{"id":2391516,"date":"2026-04-27T15:31:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2391516"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:31:05","slug":"this-is-what-project-hail-mary-author-andy-weir-thinks-about-the-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/this-is-what-project-hail-mary-author-andy-weir-thinks-about-the-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is What \u2018Project Hail Mary\u2019 Author Andy Weir Thinks About the Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Project Hail Mary<\/em> is taking the box office by storm, and it seems like everybody I know is racing through the book either before or after watching the movie.<\/p>\n

As the Good Housekeeping<\/em> books editor, I love watching book-to-movie adaptations<\/a>, but it can be a tricky business. Everybody has an opinion on the end result\u2014Wuthering Heights<\/em>, for example\u2014and fans can love or hate the adaptation choices.<\/p>\n

So what does the author of Project Hail Mary<\/em>, Andy Weir, think about the movie adaptation? Spoiler alert: He loves it\u2014but he thinks it\u2019s missing one important scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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At a panel at Book Con in New York City in April, Andy Weir discussed book-to-movie adaptations alongside authors Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven<\/em>), May Cobb (The Hunting Wives<\/em>), and Robinne Lee (The Idea of You<\/em>). He discussed the struggle of adapting <\/strong>Project Hail Mary<\/strong><\/em>, his hopes and fears during filming, and what adaptation might be next for him. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A familiar process<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not all authors get to be closely involved with their adaptations, but Andy Weir is no stranger to the process\u2014or to Hollywood. His book The Martian <\/em>became a 2015 blockbuster, and Weir was a producer on Project Hail Mary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a certain amount of ownership of the movie, because I was there for the whole shoot,\u201d said Weir to the packed audience. \u201cI was giving notes and feedback on the screenplay before that, giving notes on the edits, and I saw all the cuts. That feels good because I feel like I was one of a team that made this movie, which I think came out really well. So I\u2019m very happy with the adaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also doesn\u2019t hurt that Ryan Gosling is even hotter in person, he joked.<\/p>\n

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Sarah Vincent<\/span><\/figcaption>

From left: Andy Weir, Emily St. John Mandel, Robinne Lee, and May Cobb speaking on a panel about book-to-movie adaptations at Book Con.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Adaptation challenges<\/h2>\n

A fear of flying kept Weir away from the set of The Martian<\/em>, so he had plenty to learn about the difference between writing and producing with Project Hail Mary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you’re writing a book, you’re a dictator. You have absolute and total control over every single aspect of the story,\u201d he said. But working on a movie is both a team effort and a living, breathing process that evolves with the actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really surprised at how much the script is just sort of a vague suggestion,\u201d said Weir. \u201cMaybe half of the movie is basically ad-libbed. The actors are part of the creation of the story, and that was a big learning experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not every scene Weir loved in the book made it into the movie: \u201cIn the book, they nuke Antarctica. I still maintain we could have done it. But it’s a really long movie, and they didn’t want to add five minutes to the runtime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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