After that, I worked in Congress on the appropri-
ations committee. I worked on a Senate campaign
in Montana. Then the same guy got elected gover-
nor. So I moved to Montana with my wife, and then
we moved down to Denver.

I got a job on radio and went back to investiga-
tive, follow-the-money journalism.

How did the movie come together?
Adam McKay has been a friend for a long time.

In the mid-2000s, I had written an article about
NAFTA. He got in touch and said he liked the arti-
cle. “Next time you’re in L.A. let’s meet.” We struck
up a friendship.

I spent election night 2016 with him and the cast
of (HBO’s) “Succession.” They were doing a table
read of the show.

After that, I got in touch and said, “Listen man, I
loved ‘Vice’ (the 2018 black comedy movie about
former Vice President Dick Cheney). You have to
use your superpower mixing comedy and politics to
address the climate crisis.” He said, “I know man, but
I don’t want to do, like, post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max.’”
I called him again after I had written a couple
stories about climate change; I was frustrated that
people didn’t care enough. I said, “It feels like a
comet’s coming to earth and people don’t care.”
We brainstormed over the phone. He wrote the
script. I gave notes.

Two weeks later he said, “Jennifer Lawrence and
(Leonardo) DiCaprio are interested.” A week later
he’s like, “This is actually happening. We’re sending
the paperwork over.”
I was shocked.

trying to say. So, what was it trying to say?
So the movie comes out on Netflix and goes viral
on social media. What was that experience like?
I tweeted this out, but I hope to see my Little
League teammate Bradley Cooper.

When he first became famous, I was like, “That
name sounds familiar.” Then my best friend was like,
“That’s Bradley from East Abington Little League.”
I asked my mom to find the team photo. There it
is. Me in the bottom row, him in the top row.

I never expected the movie to become a cultural
phenomenon. You see politicians referring to “just
look up.” It really has become part of the cultural
discourse. I think the reason that happened is because it’s
a movie about the here and now. This movie feels
a lot like reality. Everybody has strong opinions on
the here and now.

It felt as politically supercharged as campaign
discourse. There was this controversy on Bernie’s
campaign: He made a half-joke like, “Jeff Bezos’
paper (The Washington Post) is really friendly with
me.” And it was like, “Bernie is attacking journalism!”
A lot of the debate was about what the movie was
Exclusive Women’s Apparel Boutique
Made in USA
Custom designs, color options and
free alterations available
Evening Gowns
Suits/Separates Cocktail Dresses
61 Buck Road
Huntingdon Valley,
PA 19006
www.elanaboutique.com (215)953-8820
Make an appointment today!
Consult with the designer to
explore your style options.

24 MARCH 3, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Every politician is asked questions about the econ-
omy. What we have to do is bake that same attitude
about climate into the coverage.

The economy is the way we talk about politics.

The livable atmosphere needs to be at the same
level. What are you looking forward to most about the Oscars?
That’s very cool. So what’s next for you now? Are
you a screenwriter?
I’ve got some irons in the fire on other projects. I’m
also doing my journalism every day.

I take from this that there’s pent-up demand for
movies, TV shows that wrestle with the challeng-
ing issues of the day.

To me, that’s exciting. That’s what I’ve been doing.

That’s what I want to do. JE