Don't Look Up director Adam McKay, editor Hank Corwin, and composer Nicholas Britell, talk about the most challenging part of filming the movie's oval office scene. The film was originally released in theaters on December 10, 2021, before landing on Netflix on Christmas Eve. Don't Look Up has since garnered a lot of attention since hitting the giant streaming platform, achieving a Netflix viewership record despite receiving mixed reviews online. The film was given a critic score on Rotten Tomatoes of just 56%. In contrast, the audience score was quite positive, scoring 74% and showing the film's popularity towards the viewers.
The oval office scene is the focus in the majority of Don’t Look Up’s trailers. The scene begins after the film’s opening credit scenes and features the two main characters Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio). They are joined by Rob Morgan’s Dr. Oglethorpe as they wait a long time to meet the fictional POTUS, played by Meryl Streep and her Chief of Staff, played by Jonah Hill. Streep revealed that this particular scene took two whole days, with the actors laughing and improvising during the now-popular scene.
In an interview with Variety, the trio behind Don't Look Up talks about the difficulty with filming the now-famous first oval office scene. When asked "Was there any sequence that was particularly tricky," the film's editor Corwin responded with them all agreeing to the first oval office scene. Corwin says that it was the "litmus test" for how the film was going to play out, making it the most vital scene in Don't Look Up. McKay also adds more detail following Corwin's statement:
“Hank had cut a version of that scene where the scientists tell the president and her son, who’s chief of staff, “We’re all gonna die in six months,” Hank did a version that is one of the best cut scenes I’ve ever seen, it was a tour de force. I like to do test screenings to feel the energy. And at that first test screening, it became apparent that there’s such a range of viewpoints of this moment we’re living in. For some of us, things are completely off the rails. Some people think we’re in trouble but we will fix it; others think we’re fine, it’s just politics as usual. Others think it’s trouble but it’s not remotely funny.”
The film does cover a very important subject matter, with McKay admitting Don't Look Up reflects his own fears over climate change. He adds in the interview that the oval scene provided a lot more challenges than initially perceived. As the film is “designed as a conversation with the audience,” the importance of getting this scene right was vital as it set up the tone for the rest of the film’s runtime. Both Streep’s and Hill’s characters were unbothered by the scientific facts Dr. Mindy relays, even going as far as to insult his anxious behaviors.
The two characters' oblivious and obnoxious reactions to the warnings set the tone for the rest of the characters in the film; not caring at all about the obvious warning signs. It is a frustrating representation of today’s society and the reaction towards climate change, which is why McKay and his team had to get the oval office scene perfect as it set the tone for the rest of the film. McKay spoke up about the Don't Look Up backlash, talking about how the people who disliked the film most likely didn’t understand the true message, or even worse, what is going on with the world.
Source: Variety