An excerpt from my script review for Project Hail Mary which will be available 05/22/26:
1.) Marketability of the Idea
Based on the novel by Andy Weir.
Ah…that elusive “based on” that instantly garners the respect of a professional reader. If only more of us had it.
(More on that in a bit…)
Perhaps I’ve mentioned this in the past, but one of the things the boss hates doing is seeing a movie with me after I’ve read the script.
On more than one occasion, although not recently, I’d lean over in the theater and whisper, “See in the script they did…”
She hated it, and where I thought it was being insightful, or at least appreciating when the film made a better choice, I’ve learned my lesson and only do it now out of jest.
But for Project Hail Mary?
She read the book and boy did she get her payback when we went to see it!
I honestly didn’t mind it, because there was a lot I missed based on what she told me.
One of the better insights was how Rocky built a wall out of various materials to see which one Grace went to.
This was clever because we didn’t “see” the same way Rocky’s species did, and he was smart enough to give Grace a few options to understand what element to use going forward.
In the film, it just looks like a wall of various sizes, shapes, and colors, none of which signified that was by design.
So the joke’s on her because I rather enjoyed hearing, “In the novel…”
But what else do we have here?
First off, it feels kind of like Interstellar meets The Martian, in that Grace is trying to save humanity but in a tone that resembles the past Golden Globe Best Comedy winner.
I’m not sure that pitch works without the existing IP of the novel. Personally, I think it’ll be passed over by professional readers as “too close” which might be a fair argument, but now we know the novel is a success making their imaginary judgment flawed.
Goes to show not even Hollywood knows it all when it comes to the entertainment industry…at least in my hypothetical scenario here.
If you have the time, and are truly determined to get your project made, the self publish route has never been more accessible.
Don’t think that’s feasible? There are plenty of notable examples…
Hell, that’s how Andy Weir himself started when he wrote The Martian, a fact I’m just now learning!
I was going to mention the Wool series, because it was one of the first self published group of books I ever read, and now on Apple TV.
The other series that I read was the Expanse novels, also self published and a series on Amazon.
(Although, I lost interest partway through the 4th book, I think, but I hate reading.)
One thing I will mention though, as the boss makes her way through a lot of self published stuff…just because you can publish a book you wrote doesn’t necessarily mean that you should!
There’s some real stinkers out there according to her.
Project Hail Mary Box Office Stats
Want EARLY access to our videos, uploads, and movie/script reviews? Members get them FIRST! Follow this link to our Discussion Forum.
