Hawk Ostby’s writing with Mark Fergus is strongest when the characters are easier to grasp than the technology. We like their ambition, but Iron Man gives us a reason to care that The Expanse takes too long to find.
Fi1m perspective
In Iron Man (2008), Stark’s abrasiveness is part of the pleasure of spending time with him. We laughed because Robert Downey Jr. makes that difficult manner funny without smoothing it away. The screenplay explains the man and his abilities clearly enough for the action to matter. It sets a useful standard for Ostby’s work elsewhere: a complicated story should give us someone worth following. The script gives power and responsibility less attention than the equipment, but its humour survives.
Ostby’s long partnership with Mark Fergus makes it unwise to treat these scripts as the work of a solitary voice. Their first credit was Consequence (2003), followed by First Snow (2006), directed by Fergus, and their work on Children of Men (2006). On Iron Man, they share the screenplay credit with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. Jon Favreau’s attention to the actors also does much to make that film enjoyable.
The Expanse (2015) gives Ostby and Fergus a longer stretch as creators and writers, adapting the novels of James S. A. Corey. Its mixture of space drama, mystery and political intrigue is serious about its subject, but the opening makes meeting the inhabitants needlessly difficult. The convincing setting and the cast offer reasons to stay with it. Heavy explanation keeps getting between us and those reasons. Getting several stories to hold our attention at once is the larger problem, and the detail does not excuse it.
His feature credits also include the historical drama The Last Vermeer (2019), so there is more to consider here than his handling of science fiction. What we want from another Ostby script is the early clarity of Iron Man, with more attention paid to the questions its characters raise. The fighting there is routine, but it is still the place to start. Leave The Expanse for an evening when learning the setting is part of the attraction.
Biography
Hawk Ostby is a screenwriter and producer. He frequently collaborates with writing partner Mark Fergus. Their early credits include the 2003 film Consequence and the 2006 film First Snow.
Ostby and Fergus received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Children of Men (2006). They wrote the screenplay for Iron Man (2008) and the story and screenplay for Cowboys & Aliens (2011). They also wrote the screenplay for The Last Vermeer (2019). Ostby and Fergus created the television series The Expanse (2015–2022), on which they served as writers and executive producers.
