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Academy Award-winning actors Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio say they hope that through the laughs in the new comedy “Don’t Look Up” they’ll be able to change some minds about the perils of climate change. Streep, DiCaprio and the director Adam McKay talk about the Netflix production, their careers and more, in an interview with Tracy Smith for CBS SUNDAY MORNING to be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 5 (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

The film has an all-star cast and revolves around a scientist, DiCaprio, trying to warn the world that a comet is heading toward Earth and will destroy the planet. Streep plays the president who won’t take him seriously. The comet is a metaphor for climate change with the world split between believers and skeptics.

But can a movie make a difference?

“Hopefully,” DiCaprio tells Smith. “But at this point, I’m a Debbie Downer with the system. So you’re asking the wrong guy. To me, it’s about a little less, you know, conversation and a lot more action.”

The film was shot at the height of the pandemic’s impact on the entire world, which made it more meaningful to DiCaprio.

“And that’s why it connected with this screenplay that was about the climate crisis, that we’re all going to go through the – we’re all going to feel the ramifications of this,” DiCaprio says. “And what we’re seeing right now with the wildfires and the massive hurricanes and all these catastrophes doesn’t get better than this, okay? … It doesn’t get better than this. It slowly becomes worse.”

Director McKay, known for the comedies “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and the Oscar-winning “The Big Short,” felt comedy was the best way to approach the topic of climate change.

“We can overcome this,” McKay tells Smith. “But what’s scaring me now is it’s really getting to be down to the last second. And so hopefully this movie is something where we get a lot of laughs, but we also get a kick in the pants.”

Streep, who describes herself as a big fan of McKay, agreed that the director’s comedic take could help spread the film’s message: "Nobody makes me laugh harder in his movies. And nobody makes me think more.”

CBS SUNDAY MORNING is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.

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