Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

172 | David Goyer on Televising the Fall of the Galactic Empire

Nov 8, 2021

David Goyer, an award-winning screenwriter known for the Dark Knight trilogy, dives into the challenges of adapting Isaac Asimov's Foundation series for television. He discusses the delicate balance between honoring the source material and creating visually engaging narratives. Goyer also explores the relationship between science and storytelling, emphasizing the importance of addressing contemporary themes while remaining faithful to the original's complexities. Moreover, he highlights the intricacies of character development in serialized formats and the expectations of devoted fan bases.

01:16:55

Episode guests

David Goyer

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

6min

Navigating the Challenges of Adapting Iconic Narratives

3min

Adapting Asimov's Legacy

13min

Navigating the Challenges of Literary Adaptation

3min

Adapting Science Fiction for Today's Audience

15min

Balancing Science and Storytelling in Popular Media

3min

Science and Storytelling: A Delicate Balance

17min

Exploring Green Flags and the Depth of Science Fiction Storytelling

5min

The Dynamics of Serialized Storytelling

16min

10.

Navigating the Challenges of Adapting Beloved Stories

2min

Science and storytelling have a long and tumultuous relationship. Scientists sometimes want stories to be just an advertisement for how awesome science is; storytellers sometimes want to use science for a few cheap thrills before abandoning it in the morning. But science is about ideas, and ideas can make for thrilling stories when done well. David Goyer is an accomplished screenwriter and director who has taken up a daunting task: adapting Isaac Asimov’s famous Foundation series for TV. (Available on Apple TV now.) We talk about the challenge of making a television version of a beloved series whose central character is a mathematician, and how science and storytelling relate to each other more generally.

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David Goyer graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He has written stories or screenplays for a number of well-known films, including Dark City, Blade, the Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman, as well as TV series such as FlashForward and Constantine. He has also directed and produced numerous films and shows. He has written novels, comic books, and video games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops. In addition to Foundation, he is currently working on a TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels. Episodes of Foundation are released every Friday; the finale of the first season will be available Nov. 19.

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