea.
He was in the server room because he wanted to use the super computer to do the calculations. He asked for permission to use the computer. But it was denied. So he snuck into the server room to do it anyways. Don't think they showed that part in the movie.
+Thakrulll Good closure, having not read the book yet. I am still perplexed about how the depiction of technology and computing in "mainstream" movies has changed so little in the past 10 years. "Calculation correct", Loading a program? **show scrolling lines of sourcecode**. Is there no better way than to assume every single movie patron is a simple minded technophobe? Surely I'm missing something
I LOOOLED at Norm's remark about needing to get 'that fancy new GoPro'. Btw, LOVED the book and thought the movie was ,while not anywhere near the book... well still pretty effing good.
so when someone knocks on the door I'm 90% certain that it was the ducks for the duck bomb. Norm and Will have their attention to Adam off screen, there is a long noise, then they all return with giant smiles. Tested please confirm!
The original book ending had Watney back on earth, being recognised in a park or something. That's what it was when the book was just some HTML files being put on Wier's creative writing website.
Hi will and norm. There is a couple of videos at ARES LIVE channel. They did a great character introduction that is a nod to the book and in line with the movie feel.
So yea just thought id mention that theres an interview with someone from pixar where they talk about that whole scene with rileys parents emotions. They wanted to make it easy to identify whos emotions were whos meaning they gave them similar traits but if you actually look at joy in the dads mind shes female.
Great book, great movie, i would have loved to see the " Look! A pair of boobs!" joke on the big screen! you guy should totally talk about the movie "The man from Earth". The 2000 year old man comment by adam just popped it up on my mind
Thank you so much for the apology prefacing this podcast. The last time I heard that was jarring, esp not knowing it was a Simpsons reference, and I'm happy you've addressed it.
+Maciej - It is a choice to be edgy or not. It is a choice to be sensitive to people's feelings or not. It is a choice to be considerate of any person or group of people or not. Sometimes, we perform actions that go against our desired outcomes, and Adam inadvertently was insensitive to at least this one person. He is choosing not to be edgy, insensitive and inconsiderate of this person and others like them. So yes, it is auto censorship he is doing to protect the feelings of a fan, and that's his choice and is perfectly fine. It also would have been fine if he decided he wanted to, for the sake of his own perceived sense of artistic merit, decide that the joke is more important than the feelings of this fan and others like them.
***** Yes, it would be fine. What matters is what Adam wanted to achieve with his joke. If you want to make fun of whatever you want and if that hurts someone you don't care, that's fine. Adam doesn't want to joke about something that hurts someone. It is that simple. He isn't saying he no longer finds the joke funny, he's saying the joke in the context he's used it in hasn't caused the results he wanted and is changing his course of actions to achieve the outcome he wants.
***** And if Adam was a stand up or a film maker that is trying to say something about sexuality he might not aim for being inoffensive. But this is a channel about building shit and stuff and he can offend or not offend anyone he wants. He gets to decide who he wants to insult, not you. There is no problem.
***** Alright. The only generality I can see is your question of how the joke is insensitive. That can be addressed simply. Sensitivity is relative to a subject. That could be a group or an individual. If someone finds something you do upsetting, you've been insensitive to them. That doesn't inherently mean you've done something wrong. Not all people's views deserve sensitivity, and what you personally think deserves it can differ from what others think deserve it. But just because you don't find something hurtful doesn't mean it isn't insensitive to others. The word sometimes gets applied as if it is objective. That something can be insensitive in general. This is similar to how people will call statements offensive as if they are objectively offensive. This is not accurate. Things are offensive or insensitive in the eyes of some individuals and not others. The important thing is that we recognize that and not try to apply any concessions universally. When you say something, you should consider what you want to get out of that statement. Purely as an example: In Adam's case, he didn't understand that the joke was insensitive to repeat in the context he did for some people, and he wants to better align his statements with his goals as a communicator. For him in this situation the value of the comedy is outweighed by the value of wider appeal. Is that clearer? The joke wasn't universally insensitive. There is no such thing as universal insensitivity.
regarding venkat kapoor thing, they needed an actor with indian origin and irfan khan was first choice but he was doing another bollywood movie called piku ( really nice movie btw) thats why they changed the character. as indian i was bit sad that we didnt get our representation.
Were you guys miffed at all about the crew's dissent when Lewis scrubbed the mission? It bothered me that the crew gave her the whole, "let's wait this out" after she said they were scrubbed. It only bothered me because of all the discussion surrounding the book as to how accurately Weir portrayed the way astronauts would really handle situations just like this.
