Watch Gillian Anderson and School Children Explode in Richard Curtis' Banned Environmental Short Film

David Cronenberg, eat your heart out. Richard Curtis, the writer who brought us romantic comedies like Notting Hill and Love Actually, just upped the ante for exploding human beings with a new short film made for the 10:10 environmental campaign called No Pressure. In a nutshell: those refusing to go green, including school children, football players and Gillian Anderson, are blown up by environmentalists. Yep. The movie (which really is hilarious) has been pulled from the 10:10 website and plans to distribute it in cinemas have been canceled. Check out the film and the rest of the story after the jump.

Public outrage predictably stemmed from all of the exploding people, especially the school children (who everybody especially hates to see blow up). 10:10 pulled the video after key backers including the charity ActionAid said they were "appalled" by the film. 10:10 founder and Age of Stupid filmmaker Franny Armstrong doesn't seem so sorry though.

"Doing nothing about climate change is still a fairly common affliction, even in this day and age. What to do with those people, who are together threatening everybody's existence on this planet? Clearly we don't really think they should be blown up, that's just a joke for the mini-movie, but maybe a little amputating would be a good place to start?"

"We 'killed' five people to make No Pressure - a mere blip compared to the 300,000 real people who now die each year from climate change," she adds."

Alright, but even Rolland "destroy everything" Emmerich spared us the sight of dying school children in his pro-green parables (though that big wave in The Day After Tomorrow must have wiped at least some out). And in terms of message delivery, I'm not sure that showing environmentalists blowing up skeptics is the best way to galvanize support from opponents of the cause.

Still, Curtis is just taking slapstick to its natural extreme a la Monty Python, and in that context, this short is pretty hilarious. Obviously it's NSFW, but with all the, ahem, pressure on companies to "go green" these days, just tell your boss it's an environmental PSA and I'm sure it will be fine.

[The Guardian, The Independent via Movie City News]



Comments

  • nightwng2000 says:

    It is a good point about "The Day After Tommorow" though.
    Out of sight, out of mind.
    Blowing up buildings on the big or small screen. Super disasters where cities are wiped out. Blowing up the planet. No "whites of their eyes" thing, so most people aren't bothered.
    Still, this message does send multiple signals and one can make some pretty nasty implications from it.
    Of course, war can be the same way. We've learned how to kill at a distance. No "whites of their eyes" in that either. The moment we could kill without seeing up close (somewhere around the bow and arrow times) what we killed was the moment we became desensitized to killing (contrary to the belief that it was the fault of computer/video games).
    So, yeah, while such "personalized" killing to make a point is distasteful to some, it does "bring it home" for some.
    BTW, don't EVER blow up Gillian Anderson again! It was painful to watch. Yeah, sorry, no... don't.... just.... don't.
    🙂

  • daveed says:

    Ah, I knew I recognized the actress who plays the teacher. It's Lyndsey Marshal, who brilliantly played Cleopatra in Rome.

  • Jeffrey Jones says:

    This is a sick, sick PSA. You environmental wackos have gone to far this time. There will be a payback for creating this mentally deranged video!!!!

  • BS61 says:

    I agree with Jeffrey! For those who are unaware of the Climate Gate scandal, or what Soros, Al Gore and Goldman Sachs stand to gain, monetarily should be ashamed.

  • Pat says:

    Wow, postings like this really bring out the nut-jobs, eh

  • macon school says:

    Terrible video. Propaganda at its best

  • Mitch says:

    I LOVE THIS!
    (Let the leftist censorship begin! Bury away!)
    This is exactly what the loony leftards believe. WAIT NOW! This is not ALL they believe, but this is certainly part of it. The fact is (and you can study their own words) they believe in killing ANYONE and EVERYONE who does not agree with them. Of course I am not speaking of all their koolaid drinking followers. Many of them would be horrified by this ad as well as by what their leaders actually believe. Look up how many of the top leftists and 'eco warriors" have suggested the need to "drastically reduce human population". Some say by over 90%. (They all want beach property cheap!)
    Even just look in the posts right here. You will see angry sick calls for this to become a reality. Never once has Glenn Beck called for any violence of any kind. The left say he spreads hate but can't find a single quote of him doing so despite him being on the air 5 hrs per day...hmmmmm. Would they lie to us? LOL
    Never once has Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, or Rush called for ANY leftist to be taken off the air. See they actually believe in free speech. Yet there is a constant cry from the leftist media to take them off! WOW it's almost like they really don't want you to know the other side...can anyone explain this?
    All flavors of socialist are prone to removal of any who oppose them. The "progressives" believe that progress is over the dead bodies of the opposition. Their delusions of superiority lead them to the conclusion they have this "responsibility" because they know better.
    This is exactly the same mindset that causes all the media to think they have the right to determine what is truth and lie to us constantly. HERE IS WHAT THESE CRAZIES ARE TRYING TO TAKE FROM US ALL:- you'll never get it if you don't get this: Short video; http://is.gd/fKQno
    Also
    Notice how everyone killed in all three ads was a white person.
    (Go on your own and find the facts that twice as many whites recycle than blacks)
    Now watch how many factual answers this post receives. heh heh

  • Bono is accused of helping third world countries in order to sell albums.

  • Parabolee says:

    While I agree that this failed python-esque attempt at promoting a noble cause was in poor taste (especially blowing up the delicious Gillian Anderson), those of you that think global warming is a conspiracy are ill-informed fools at best.
    "Climate gate"? Seriously! You obviously read some absolutely embarrassing loony right wing websites. That manufactured controversy is the best you have? Thousands of emails and all they could come up with was some intentionally taken out of context sentences to prove global warming is a conspiracy. Not that it mattered because you loons wanted to believe the anti-science lies in face of the MASSIVE amounts of well researched evidence regardless of facts anyway. Of course the other side of the debate has thousands upon thousands of hours of independent study and research to support the findings. But facts don't matter to the loons do they.
    Guess you missed the news that "climate gate" was proven to be nonsense (maybe Fox News "forgot" to "report" that) by no less than FIVE legitimate independent review bodies? Not to mention everyone with a brain all over the internet.
    Although to be fair to your ignorance, the "liberal-media" in general failed to report the repeated debunking to a degree even close to the original NONSENSE story -
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/12/climategate-debunking-get_n_642980.html
    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=seven-answers-to-climate-contrarian-nonsense

  • SxyTarantula says:

    Do you guys realize that this is just the beginning?
    I can't wait until these so called "leftist groups" make videos where God is shown and BEATEN, KICKED, STABBED, SET ON FIRE, PISSED ON and then BLOWN UP!
    Then they'll finally get whats coming to them! It's coming! Heed my word!