Adam McKay is warning that the latest movie from fellow filmmaker Jon M. Chu could soon be “banned.”
“Wicked,” the first installment in what is set to be a two-part series, “is right up there as one of the most radical big studio Hollywood movies ever made,” McKay wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter, saying that it is “nakedly about radicalization in the face of careerism, fascism, propaganda.”
In a follow-up post, the “Don’t Look Up” director compared Chu’s 2024 film — set in the fictional world of “The Wizard of Oz” — to Hollywood classics he sees as similar, including “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Searchers” and “Citizen Kane.”
“Hunger Games. That’s a big one,” he added as he mulled other major movies that could be seen as radical, calling it “incredibly left wing.”
“What’s really striking about Wicked Part 1 is that it’s coming out NOW when America has never been more right wing and propagandized,” McKay argued, while conceding that “part of the timing is a coincidence” since the film was based on older source material.
One X user wrote that Chu’s movie “just looked like more American fantasy, franchise-wringing and CGI fare to me,” but said that they’d watch it after considering McKay’s perspective, prompting the “Step Brothers” director to say they may be “shocked.”
“If America keeps going on the track it is I wouldn’t be surprised to see the movie banned in 3-5 years,” McKay said of “Wicked.”
He also gave props to singer and actor Ariana Grande for delivering an “incredible” performance in the film, which co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum, among others.
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“It’s as good a performance as you’ll find in any genre,” he said.
Elsewhere, McKay clarified that his comments weren’t intended to be a review of the popular movie, which has already won and been nominated for various awards.
“I’m talking about the story and POV [point of view] as a commercial worldwide film,” he wrote.
English (US) ·