My problem with the movie was when they were placing the bomb to blow the door, there was no reason for the guy to go out around the space craft. The girl astronaut met him at the door and gave him the bomb right there. She could have done that the whole time. Did anyone else notice that or did i miss something.
+NMBE 650 The door on which the bomb was placed cannot be opened with the bomb on it to let the girl out. So someone needed to place the bomb from the "outside".
I think it laked exposition. Went to watch it two times both with someone who hasnt read de book.. And exact same questions.... Why they dont turn hermes around? What is the mav 4 doing there? Etc..
So everyone knows the book takes place in 2047 and the camera he communicates with is from 1997. So 50 years old. However in the movie the guys that worked on that project looked to be late forties to min 50's. It bugged me. :)
I absolutely loved the ARES mission suit designs! Although, i had this feeling throughout the movie that some of the design was familiar, and when i came home, i remembered! The abdomen part of the ARES suit, with its two orange stripes is fairly similar to Kamen Rader Fourze's "Base States" suit (albeit, a lot more refined and covered with stuff that make it... well, more plausible than a japanese kid's show). Do check it out and tell me if it's just me :P
- Wind pressure is not real - Hydrazine to water is not real (to much heat will be released) - No radio isn't real. You can talk to sattelites using a pair of wires and 0.5 watt. - After getting pathfinder he had antenna so even if radio is busted he could have hooked up antenna to HAB. - After he was in contact with earth they could have told him emergency contact frequency and how to build antenna (metal stick). Even more likely they would have done it on earth as emergency planning. Earth can blast radio signal in 10s of megawatt or transmit from the satellite. - Potatoes which are underground wouldn't have froze in 24 hours. Saying that I adore the book and the movie and Mark Watney.
One big goof in the movie: they had the hydrazine -> water reaction running the whole time. (you can see it "burning" the whole time until the hab goes to vacuum.
I saw this movie with my mom (I'm an engineer and just finished reading the book and my mom is absolutely not an engineer and hasn't read the book) and we both loved the movie (her favorite movie she's seen in the last few years). My mom liked the ending with Commander Lewis and she thought it made more sense where I agree I wasn't as big on that scene but I agree with Adam I thought the tangled up point was beautiful even if it did bug me a bit. I also agree that I wish they had of driven the point of how much the world came together for this, I felt like that fell flat a bit and it was just a huge point in the book. I was really wanting in the movie for Watney to say something about just how much it meant to him but it didn't and it kinda bummed me. That being said I do like the line about survival and problem solving at the end and that was a good point to make too. I LOVED BENEDICT AS BRUCE SO MUCH IN THE MOVIE TOO. Sean as Mitch was great (didn't make the connection with LotR either). Matt Damon did fantastic. All the acting was great to be honest. I was a little bummed they covered the rover modifications less (and how he loses communication for awhile) but I can understand taking it out. I also wish they had of done a better job of covering Vogel as German and had the mad scientist joke in there for the bomb. I wish his connection to Beck, Vogel and Johanssen would of been stronger but I liked how well they covered the relationship between Martinez and him well and Commander Lewis. Overall though I thought the movie did a fantastic job and my issues with it are not that big. I hope it wins some awards (the script, acting and especially special effects were great). Deffo recommend the book and movie to people, especially engineers but even those who aren't (my mom certainly liked the movie and I'm trying to get her to read the book).
+Gabbos Ironfist I know, I've gone back and checked a couple spoiler casts from the past, as have others, and the last 4 did not have a joke that I could pick out on the subject in question. Now i'm mildly obsessed with knowing what was so offensive. *edit* I finally found it. Just google "Adam Savage "Crying Game" and you'll find the comment where the person was offended, and can proceed from there. Not linking because I don't need the hate. All that said, people on both sides of this need to calm the fuck down. No one deserves to be mocked for being who they are, but at the same time, if you think you deserve to get through life without anyone hurting for feelings or 'offending' you, you're going to have a bad time.
+Jarik C-Bol Mad props to Adam for addressing his unintentional possible propagation of the issue. But your 2nd point holds true, and is an important one to bear in mind, the direct antithesis to special snowflake syndrome. Everyone take a deep breath, the person offending you probably didn't mean to ruin your day, and if they did mean to, why give them the satisfaction of letting them do so.
The only thing I REALLY didn't like was his actual rescue. The way he used the atmosphere in his suit as propulsion. that introduced that idea in the book, and passed it off as a joke. But then they really did it. I guess it's more cinematic, and more exciting, but i liked the low-intensity of his final moments near mars.
