‘Geostorm’ Director Hopes Harvey Weinstein Scandal Signals ‘Sea Change’ for Hollywood
Warner Bros.’ “Geostorm” premiered Monday night at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood while talk of the Harvey Weinstein scandal percolated on the red carpet.
Dean Devlin, who made his directorial debut with the weather disaster take, admitted that he was “stunned” by the sheer volume of the #MeToo postings on social media after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women who had been been sexually harassed or assaulted to post on social media in solidarity.
“It is depressing; it is overwhelming,” he said. “I hope that maybe this will be the pivotal moment of a sea change where society says ‘enough.’ This is crazy and it has to end.”
As for “Geostorm,” Devlin said its underlying message carries plenty of power, given the number of deadly hurricanes that have struck recently. The film is set in a near future where climate-controlling satellites go haywire and cause a storm of epic proportions, until brothers — played by Gerard Butler and Jim Sturgess — save the day.
“I don’t think these weather conditions are going to get better on their own,” Devlin noted. “We used to call them the storm of the century but now we’re seeing what happens if we don’t act fast enough — and real human beings are suffering because of that. This is a popcorn movie but I do think the underlying message has never been more relevant.”
Butler said that his character, a satellite designer, is a bit of a departure from his usual action hero.
“It was a lot of fun,” Butler said. “He’s a very brilliant man, which I’m not, and he has a sharp attitude, so he doesn’t know how to get along with people,” Butler said.
He also admitted that he’s a big fan of disaster movies with 1972’s “The Poseidon Adventure” being a particular favorite.
Sturgess said he did not think twice about coming on board. “The opportunity to be in a giant movie and save the world with Gerard Butler was too hard to pass up,” he said.
Cast member Judd Lormand, who plays a military role in the movie, noted on the red carpet that he’s all too familiar with the extreme weather of “Geostorm.”
“I lost a house and two cars last year in a Louisiana flood that didn’t make that much news,” he said.
Devlin’s producing credits include teaming with Roland Emmerich on the “Independence Day” movies, “Godzilla,” and “The Patriot.”
“Geostorm” is a co-production of Warner Bros. and Skydance Media with Devlin, Dana Goldberg and David Ellison producing. The film opens Friday nationwide.
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