The real reason why Adam McKay made ‘Don’t Look Up’ even “crazier”
(Credit: Netflix)

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The real reason why Adam McKay made 'Don’t Look Up' even “crazier”

One of the most highly-anticipated films of 2021 is Adam McKay’s upcoming Netflix film Don’t Look Up which is led by a stellar ensemble cast including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. This dark comedy has already garnered immense buzz due to its intriguing premise and will surely become one of Netflix’s greatest original feature films. 

Directed by Adam McKay, the film is slated for a December 24th release. According to the brief synopsis of the film, a giant meteorite is set to destroy Earth in less than six months, and it is up to two scientists to bring people’s attention and awareness to their impending doom. 

The star-studded cast includes heavyweight names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Timothee Chalamet, Ron Pearlman, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Matthew Perry and more. 

Previously, the director had revealed that although it began as a climate-change allegory before the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world, plans were altered significantly after the same. 

According to him, the film will focus on the scientists going on a “media tour”, “navigating talk shows”, and the “political landscape” to warn the people about the impending doom. 

Recently, McKay revealed the extensive creative process behind film production. He said, “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?”

However, McKay revealed how the coronavirus pandemic and the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, as well as the contemporary real-life events, compelled him to modify his script and make the film “crazier” than ever to surpass the melee of the modern world. 

“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,” he explained. 

McKay revealed, “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.’”

The current state of society over the past few years prompted McKay to take such a daring step and reflect on these issues. He talked about how, in an epiphanic moment, he realised how “we’ve befouled, broken, profitized, pornographicized our lines of communication, the way we actually talk to each other” that served as his main inspiration. 

McKay concluded, “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.’”

DiCaprio, who plays the lead role in the film, is the biggest advocate for climate change. He revealed what prompted him to take up the film. “I knew when I read his script that it was incredibly unique, as it struck an important chord concerning the modern world we live in,” said the iconic actor.  

Talking about the director’s ingenuity, he said, “Adam has woven an incredibly timely message about society, how we communicate, our current priorities, and the climate crisis into an absurdly funny yet important movie.”

Check out the first look photos of the film here. Watch the official teaser trailer for the upcoming release below: