We’ve all said it: "They don’t make movies like they used to.” It's true, too...but Andy Weir's PROJECT HAIL MARY is the blueprint for how to fix the problem!

This is the story of how my 11-year-old son — a kid raised on a steady diet of Marvel and Star Wars — ended up sobbing through a 28-year-old disaster flick and declaring it the best thing he’s ever seen. It’s also about why Hollywood is currently failing its audience, and how a science teacher lightyears from home in PROJECT HAIL MARY holds the key to saving the movie business and maybe even our future.

If you’ve ever felt fatigued by superheroes and god-like beings, if you’re a screenwriter trying to work out what’s next, or if you’re wondering how a culture could so dramatically lose its way, this episode of 5AM StoryTalk is for you!

ON THE ITINERARY:

• DECONSTRUCTIVE VS. CONSTRUCTIVE ART: The difference between art as a "mirror" and art as a "hammer."
• THE 11-YEAR-OLD LITMUS TEST: Lessons from ‘Deep Impact’ on why grounded human drama triggers "awe."
• THE SCIENCE OF MORAL BEAUTY: Exploring Dr. Dacher Keltner’s research on why acts of courage are emotional triggers.
• SUPERHERO FATIGUE: Why we must trade powerful beings for ordinary people facing certain death.
• ANDY WEIR'S ‘PROJECT HAIL MARY’: Why this story is the answer to: "Why don’t they make movies like they used to?"
• THE MIDDLE ROAD: Using the "grinder" of deconstruction to earn a transcendent ending.

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LINKS

• Listen/Watch/Read "Screenwriters Meg LeFauve & Joe Forte | Breaking Your Story (and Life)": https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/the-screenwriting-life-meg-lefauve-joe-forte?utm_source=publication-search
• Listen/Read "When Did We Stop Dreaming of a Better Future?": https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/new-podcast-did-science-fiction-help?utm_source=publication-search
• Learn more about Dacher Keltner's study of awe: https://www.dacherkeltner.com/

TIP JAR

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CREDITS

• 5AM StoryTalk acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.
• This podcast’s music is by ⁠⁠my dear friend Cary Brothers⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.carybrothers.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