‘Don’t Look Up’ First Reactions: ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Outrageously Funny,’ DiCaprio ‘Incredibly Great’

"Don't Look Up"
Netflix

Adam McKay’s star-studded Netflix comedy “Don’t Look Up” has begun screening for press, and the first reactions coming through on social media are ecstatic across the board. McKay follows Oscar winners “The Big Short” and “Vice” with a film that IndieWire’s own Anne Thompson calls “a dead serious and hilarious end of the world comedy” that feels like “‘Melancholia’ meets ‘Dr. Strangelove.'” McKay’s ensemble cast includes Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi.

Netflix’s official “Don’t Look Up” synopsis reads: “Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (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 (Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Blanchett) and Jack (Perry).”

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The synopsis concludes: “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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McKay wrote the role of Kate Dibiasky for Lawrence, and then he worked with DiCaprio for months fine-tuning the script before the actor officially signed on to star in the movie. In typical McKay fashion, he allowed his actors total freedom on the set when it came to improvising. One set piece that takes place in the White House’s Oval Office took two days to film because the cast did nothing but improvise. The scene turned out to be 16 minutes long but had to be cut down for the movie’s theatrical release.

“Don’t Look Up” opens in theaters exclusively on December 10. The film’s streaming date is set for December 24 on Netflix. Check out first reactions to McKay’s latest in the posts below.

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