Get your facts right before you say stuff like that. He did an interview where Matt Damon himself said they used a body double. www.macleans.ca/culture/movies/matt-damon-on-living-like-a-martian/
I really enjoyed the film right up to where they switched off Newtonian mechanics in the rescue. I can forgive the edits for telling the story in a movie, or the difficulty of filming weightlessness in a corridor, but the unrealistic depiction of the rescue took me right out of the story and spoiled the rest of the movie. A major draw of this story was was its plausibility, and the movie makers lost that at such a key scene. I wish they had gone back for one more revision of the script to get a version of the rescue with more realistic physics.
Anyone else notice that fact the in both Interstellar and The Martian Matt Damon is an astronaut stuck in another world and the fact that the daughter from Interstellar is a captain on the Martian? At least a mention. Plot twist..its all a dream =D
I took my wife to see the film, I've read the book, she hasn't, she loved it! with me waiting to see how it compares to the book it was great for me to see her reactions to the goings on and the suspense of the story unfolding. I thought it was dumbed down a bit compared to the book but then I guess the extended science stuff wouldn't make a flowing movie
When they explained what does project Elrond mean and i realized that it is Boromir who is sitting there i cried a little and after that i immediately thought one does not simply fly to mars
My favorite scene was when he fixed the airlock, just sitting there counting his potatoes, terrified.
Norm the book does mention different two suits.
+Maxx B I think he's talking about the different suits between the Hermes and the Mars pair. In the movie they have suits similar to traditional EVA suits onboard Hermes whereas the suits mentioned in the book are the Mars pair only (Flight and EVA).
The Martian was amazing!
It really was. I swear I'm gonna get a T-shirt made that says 'Mark Watney: Space Pirate'
+William Jakespeare the 3D was great
+Solarstar10 worth buying on Blu ray when it comes out for sure.
+gary gavina totally!
+Solarstar10 i want one that says 'Rich Purnel Steely Eyed Missile Man'
I agree with Norm about the final rescue and how that played out..it also seemed like the most implausible scene. I also felt that leaving out a lot of the other challenges he faced such as the issues with his drill, the storm as he is travelling to Ares 4, rolling the rover, etc. It felt too easy for him at times and I think it took away opportunities to show how intelligent he is -- he wasn't given as many chances to fail and science/engineer his way to a solution.
+mynineridesshotgun YES! He called himself a space pirate, but he never lost communication with Earth! He was only a pirate because no one gave him permission to enter the MAV. Except in the movie, he had full permission and the build plan before he even GOT to the MAV.
+Jon Schwartz I'm so glad someone else caught this. This is one of the first things that I mentioned to my buddy after seeing the film together.
I agree.
+Jon Schwartz I noticed that too
I saw The Martian with my Dad and my Sister. My dad and I had read the book, and of course we loved the movie. My sister hadn't read the book, and hadn't even really heard anything about it, she had just seen trailers for the movie. I was interested to see what she'd think...
...she loved it! She went and got the audiobook the next day, and is currently listening to it on her commutes to and from work!
I was lucky enough to attend a showing in Los Alamos, NM (Drew Goddard's hometown) where Drew actually presented the film and answered questions. He really is a great writer and I admire his drive and what he was able to do with Andy's book. I loved the book and was grateful that he did it justice. One person asked, "what was the one thing that he had to leave out that he wished he could have put in the film?" He said it was the dust storm on his trip to the Ares IV MAV. I am glad to see that you three were happy with Drew's adaptation as well.
The only other product placement I noticed was the Wahl shaver at the end, but it's only because I own the same one. I don't think the brand was showcased during usage. Also, kudos on the recognition of someone's point of view. It's important to be respectful of everyone, even if it's "just a joke."
+Tested For the sake of Norm... If you don't want the run of your simulation to be logged then you aren't going to run it over the network, are you? He was logged directly into the machine's serial console, something which many sysadmins would be familiar with and expect 90% of the rest of humanity to ignore. Details like that, not just the props, made the movie.
Hey Tested crew! I just came from The Martian and I wanted to drop a line about Norm's remark about the epilogue. Disclaimer: I have not read The Martian and I am, by no means, a sociologist, nor do I have any knowledge of much of the film industry. However, I wanted to say that I felt that Mark Whatney's final monologue felt aimed towards the potential scientists, not just the general fans of the movie. The concept of "huge problems, astrophysical, mathematical, or compuational, can be solved through small steps and small solutions that build to a result" was incredibly inspiring, as a beginning computer scientist and mathematician. That being said, I might start reading The Martian so as to understand where you're coming from. Nonetheless, I love your work and have a nice day!
39:25 I wish they'd talk about The Martian again and all the bonus footage now that it's been released on Blu-ray and DVD...
i feel like they made watney look like andy weir at the end of the film because andy said something about putting his "character" into watney. what do you think?
