Don’t Look Up‘s director made a massive donation to climate change efforts on Tuesday. Adam McKay reportedly gave Climate Emergency Fund $4 million. That would be the biggest single gift the organization has ever received and the director’s biggest donation ever. The story of his Netflix film covered the effects of a comet careening towards Earth and a group of scientists’ efforts to inform the world. It doesn’t go very well, and the entire movie reads as an allegory for a warming planet. The filmmaker also serves on Climate Emergency Fund’s board. He talked to The Associated Press about the challenges facing Earth as the years go by. He sounded hopeful for the action on the ground but acknowledged that the general populace still has a way to go.
Videos by ComicBook.com
McKay recently told The Associated Press that Climate Change was “extremely alarming, extremely frightening, and quickly becoming the only thing I’m thinking about on a daily basis, even as I’m writing scripts and directing or producing.”
“I really do believe, without any hyperbole, scientifically speaking, this is the greatest challenge, story, threat, in human history,” he added.
Some critics were less than pleased with the heavy-handed nature of the movie. Ron Perlman decided to stick up for Don’t Look Up amid some of the criticism when speaking with The Independent. “F*** you and your self-importance and this self-perpetuating need to say everything bad about something just so that you can get some attention for something that you had no idea about creating…It’s corrupt. And it’s sick. And it’s twisted….(I) understand that it’s part of how the internet has almost killed journalism. And now journalism is trying to do everything they can to co-opt and maintain their importance.”
Here’s a synopsis for Don’t Look Up: “Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem — it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it’s too late proves shockingly comical — what will it take to get the world to just look up?!”
Did you watch Don’t Look Up? Let us know down in the comments!
