Drew Goddard has earned his geek credibility many times over. Goddard wrote for the acclaimed series Byffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost and Daredevil, and co-wrote and directed the cult smash horror comedy The Cabin in the Woods. But now he’s aiming squarely at the nerd crowd with his adaptation of Andy Weir’s best-selling novel The Martian, which has hard science coming out of its ears.
We sat down with Drew Goddard at TIFF 2015 to talk about the complicated process of turning a very technical novel into a very human screenplay, and why it was so important to the writer not to dumb down Andy Weir’s story for mainstream audiences.
What’s more, we also asked about the Sinister Six movie he was preparing to direct for Sony before the announcement of the Marvel Studios reboot. Quoth the Goddard: “On the off-chance we actually get to make it one day I want to keep it sort of quiet, but it was the epic Spider-Man movie of my dreams. Yeah, no, look, I loved it. We were deep in pre-production when the Sony hack happened and it was sad to see everything go down. But welcome to Hollywood.”
Related: TIFF 2015 Video | Chiwetel Ejiofor on ‘The Martian’
The Martian stars Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire), Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters), Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Civil War), Donald Glover (Community) and Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom). It premieres in theaters nationwide on October 2nd, 2015.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The Best of TIFF 2015 | Exclusive Reviews, Interviews and Videos
The Best of TIFF 2015: Exclusive Reviews, Interviews and Videos
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'The Martian' Sciences All The Science
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Brian Helgeland on ‘Legend’ and ‘The Wild Bunch’
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'High-Rise' is an Impressive Erection
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Denis Villeneuve on 'Sicario' and 'Blade Runner 2'
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'The Boy and the Beast' is Best of the Fest
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Chiwetel Ejiofor on ‘The Martian’
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Tom Hardy is Kray-Kray in 'Legend'
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'The Danish Girl' Flakes at the End
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'Mustang' Isn't Just Turkey's 'Virgin Suicides'
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Drew Goddard on 'The Martian' and 'Sinister Six'
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'Body' Makes You Laugh Without Knowing Why
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'Green Room' Has Strong Fear on Tap
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Superb Satire in 'Chevalier'
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'Sicario' Borders on Greatness