Also, I loved the throwback to the book when he finally gets back to Hermes and in the book he says something like "if this was a movie everyone would be crowded in the airlock giving me high fives but we are astronauts and there is shit to do" and then in the movie they do just that, they cram into the airlock and are hugging and giving highfives.
If you're going to stop making a certain joke or type of joke you should just do it and not say anything. Whenever you give even the slightest impression of not wanting to offend a group of people who might be watching the idiots come out of the woodwork and start screaming SJW at you.
+SlightlyNotorious Worse: If you stop making a certain joke because it might offend people (and not because you yourself don't want to make the joke), then you should stop making any joke which might offend anyone, which is almost all jokes.
If someone doesn't want to make a joke because they just don't want to, fine. But don't stop just because it might offend. If it is deeply hurtful, that's a different matter. But merely offense?
SlightlyNotorious That's exactly my point. Only choose not to make a joke if you really don't want to, and that is mostly because we realise that some jokes offend people who can't help being who they are. So compassion.
Choosing not to make a joke purely because it might offend is, on the other hand, going too far, because some people can help being who they are, and a bit of offense might shake them enough to make them think.
Bram Kaandorp I think we can agree on that. I'm just saying I think what Adam is doing here is the former case. Transgendered people are ridiculed all the time for something they can't help and he doesn't want to be a part of that.
SlightlyNotorious On that we agree as well.
+Bram Kaandorp Almost all jokes could offend someone, but not all jokes are disrespectful of a group of people who deserve respect. I find people often conflate the idea that one should not be offensive and the idea that one should be respectful, and they're not equivalent.
The Space Pirate scene really bothered me because he was only a space pirate because he lost communication with Earth. Except, he didn't lose contact with Earth in the movie. He had permission to go into the MAV. He wasn't a pirate.
LOVED The Martian [book and movie]! Loved that they stuck to the book and didn't add too much extra stuff that wasn't in the book [eg. the Weasley's house catching fire]. The landscapes were beautiful, too. I'm not generally a fan of 3D movies, and I was worried about too much crap coming out of the screen. I have to say it did not inhibit the movie at all, but made the landscapes come alive. Was 3D well done.
I wonder what other movie/character Adam is talking about at 11:50.
Also, Mark, in the epilogue, looked like Andy Weir.
thanks for getting this up! love spoilercasts!!
My favorite link between the book and the movie is that in the book, Mark says "if this were a movie they'd all be in here we'd be hugging and congratulating and back slapping but this is real so that didn't happen". and then that happened in the movie
I respect Adam even more for acknowledging someone else's feelings and apologizing. Super awesome.
+NYCW1LL im ok with that
Warning - SPOILERS! Do not read if you have not seen the movie.
Having just watched the Martian, my off the cuff commentary on issues I had with the movie.
Opening storm scene - why were the astronauts not connected with the tethers given each already had one hanging by their side (you can clearly see it in every scene Matt is wearing his suit)? You would think this would be standard protocol in a storm, where visibility was limited, wind was high and one could easily get disoriented, fall, etc?
The ship could not hold its position against the storm however, the inflatable shelter weathered it just fine? With 1% the atmosphere density of earth why use this as a plot device (I think Norm touched on it)? Side note - why not just build the habitat underground to remove the danger altogether? The rover looked capable of moving soil.
Seems as if they had planned to stay on mission longer and the storm interrupted it. If they were one man down, would standard protocol not call for trying to contact him and also use the orbiting satellites + onboard optics/sensors to review the aftermath, in the very least to learn what to do in future missions. They go to orbit and head for home with no explanation. Illogical.
The habitat entrance blows up because of an air leak? Why? Would NASA design an entry lock that explodes at the slightest tear? Are they pipping in pure oxygen?
He reseals the habitat but cannot replicate the farming method he discovered using the potatoes he already collected?
NASA sent at great expense a large, battery powered 6x6 rover with only a 60km range? Really? Even with 1/3 the gravity and practically no wind resistance due to the atmosphere being only 1% the density of earth’s it can only summon 38 miles? Give Tesla a call. Given they already carried a reactor to Mars (which Matt uncovers to provide heat), why not incorporate it as the central power source for the habitat - perhaps even have Matt carry it on the rover to have incredible range?
What is the purpose for removing the top of the rover to place a hodge podge of plastic bags on the roof? Increase the volume of the cabin to trap more air? Makes not sense. Seems like an afterthought at best.
