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How to Save a Planet

How Adam McKay Got Climate Change on the Big Screen

How to Save a Planet

Gimlet

Science, News, Society & Culture

4.81.6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2022

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do you get people to care about climate change? Simple: Make a blockbuster movie about it, packed full of the biggest stars in Hollywood. At least, that was Adam McKay’s approach. The writer and director of ‘Don’t Look Up’ joins the show this week to discuss the film, which parodies society’s tepid response to impending disaster. ‘Don’t Look Up’ shattered Netflix viewership records, earning more than 152 million hours streamed in its first week. In making the film, McKay channeled his climate anxiety into action. We ask McKay about his own climate change journey, how he sold Hollywood on his message, and how the rest of us non-movie stars can still make a difference. Also: What’s the deal with the General charging for free snacks?? Guest: Adam McKay Calls to Action: Show us your Climate Venn Diagrams! And just for fun, a list of all the movies we mention in the episode: Don’t Look Up The Day After Tomorrow Waterworld Snowpiercer The Tomorrow War Solarbabies The Ice Storm Breaking the Waves Hoosiers The Mighty Ducks Check out our Calls to Action archive for all of the actions we've recommended on the show. Send us your ideas or feedback with our Listener Mail Form. Sign up for our newsletter here. And follow us on Twitter and Instagram. This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Rachel Waldholz and Daniel Ackerman. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Anna Ladd, and Hannah Chinn. Our supervising producer is Katelyn Bogucki. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Our intern is Nicole Welch. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard Lonnie Ro with original music from Emma Munger. Our fact checker for this episode was James Gaines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How to Save a Planet.

0:04.2

I'm Alex Bloomberg and this is the show where we talk about what we need to do to address

0:08.2

climate change and how we make those things happen.

0:24.1

We you do us the favor of doing the corny thing and just introduce yourself who you are

0:27.9

what you do.

0:28.9

Of course, I am Adam McKay, I'm a writer, director and producer.

0:36.8

Most recently of the asteroid disaster movie don't look up and we just wanted to start

0:42.2

with how long have you been interested in asteroids?

0:48.8

So that was a little clip of me talking to the writer, director Adam McKay and we're

0:52.9

laughing because his recent movie don't look up isn't really about asteroids.

0:58.9

It's not about asteroids at all, it's about a comet, but it's not really about a comet.

1:02.6

The comet is a metaphor for climate change.

1:05.8

It's a climate change movie and I'm joined by my colleague Kendra Peer Lewis.

1:11.6

You and I both spoke to Adam McKay and you are a climate change movie connoisseur.

1:16.9

Yes, I usually refer to myself more as an aficionado but yes, I definitely watch a lot of climate

1:24.7

change movies.

1:25.9

So I've seen the obvious ones, water world, the day after tomorrow, snowpiercer, I sat

1:31.9

through the tomorrow war because I hate myself.

1:37.3

I'm not even familiar with the tomorrow war, what's the tomorrow war about?

1:40.6

The tomorrow war is where they take people from the present and send them to fight a war

1:44.5

in their future to kill aliens that it turns out were locked in the polar ice caps but

1:51.2

were released when the ice caps melted because of climate change and yes, I've spoiled

...

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