I think that we are all well aware of how much Hollywood loves a good sequel, but I honestly didn’t see this one coming. Documentaries usually don’t require a second look, but 2006’s climate-change doc An Inconvenient Truth is an exception. Despite making a splash upon release (grossing $50 million, winning two Oscars, and helping Al Gore win a Nobel Peace Prize), the movie has had little effect on how the public views global warming. The issue of climate change is still unresolved and many refuse to believe that the problem even exists. According to producer Lawrence Bender, that’s exactly why a sequel is necessary.
THR recently spoke to Bender about the idea of a sequel and according to him, they’ve had conversations about a follow-up but want to be sure that it will have an impact.
“At the time [of the first film], we hoped to provoke a global conversation about climate change. Our new inconvenient truth is that not nearly enough concrete action has been taken.”
Co-producer Laurie David is also game for a sequel, saying:
“God we need one. Everything in that movie has come to pass. At the time we did the movie, there was Hurricane Katrina; now we have extreme weather events every other week. The update has to be incredible and shocking.”
Al Gore himself has been talking about a sequel since 2008, noting that the first film helped raise awareness, but has done little in terms of improving climate change. In fact, he says the situation has only gotten worse. As much of an impact as the film may have had at the time, the fossil fuel industry has done a great job fighting back.
“They did a really good job of pushing back and confusing people. Some people actually believe global warming doesn’t exist,” said Bender.
At this point, a sequel isn’t a certainty, but it’s interesting that the people behind the film are talking about it. Scott Z. Burns, another producer on An Inconvenient Truth, stressed that they would only do it if they had a “really really amazing way of attacking the issue and reinvigorating it.” With climate change and global warming still causing heated debates nearly ten years after the first film’s release, I don’t doubt that the filmmakers have plenty of reasons and more than enough material to revisit the issues.