I doubt the explosive decompression taking place at the front of the ship would have slowed down something that size by 30m/s. They could have just opened the hatch quickly by disconnecting the hydraulics - why blow it up and risk damaging the ship? Why not use the still attached Chinese module thrusters? Maneuver it to the front and run out the fuel or use it to grab Matt? They calculate what it takes to get to Mars but not how the transfer is to take place once they get there? How about connecting two tethers together?
How did he know to manually power up a 20 year old probe? Unfolding the solar panels I understand but flipping a manual switch to turn it on? Why would a switch even be present on a fully automated device.
NASA uses GoPros? Even if they did develop a model for NASA, I doubt it would look like the standard, bulky Hero model with an unnecessary battery pack - suspension of disbelief is needed. At least use the Session - more inline with something they would carry. I also liked the 30 pound, 20 year old ToughBook laptop he used.
Ridley, are you the same maker who created BladeRunner and Alien?
As for the use of the word Fuck in a PG-13 movie, besides the part at the beginning, Watney did also say "fucking" later on. Which I noted and was surprised with because they had used the word early. And after the airlock event when he gets in the rover, they cut outside where there was no sound right when Watney starts shouting "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Which I found hilarious.
So what I'm wondering now is whether Adam will build his suit with the cracked helmet or not... or both.
I'm an engineer. I can't usually engage with sci-fi movies on a deep level since that often requires me to shut my mind off and not reason with technology or possibilities that can't exist or don't make sense.
When watching The Martian though, I found myself frequently going "Oh wait....that'll actually work" a LOT. It was really nice to see a movie like that.
I suspect that the changes in how they get Watney from the MAV were in part in order to make something differenly than in the book. The Lewis' intervention and Watney's stunt are like a parallel version to the original, a crazier one. Also made it possible to visualize unique zero-g scenes (bumping inside the MAV, tumbling outside and the rope thing) that wouldn't be there if the book was followed strictly here.
That apology was a great kindness, thank you so, so much for it!
Start at 2:20 to skip sponsor bit and spineless apology.
I really wants to see a 3 hour cut of the movie where the sand storm en route to AERS 4 MAV bits in the book is there, the pathfinder can die of other reason(like old age), but that scene really made the book, having said that I understand why they have to cut that part though, having a 3hour science heavy scifi movie are really asking to give general audience movie fatigue, fans are find with a 6 hours movie, but you always have to make the balance between fans and non-fan to make both party happy.
Added to "Watch Later" as I have to wait until this weekend to see it. But after I get back from seeing it, I will sit down and enjoy this video.
As someone who watched the movie and then read the book?
I had so much fun. Absolute joy to watch.
My biggest grievance with the movie as opposed to the book was that the storm occurred on sol 18 in the movie, but sol 6 in the book, so the math with the food rations left is off, what annoys me the most about this is that there is absolutely nothing gained from changing the date and it takes zero effort to keep it the same way.
such a great movie. i never read the book. didn't see in 3D. gave the kid to 1 set of grandparents and had a date night this weekend to see it. probably the only time we've seen a movie on release weekend in 5 yrs. movie runtime is 2:21, so it's over 2 hrs
29:29 - None of us are mission commanders. ...Except Chris there. Hi Chris! - Hi.
Such a well done movie. I told my wife as we exited the theater that I felt like we had just watched a docu-drama on something that had actually happened years ago. It didn't feel like absolute fiction to me.
Just a point about the casting that Norm talked about. I read that another actor, Irrfan Khan, was actually supposed to play "Venkat" Kapoor but dropped out of the film a few weeks before filming and was replaced by Ejiofor for what became "Vincent" Kapoor.
Just to let you all know it is now 1 am here in the UK as I post this. And I have just come back from watching 'The Martian' not a big deal I hear you say. Well as I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE CINEMA, so yes I had a private viewing of Andy Weir's amazing book turned into an amazing film....
I read the book almost immediately after Adam recommended it. I also watched it opening night. IT WAS SO GOOD! I think Will said it best, this is the kind of movie I wanted to see based on the book. My brother also went with me, who didn't read the book, and he also loved this movie. One of the best movies of the year
Watching The Martian during a 6pm showing about a mile from JSC was hilarious when they showed Johnson Space Center on screen. The audience was filled with sarcastic laughter.
No one in the cinema I was at got the Boromir/Elrond joke. I find that amazing because frankly, everyone has seen it. I'm surprised Norm and will didn't get it. Me and my brother laughed out loud, and then looked around and said "really, no one got that?"
I had an issue with the long drive at the end. So much time passes and it is just all without incident. After a year of things failing, hatches exploding, and problems rising he just ends up driving for weeks with no issues at all. I understand why they took out that stuff but even a little issue would have gone a long way.
John wick, seveneves, pacific rim, and Martian didn't have a joke. What joke for awareness.
the fart at 22:39 made me spit up my coffee at work!
