The good news, as Deadline Hollywood reports, is that the movie version of “Artemis,” the upcoming novel by Andy Weir of “The Martian” fame, has a pair of directors. The potentially bad news is that the director team consists of Phil Moore and Christopher Miller, who were fired from the Han Solo Movie because of creative differences with the producers and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. They were replaced by Ron Howard who is currently finishing the film.
What is ‘Artemis’ about?
Like ‘The Martian" Weir’s latest novel is set in space and features a smart, sarcastic character who is in a life-threatening situation.
The difference is that “Artemis” takes place in a lunar colony and the main character, Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara is a 20 something woman of Arabic descent who is living on the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder and on the edge of legality and crime. She gets the opportunity to better her lot in life through a scheme that is highly illegal but potentially highly lucrative. That Jazz gets in over her head, annoying some very powerful people, is to understate the situation. The book should be another best seller and, if the execution is well done, the movie a smash hit.
How will Moore and Miller do?
Phil Moore and Christopher Miller have a number of solid films, including “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” and “21 Jump Street,” on their resume.
The problem with the Han Solo movie was that they had not been granted the degree of autonomy that they had grown accustomed to. Their direction style tends to be freewheeling, open to improvisation by actors. Unfortunately, this style did not sit well with producer Kathleen Kennedy or writer Lawrence Kasdan, a legend who is responsible for “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
It looks like Moore and Miller are going to be granted a bit more freedom to use their freewheeling style for the production of “Artemis.” For example, they will choose the writer to develop the screenplay for the film.
Thus far the screenwriter nor the cast have been selected. No schedule or release date has been announced. It should be noted that “The Martian” had been put on a fast track and came out a year after the release of the book.
A movie set in a moon colony should be topical in any case. 2018 will feature the landing of one or more private missions to the lunar surface under the Google Lunar XPrize competition. NASA and other national space agencies seem to be pivoting back to the moon as well.
