The Advanced Imaging Society and EARTHDAY.ORG revealed that director, producer and Academy Award-winning writer Adam McKay will be presented with the first ever Voices For The Earth Award at the 2022 AIS’ Lumiere Awards. The Society will honor McKay at the 12th annual awards ceremony, which will now take place as a luncheon on Friday, March 4, 2022 at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Health protocols will be observed.
McKay’s recent Netflix hit Don’t Look Up tells the story of two low-level astronomers (Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio) who must go on a giant media tour to warn of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. Don’t Look Up recently became the streamer’s second most successful movie of all time.
The Voices For The Earth Award celebrates innovation and inspiration in environmental storytelling and acknowledges creatives who have found a unique approach to strengthen the audience’s appreciation for nature and illustrate the importance of taking care of our shared planet.
Presenting the award to McKay will be Kathleen Rogers, president of EARTHDAY.ORG. Rogers said, “EARTHDAY.ORG is in the movement building business. We now recognize that solid science, indisputable facts, and dire warnings are not changing minds as fast as the relentless march of climate change requires. While our earnestness, our knowledge, and our commitment fits the threat, we need to broaden our approach. One approach is humor–an approach that Don’t Look Up hilariously utilizes. We know that humor has a way of breaking down barriers and that educating with humor increases memory and retention of facts. And as Andrew Carnegie said, ‘There is little success where there is little laughter.’ Don’t Look Up comes at precisely the right time, charting an urgently needed alternative pathway along the road to building consensus and action. And it is very funny every step of the way.”
AIS president Jim Chabin said, “Adam McKay and his superb cast and creative technology teams have dazzled a global audience of millions while starting a conversation around the critical issue of saving our planet. We are thrilled to see our community’s creative genius used for such vital purpose.”
McKay shared, “Since reading the 2018 IPCC Report and then Dave Wallace-Wells' "The Uninhabitable Earth," I had been searching for the right story to tackle the climate crisis. Given how audiences around the globe have shown they have an appetite for these stories, I hope we will see many more that can continue to raise awareness and mobilize people the world over. I’m very grateful for this award from AIS, presented by Kathleen Rogers at EARTHDAY.ORG. It’s great to see their support of filmmakers telling environmental stories.”
McKay is a five-time Oscar nominee, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Big Short in 2016. He’s been nominated twice for Best Director–The Big Short in 2016 and Vice in 2019. Vice also garnered him Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nods.
McKay will be joined at the AIS Lumiere Awards by previously announced Harold Lloyd Award recipient, director Denis Villeneuve, who is being honored for his film Dune.
The Lumiere Awards have been presented over the last decade to the industry’s most respected creative and technical leaders. In addition to awards for motion pictures, episodic and new media content, the society will bestow awards for best musical motion picture, best musical scene or performance, and best immersive audio.