For anyone wondering, I went back to the Birdman spoilercast, and apparently the quote was "The chick in the crying game was a man!" I think it's fine to say that if you're just referring to the spoiler, but I guess we all get offended by different things.
The whole time I was watching the movie, I was thinking of how Adam Savage would obsess over it and build one of the Ares III suits. I hope you do a whole build series when he does!
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."- Mark Twain.
I believe this movie along with Interstellar really try to embody this idea.
He was in the server room because he wanted to use the super computer to do the calculations. He asked for permission to use the computer. But it was denied. So he snuck into the server room to do it anyways. Don't think they showed that part in the movie.
+Thakrulll
Good closure, having not read the book yet. I am still perplexed about how the depiction of technology and computing in "mainstream" movies has changed so little in the past 10 years. "Calculation correct", Loading a program? **show scrolling lines of sourcecode**.
Is there no better way than to assume every single movie patron is a simple minded technophobe? Surely I'm missing something
I LOOOLED at Norm's remark about needing to get 'that fancy new GoPro'. Btw, LOVED the book and thought the movie was ,while not anywhere near the book... well still pretty effing good.
I received my copy of Adam's blueprint for his toolbox last night! :D
+IlichiRegiusReptiles me too
Lucky!!!
Lucky!!!
Can't wait for mine to arrive, might be able to get that and the hell boy glove poster framed finally and put on the wall
+IlichiRegiusReptiles So did I!
so when someone knocks on the door I'm 90% certain that it was the ducks for the duck bomb. Norm and Will have their attention to Adam off screen, there is a long noise, then they all return with giant smiles. Tested please confirm!
Shouldn't the suit pressure be measured in kPa instead of psi? The other units were in metric.
The original book ending had Watney back on earth, being recognised in a park or something. That's what it was when the book was just some HTML files being put on Wier's creative writing website.
Mr Savage
Just wondering what props you might be interested in buying from the movie? Any that you would want to replicate?
Hi will and norm. There is a couple of videos at ARES LIVE channel. They did a great character introduction that is a nod to the book and in line with the movie feel.
So yea just thought id mention that theres an interview with someone from pixar where they talk about that whole scene with rileys parents emotions. They wanted to make it easy to identify whos emotions were whos meaning they gave them similar traits but if you actually look at joy in the dads mind shes female.
Great book, great movie, i would have loved to see the " Look! A pair of boobs!" joke on the big screen!
you guy should totally talk about the movie "The man from Earth". The 2000 year old man comment by adam just popped it up on my mind
Thank you so much, Adam.
Thank you so much for the apology prefacing this podcast. The last time I heard that was jarring, esp not knowing it was a Simpsons reference, and I'm happy you've addressed it.
ok but what was the joke. i gotta know
As a spoiler alert for all movies Adam would start with: "The chick in the crying game is a dude!"
+Maciej - It is a choice to be edgy or not. It is a choice to be sensitive to people's feelings or not. It is a choice to be considerate of any person or group of people or not. Sometimes, we perform actions that go against our desired outcomes, and Adam inadvertently was insensitive to at least this one person. He is choosing not to be edgy, insensitive and inconsiderate of this person and others like them.
So yes, it is auto censorship he is doing to protect the feelings of a fan, and that's his choice and is perfectly fine. It also would have been fine if he decided he wanted to, for the sake of his own perceived sense of artistic merit, decide that the joke is more important than the feelings of this fan and others like them.
***** Yes, it would be fine. What matters is what Adam wanted to achieve with his joke. If you want to make fun of whatever you want and if that hurts someone you don't care, that's fine. Adam doesn't want to joke about something that hurts someone. It is that simple. He isn't saying he no longer finds the joke funny, he's saying the joke in the context he's used it in hasn't caused the results he wanted and is changing his course of actions to achieve the outcome he wants.
***** And if Adam was a stand up or a film maker that is trying to say something about sexuality he might not aim for being inoffensive. But this is a channel about building shit and stuff and he can offend or not offend anyone he wants.
He gets to decide who he wants to insult, not you. There is no problem.
***** Alright. The only generality I can see is your question of how the joke is insensitive. That can be addressed simply. Sensitivity is relative to a subject. That could be a group or an individual. If someone finds something you do upsetting, you've been insensitive to them.
That doesn't inherently mean you've done something wrong. Not all people's views deserve sensitivity, and what you personally think deserves it can differ from what others think deserve it. But just because you don't find something hurtful doesn't mean it isn't insensitive to others.
The word sometimes gets applied as if it is objective. That something can be insensitive in general. This is similar to how people will call statements offensive as if they are objectively offensive. This is not accurate. Things are offensive or insensitive in the eyes of some individuals and not others.
