(courtesy IMP Awards)
SNAPSHOT
Astronaut Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakens with no memory of himself or his mission. He deduces he is the sole survivor of a crew sent to the Tau Ceti solar system in search of a solution to a catastrophic event on Earth. In his search for answers, Grace must rely on his vast array of scientific knowledge, sheer ingenuity, and human will – but he may not have to search alone. Project Hail Mary is directed by the two acclaimed producers / writers / filmmakers Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (known as Lord & Miller), director of the films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie, and 22 Jump Street previously, plus The Afterparty series most recently. The screenplay is written by Drew Goddard (of Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z, The Martian, Bad Times at the El Royale) with Andy Weird. Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name first published in 2021. It’s produced by Ryan Gosling, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Andy Weir, Lord/Miller. (courtesy First Showing)
If ever there was a book that arrived right when it was needed, it was Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir which hit my TBR, and which frankly didn’t stay there all too long (sorry to the long-term denizens of the pile), in the dark days of the second year of the pandemic when it felt like the lockdowns and life disruptions were never going to end.
While the premise is stark – all the suns in the universe are dying including our own and we have one roll of the dice in the form of a reluctant high school teacher to avert oblivion – the story is so full of warmth, heart, humanity and hope, and lots of buoyant humour, that you arrive at the end of it feeling like anything is possible.
While we definitely needed an emotional uplift like that then, we still need it now and thankfully the early reviews indicate that the film absolutely delivers, channelling the spirit and heart of the book perfectly and giving us a boost right when we need it.
These featurettes bolster that sense of something very good coming our way and I can’t wait to see Project Hail Mary when releases 19 March in Australia and 20 March in U.S.
Join Ryan Gosling in The Backstage Experience …