Interview: David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt, authors of Heaven’s Shadow
Really excited about today’s guests: David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt, authors of Heaven’s Shadow. If you read my review of their book, you can see a bit of my fangirling over them so this was a fantastic opportunity which I am pleased to be sharing with our readers. Enjoy!!
Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you guys :) What was it like working together?
DG: We had a lot of fun. We’ve both worked in television, which is a much more collaborative medium. We broke the story of the novel with index cards — the old-fashioned way. Then we split up, wrote separately, and revised each other’s work many, many times. We both brought certain skill-sets to the project. Michael had obviously written novels before and was really steeped in the space/NASA community. I have had a lot of experience with large-canvas, fast-paced movie epics.
MC: As David said, we developed a detailed storyline together, ala Niven & Pournelle, then I started writing first draft with David hot on my heels. Ultimately the text is the result of two keen intelligences working in perfect harmony. (More seriously, we never had a major disagreement. So, bottom line, working together was as fun as it was productive.)
Did the book start out as a screenplay or vice versa?
DG: It started out as a film treatment, then morphed into a book proposal. Then we finished the book manuscript, got a publishing deal, and decided to try and sell the film rights. We did and I am now beginning the screenplay adaptation of the book.
MC: Yeah… I was the one who said, early in the film treatment development, “Hey, if this becomes a successful movie, it will need sequels. What would those be?” And from there it was a quick step to…. why don’t we write HS as a novel as well as a treatment, ala Kubrick and Clarke on 2001. And repeat that for the two sequels.
Michael is the author of a few novels but David, as a screenwriter and comic book writer, how was the transition to novels for you?
DG: The transition was harder than I thought. On one hand, it was much more liberating to be able to delve into a character’s internal state of mind and to not be restricted by running time. But it was also a lot more rigorous and time-consuming than writing a screenplay. Still, it’s fun to be able to stretch your muscles in other mediums.
MC: He’s a natural, adapting very quickly to the different form — and now he faces the challenge of turning novel into script.
Which sci-fi staples, if any, were particular inspirations for Heaven’s Shadow?
DG: H.G. Wells, Clarke, Alan Steele, Jack McDevitt, and many, many others.
MC: Also Heinlein just because he informs any SF I write, Niven & Pournelle’s FOOTFALL, Michael Crichton, Gregory Benford’s IN THE OCEAN OF NIGHT
I’m of the belief that books can’t always transfer straight from the page to screen, so how can be expect the film to be different than the novel?
DG: Many books don’t properly translate. As for this one, I guess we’ll have to see — as I am just dipping into the screenplay right now. But I think the overall pace should work out. One of the challenges will, of course, be all the technical details that we worked so hard to put in. Film executives have far less patience for that kind of stuff. What will be interesting is to see if we end up bringing any of the plot elements from our upcoming sequel, Heaven’s War, into the screenplay — since we are working on them simultaneously.
MC: What David says. The story should lay out, but the challenge will be making sure the audience knows what it needs to know…..
Thanks so much! Can’t wait for the next book (and the film)!