The important thing is that we recognize that and not try to apply any concessions universally. When you say something, you should consider what you want to get out of that statement.
Purely as an example: In Adam's case, he didn't understand that the joke was insensitive to repeat in the context he did for some people, and he wants to better align his statements with his goals as a communicator. For him in this situation the value of the comedy is outweighed by the value of wider appeal.
Is that clearer? The joke wasn't universally insensitive. There is no such thing as universal insensitivity.
At the meeting of eldrond I was waiting for Sean Bean to say "one does not simply walk to mars"
22:40 who was it? Will?
regarding venkat kapoor thing, they needed an actor with indian origin and irfan khan was first choice but he was doing another bollywood movie called piku ( really nice movie btw) thats why they changed the character. as indian i was bit sad that we didnt get our representation.
I was laughing my ass off at the Project Elrond moment.
love that Norm takes the lead on this podcast! he is so good at deconstructing movies
what was the purpose of the making a hole on the roof of the rover and plugging it with a balloon?
By the way, Sean Bean does get "killed" in this film. In the book, he keeps his job, but in the movie he's forced to resign. :)
That wasn't just a server room, that was supposed to be a NASA's super-computing cluster.
Love the show guys, keep up the good work. Just one question. He is in the title, but we never see the Hyneman. Will the Walrus ever be on the show?
Were you guys miffed at all about the crew's dissent when Lewis scrubbed the mission? It bothered me that the crew gave her the whole, "let's wait this out" after she said they were scrubbed. It only bothered me because of all the discussion surrounding the book as to how accurately Weir portrayed the way astronauts would really handle situations just like this.
Also there were one or two shameless Sharpie product placements in the movie, not just Samsung and GoPro
looking forward to see Adams version of the surface suit.
My problem with the movie was when they were placing the bomb to blow the door, there was no reason for the guy to go out around the space craft. The girl astronaut met him at the door and gave him the bomb right there. She could have done that the whole time. Did anyone else notice that or did i miss something.
You missed something
+NMBE 650 The door on which the bomb was placed cannot be opened with the bomb on it to let the girl out. So someone needed to place the bomb from the "outside".
You guys should create the astronaut suit from The Martian
the book definitely had two different types of suits. right? or am I going mad?
I'm still here ... and I still need to know who was at the door!
I think it laked exposition. Went to watch it two times both with someone who hasnt read de book.. And exact same questions.... Why they dont turn hermes around? What is the mav 4 doing there? Etc..
So everyone knows the book takes place in 2047 and the camera he communicates with is from 1997. So 50 years old. However in the movie the guys that worked on that project looked to be late forties to min 50's. It bugged me. :)
how can i get the podcast for tested? I'm newbe on podcasts and I have no idea. can somebody help me?
I absolutely loved the ARES mission suit designs!
Although, i had this feeling throughout the movie that some of the design was familiar, and when i came home, i remembered!
The abdomen part of the ARES suit, with its two orange stripes is fairly similar to Kamen Rader Fourze's "Base States" suit (albeit, a lot more refined and covered with stuff that make it... well, more plausible than a japanese kid's show).
Do check it out and tell me if it's just me :P
- Wind pressure is not real
- Hydrazine to water is not real (to much heat will be released)
- No radio isn't real. You can talk to sattelites using a pair of wires and 0.5 watt.
- After getting pathfinder he had antenna so even if radio is busted he could have hooked up antenna to HAB.
- After he was in contact with earth they could have told him emergency contact frequency and how to build antenna (metal stick). Even more likely they would have done it on earth as emergency planning. Earth can blast radio signal in 10s of megawatt or transmit from the satellite.
- Potatoes which are underground wouldn't have froze in 24 hours.
Saying that I adore the book and the movie and Mark Watney.
One big goof in the movie: they had the hydrazine -> water reaction running the whole time. (you can see it "burning" the whole time until the hab goes to vacuum.
what is the knife Mark Watney uses in the film ?
I saw this movie with my mom (I'm an engineer and just finished reading the book and my mom is absolutely not an engineer and hasn't read the book) and we both loved the movie (her favorite movie she's seen in the last few years). My mom liked the ending with Commander Lewis and she thought it made more sense where I agree I wasn't as big on that scene but I agree with Adam I thought the tangled up point was beautiful even if it did bug me a bit. I also agree that I wish they had of driven the point of how much the world came together for this, I felt like that fell flat a bit and it was just a huge point in the book. I was really wanting in the movie for Watney to say something about just how much it meant to him but it didn't and it kinda bummed me. That being said I do like the line about survival and problem solving at the end and that was a good point to make too.
