Ridley Scott on new movie, "The Martian," and NASA's big news
NASA unveiled groundbreaking evidence of free-flowing water on Mars' surface on Monday. The announcement came just in time for filmmaker Ridley Scott's new movie, "The Martian," which explores the possibility of survival on Mars. And the timing wasn't entirely coincidental.
For the award-winning director and producer--best known for his science-fiction classics such as "Alien" and "Blade Runner"--NASA's big announcement was old news.
"I knew two months ago because I get along well with NASA," Scott told "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday. "I called when I decided to do the book and they revealed the fact there was water up there, but they thought it was ice. But today we hear it was moving water."
Scott's latest film is an on-screen adaption of Andy Weir's 2011 novel, about an astronaut. Matt Damon plays the astronaut, who is stranded on Mars after his crew mates--believing he is dead--evacuate a sandstorm leaving him behind.
Scott agrees that the latest development on earth's celestial neighbor is significant.
"Mars is the last stepping stone into deep space so I think that's why Mars has become so romanticized, important," he said.
Scott also discussed the importance of working closely with Damon, who, as the lone astronaut stranded on Mars, was the only character on-screen for much of the film.
Scott shared that he spent a lot of time alone with the actor on set, plotting how to portray different emotional scenes. He planted 28 GoPro cameras so that Damon's dense monologues would not be dull for the audience.
The director also expressed his belief that a manned mission to Mars was not too far off in the future, predicting that it could be as early as some time in the 2020s.
When asked if he would ever like to visit Mars himself one day, Scott answered, "Absolutely not. I've just been."
According to the director, his new film offers a very accurate glimpse of what it's like on Mars. For those who would also like to "visit" the planet, the movie will blast off in theaters on Friday, Oct. 2.