‘Don’t Look Up’ Director Was Forced to Make the Leonardo DiCaprio Netflix Movie ‘Crazier’ After COVID-19 and Donald Trump
Netflix has officially entered awards season. The streaming service platform has grown into one of the biggest players in entertainment. Netflix’s company name has been in the news a lot for producing big international successes. The films will continue to be a part of the conversation as the 2022 Academy Awards date approaches. Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay recently said that real-life events made him have to turn up the heat.
What is ‘Don’t Look Up’ about?
Don’t Look Up is Netflix’s upcoming science-fiction black comedy. McKay wrote, directed, and produced the movie. It stars a huge ensemble cast that is sure to turn heads. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence lead the cast alongside Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep.
The movie follows two low-level astronomers who go on a media tour to warn the world of an oncoming comet. Earth is in the comet’s direct path and it’s sure to destroy the planet. However, the comet approaching the planet soon becomes a political mess. Will they succeed in warning mankind?
‘Don’t Look Up’ director Adam McKay had to make the movie ‘crazier’
McKay participated in the panel for Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles panel at the DGA Theater. He talked at length about the project and how it all came together. He wrote the movie before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took place. This made him question his intentions and what to do next.
The Don’t Look Up director, “The strangest thing about this movie was writing it, casting it and then seeing a lot of the elements come true, and then wondering: do you even make the movie?”
The filmmaker decided to continue with the project. However, McKay believed that he needed to make the movie “crazier” to compensate with real-life events, including the coronavirus pandemic and Donald Trump
“Regardless of how you voted, I think we all have to admit seeing the President of the United States [Trump] float the idea of ingesting bleach to deal with a medical emergency is an unusual situation,” McKay said. “When that happened, I right away texted my producer, Kevin Messick, and texted Leo and Jen was like, Okay, we’re gonna make this a little crazier.'”
McKay took a look back on the state of society over the last couple of years. He decided that the movie needed to happen at that specific moment.
“There was this moment where I realized it was all about how we’ve befouled, broken, profitized, pornographicized our lines of communication, the way we actually talk to each other,” McKay said. “That was the moment where I was like, Oh, we definitely have to make that and I wrote all the cast and they were all like, ‘Oh, yeah – Now more than ever.'”
Movies reflect society
The world constantly influences all forms of art. Musicals are coming back in popularity this year, but that isn’t the first time that has happened. Historically speaking, wartime has specifically influenced happier movies to allow for escapism. Meanwhile, Get Out is an excellent more recent example. Don’t Look Up clearly jumped the gun with some of its themes, but it’s clear that McKay was then inspired to make some changes as a result of real-world events.
Don’t Look Up is sure to be an awards contender. McKay’s involvement and a superb ensemble cast surely indicate Academy members’ level of interest. Netflix is distributing yet another awards movie that will without a doubt be the talk of the town.
