Sci-fi story goes from page to screen, with a Rochester twist
The sci-fi story follows space colonist Mickey Barnes, who signs up to be an expendable, taking on the most dangerous tasks. If these tasks kill him, worry not, a clone of himself will take his place.
The author of 'Mickey 7,' Edward Ashton, grew up in West Virginia before moving to Rochester 35 years ago. He says that writing novels has always been his dream.
'I've wanted to be an author as long as I can remember wanting anything,' Ashton explained. 'I started writing stories when I was a really young child, seven or eight years old. I wrote my first novel when I was 12, 220 pages long, written out in pencil on thick lined notebook paper.'
Ashton published his first novel in 2015. His debut novel had some success, but after his second book failed to sell, his agent told him that his third project would be his last shot. 'Mickey 7' was then born. Just 22 days after publication, the project was optioned for a film by Warner Brothers Motion Pictures, and just a few months after that, Ashton was contacted by Bong Joon-Ho, a award winning director, best know for his work on the 2020 film 'Parasite.'
Before he knew it, Ashton was watching the premiere of 'Mickey 17,' starring Robert Pattinson, at The Little Theatre here in Rochester.
'Being at the Little and seeing 270 people in a packed house and knowing that probably 200 of them were my friends,' Ashton said. 'I can't describe how that filled my heart with joy.'
Ashton draws inspiration from many places, but most of the time, he says it begins with an image that gets stuck in his head.
'In the case of this book, the image that was stuck in my head, was a man, trapped, injured, freezing at the bottom of an icy crevasse,' Ashton said. 'I don't know who he is, I didn't know how he got there, I didn't know what was going to happen to him.'
The major difference between the film and the book can be seen in the titles. Ashton says that he was told the switch came because director Joon-Ho wanted a longer death montage scene. In the novel, the reader is introduced to Mickey 7 right away, but in the film, the viewer gets to see Mickey's 1 through 16 die in tragic and comedic ways, hence the name 'Mickey 17.'
'It is different than the book, and I knew it would be different from the book. Film is different than literature, there is just no way around that, but he (Bong Joon-Ho) really did capture the heart of the book,' Ashton explains. 'The heart is a relationship between Mickey Barnes and Nasha, who is his love interest. Mickey has a really unique life, because his job is to die, and he dies over and over again. That is really hard for him, but it's really hard for someone who loves him as well.'
Webster Park lodge renamed to honor slain Cleveland officer and Webster native
'Mickey 17' topped the box office in its opening weekend. The novel, 'Mickey 7,' along with its sequel, 'Antimatter Blues,' are available for purchase at most major book retailers.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- Tom's Guide
3 best thriller movies on HBO Max to stream right now
No cheap thrills here — the slow-burning suspense, the high-stakes conflicts, the edge-of-your-seat excitement and the plot twists that constantly keep you guessing richly add to this trio of top-rate thrillers, all of which are available to stream now on HBO Max. HBO's streaming service is loaded with tension-filled mysteries, pulpy crime thrillers and intense psychological dramas, including some of the most critically acclaimed thrillers in movie history, which makes it that much more difficult to choose exactly which one to click "Play" on next. So we've made things easier by narrowing that cinematic pool down to three great choices, from a history-making south Korean stunner, to a culture-shaking detective classic, to what is arguably the most exciting movie of 2025 so far. Here are three thrillers on HBO Max to add to your watch list ASAP. The first non-English-language film to ever claim the Academy Award for Best Picture, Bong Joon Ho's 2019 black comedy "Parasite" finds its chilling thrills in class disparity, as the financially destitute Kim family (played by Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam) slowly but surely infiltrates the household of the Kim family, who are the picture of aspirational wealth. Though there are plenty of outrageously funny moments throughout Bong's masterpiece, those satirical laughs are grippingly offset by a nerve-wracking sense of unease and hauntingly tragic elements that stick with you long after the credits roll. On Rotten Tomatoes, "Parasite" holds a near-perfect 99% approval rating, with critical consensus praising: "An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft." Watch "Parasite" on HBO Max now Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. "The Silence of the Lambs" is the rare film to claim the Big Five at the Oscars: that would be Best Picture, Best Director (for Jonathan Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay (for Ted Tally's script), Best Actress (for Jodie Foster, as the distressed but determined F.B.I. cadet Clarice Sterling) and Best Actor (for Anthony Hopkins's instantly iconic performance as cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter). And it's easy to see why — Demme's film is a true classic of the thriller genre, pulsing with fear, suspense and vulnerability thanks to those fantastic performances (outside of career-defining turns by Foster and Hopkins, Ted Levine is also exceptionally terrifying as serial killer Buffalo Bill) as well as Tally's taunt screenwriting, which "teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror," per Rotten Tomatoes, where the psychological thriller has a 95% approval rating. Watch "The Silence of the Lambs" on HBO Max now Filmmaker Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan are used to having films find equal parts commercial and critical success — these are the guys behind the "Black Panther" franchise and the "Creed" films, after all. But the frequent screen collaborators put out arguably their most surprising hit this year with "Sinners," a Southern horror thriller that slow-burned its way to a whopping $364 million worldwide on a reported $90 million budget. In the vampy 2025 title, Jordan has dual roles as criminal twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore who return to their hometown in the hopes of leaving their troubled lives behind, only to find an even greater evil waiting to welcome them back. Written and directed by Coogler, the spine-tingling tale — which also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku and Omar Benson Miller — was called "a rip-roaring fusion of masterful visual storytelling and toe-tapping music" that reveals the full scope of Coogler's "singular imagination," per Rotten Tomatoes, where the "Sinners" has a 97% approval rating. Watch "Sinners" on HBO Max now
