About The Martian film
The Martian is a science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon and produced through 20th Century Fox.
This film is adapted from the novel The Martian by Andy Weir.
The involvement of NASA in making The Martian movie
Role of Andy Weir to contact NASA
The director of the movie Ridley Scott began preparing the film he wishes to work with NASA for this film project. Then Andy Weir contacted NASA to collaborate on the film.
Scott called NASA and spoke with Bert Ulrich, its liaison for film and television, during their first production meeting.
NASA saw an opportunity to promote space exploration and made the decision to help the filmmakers with their depiction of the science and technology in The Martian.
Contribution of James L. Green
James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division, and Dave Lavery, the Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, were significant NASA employees who joined the alliance. Green and Scott had two conversations prior to the commencement of filming.
Over the course of a month, NASA sent weekly responses to hundreds of queries on topics ranging from radioisotope systems to the design of hypothetical “habs,” the future astronauts’ homes on Mars.
Green responded to the inquiries or forwarded them to the appropriate authority before they were returned to Scott’s team for incorporation into the production.
The production crew received hundreds of files from the space agency that included actual photographs of Mars and control rooms, right down to the appearance of the computer screens.
Production designer Arthur Max was given a tour of the Johnson Space Center in Houston by Green. During the eight-hour tour, Max spoke with several specialists and took hundreds of images.
Ars Technica regarded the production designer’s futuristic, significantly updated Mission Control as a studio set as being the antithesis of the genuine Johnson Center’s appearance as “a run-down college campus” and “the space agency that we all dream about.”
Role of NASA’s employees towards The Martian making
As opposed to most other movies, The Martian had more NASA involvement, according to Newsweek: “Staff from numerous NASA departments consult on the picture, from script development through principal photography, and are currently helping with marketing timed to the theatre release.”
The front page of the movie’s script was included as part of the collaboration by the production’s NASA liaison in the cargo of the spaceship Orion during its Exploration Flight Test 1 on December 5, 2014.
According to The Los Angeles Times, NASA and the larger scientific community expected the movie to be a means of raising awareness of a human journey to Mars. The video “serves as a great boost for NASA, which has returned the favor by advertising the movie on its website,” according to The New York Times.
On September 28, 2015, researchers said that images collected on Mars by a camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed evidence of liquid water.
That timing indicates that NASA has the entire cross-promotion thing down.
According to NASA project manager Jim Erickson, the movie would depict “the dangers and rewards” of sending people to Mars.
Achievement of the movie The Martian
The Martian film received positive reviews and grossed over $630 million worldwide. The movie became Scott’s highest-grossing film to date.
The Martian movie became the 10th-highest-grossing film of 2015.
The film received several accolades, including the 2016 long-form Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, seven nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Goddard.
In addition to receiving nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor.
Matt Damon won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
A compliment from the ex-president of America Barack Obama
Barack Obama, who was the U.S. president at the time, cited The Martian as one of the best science fiction movies he had ever seen when he submitted the yearly NASA budget requests to Congress in 2016.