Some writing advice from Andy Weir of Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir has done very well when it comes to adaptations. His first novel, Martian, It was made into a movie in 2015The film, directed by Ridley Scott, grossed more than $600 million at the box office. and Hail Mary project You just had a huge opening weekend This puts it on track to be one of the biggest films of the year. However, despite this success, Weir told me that he does his best to keep the idea of ​​adaptation out of his mind when he starts a new novel. “I try not to think about it at all,” he explains.

The reason, according to Ware, is that the two methods are completely different. And that’s something he’s learned over the last decade, especially when it comes to that Hail Mary projecton which Weir served as a producer. “I was closely involved in every aspect of the production,” he explains. “I was there for filming, principal photography, involved in casting and casting of directors, post-production and editing. I had to give feedback on everything. The main reason I was a producer was the way my contract was structured, but for the most part I tried to stay out of the way of real producers who knew what they were doing.”

This role gave him more knowledge about how to make films Martian“They gave me money and told me to leave,” he says — but he says his experiences with both films haven’t changed the way he approaches the writing process.

Here’s how he explained it to me:

When I’m writing a book — and this is the advice I give to all authors — I don’t think about a movie adaptation. If you want to write a movie, write a screenplay. But if you want to write a book, write a book. You should focus on the reader’s experience while reading your book. You don’t have to limit yourself to what would make a good motion picture. You have to focus on what makes a good literary book. Because there are a lot of things you can do in books that you can’t do in movies, and vice versa, so you have to take advantage of the larger palette and flexibility you have with the written word. Just use all of these tools instead of limiting yourself to writing a novel for a movie in your head.

“He’s got these big, brilliant cinematic ideas,” Goddard says. “He has a wonderful sense of plot. For me personally, it’s the spirit of his writing that really makes it transcend. It’s easy to overlook because his ideas were so big, and the hard science is front and center, and I think people think that’s the key to his success. But for me, I love that he’s writing about these deeper themes about humanity. He might say he’s not, he’s just trying to give you a good time. I disagree. I see these beautiful themes of human compassion and emotion that exist between the words he writes, and I feel like it’s my job to take that spirit out and put it in.” On screen.

That’s what helped Goddard overcome that initial fear when it came to it Hail Mary projectScript. “I knew we had to try because I love this book so much,” he says.