We’re extremely excited to see director Adam McKay‘s next film, “Don’t Look Up,” a disaster comedy led by Oscar-winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, coming to Netflix later this year.
He’s been making the rounds to promote his new podcast “Death At The Wing” on the MovieMaker podcast, where he was asked about his opinions concerning the state of the box office during the pandemic; the filmmaker took a bit of a detour to dispel the conventional wisdom and romantic notion that a smaller indie film with no budget is easier to make than a big $50 million-budget studio film because there’s less pressure and no studio ever breathing down your back. McKay wasn’t having it and said the lack of resources just makes everything tougher to accomplish and felt obligated to let younger filmmakers know.
READ MORE: Adam McKay’s Idea For A ‘Silver Surfer’ Film Is To Make It “An Environmental Allegory”
“We always joke when making movies that it’s easier to make a big fifty-million dollar studio movie than it is to make a two-million-dollar indie film. Making a two million dollar indie film is about the hardest thing you can do when you make the fifty million dollar movie; you got a budget, so you don’t have to sweat as much even though you’d think the bigger movie would be more difficult,” the filmmaker stated in the interview.
When asked if he was concerned about movies and box office after the damage to the industry during the pandemic, Adam suggested that while movies will change, he’s not worried after the successful hybrid release of Adam Wingard‘s “Godzilla Vs. Kong.” The event film earning a solid domestic box office opening despite being offered for free on HBO Max.
“Not at all,” McKay told MovieMaker when asked if he was worried about the state of the movie business. “I think the best indication that while [Godzilla Vs. Kong] was being offered for free on streaming or if you had a subscription [to HBO Max], [Godzilla Vs. Kong] still made nearly $50 million on its opening weekend during a pandemic. I’ve seen this conversation so many times in my life.”
McKay adding that he believes sensory-focused films could become more dominant in the future, “No, I’m really not worried, human beings like to get together and laugh in groups, to be scared in groups, be thrilled in groups. Now, does that mean movies aren’t going to change? No, of course not; they are going to change. You’re probably going to see more of the IMAX theaters; they’ll start adding the seats that rumble, you’ll start seeing more sensory experience…I’m truly not worried. Movies aren’t going anywhere.”
McKay also put the Oscar ratings tumble into good contextual perspective. “Ratings for television across the board are down, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, of course, awards shows aren’t going to be as exciting for people.” he countered. It was a weird year for movies because people didn’t get to have that incredible experience of being in a movie theater.”
It’s interesting the juxtaposition between Adam’s comments here about the new hybrid release model compared to previous comments made by his peers such as Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, who were pretty much against the move by WarnerMedia. It’s also just a solid listen and conversation. Check out the full conversation below to hear more thoughts from McKay about movies, the manipulative, insincere mien of the conservative right, his thoughts about entertainment and politics, and more.