Adam McKay believes his film Dont Look Up and its themes are more relevant now than ever before. Although the movie was released more than three years ago and received mixed reviews from critics, it was popular with viewers. Dont Look Up currently places second for the most watched movies of all time on Netflix.

The director recently told NME why he thinks the film is so beloved with audiences at home.

The estimates of how many people saw that movie its somewhere between 400 million and half a billion. Viewers all really connected with the idea of being gaslit. Being lied to by their leaders, lied to by their big news media and being lied to by industries, he said. It was funny when I realized that was the common connection point, I was like, of course! Its happening everywhere now with this global neo-liberal economy that were all living in. Its such a cancer and everyone is feeling it. Released in 2021, the films A-list cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Timothe Chalamet, Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi. Its themes of climate change still hold up, according to McKay, who has been a longtime environmental advocate.

He explains, In the face of these dramatic catastrophes that keep happening, a movie seems really small and ridiculous. But what was inspiring and energizing was the popular response to that movie, not the critics and the cultural gatekeepers who hated it.

McKay further shared his thoughts on the L.A. fires, as the city has been his home for many years. Were heartbroken. Afraid. Sad. We have so many friends that have lost their homes, he said. Usually when there are disasters in Southern California TV coverage makes it look worse than it is. This is the first time that Ive had to tell friends and family reaching out that its actually worse than what youre seeing.

The Oscar winner believes that were in a very frightening time and in a lot of ways, our economy has actively become a time bomb where it no longer serves the needs of average working people and its fine with mass destruction, war, lack of health care, predatory loans but most of all, climate breakdown.

He continued: Thats the thing you really cant fix. Once we hit these tipping points [scientific thresholds, which once passed, mean changes to climate, biodiversity loss or patterns become irreversible] were going to have to deal with [the results] for tens, hundreds and thousands of years. Its a wild time to be alive right now and be even vaguely aware of whats going on.