Q&A: Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam McKay dare you to look up

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet seen “Don’t Look Up.”At the beginning of Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” Michigan State astronomy grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers that a comet is heading toward Earth, and will cause an extinction-level-event for the entire planet in a little over six months: something she duly reports to her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and the end of the world.

David Wallace-Wells Guest ColumnistFor Variety‘s Writers on Writers, David Wallace-Wells pens a tribute to “Don’t Look Up” (screenplay Adam McKay).Parables are hard, which is why the best ones tend not to play like parables at all. Light comedy about the end of the world isn’t exactly easy, either, but “Don’t Look Up” delivers that, too.In retrospect, at least, we now know Adam McKay’s early movies were about much more than they seemed to be about at first.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorJoe Wright — the director of serious period pieces such as “Atonement,” “Anna Karenina” and “Darkest Hour” — would like to set the record straight. He loves Adam McKay’s comedies.

Leonardo DiCaprio did a scary stunt in real life.

In his upcoming Netflix film Don’t Look Up, screenwriter-director Adam McKay explores how the world would react to an approaching comet that is set to destroy Earth. McKay puts his own spin on the serious issue of climate change by presenting the scenario with a comedic twist.

Are filmgoers ready for Don’t Look Up? It’s a star-laden satire dealing with hot topics of the moment – everything from the climate crisis to media disarray and the firings of news anchors.

Leonardo DiCaprio was NOT a fan of Meryl Streep’s nude scene in their new film, Don’t Look Up, but it’s not for the reason you might think!

A difference of opinion. Meryl Streep may have been all for her character on Don’t Look Up appearing naked on screen, but director Adam McKay revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t as onboard with the idea.

Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t want Meryl Streep stripping down in their film "Don’t Look Up." The claim was made by the film’s director, Adam McKay, who said the actor, 47, felt the actress, 72, was too much of an icon to go nude in front of cameras for the comedy. Streep stars as President Janie Orlean, who is seen naked from behind in one scene.

Adam McKay has made a name for himself as one of the premier filmmakers working today. It seems that once he made the jump from straight comedy to more satirical work with “The Big Short” and his more recent films, he’s become one of the biggest Oscar favorites each time he releases a film.

Meryl Streep’s character strips down in the new comedy “Don’t Look Up”, but if Leonardo DiCaprio had anything to say it would have never happened.

Don’t Look Up.Discussing the scene, the film’s director Adam McKay claimed that DiCaprio “had a problem” because he “views Meryl as film royalty”.Streep plays President Janie Orlean in the film, which also stars Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet and more.“She is fearless,” McKay told The Guardian of Streep. “And yes, that is a body double.

“Don’t Look Up.”The film’s director, Adam McKay, made the declaration in a Sunday interview, saying DiCaprio, 47, believed Streep, 72, was too much of an icon to get nude on camera.In the film, the Oscar winner plays President Janine Orlean, who is seen naked from behind in one scene.