What we know about Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” (Fall 2021) his upcoming return to comedy, is that it’s the story of two low-level astronomers who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching asteroid that will destroy Earth.
It sounds politically-charged and it probably will be. Just look at what McKay told Rolling Stone earlier in the year, describing his film as being about “a global catastrophe and a bumbling U.S. President who refuses to listen to his White House scientists advice”.
A thespian who has seen the film at a recent test screening told me that it was a global warming satire with a lot of the same meta-editing McKay brought to his last two films (“The Big Short” “Vice”). This person also mentioned Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Rylance (playing a Bill Gates/Warren Buffet-type) as the most likely to receive awards attention.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Lawrence’s lead scientist isn’t much of a chewy role for the actress as she is mostly used as a narrative device for the audience. Timothee Chalamet, and Cate Blanchett have limited supporting roles. The version that was screened runs a whopping 2 hours and 35 minutes in length and is said to be very “Brecht-ian.”
The film garnered glowing reactions from those I’ve spoken to. Another L.A. test screening is set for this coming week.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.