I LOVED BENEDICT AS BRUCE SO MUCH IN THE MOVIE TOO. Sean as Mitch was great (didn't make the connection with LotR either). Matt Damon did fantastic. All the acting was great to be honest.
I was a little bummed they covered the rover modifications less (and how he loses communication for awhile) but I can understand taking it out. I also wish they had of done a better job of covering Vogel as German and had the mad scientist joke in there for the bomb. I wish his connection to Beck, Vogel and Johanssen would of been stronger but I liked how well they covered the relationship between Martinez and him well and Commander Lewis.
Overall though I thought the movie did a fantastic job and my issues with it are not that big. I hope it wins some awards (the script, acting and especially special effects were great). Deffo recommend the book and movie to people, especially engineers but even those who aren't (my mom certainly liked the movie and I'm trying to get her to read the book).
no link to him making the joke?
there's no motion blur in the sandstorm because it's CGI.
+Alkapow Portstar in England the biggest laugh was the iron man part as oppose to the the cringe/groan moment of "you have horrible taste in music"
When will Jamie Hyneman be on the podcast ???
Norm, the book DOES address the fact that they have two different types of suits.
is adam working to create a costume replica of the space suite from the movie
What was the joke? I don't even remember him ever making a joke.
*****
Someone actually got upset over that? Fuck me, this generation is so shit. I'm ready to leave this planet.
+Gabbos Ironfist And now someone has hidden the replies explaining the joke. Any help please?
+Gabbos Ironfist I know, I've gone back and checked a couple spoiler casts from the past, as have others, and the last 4 did not have a joke that I could pick out on the subject in question. Now i'm mildly obsessed with knowing what was so offensive.
*edit* I finally found it. Just google "Adam Savage "Crying Game" and you'll find the comment where the person was offended, and can proceed from there. Not linking because I don't need the hate.
All that said, people on both sides of this need to calm the fuck down. No one deserves to be mocked for being who they are, but at the same time, if you think you deserve to get through life without anyone hurting for feelings or 'offending' you, you're going to have a bad time.
+Jarik C-Bol
Mad props to Adam for addressing his unintentional possible propagation of the issue. But your 2nd point holds true, and is an important one to bear in mind, the direct antithesis to special snowflake syndrome. Everyone take a deep breath, the person offending you probably didn't mean to ruin your day, and if they did mean to, why give them the satisfaction of letting them do so.
Watching the movie, i thought all the time: Adam HAS to make the suit, he will geek out :-)
They say "fuck" twice in the movie. The one in the beginning and in the middle he says "fuck you Mars"
There was a view of earth shot that occurred just before they got the Rich Parnel Manuver.
The only thing I REALLY didn't like was his actual rescue. The way he used the atmosphere in his suit as propulsion. that introduced that idea in the book, and passed it off as a joke. But then they really did it. I guess it's more cinematic, and more exciting, but i liked the low-intensity of his final moments near mars.
When did they use a body double?
+wordsnwood theres a few times but most notably when he suits up at the MAV.
Get your facts right before you say stuff like that. He did an interview where Matt Damon himself said they used a body double. www.macleans.ca/culture/movies/matt-damon-on-living-like-a-martian/
I really enjoyed the film right up to where they switched off Newtonian mechanics in the rescue. I can forgive the edits for telling the story in a movie, or the difficulty of filming weightlessness in a corridor, but the unrealistic depiction of the rescue took me right out of the story and spoiled the rest of the movie.
A major draw of this story was was its plausibility, and the movie makers lost that at such a key scene. I wish they had gone back for one more revision of the script to get a version of the rescue with more realistic physics.
Anyone else notice that fact the in both Interstellar and The Martian Matt Damon is an astronaut stuck in another world and the fact that the daughter from Interstellar is a captain on the Martian? At least a mention.
Plot twist..its all a dream =D
Is the joke at the end of the video? Cos the version I am watching was abruptly cut off at the end.
Will announced his departure from Tested, just as the in-show commercials began. Coincidence?
movement inside the torus was wrong. As if spinning something around would generate actual gravity.
I took my wife to see the film, I've read the book, she hasn't, she loved it! with me waiting to see how it compares to the book it was great for me to see her reactions to the goings on and the suspense of the story unfolding. I thought it was dumbed down a bit compared to the book but then I guess the extended science stuff wouldn't make a flowing movie
I have one bone to pick with The Martian. I have multiple, really, but only one worth mentioning. Hab Canvas.
Guys it's not Skipparelli's crater, it's pronounced Skiaparelli [skjapaˈrɛlːi]. I'm Italian.