Climate crisis on screen: ‘It was dystopian – now it feels contemporary’
First-time mothers battling apocalyptic flooding – it’s a storyline we’d like to confine to the realms of fantasy drama – but the author of The End We Start From says it’s a case of fiction becoming reality.
Megan Hunter tells Sky News: “It was the dystopian future novel. But now when people talk about the film, they talk about the present moment. It doesn’t really feel so future-orientated anymore unfortunately, it feels more relevant in a directly contemporary way.”
The novel, which she wrote in 2017, has been made into a film starring Jodie Comer as the nameless female protagonist fighting to survive in a waterlogged London.
Hunter says now, just six years on from finishing the book, “it feels a bit more like that is happening here.”
She adds: “There was that sense of, this isn’t something that happens to other people elsewhere, you know, far away. This is something that could happen here.”
The book was partly inspired by an out-of-print anthology of creation mythology she had on her bookshelf “about different ways people around the world have thought about how the world began and also how the world might end”.
With potential End Times being a pretty big plot point to digest, Hunter explains she brought together the universal – “our relationship to the world – to water, nature and the planet over thousands of years of human thought” – with a very personal story of “one woman in London making jokes about Match Of The Day”.
A mother to two young children herself, she says: “Watching a lot of disaster films I’d seen in the past, I didn’t feel that those characters were that relatable to me. They didn’t feel three-dimensional. I really wanted these people to feel completely real.
“We see the woman breastfeeding the baby. We see all of this kind of intimacy, this kind of closeness between people, and to bring that together with the much bigger picture, this much more global scenario. It brings it home.”
Jodie Comer – a first-time mother adrift in The End We Start From. Pic: Anika Molnar
Hunter says by telling the story this way it becomes “very present, very real” and “very hard to turn away”.
We can feel ‘stifled’ by fear
The film’s star, Jodie Comer, tells Sky News she recognises the dilemma of wanting to close your eyes to the climate catastrophe.
“I think we all feel incredibly overwhelmed by it is my worry. You know, I think it can be very scary. And I think as a result of that, we can feel stifled and not know what it is that we can do.”
Pic: Anika Molnar
The film’s director, Mahalia Belo, hopes the movie could encourage those in power to sit up and take note.
“The feeling is that it’s inevitable to some extent, unless some change happens and unless people who have some ability to make change actually really listen to what experts are saying and basically make sure that we aren’t living in a challenging state in the future.
“Everybody knows we’re on an island. Sea levels will rise at some point. You know what’s going to happen.”
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Meanwhile, Sophie Rundle, the lead star of ITV drama After The Flood says the whole point of art is to reflect the world around us.
Sophie Rundle as PC Jo Marshall in After The Flood. Pic: ITV
Northern communities left ‘decimated’
She plays heavily pregnant PC Jo Marshall in the police procedural, where again we see a community left reeling by extensive flooding.
Rundle tells Sky News: “A show purely about climate change might be quite hard to watch or might be quite isolating – it’s such an enormous conversation that we need to be having…
“I think people can be overwhelmed by headlines. And what do you do? Where do you begin? When do you begin talking when you see wildfires and flooding…
“How do we distil that conversation down into a human drama that we are comfortable with? Perhaps comfortable is the wrong word but is accessible to us.”
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With the climate crisis storyline working away behind the scenes, Rundle says the show can focus on the effects such catastrophes might have on society.
“What is the impact on you and your neighbours and the people on the street? On the people in your community? That’s what we are seeing happening, especially in smaller communities up in the north, towns are being decimated. There is no infrastructure in place to protect them. So, what does that world look like?”
‘Light in the darkness’
She credits the show’s writer, Mick Ford, with telling the story in a way that makes people think while still enjoying the ride.
“He draws this community, this collective of people and says, ‘There’s this huge flood, what happens next?’ And I think that’s palatable for people and that’s a way into this conversation while still being entertaining and still being exciting and thrilling.
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For all the doom and gloom around the future of the planet, such cultural explorations of the climate crisis in TV and film undoubtedly raise awareness and open up the conversation – small but necessary steps to making change.
Looking to the future, the author of The End We Start From remains optimistic.
“I think if we feel hopeless, then it can feel like there’s nothing that can be done. It can feel like a stuck end position. So, I do believe in having hope and continuing to look for the light in the darkness.”
The End We Start From is in cinemas now and After The Flood is on Wednesdays at 9pm on ITV1 or all there to stream on ITVX.
Entertainment
P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway
Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing
The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.
Sean Combs and Cassie in 2017. Pic: PA
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.
Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.
Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.
50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”
Pic: CNN via AP
Pic: CNN via AP
He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.
Read more: What is Sean Combs accused of?
The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.
‘Men who hurt women hate women’
He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…
“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”
The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs issues an apology
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
‘Disingenuous words’
Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
‘Leave god and mercy out of this’
US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”
It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.
Sean Combs’ home raided by federal law enforcement. Pic: AP
Multiple claims
In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.
In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.
Sienna Miller has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with her daughter Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.
The 42-year-old actress, who was born in the US but brought up in the UK, has been promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, directed by Kevin Costner.
Kevin Costner with Miller. Pic: Doug Peters/PA
Miller – who will appear in this film and its next instalment – plays East Coast settler Frances Kittredge, who moves to the Horizon settlement with her husband and two children.
Miller wore a pale blue floor-length gown, while 12-year-old Marlowe wore a white dress with a large pale pink bow around the waist for her red carpet debut.
Miller gave birth to Marlowe, whose father is The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, 38, in 2012.
She had a second daughter earlier this year with The Crown actor Oli Green, who also attended the premiere.
Miller and Green, 27, met at a Halloween party thrown by a mutual friend and have since moved to London together.
Costner – who not only directs the film but also co-wrote and stars in it too – had plenty of family support on the red carpet.
The 69-year-old Hollywood star brought five of his seven children – Annie, 40, Cayden, 17, Grace, 13, Lily, 37, and Hayes, 15. The latter makes his screen acting debut in the movie.
The Costner family: (L-R) Lily, Hayes Logan, Grace Avery, Kevin, Cayden Wyatt and Annie. Pic: PA
Horizon: An American Saga spans four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, and is described by the studio behind it, Warner Bros, as an “ambitious cinematic adventure” telling the story of the United States of America “through the lens of families, friends and foes”.
Brace yourself for a three-hour epic – and more to come
The two-part western – of which this is the first chapter – received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered on Sunday.
Costner also says he has scripts ready for two further instalments in the story, which would extend the epic to four parts if commissioned.
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The Yellowstone star, who first pitched a version of the movie back in 1988, has plenty at stake in the project, and personally financed around $100m for the film and its sequel.
He will be hoping to emulate the success of his 1990 directorial debut Dances With Wolves, which he also starred in and produced. The movie was a box office hit, winning multiple Oscars including best picture and best director.
Horizon: An American Saga runs for over three hours and will come to UK cinemas at the end of June.
It also features Avatar star Sam Worthington, Donnie Darko actress Jena Malone and Owen Wilson’s brother Luke Wilson.
GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.
Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.
GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.
The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.
Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.
The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.
These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.
It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.
“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
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The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.
“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.
“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.
It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.
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