In the face of some pretty severe weather events that have rocked several parts of the world over the course of the last few years, I recently asked Gerard Butler how that topical idea could impact the way audiences respond to his new film, Geostorm. After all, the wounds of many of these events remain pretty fresh, and the film isn't shy about its depiction of mother nature's destructive power. As it turns out, he thinks these recent storms, heat waves, and other weather events will help the film's core message resonate even further. The 300 star addressed those potential concerns and explained:
I think it makes the experience in this movie all the more visceral, because people are more present. It does feel more like it's our reality. Set in the near future, but it does feel really like the very near future, and I think it makes the message of the film more palatable. I mean you really feel it. I've spoken to a bunch of people who say, just in the opening 10 minutes when it explains what happened with global warming. You see the montage. It's goosebumps. It's like 'oh my god.' It's not so crazy. It's not so different from what's going on now. But also seeing mankind coming together and explaining this technology that was built to save us against it. It's kind of incredible stuff. It's also full of hope as well.
The fact that extreme weather events have rocked several parts of the globe recently has not gone unnoticed by the folks involved with Geostorm. However, rather than shying away from those ideas, it looks like they want to lean on them in an attempt to emphasize what the film is trying to say. According to Gerard Butler: Geostorm may take place in the future, but if we ignore the warning signs, that future could become the present.
Geostorm isn't the first film to use global warming and climate change as a framework to explore some high-concept science fiction ideas -- movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Snowpiercer also come to mind. However, as Gerard Butler pointed out in our conversation, Geostorm feels unique in the ways that it takes a more hopeful tone. In the world of the film, humanity's use of technology to control global warming works (as a result of international collaboration), and it only goes haywire once outside forces intervene and tamper with the system. Viewed through that lens, Geostorm has a reasonably clear message that supports cooperation and teamwork as a way to keep our planet alive. If that's not hopeful, I don't know what is.
Check out the following clip from my chat with Gerard Butler to get to get a first-hand look at what he had to say about Geostorm.
Geostorm will open in theaters this weekend on October 20. If you're looking for more information on all of the other films set to debut on the silver screen over the course of the next year, then make sure to check out CinemaBlend's comprehensive 2017 movie premiere guide and 2018 movie premiere guide and fill out your moviegoing calendars accordingly!
