In the post-COVID era, when it is riskier and riskier for studios to put out big-budget projects, one film that has been bringing in the big bucks at the box office is Project Hail Mary. The science fiction epic starring Ryan Gosling was released on 20 March and has already grossed $510 million (making it the highest-grossing film of the year thus far) against a budget of $248 million.
The story is about a school teacher who awakens on board a spaceship with amnesia, and it is based on the 2021 novel by the same title by author Andy Weir.
He appeared on a podcast with fellow author Will Jordan of the popular The Critical Drinker YouTube channel last month, just days after the film’s release. The Critical Drinker is known for his constant critique of leftist messaging in popular media, so his appearance on his podcast was already a risk in leftist Hollywood circles.
What’s more, when Jordan brought up his misgivings about progressive liberal messaging in mainstream films, Weir was in agreement.
‘I think you and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to fiction and ideology. I never put any politics or messaging in any of my stories at all. There is no, you know, deeper meaning. There isn’t even really symbolism in my book, even non-political; there’s no symbolism at all. My books are always just purely to entertain,’ Weir told Jordan on the podcast.
This is in contrast with another recent development in the American entertainment world that has angered many conservatives. Also in late March, it was announced that late-night show host Stephen Colbert, one of the fiercest and longest-running critics of President Trump and the Republican Party, had been hired to co-write the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie produced by Warner Bros.
Colbert’s The Late Show is ending in May after failing to garner a wide enough audience to turn a profit for CBS. The right-wing faction of America was certainly displeased to hear that, despite that, he has been tasked to work on one of the most popular novels in literature, written by JRR Tolkien. However, it was also a known fact about Colbert that he is an avid fan of the late British novelist.
In his interview with The Critical Drinker, Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir also talked about his career as an author.
He shared that he was a successful software engineer, who was able to afford a three-year ‘sabbatical’, as he put it, to give himself a chance to become a professional writer. However, he failed to get a book deal or even an agent in that three-year period, so he returned to software engineering and continued writing as a hobby.
He published his first popular work, The Martian, online for free in 2011, where it found a dedicated fan base of around 3,000 readers over time—Weir continued his life story. It was his fans who requested that he move his work from his website to Amazon for easier access on Kindle devices. Amazon required him to charge money for his book, so he set the price at the minimum of $0.99. His already established fan base bought the book en masse at its release, which pushed the book high in the Amazon algorithm.
In 2015 a film adaptation of Weir’s book The Martian by the same title was released, starring Matt Damon.
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