Leonardo DiCaprio’s passion for long-standing causes climate changeA new movie will feature the story of his journey to NASA, which took him there a few decades ago.
The Oscar-winning actor (“The Revenant”, Inception”) is the lead in “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix Dec. 10), dark comedy about a deadly killer. cometHeading for Earth. Director Adam McKay (“The Big Short”) stated that the comet was meant for people who have the chance to make a difference about the global warming crisis.
DiCaprio has made several films to promote climate protection, including “Before the Flood”. It also brought him along to the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26. in November, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in 2016 .
DiCaprio plays Randall Mindy, an astronomer who is a mentor to Kate Dibiasky, a comet researcher and Ph.D. candidate (Jennifer Lawrence: “X-Men: Apocalypse”, and “The Hunger Games.”) The film shows Mindy and Dibiasky must fight everyone, including the U.S. President and military, to get their message out.
DiCaprio spoke during a livestreamed conference on Sunday (Dec. 4.)
Related: The Greatest Comet Close Encounters of All Time
“They’re trying convey the urgency of this issue and feeling like they’re being subjected to last page on a newspaper,” DiCaprio stated. He said he loves both the personalities of the two characters and his attempts at working the system against Lawrence’s type of character, “Greta Thunberg.”
The film was made before the pandemic in March 2020. However, DiCaprio said that the larger message about science being politicized is more important in this new environment. He said that COVID was a major event and that there is a new scientific argument. “It’s an important film to be part of at this time.”
McKay said that the challenge was communicating the urgency of climate change while still allowing people laugh. He felt that comedy could help unify the diverse political views people might bring to the theater.
In the same press conference, he stated that “You can feel urgency, sadness, and even loss, while still having a sense for humor.”
“After the crazy past five to ten years we’ve all experienced across the globe, [my feeling]Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a good laugh at some of these things? And feel the other emotions. So that was my approach. I think we get hit by a kind of trumpeting doomsday.”
The film, which is satire, is about climate change. Amy Mainzer from the University of Arizona is the astronomer. It also attempts to portray comet research in at least a slightly realistic manner, and the scientists who do the work.
Lawrence portrays a Ph.D. candidate. She appears to have made a breakthrough in research after discovering the comet. This would make it easier to complete the lengthy research required to get the degree. Her feelings about the comet change as she quickly realizes that it is a disaster.
Lawrence said to the panel that she believed there was an evolution in Dibiasky’s view of her namesake. “I think she was initially very,very proud of this. Then, I’m certain, resentment began building up as people started to fear Comet Dibiasky.
Mainzer stated during the discussion that the film does not discuss the consequences of a deadly comet being associated with a person. “Fortunately, in real-life with the asteroids [and comets]We wouldn’t name any that is actually dangerous after a living being. This is against the law.
Skelety was offered for almost every stakeholder in science. So, along with the scientists, came negative portrayals of politicians and media’s handling of “bad news” and disseminating it to the public.
Janie Orlean, the U.S. president (Meryl Steep, “The Devil Wears Prada”) initially rejects the astronomers, saying that she wants the White House check their work using what she considers to be more prestigious institutions than Mindy’s (the University of Michigan), which is in reality a highly-cited astronomical institution.
“It was a lot of fun to create this character that was pure Id. It was about her appetite and about accumulating power, money, and more power. That’s it. Streep also said that Streep has beautiful hair and nails.
She said, “There’s no other feeling and that’s unfortunately, that is the cost of being a public servant now.” “You have to make a great sacrifice. Your family makes a sacrifice. You have to be willing and able to make that sacrifice. It’s amazing to have good people. We need them now.”
An early scene in the film shows Orlean and her son Jason — also the chief of staff of the White House — completely dismissing the astronomers before checking their work. This is despite NASA’s warm support in real life. Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) is a tool that evaluates potentially threatening objects.
Clayton “Teddy”, Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan “Daredevil”) was a senior-level representative from PDCO and was seen in the room during the White House argument. He said that the scene was particularly poignant in light of recent high-level discussions about climate science in political politics. He stated that the Orleans were “just dismissing facts, science, and fact.”
He said, “That to me was just very much true because of what’s occurring, especially at the time in the country, and where we were when we were with the panademic: things being dismissed and everyone who says anything contrary to the truth.”
“Don’t Look up” opens in theatres Friday, Dec. 10th. It will also be available on Netflix’s streaming site Dec. 24,
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