Scott Z. Burns proved too visionary for comfort when he wrote fingering — the 2011 pandemic thriller that nine years later became one of the most streamed movies in the initial weeks of the real-life COVID-19 lockdown.
It’s scary to think how accurate his crystal ball can be exclusionNew star-studded Apple TV+ anthology series that takes on the highly-lauded (and according to Burns and colleagues, very scientific) look at what the near future might look like with the worsening global effects of climate change.
The projects share some similar DNA, Burns told us during a recent virtual press day.
“I think the process we go through as writers and creators is very similar,” says Burns. an Inconvenient Truth Featuring former Vice President Al Gore. “We started with the science. We talked to experts. We asked them what could happen. Obviously with the pandemic, they were in the past. And so everyone we talked to said it was ‘if It is not a matter of ‘if’, it is a matter of ‘when’.
“I think with the future and dealing with climate change, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ because you’re seeing climate change every day right now, in fires, in storms, in extreme heat. So it’s a matter of ‘if’ No. But for us, it was a matter of ‘what’. What are we going to tolerate, and what are we going to stand and fight for? And that’s really both the similarities and the differences in the process for us.”
In eight episodes starting in 2037 and ending in 2070, exclusion imagines a world where wildfires consume large swaths of the globe, rising sea levels submerge Miami’s buildings and elephants and whales are nearly extinct.
The subject matter caught the attention of Hollywood. The cast list reads like an awards show: Meryl Streep, Edwards Norton, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Diane Lane, Tobey Maguire, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Rhys, Heather Graham, Gemma Chan, David Schwimmer, Keri Russell, Daveed Diggs and So many.
“The jump that Scott took isn’t really a jump, it’s the trajectory that we’re on,” Diggs says.Hamilton, Blindspotting), who plays a Florida rabbi whose temple is in danger of flooding. “Not that we have to, but we are. We couldn’t either. But he has to be proactive. We’re not going to be able to sit here and it won’t happen.
“I think what’s great about Scott’s mission is he’s providing us with as much information as he can give us over the course of the show, but also hopefully changing how we think about climate change.” And it inspires you to be a little more proactive about it, going out and looking for resources on your own to be more effective at fighting it.
Diggs’ classmates agree: We’re well past the point of cautionary tales. exclusion There is a call to action.
“It’s an important time to be building something like this,” says Michael Gandolfini.many saints of newark, “Scott has a real ability to educate in a way that’s not preachy but informative and compassionate and also grounded in humanity … You’ll want to say, ‘What can I do?’ I can be part of a protest or a march, I can take my reusable water bottle, I can educate myself.”
“These are no longer predictions,” says Rhys. “It’s all happening now. We’re seeing it in real time… We’re just now seeing the beginning of everything portrayed on this show.
Lane has already formed part of the protest. unfaithful was an actress arrested in 2019 During a climate change protest in Washington, DC
“I was prepared to get arrested for protesting,” she says. “You want to know what zip code you’re doing it in. And I wouldn’t do it outside the United States … But being active helps with depression.” [about climate change], And I think this show shows that we’re going to be proactive and we’re not going to go down without a fight. Whether it means fighting with yourself or fighting with your nature.”
The cast emphasized the show’s obvious entertainment value, not just educational or social value.
“I think when you personalize things and make it visceral, it can make a difference,” says Graham. “As an actor, you also want to entertain people.”
“It’s scary, but it’s real,” says Indira Varma (luthor, game of thrones, “Too often you hear about climate change and what’s happening, what it’s doing. And it can feel meaningless, unless you’re living it. But hopefully when we tell stories we reach more people, because it’s about how we feel.
“Pictures live, stories live,” agrees Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian, “Movies and TV series have a special power.”
Burns, 60, says, “I grew up in a time where there were all these movies that really built the context around the Vietnam War, and that was the big American story at the time. Whether it was Apocalypse Now Or deer hunter Or killing FieldsOr born on july 4th, All these movies helped me as a kid to understand what just happened.
“Well, that’s what’s happening now. It’s the greatest existential story of our time. And I believe, as a writer, and I think our fellow colleagues on this felt the same way, that It was an opportunity to help provide context. And I think it’s through providing context to people that you allow them to go and find their way to action.
exclusion Now streaming on Apple TV+.