The Martian, a science fiction survival film directed by Ridley Scott, is the big screen adaptation of the 2011 novel of the same name, written by Andy Weir. It tells the story of Mark Watney, a botanist turned astronaut, played by Matt Damon, who is presumed dead and is therefore left behind along on Mars. He struggles to survive as others try to devise a plan to rescue him. As well as Damon, the film stars Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain and Jeff Daniels.
The novel was optioned in 2013 by Twentieth Century Fox, who brought Simon Kinberg in to develop and produce the film version; and Drew Goddard, who was going to adapt the novel into a screenplay, and was also hired as director. However, nothing seemed to happen and the movie stalled. Changes were needed; Ridley Scott replaced Goddard as the director, and Matt Damon signed on to play the main character, which gave the film the kick-start it had needed.
Location filming was a challenge; clearly filming on Mars was out of the question and so realistic sound stages were created in Budapest, Hungary, and Wadi Rum in Jordan. The Hungarian sound stage remains the largest in the world to date.
The Martian was widely well-received after its premieres on both sides of the pond in 2015. It is Ridley Scott's highest grossing film to date, pulling in an impressive six-hundred-and-thirty million dollars worldwide. It received seven Academy Award nominations, and was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, with Matt Damon also picking up the Best Actor award. One of the Oscar nominations the film garnered also went to Damon, although he did not end up winning.
NASA considers the film to be a realistic representation of both the life of an astronaut and the landscape of Mars. The only point of contention was the movie's depiction of the NASA offices, which most of of the scientists advising Scott on the movie agreed was far more luxurious than the offices they worked in every day.
