Project Hail Mary Author Andy Weir's Favorite Scenes From The Movie Make So Much Sense

"Project Hail Mary" has been an unequivocal success, dominating the box office for weeks. The feel-good film of the year is a close-to-perfect adaptation of Andy Weir's best-selling sci-fi novel (although, like any adaptation, the movie has several big changes from the book).

The author was on set for a lot of the filming, and Weir feels good about the movie. He even used the adaptation as an opportunity to add a secret subplot to the story that didn't make it into his book. When it comes to picking a favorite scene, though, the author couldn't be coaxed into a single choice. Speaking to Space.com, Weir admitted that he narrowed it down to a tie between two scenes — and they couldn't be more different parts of the movie:

"It's kind of a tie. The first contact stuff when Ryland and Rocky are trying to interact with each other and create a shared language. And the other one would be the fishing sequence when they have to get a sample from Adrian's atmosphere, that's really pulse-pounding."

Weir's two favorite scenes couldn't be more different, but it actually makes a lot of sense why these would stand out for the author.

The first contact sequence is one of the most genuine feel-good parts of the story in "Project Hail Mary." The initial palpitating fear of alien species quickly melts away as Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz) and Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) realize that they are both friendly and eager to communicate. This leads to a heart-warming sequence where the new best buds spend significant time learning each other's languages and building a computer program to translate Rocky's dulcet tones into American English. It's a slow, enjoyable, and funny part of the film.

On the flip side, the "fishing" scene is by far the most dramatic part of the entire movie. In it, Rocky and Grace fly the Hail Mary ship into the upper atmosphere of the planet Adrian. The goal? To harvest some Taumoeba, the microscopic life form that functions as a predator to the sun-destroying Astrophage. The sequence involves Grace heading out onto the ship with gravity pulling him toward the planet's surface. He nearly falls more than once and loses consciousness as they leave, leading to Rocky's death-defying rescue of his human friend. The entire sequence is exhilarating, and it's perfectly executed on screen.

There's a lot to like in "Project Hail Mary" (and plenty of confusing moments, too), but there's no question that Weir cherry-picked two of the best candidates for his favorite moments.