Don’t Look Up is a new Netflix satire that tells the story of two low-level astronomers, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy our planet.
In this Goggler exclusive, we sat down for a chat with Don’t Look Up science advisor Amy Mainzer about how true to reality the movie’s science was, the likelihood of an apocalyptic collision, and the role of art in spreading science.
Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy
(Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The
problem – it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care.
Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to
navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that
takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son
and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted
by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact,
managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before
it’s too late proves shockingly comical – what will it take to get the world to just look up?!
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