When Don’t Look Up lands on Netflix on Christmas Eve, it won’t be the first time films have brought us the terrifying prospect of Earth being destroyed by a planet-killing comet.
There’s something very 2021 about Don’t Look Up’s version of events, however. Previous iterations of the theme have traditionally focused on the heroic attempts of scientists (Sean Connery uniting Cold War rivals in 1979’s Meteor) or heroic muscle men (Bruce Willis and a giant drill in 1998’s Armageddon) to save the world from impending apocalypse.
In Don’t Look Up, however, we’re firmly in the social media age. Our heroes, two low-level astronomers played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, find that instead of being hailed as saviours for discovering the comet that is on a collision course with Earth, they are pilloried, accused of spreading “fake news” and used as political footballs.
That’s when they manage to make their voices heard at all over the constant noise of a celebrity-obsessed, polarised public more interested in shouting their own barely formed opinions into the social media abyss.
From climate change denial to the militant anti-vax movement, via the Brexit campaign’s dismissal of “experts” and a recent US administration that embraced the doctrine of “alternative facts", it seems many scientists have found their reputation in tatters.
DiCaprio admits he is all too familiar with the situation. “I was thankful to play a character who's based on so many of the people that I've met from the scientific community, in particular climate scientists who are trying to communicate the urgency of this issue, and feeling like they're always subjected to the last page on the newspaper," he says.
“They’re politicised, there are alternative facts, there are just too many other things that we're inundated with, and we’re so immensely distracted from the truth nowadays. Then of course Covid hit and there are whole new scientific arguments going on there. This just feels like such an important film to be a part of at this particular time."
As an active environmental campaigner himself, DiCaprio says he’s been looking for a film like this one for years, but wanted to make sure he found the right one.
“What Adam [McKay, writer/director] did here was create a film that was about the climate crisis, but he created a sense of urgency by also making it about a comet that's going to hit Earth within eight months,” he explains.
“I think he really cracked the code with this narrative – there are so many comparisons that we can make with the climate crisis and this storyline. It's the most important issue all of us can be talking about, and it takes artists like this to change the narrative, to create conversation.”
The Oscar-winning actor says he hopes he can give back to the scientific community by returning some of the voice they appear to have lost in recent times.
“I really wanted to try to articulate the frustration of the scientific community, how one is sitting there in a pulpit speaking the truth, and all these other noises are sort of drowning out the main lesson," he says.
"I’m trying to understand the frustration in the scientific community – they’re realising the world is falling apart, but how do you cut straight to the chase about the truth of this issue? Adam wrote so brilliantly, and I'm honoured to be a part of it.”
Don't Look Up boasts a huge star power – its ensemble cast includes not only himself and Lawrence, but also Meryl Streep as the science-denying populist president, Jonah Hill as her son, and further turns from the likes of Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande and many more.
But in the hands of McKay, a former Saturday Night Live writer, co-creator of Anchorman, and the creative force behind Oscar-nominated black comedies The Big Short and Vice, the message is never too forced, the film avoids preaching, and the harsh realities are always served alongside a helpful dose of laughter.
“We wanted to deal with this subject, the climate crisis, which is arguably the greatest threat to life in the history of mankind, but it can almost be like an animal attacking you. It can just be overwhelming,” the director says. “If you're able to laugh, that's really important. You can feel the urgency and you can feel sadness and you can feel lost while also having a sense of humour. That was really the intention with this movie after the crazy last five or 10 years we've all had across the planet. Wouldn't it be nice to laugh at some of this?”
The script finds the balance perfectly, and there’s no denying that for a gloom-laden warning about the end of the world as we know it, Don’t Look Up is great fun. For McKay, that’s a case of mission accomplished.
“I think we get hit with the thumping Doomsday talk quite a bit, which by the way is totally legit when it comes to climate change. But I did think it was important that that people be allowed to laugh and have some distance,” he says. “It's a great unifier, too. You can't fake laughter, it’s not a political thing, and it never really works when you try and fake it. So yeah, that was kind of the thinking behind it.”
Don’t Look Up will be out on Netflix on December 24
Racecard
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
The National selections
6.30pm: Chaddad
7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou
7.40pm: Mass Media
8.15pm: Rafal
8.50pm: Yulong Warrior
9.25pm: Chiefdom
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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More on Quran memorisation:
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Read more about the coronavirus
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
EXPATS
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
