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

<p>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&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Foundation</em></a>&nbsp;series for TV. (Available&nbsp;<a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/foundation/umc.cmc.5983fipzqbicvrve6jdfep4x3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on Apple TV now.</a>) 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.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>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&nbsp;<em>Dark City, Blade</em>, the&nbsp;<em>Dark Knight</em>&nbsp;trilogy,&nbsp;<em>Man of Steel</em>, and&nbsp;<em>Batman v Superman</em>, as well as TV series such as&nbsp;<em>FlashForward</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Constantine</em>. He has also directed and produced numerous films and shows. He has written novels, comic books, and video games such as&nbsp;<em>Call of Duty: Black Ops</em>. In addition to&nbsp;<em>Foundation</em>, he is currently working on a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(TV_series)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TV adaptation</a>&nbsp;of Neil Gaiman’s&nbsp;<em>Sandman</em>&nbsp;graphic novels. Episodes of&nbsp;<em>Foundation</em>&nbsp;are released every Frid