All this and the book still hasnt hit shelves itll be released on Feb. 6.
(Pre-order ithere.)
The book probes questions about consciousness and crime that calls to mind, among others,True Detectiveand12 Monkeys.
Credit: Penguin Random House; Sean Gallup/Getty Images
As the conversation goes on, they speak existentially about life, death, and everything in between.
SWETERLITSCH:I remember when you emailed me I was watchingThe Martianat the Manor Theater here in Pittsburgh.
About halfway through, my phone buzzes and I have an email from Neill Blomkamp.
Penguin Random House
It was surreal, I was so excited.
Im such a fan of yours.
Ive watched all your early commercials, and your films multiple times.
Very excited my book resonated with you.
But what was it that you responded to, that made you want to work on it?
Thats why I say its my favorite book that Ive ever read.
SWETERLITSCH:Thanks that means a lot to me.
And Im glad you like the protagonist, Shannon.
I think Shannons my favorite thing about this book.
But in a new way in a way that feels fresh.
Is that something you still think about?
BLOMKAMP:Well, I think you better start with the story and work backwards from that.
Plus, the SR-71…
SWETERLITSCH:Shannons ship…
BLOMKAMP:Thats always been my favorite plane.
SWETERLITSCH:The tone ofThe Gone Worldis different from your first three films.
BLOMKAMP:You know, the other films that Ive done are always…
I meanDistrict 9is definitely allegory, andElysiumis satirical, theyre kind of quirky.
Theyre not dead serious takes on something, whereThe Gone Worldis dead serious.
I guess the Oats pieces weve done arent so much… SWETERLITSCH:My first book had a lot of satire to it.
It was almost similar to elements in your films.
I would like to be creative in that space.
So thats a very cool, somewhat unique mixture, because normally its kind of one or the other.
Its like youre asking deep questions but then theres, you know, there will be something awesome.
Or it being just…
In what ways can you connect those dots in a way thats so captivating?
I think were both thinking about those questions.
SWETERLITSCH:Do you ever look at movies that have been adapted from books?
Do you study that, and figure out how they do the adapting?
BLOMKAMP:No, but I do find books to be much more free than films.
Theyre able to go down avenues and paths that readers are willing to go down.
They dont need to follow as much of a concise, two-hour narrative the way that films do.
SWETERLITSCH:Thats true in fact, books are almost better when they do go down every avenue.
Books and films are narrative but books can explore everything, every loose end that comes up.
But theyre a different experience than what you look for in a movie.
BLOMKAMP:Yeah, I remember the genesis ofFirebase, when I first emailed you about it.
That film deals with simulation hypothesis, its basically like 3-D graphics.
And so youre constantly collapsing this tree of potentiality into a single defining moment.
That idea calls into question everything.
Do you exist only in the present moment?
Is everything else non-linear?
Do all of the other potential outcomes of you exist simultaneously?
