Though he started his career as the comedy director, doing broad, R-rated comedies such as “Step-Brothers,” “Anchorman,” and “Talledega Nights,” Adam McKay has transformed into something of a dramedy auteur, with films such as “The Big Short” and “Vice.” But with his star-studded Netflix film, “Don’t Look Up,” it appears the filmmaker is skewing more towards his earlier work, while still delivering some serious themes.
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Speaking on the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, McKay talked about how he was able to wrangle Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio to star in “Don’t Look Up,” and why he thinks they are the two best actors that can bring a very specific comedic tone to his upcoming Netflix feature.
Lawrence, apparently, was the first to sign on, as McKay said that the actress requested a meeting years ago because “she worshipped ‘Step-Brothers.’” From there, he has been developing projects with her, including the upcoming film “Bad Blood.” But ultimately, he wrote the character in “Don’t Look Up” specifically for Lawrence, and she was quick to sign on.
However, not so quick was the addition of DiCaprio. Though he talked to DiCaprio about starring in the film, even McKay didn’t think the Oscar-winning Martin Scorsese muse was going to sign on.
“I just thought, ‘There’s no way he’s going to do this ‘cause if I only could work with Martin Scorsese, I would be Martin Scorsese’s assistant on set. So, why would he go do this with me?’” admitted McKay
After “about a 4 or 5 month process of us kicking around ideas,” DiCaprio signed on and McKay couldn’t have been happier because he thinks the actor is “genuinely funny” in a “real grounded” way.
“It fits perfect with Jen Lawrence, who is the same way,” he said.
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So, what is “Don’t Look Up” going to be? A drama like “Vice?” A straight comedy like “Step-Brothers?” Somewhere in between? Well, McKay took the time to explain where the film about an asteroid heading to Earth, threatening to destroy the entire planet, falls.
“Definitely not as dark as ‘Vice,’” said McKay. “I’d say this is a tad bit more comedy than ‘The Big Short’…Somewhere between ‘The Other Guys’ and ‘The Big Short,’ I’d say is where this one lives.”
In a separate interview with The New York Times, McKay further explained the concept behind “Don’t Look Up” and why it falls squarely in the dark comedy spectrum.
“It’s not the most high-concept bizarre idea — the idea of a disaster movie in which people don’t necessarily believe that the disaster is coming,” he explained. “It goes back to the trope of the mayor from ‘Jaws’: ‘Love to prove that, wouldn’t you? Get your name into the National Geographic?’ So it’s two midlevel, very sincere astronomers who make the discovery of a lifetime, which is a killer asteroid headed toward Earth. They have to warn everyone and have to go on a media tour. It’s them navigating our world. It’s them navigating their equivalent of Twitter. It’s them navigating the political landscape. It’s them navigating talk shows and how they’re perceived. It’s DiCaprio and Lawrence and Rob Morgan trying to warn the world. I call it a dark comedy.”
Netflix has yet to announce a release date for the film, but McKay teased that “Don’t Look Up” would likely be released in November or December, positioning it perfectly for yet another Oscars run for the filmmaker.