‘Don’t Look Up’: How Timothée Chalamet Was Convinced to Play Yule
Don’t Look Up features a star-studded cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and Timothée Chalamet. However, they don’t all have equal screentime, as their characters have varying levels of importance to the story. Chalamet plays a rebel youngster and gamer with a stronger sense of faith than he gives off. Don’t Look Up writer/director Adam McKay recently recalled how he got Chalamet onboard.
Is ‘Don’t Look Up’ a real story?
Don’t Look Up isn’t based on a real story. However, the film’s marketing is selling its events as a real story that hasn’t happened quite yet. Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence) discovers a comet hurtling toward Earth under the guidance of Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio). They take this news to President Jane Orlean (Streep), but their pleas for help fall on deaf ears.
Randall and Kate go on a media tour to leak the information to put pressure on world leaders to act as soon as possible. However, social media is too busy chatting about pop star Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) and DJ Chello’s (Kid Cudi) breakup. Don’t Look Up is a satire on the global climate crisis.
Adam McKay explains how he convinced Timothée Chalamet to play Yule
Variety talked with McKay about Don’t Look Up and how he got Chalamet onboard. He explained what it was like recruiting such a star-studded cast. Netflix was the only distributor willing to give McKay the resources needed to put together a cast like this one. The last supper sequence ultimately hooked Chalamet.
“I was talking to Chalamet about maybe doing this little part because we’ve wanted to work together,” McKay said. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know if there’s enough there.’”
McKay agreed that Yule didn’t have a whole lot going on in the character’s initial iteration. However, co-producer Ron Suskin asked McKay, “Where’s the faith in this movie?”
“And I was like, ‘Oh, you’re right. You’re right!’” McKay said. “I think we’re so used to thinking of religion as denominations, and now it’s become a political cudgel in this country. I forgot about real faith. And it was just a lightbulb moment where it’s like, ‘I know who Timothée’s character is.’”
McKay called the last supper his “single favorite moment in the entire movie.”
Where you can watch ‘Don’t Look Up’
Don’t Look Up initially opened in theaters starting on Dec. 10. However, the theatrical release was likely to inspire an awards campaign. McKay’s most recent film is currently sitting at a 55% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a 77% audience rating. Don’t Look Up‘s “scattershot” comedy and varying tones aren’t working for all audiences.
Don’t Look Up is now available to stream from anywhere at any time on Netflix. If you have access to a subscription, then you can access the movie at no extra cost.
