Politics or film: what did former US President Barack Obama have to do with the making of a new disaster movie on Netflix?

Working on a new disaster film, Leave the World Behind, based on Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel, the writers have sought the advice of an unusual adviser - former US President Barack Obama.

Here's What We Know

"The film's writer and director - the creator of the 'Mr. Robot' series, Sam Esmail - told Vanity Fair about the former president's involvement in the creative process of 'Leave the World Behind'."

"The World Behind,"In the original drafts of the script, I definitely pushed things a lot farther than they were in the film, and President Obama, having the experience he does have, was able to ground me a little bit on how things might unfold in reality." - Esmail explained.

When talking about the former president's experience, the director may have been referring to Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground, which was behind award-winning documentaries like "American Factory" and historical dramas like the upcoming "Rustin." By the way, "Leave the World Behind" was created for the same production company.

"I am writing what I think is fiction, for the most part, I'm trying to keep it as true to life as possible, but I'm exaggerating and dramatizing. And to hear an ex-president say you're off by a few details… I thought I was off by a lot! The fact that he said that scared the f--- out of me.". - Esmail continued.

Since Obama had read Ruman Alam's book, he had a lot of ideas about how the material could be adapted into a film.

"He had a lot [of] notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them. I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn't just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film." - Esmail concluded.

Here's What The Movie Is About

The plot of Leave the World Behind is about a married couple, played by Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, who go on holiday to a rented house on Long Island just before the apocalypse begins. The pair find out when the homeowners suddenly return and announce that there has been a disaster in New York City.

When We Can Expect It

Leave the World Behind will premiere in theatres on November 22, and the film will be available on Netflix on December 8.

Source: Entertainment Weekly