In 2015, Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel The Martian went on to be a critical success and a box office juggernaut, ending up as one of the highest grossing films of that year. Now, just over a decade later, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s adaptation of Weir’s third novel, Project Hail Mary, has proven to be a similar success. In the midst of our current global turmoil, something has clearly resonated in this story of facing impossible odds and overcoming fear by finding someone who inspires you to be better than you believed you could be.
Camera Operator had the chance to speak with A camera and Steadicam operator Jason Ewart, ACO about his experience working on the film, from shooting inside the practical spaceship sets with modified digital cameras designed to capture footage for IMAX screens, to spending most of the shoot working with just a single actor and an alien puppet.
In the not-too-distant future, the Sun is dying; slowly being eaten by an interstellar microorganism known as astrophage. In a desperate attempt to save humanity—a Hail Mary, if you will—Earth’s nations unite to develop a ship that can travel to the nearest star that has not been affected by the astrophage, in the hopes that it will provide the secret for saving our world. Disgraced molecular biologist and current school teacher, Ryland Grace, is recruited to help study the astrophage only to eventually be volunteered to embark on this one-way mission to the other end of the galaxy. Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a screenplay by Drew Goddard. It stars Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce.
