“Don’t Look Up” has hit a nerve in a way that’s rare for films to do. That’s partly because it addresses an urgent, hot-button topic — climate change — with a film that’s partly a cry for help, partly a black comedy. Adam McKay directed the movie with David Sirota writing the story. The film features a stellar cast that includes Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett. McKay states that people either love or hate the movie. There is no middle ground.
These days, it is rare to take risks in a film. “Don’t Look Up” swings for the fences; it could have gone wrong in so many ways, but even detractors have to admit it’s interesting: It’s epic, covering a wide range of geographical and emotional territory, with so many characters and subtle shifts in tone. This movie seems certain to win multiple Oscar nominations.
McKay, Hank Corwin, and Nicholas Britell had previously worked together “The Big Short”And “Vice”Before this film. The trio sat together. VarietyThey will be discussing their collaboration, the search for the right tone, and the intense reactions they received to the Netflix film.
Adam McKay We’re living in incredibly strange, ahistoric, teetering, seismic times. One tone doesn’t cover what it feels to be alive now. I like to write comedy that combines dark tragedy with drama. Then I make these guys understand it!
Nicholas Britell:Hank and my involvement began before the filming started. Adam wanted me to compose a score that he could play during the telescope sequence for them. This would give the movie a feeling.
Hank CorwinThe film’s tone was constantly changing; even Nick’s temp music would soon become obsolete and we would have to start again. It was an ever-evolving process.
Britell: Years ago, Hank said it’s like we’re playing jazz together. They would often work in the same room. As they’re figuring out the cut, I’m experimenting with different ideas. Hank’s early score piece. “Overture to Logic and Knowledge,”It is actually at the end of the film, not at the start.
McKay:They are both my friends. We all worked together to solve the bizarre climate crisis. Then came the pandemic. Many of the events were exactly as written, but some of them were more absurd than the script. I had to make rewrites. That played out in the editing and the scorem, as these guys masterfully tried to blend this all together — and had to take into account how much of the movie was like what we’re living through.
Corwin:Sometimes we feel like we’re on top of the world, trying to determine the tone. But Adam engenders confidence. There were times I didn’t understand what Adam was going for but I had confidence. It’s like a dance the three of us do.
Britell: We’re all open to trying things out. It’s the safest experiment zone you could imagine. This is the nature of our discussion. “I have this crazy idea, what do you think?” We’re always trying to show each other things.
McKay:With this movie, there were many breakthroughs. One occurred when the three of us were talking about what’s going on in the world. We talked about World War II soldiers, who would drink and dance to large bands with joy and terror. Nick said: “Now, it’s like you’re having that night, dancing to the big band, but you’re losing.”He said it almost immediately. “I’m going to try to write a piece”This music was used during the opening credits. Hank and I were able to see the movie for the first time, and it was an important breakthrough in our editing. It was a series of conversations that led to these guys truly understanding the movie’s DNA.
Corwin: There’s not necessarily a comfort level as much as a discomfort level and knowing it will create a dialectic. It’s a struggle but it gets better.
Britell: We’re all searching together. Every idea is not an end point, it’s a beginning.
McKay:It was a blend of drama, comedy and tragedy that we did early on. But the movie was far less funny. We let it all be absurd at times. It was a breakthrough. Nick was able to make that sound, and Hank had an aha moment. You felt like you were on the right track.
Britell:There are always things that you feel work so well from moment to moment. A constant zooming out was one of the key elements in our process. “It’s not just how does this moment work, it’s how does the whole thing feel?”It is amazing to see Adam in action, looking at the film and hearing his words. “I know what I gotta do,”Right away. That constant looking back at the film in its entirety is a great way to learn.
Corwin:Adam is able to look back and say “It’s good but let’s try something else; it may be better.”
Variety: Is there a particular sequence that was especially difficult?
Corwin:All of us agree. We all agreed that the first Oval Office scene was our litmus test to determine how we would cut this film. If that scene isn’t right, everything after it doesn’t play as well as it should, and everything before it seems false. For the duration of the edit, we were attenuating this scene.
McKay: Hank had cut a version of that scene where the scientists tell the president and her son, who’s her chief of staff, “We’re all gonna die in six months.” Hank did a version that is one of the best cut scenes I’ve ever seen, it was a tour de force. To feel the energy, I enjoy doing test screenings. And at that first test screening, it became apparent that there’s such a range of viewpoints of this moment we’re living in. Some of us feel things are completely out of control. Some people think we’re in trouble but we will fix it; others think we’re fine, it’s just politics as usual. Others think it’s trouble but it’s not remotely funny.
Then we thought “This is going to be much harder than we thought.”It was a lot of work, tweaking, nuance, trial-and-error, and looking at many different versions. This was meant as a movie about the world. It’s on Netflix for a reason. We’re freaked out about what’s happening. This movie was created to have a dialogue with the audience. That’s what make it harder.
Variety:The reactions were intense. Were you shocked?
McKay:We were all shocked, I believe. The reviews were pretty much 50-50, and that’s fine, we’ve all been through that. However, I was stunned by the intense anger shown by some critics. The movie had been screened and we had received no such reactions. Test audiences laughed in general. So when reviews came out… That’s not to say they’re incorrect. Naturally, the responses will be passionate and complicated. I was equally stunned by the passionate and positive responses to it when it was released on Netflix. I’d never seen anything like that. People laughing, crying. There was no middle ground, regardless of the audience reaction or the critical reception. It became a reality. “We’re in 2022, of course those will be the reactions.”
Corwin:The personal nature of these attacks surprised me. I have thin skin. It was difficult to justify the reviews of people I respected.
Britell:Netflix is huge, which I find to be a good thing. I’ve received messages from people in dozens of countries in a way that hasn’t happened before. The timing and the reach of the platform — the amount of people who saw it in such a short period of time — that was beyond the scope of my comprehension.
McKay:It felt like every moment of filming this movie was a part of it. From our struggles with tone to the shooting during the pandemic. On social media, I joked about some responses, saying some people didn’t seem clued into what was going on in the world. I was immediately surrounded by social media like a bunch of hyenas. “He’s saying if you don’t like the movie then you don’t care about the world!” That wasn’t what I was saying! The whole thing took on a new momentum and there was backlash against critics. It became a hot topic. “If you question the critics, you’re guilty of Trumpism!”It was as if it had been in the film. Climate scientists have their passionate reactions. “I feel seen.” It’s a reminder of what movies, TV [and]It can be done with music. It was quite brutal. It was a very difficult experience, but I now treasure it. “Let’s do more!”