Marketing disaster
'Tomorrow' director Roland Emmerich: The new Irwin Allen?
By Todd Leopold
CNN
 |  A tidal wave rushes down Fifth Avenue in "The Day After Tomorrow." |
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| | ON CNN TV |  "Eye on Entertainment" talks about the weekend's happenings on CNN's "Live Today" between 10 a.m. and noon ET Thursday. |
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(CNN) -- Irwin Allen's disaster movies never had a message, unless it was "Never use cheap wiring!"
Just take an all-star cast, a disaster -- an overturned ship ("The Poseidon Adventure"), a burning San Francisco skyscraper ("The Towering Inferno"), a misbehaving volcano ("When Time Ran Out") -- and let 'er rip.
Roland Emmerich's movies generally haven't had a message either, unless it's "Wow! Look at New York blow up!"
Emmerich incinerated the Empire State Building in "Independence Day," crushed a few skyscrapers in "Godzilla," and now he's at it again -- sending the city tidal waves and freezing it over in "The Day After Tomorrow."
But there's something else going on here. Emmerich is trying to call attention to global warning -- and the news media have bitten.
It helps to have a giant marketing campaign. You may have seen "The Day After Tomorrow" ads on CNN.com, either the short trailers on the entertainment page or the cracking ice on CNN/SI. They couldn't help but get your attention.
But the movie has also managed to round up a few scientists and environmental groups to talk about global warming. The events caused by global warning wouldn't happen exactly like the movie -- if the world enters another ice age, it'll probably take at least a few decades of plummeting temperatures -- but if seeing the Statue of Liberty under water and encased in ice gets people's attention, well, whatever works.
Which has prompted the conservative Cato Institute to trot out its commentators, saying that the movie is complete hooey and global warning isn't a proven fact either. Perhaps Cato has forgotten: In Hollywood, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Every time a critic mentions "The Day After Tomorrow," Emmerich not only scores political points for his side, but he can probably hear cash registers ring.
Eye on Entertainment watches in amusement.
Eye-opener
"The Day After Tomorrow" sure looks cool. Tidal waves flood Fifth Avenue; tornadoes rip up the Capitol Records building in Hollywood; much of North America freezes over.
As for plot, well ...
OK. Dennis Quaid is a climatologist whose research indicates that global warming could cause a huge, sudden change in the world's weather. Naturally, he's ignored.
And then his predictions come to pass, and the movie's special effects budget kicks in.
But then what? What happens "The Day After Tomorrow"?
Well, humanity -- what's left of it -- adjusts, of course (at least in the short term). Quaid manages to find his son (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has been stuck in Manhattan. People in the frozen U.S. take off for warmer climes. The vice president -- who, reviews have noted, looks an awful lot like Dick Cheney -- realizes that his own ideas about global warming have been wrong. Cue discussion of politics.
Or not. My guess is people will leave the theater talking about how cool it is to see Mother Nature strike back.
That's OK. Irwin Allen would likely be proud.
"The Day After Tomorrow" opens Friday.
On screen
"Soul Plane" is about a man who wins a huge settlement from an airline and decides to start the flying operation of his dreams. Or should that be "fly" operation? The movie stars Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Method Man and George Kennedy as Patroni (Joke! Joke!). Opens Friday."Raising Helen" stars Kate Hudson as a goofy woman who becomes the guardian of her sister's three children after an auto accident. Opens Friday.Despite early reviews that note how even-handed -- and funny -- it is, "Saved!" is taking some chances in this divided country. Set at a Christian day school, it features one character who's gay, another who gets pregnant and others who ostracize them. It stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin and Patrick Fugit. Opens Friday.On the tube
"Elaine Stritch at Liberty" is a filmed version of the famed actress' one-woman show. 8 p.m. ET Saturday, HBO.Sound waves
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