Adam McKay's last full-length film, Don't Look Up, was released four years ago. The satirical movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Glenn Close, and, unfortunately, touches on timely issues like the Los Angeles wildfires, as it revolves around a global catastrophe and also references climate change. This isn't just the viewers' perspective but also that of the filmmaker, who spoke about the film’s legacy, claiming it was undervalued despite its high viewership at the time.
McKay shared his thoughts with NME regarding the Los Angeles disaster, which directly impacts Hollywood. The article cites a study that revealed Don't Look Up helped shift public opinion on global warming in a positive direction, with people becoming more ready to take action. McKay, who founded the Yellow Dot Studios organization to combat climate change myths and fake news, believes that the film had a positive impact, largely due to its wide viewership. According to him, it's the audience that matters, not the mixed critical reception:
"In the face of dramatic events and disasters, a movie might seem small and ridiculous. But what was inspiring and uplifting for me was how the audience responded to the film: the audience, not the critics and tastemakers who hated it. In the end, it ranked number one in about 85 countries, including Pakistan, Vietnam, the USA, and Uruguay. This is a rare achievement for a comedy, which usually has its popularity limited by cultural and regional references."
McKay estimates that Don't Look Up reached around 400 million to 1.5 billion viewers. However, this is just an estimate, as Netflix typically shares metrics based on viewership rather than actual audience numbers, such as how many millions of hours were spent watching the film or series. On the platform’s all-time top 10 list of most-viewed films, McKay’s movie currently ranks second, after Red Notice, with 171.4 million views and 408.6 million hours watched. According to McKay, the film's success lies in how its social commentary resonated with viewers:
"Leaders, the media, industry representatives lie to them. It was funny to me when I realized that this was the common connection. I thought, of course! This is what's happening everywhere in the global neoliberal economies we all live in. It's a kind of cancer that everyone senses."
McKay claims he's been brainstorming an idea that would explore the relationship between the oil industry, government, and media in the context of global warming, similar to Succession (the Emmy-winning series). He believes such a project would be difficult to realize in Hollywood or the USA these days, but that Europe, with its more liberal environment, would be a better place to try and find supporters and investors.
