Adam McKay addresses criticism of environmental satire ‘Don’t Look Up’

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): Filmmaker Adam McKay has addressed the criticism of Netflix’s environmental satire ‘Don’t Look Up’, stating that “you’re never going to make a movie to appeal to everyone”
According to Deadline, he also praised the movie’s global popularity, which has seen the Leonardo DiCaprio film move up to second in Netflix’s most-watched of all time.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’, McKay said, “Comedy is always subjective. Certain people are going to think things are too funny or silly or not care for them so that’s built-in.”
He claimed a similar critical reaction would likely have happened if he’d chosen to make a “stark drama” or “dystopic picture” about the climate crisis, adding, “You’re never going to make a movie to appeal to everyone.”
The film, which also stars Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Cate Blanchett, has been met with mixed reviews by critics and caused fiery debate across social media about how best to represent the climate crisis.
“The idea behind it was ‘How do we get this urgency out there?’ The science is telling us that the problem is happening right now and it’s far worse than we thought. I felt like laughter was a good way to go because if you’re laughing then you inherently have some perspective,” McKay went on to say.
The film has been a huge ratings success, however, now sitting second on Netflix’s all-time most-watched list and first in 87 countries, which McKay said is “very unusual for a comedy.”
Next up for McKay is AppleTV Plus’s Jennifer Lawrence-starring ‘Bad Blood’, in which she plays disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who was found guilty earlier this month on four counts of defrauding investors.
McKay described Holmes as a “fascinating character” and said it is rare for a woman to be the subject of such a film. “She hasn’t been sentenced yet so I’m curious to see how that goes,” he added.
Separately, Amanda Seyfried is playing Holmes in a Hulu limited series. When questioned on his best movie, McKay, who has also made ‘Vice’ and ‘The Big Short’ and is involved with ‘Succession’, said he will “always have a fondness” for ‘Anchorman’, the movie that kickstarted his career and led to a long and fruitful relationship with Will Ferrell.
As per Deadline, McKay had recently revealed how his decision to cast Ferrell’s friend John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss in HBO’s Untitled LA Lakers Project was the culmination of years of creative differences and led to a split that has yet to be repaired. (ANI)