Ryan O'Rourke is a dedicated film and television writer with a passion for horror, sitcoms, and animation of all kinds.
The talk of cinema right now has undoubtedly been Christopher Miller and Phil Lord's blockbuster sci-fi adaptation of Project Hail Mary. Led by Ryan Gosling, the film has been a massive success for Amazon MGM Studios, earning over $300 million so far at the global box office and being showered with near-universal critical acclaim.
It's a rare non-franchise winner and another renowned adaptation of a book by Andy Weir, following Ridley Scott's Oscar-nominated Matt Damon epic based on his 2011 novel, The Martian. However, during a time of celebration for the epic tale of two species working together to save the very stars themselves, the author has been met with controversy for his comments about another longtime sci-fi darling. In a recently posted open letter on Facebook, Weir apologized to Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman for what he said about the franchise while appearing on the Critical Drinker podcast. During the episode, he slammed the direction Paramount has taken with its shows under Kurtzman and addressed his own pitch for the storied universe being rejected."And here’s another thing: I pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount, and I was on Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to ," he recalled. “He, as a person, is a really nice guy. But at the same time, those shows are s--t. He is a nice guy, but they didn’t accept my pitch, so, you know, f--k ’em.” Weir's comments drew widespread outrage from across the internet and especially from his writing peers, like Crime 101 author Don Winslow, who called on him to apologize and said on X,"You don’t take your moment in the sun to attack another writer because they didn’t buy your pitch." Weir claimed in his apology that"I was trying to be funny, but in retrospect it comes off as disrespectful and mean," adding that he was trying to be self-deprecating, but"out of context it can read like I actually meant it." In his eyes, his words came off more as"salacious sound bytes" when taken away from the podcast episode. Admitting he's"a blunt person," he also emphasized how much he appreciated Kurzman as a person, even if his quotes may not have conveyed that, closing by saying,"if you want to talk about it in real time - even if it's just to rip me a new one - I'm happy to hop on the phone or zoom." Related Can You Hum These Iconic Film Scores? It's the Collider Movie Quiz! A good score elevates a film's emotional impact. A great score affects you long after the movie's over. Here are a few examples of that excellence. Posts By Macklen Makhloghi Alex Kurtzman Has Built a Prolific Resume During His 'Star Trek' Tenure Kurtzman has been aboard the Star Trek franchise since the 2009 movie, which he co-wrote and executive-produced. Since then, he's remained a driving force within the sci-fi mainstay, extending beyond the cinematic installments and onto the small screen as a creative on Star Trek: Picard, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds, the latter of which Weir even praised during his initial interview. Most recently, Paramount+ debuted the new series Starfleet Academy under his watch, which proved divisive for viewers and suffered from review-bombing, but was a major success with critics for taking the spacefaring universe to new frontiers. With viewership not being quite where the company hoped and big changes coming amid the upcoming merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, though, the Holly Hunter-captained show is set to end after its sophomore run, leaving the future of Star Trek wide open beyond two more new seasons of SNW. Subscribe to the newsletter for insider film and franchise coverage Get deeper context when you subscribe to our newsletter for clear, sourced coverage of movie hits, author controversies, and franchise developments—context on Project Hail Mary, Star Trek, and why they matter. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Project Hail Mary is currently in theaters. Stay tuned here at Collider for further updates on the blockbuster, Weir, and the future of Star Trek. 9 10 Project Hail Mary Like Follow Followed PG-13 Science Fiction Adventure Drama Release Date March 20, 2026 Runtime 156 Minutes Director Christopher Miller, Phil Lord Writers Drew Goddard, Andy Weir Producers Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Aditya Sood, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O'Connor Cast See All
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Project Hail Mary could have somehow been even longerPhil Miller and Chris Lord revealed that the initial assembly cut they showed to their friends was 225 minutes, 'Which was embarrassing.'
Read more »
5 Perfect Sci-Fi Books to Read If You Love Project Hail MaryThese five books are perfect if you love Project Hail Mary!
Read more »
Project Hail Mary Tops Oppenheimer & Dune 2 In Latest Box Office MilestoneProject Hail Mary makes more box office history after it posts strong numbers in its second weekend.
Read more »
'Project Hail Mary' flies to $54.5 million second weekend“Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s biggest hit thus far. The Phil Lord and Chris Miller sci-fi adventure dipped only 32% after notching the best non-franchise opening weekend since 2023’s “Oppenheimer.
Read more »
'Project Hail Mary' flies to $54.5 million second weekend, horror reaches a saturation point“Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s biggest hit thus far.
Read more »
‘Project Hail Mary’ flies to $54.5 million second weekend, horror reaches a saturation pointBy JAKE COYLE NEW YORK (AP) — “Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, and adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s…
Read more »