| The Martian director Ridley Scott knew about water on Mars months ago |
It's a plot flaw that no one saw coming until it was too late.
The Martian director Ridley Scott has said he was shown images of water on Mars by the head of NASA two months ago - which would have caused a major plot twist in his sci-fi adventure.
Matt Damon plays a botanist who makes water to irrigate potato plants to help him survive being stranded on the planet for nearly two years after a mission goes wrong.
Scott told The New York Times on Monday that he'd been shown photos of the NASA breakthrough a couple of months ago - too late to change the science-heavy story, based on the book by Andy Weir. Otherwise, said Scott, Damon's character Mark Watney would have "gone and dug in".
"He would have found the edge of a glacier, definitely. It would be fascinating," said Scott. "But then I would have lost a great sequence.
"He has to make water, and the steaming device, and put up the plastic tents, which creates the humidity, which grows the plants, which is the most basic form of irrigation. They still do it in Spain that way."
Scott has worked closely with NASA on The Martian, with the film screened International Space Station earlier this month.
However, there have been comments across social media that the opening of the film this week has been of suspiciously fortuitous timing with the NASA announcement.
The Martian opens in Australia on Thursday.
| HAVE YOUR SAY!!! - What do you think about this story? Tell us here. |
|
