Back to All News
Don't Look Up': Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam McKay on How Netflix's New All-Star Comedy Came TogetherPlay Video
Play Video
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
16 November 2021
GlobalUnited States
What if you discovered that a comet was on a collision course with Earth? And what if no one really seemed to care? That's the premise of Don't Look Up, the upcoming Netflix comedy written and directed by Academy Award winner Adam McKay. The film uses subversive humor to reflect and underscore some of the most absurd elements of the current moment we live in, and stars Oscar winners Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as two low-level astronomers who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth. Timed to the film's official trailer premiere today, we talked with Lawrence, DiCaprio and McKay about the inspiration for the film, improvising on set, and the all-star cast.
What were some of the sources of inspiration?
Adam McKay: I knew the movie needed to be laugh-out-loud funny, not just clever or wry, so I turned to the all-time greats. Comedies like Office Space and Idiocracy that really capture the weird way we live in the modern world. (Both of those Mike Judge films were north stars for me.) But also movies like Dr. Strangelove, Network, and Wag the Dog. Ive always been intrigued with the idea of finding a way to encapsulate these giant looming threats that we're faced with in this world, but to show it in a way that has a bit of fun with it.
What drew you to the film?
Jennifer Lawrence: I've always wanted to work with Adam McKay, I'm a huge fan. When I read the script, I thought it was genius. It's maybe the funniest script I've ever read, and I thought it was such a poignant way to get such an important point across, that people don't need to be fighting each other over science. We need to be fighting this collective war to save humanity together.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Adam McKay is a director that I'd been wanting to work with for a long time. His ability to combine comedy with incredibly pertinent issues, especially with this film having the undertone of the climate crisis, so it was a unique opportunity to work with somebody that really allowed all of us as actors to collaborate and improvise. Adam is somebody that values everyone's opinion and allows you as an actor to take a scene in any direction that you see fit.
What was your preparation process like?
Lawrence: I spoke to a brilliant astronomer named Amy Mainzer. I was mostly curious about what the world for a female astronomer looks like since they're so outnumbered. That helped shape Kate's personality, how she dresses, how she carries herself. I tried to learn about astronomy as well, but I don't know how much of it I retained. Leo, of course, learned all of it.
DiCaprio: Amy Mainzer is our consultant and astronomer whom I had hundreds of conversations with. She helped me incredibly in playing Dr. Randall Mindy just to be able to articulate this science and basically almost gave me a Carl Sagan-like download on what astronomy is, what it means to be an astronomer, what you look for and the importance of what that means for my character. She was probably one of the most helpful elements to my character that I could've imagined.
McKay: Amy was incredible. She was really a major ingredient in this movie. She was constantly fact-checking the script. Honestly, I cant imagine us being able to pull it off without her. And, and on top of it all, she had a great sense of humor. I just heard the other day she saw the movie, and she was so excited by it. And in a way, that may be the reaction I value the most. Because scientists these days have been under such attack. And the idea that she felt heard seeing the movie was really exciting for me.
What was it like working with Adam McKay?
Lawrence: He's a comedy writer so he's just coming up with hilarious material as we're going. It was so fun to get pitched one hilarious line after another.
DiCaprio: I've been a fan of his work, gosh, ever since Anchorman and Step Brothers. Then right up to Vice and seeing this transition in how he's taken on these incredibly complex political issues, but retained this dark, shrewd, intelligent comedic undertone to a lot of them. This film is, in a lot of ways, the full fruition of what he's been able to mend together thematically and tonally in his movies. Not having had a lot of experience in that space, Adam really helped guide me through balancing the comedic elements in this role.
Did you improvise during any of your specific scenes?
Lawrence: There was a lot of improv in the film. Adam made us feel very free to move with whatever you're feeling.
DiCaprio: Adam gave us an interesting opportunity to try anything. And so, right off the bat, Jen and I really developed our characters on camera. It was done through a lot of different improv. There were so many different actors who came in and were given free rein to really delve into their characters. It was incredible to work alongside such amazing talent.
McKay: They all have a really great sense of the emotional line of their character. Because one of the big ways youll see people go wrong with improv is theyll suddenly start doing things that arent consistent with their character. Theyll start doing things that are just so far afield of the tone of the script. And the great thing with actors like this is they just have a built-in compass for that. They never shattered the reality. So all the actors we had in this film, even though some people may think of some of them as very dramatic, they all were just great with improvising. They jumped right in the water and started swimming.
Can you give any e
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
17/01/2026
BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...
17/01/2026
Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...
17/01/2026
Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...
Back to All News
