Adam McKay on potential Oscar nominations for Netflix’s ‘Don’t Look Up’: ‘It would mean a lot to me’

Six years ago, Adam McKay entered the Oscar winner’s circle for “The Big Short” (2015) in Best Adapted Screenplay, which he co-wrote with Charles Randolph, based on the book by Michael Lewis. Soon after, he earned bids for “Vice” (2018). Now, the filmmaker is in the awards conversation yet again for his Netflix hit “Don’t Look Up,” for producing, writing and, of course, directing. Earning Oscar nominations for a movie that both “breaks form” and raises awareness about the climate crisis “would mean a lot to me,” McKay reveals to me and Rob Licuria in our recent interview.

“What’s great about the awards stuff and especially the Oscars is that it’s your peers — it’s the people that make movies,” he says. “So I always am partial to that, same with the guild nominations. Any further success this movie could have sends a message that you can do movies about these subjects. You can play around with the way we’re telling stories about these complicated times we’re living in.” McKay later adds, “This is an unusual movie — it breaks form. I’m not sure what genre it is. It would meant a lot to me if there could be a message sent to other creatives that this is a path worth pursuing.”

SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Nicholas Britell and Taura Stinson (‘Don’t Look Up’)

“Don’t Look Up” stars Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as astronomers who discover that a comet is coming to Earth, with Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill playing the politicians who don’t believe them or simply don’t care. The film is an allegory for humanity’s failure to reckon with the burgeoning global climate crisis. Thanks to positive word-of-mouth and an all-star cast, it’s now one of Netflix’s most-watched original movies of all time.

As for how he came up with the wild plot, McKay explains, “It’s the biggest story in human history and yet you can go through the TV channels on the news and never hear anything about it. [David Sirota] and I were commiserating about the lack of coverage of the climate crisis and he said, ‘Oh yeah, it’s like an asteroid is going to hit earth and no one cares,’ and I was like, ‘That’s it!'”

SEE ‘Don’t Look Up’: Adam McKay’s Netflix satire could net Leonardo DiCaprio Oscar nomination #8

The Screen Actors Guild Awards recently recognized the cast with an ensemble nomination. And the Critics Choice Awards honored the film with bids for picture, writing, song (“Just Look Up”), score and ensemble.

According to Gold Derby’s Oscar odds, which are derived from the predictions made by our experts, editors and users, the film will be competitive in many races, including picture, director, acting, writing, film editing, score and song. Is McKay about to win a bookend Oscar to the one he previously received for “The Big Short”?

Watch our webchat with McKay below. The Oscar discussion begins at the 2:15 mark.

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