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comment by rinx
rinx  ·  3361 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: September 14th: What are you reading this week?

I can't imagine the movie will be the same experience as the book, at best it will be a different kind of fun. The book goes into a lot of fun with science lectures that I don't think will translate well. I really loved the book, I'd say it's worth a shot.





dublinben  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I wonder if the filmmakers will use a voiceover, or have Watney talk to himself. Movies with a single, silent character are not well-received by most audiences.

tehstone  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I've wondered the same thing. The first trailer has a bit of voiceover that's directly quoting the book which sort of makes sense given that he's writing everything in his journal/log. My guess is that it will alternate between him talking as a narrator and talking on-screen given the context of the event.

user-inactivated  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Didn't Castaway do well? That's kind of what this story is. Castaway in space.

dublinben  ·  3358 days ago  ·  link  ·  

If I remember correctly, in Castaway they created a second 'character' in Wilson the volleyball fairly early on.

user-inactivated  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm six chapters in and I like it so far. The jump from Watney's journal to the characters at NASA was unexpected. I'm actually thinking about skipping those chapters altogether because I like how how isolated things feel from Watney's perspective. Though, I'm afraid I'll miss important points if I do.

Cedar  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oooh, that's a tough decision. I really liked the NASA chapters, think it added some interesting characters and it worked well overall -- but I'm pretty sure you could drop them. Do it and report back how it turns out, the re-read with them!

user-inactivated  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes. Hmm. It doesn't work too well actually. I think I'm missing some critical points here.

OftenBen  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Seconded

tehstone  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

There was a point in the book where I had just read a long section from the nasa perspective and found myself wishing it would just go back to Watney only like the first part of the book had been. A few pages later I got my wish for some time because his comms went down. I think a little less on the nasa parts would be fine but overall they're a necessary part of the narrative.

OftenBen  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I would love to have a version that's exclusively Watney, no cuts to the NASA perspective at all.

user-inactivated  ·  3359 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ditto. I'd read this book twice if they did that.

OftenBen  ·  3356 days ago  ·  link  ·  

mk rob05c minor #bugski here. When I'm in my notifications, this post says I am muted here. Could be indicative of some larger problem.

user-inactivated  ·  3361 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I read the first two chapters tonight. It's not bad so far.