The Martian is one of those random successes thatâs hard to see playing out in any other method than it did back in 2015. Matt Damonâs Mark Watney anchored an ensemble cast with his central character, who was full of wit, scientific knowhow and a creative handle on the English language, swears and all. And yet, if 20th Century Fox had its way, Matt Damon would have missed out on the Oscar-nominated role, because the studio s first choice was Channing Tatum.
Itâs strange to think about that alternate casting, but itâs exactly what would have happened had Matt Damon himself not lobbied for the role. I learned this surprising fact when speaking with author Andy Weir, the man who wrote the novel
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When FedEx employee Chuck Noland’s plane crashes, he ends up stranded on a deserted tropical island for four years, with an inanimate volleyball named Wilson as his only friend. Deemed an “existential blockbuster” for the 21
st century, not a whole lot of action occurs during
Cast Away’s 143-minute running time. But Hanks’s long beard and survival scenarios generated an iconic character and film.
It took
Apollo 13 screenwriter William Broyles Jr. six years to shape the story with Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis, to a Method degree: filming halted for a year so that Hanks could shed 50 pounds as real time passed in the movie. The movie was released on December 22, 2000, and became a huge hit, grossing $429,632,142 worldwide on a $90 million budget. Here are some facts about the film.