Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ Sequel to Include Trump’s Exit From Paris Accord
Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” will get a last-minute edit to incorporate President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
“An Inconvenient Sequel” is slated for release July 28. Paramount said the filmmakers will revise the movie to include Trump’s controversial move, announced Thursday.
“The final film will address today’s news,” Paramount spokesperson Katie Martin Kelley told Variety.
Gore stars in the film, which shows how the landmark 2015 Paris agreement came together. The documentary, produced by Participant Media, kicked off this year’s Sundance Film Festival, on the day before Trump was inaugurated. The film was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews.
The movie includes footage of then-candidate Donald Trump joking about global warming. Trump issued a sweeping executive order in March rescinding many of the climate change regulations introduced by former President Barack Obama, including reducing carbon emissions and lifting the moratorium of mining coal on federal lands.
“Inconvenient Sequel” is a follow-up to Davis Guggenheim’s Oscar-winning 2006 film “An Inconvenient Truth,” which followed Gore’s efforts to convince legislators and the public of the devastating effects of climate change. Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk directed the sequel.
Gore joined a growing chorus of national, international, and local leaders Thursday in condemning Trump’s action, which had been expected but nonetheless threw into question how efforts to reduce countries’ national footprint will be affected by the exit of the U.S.
“Removing the United States from the Paris Agreement is a reckless and indefensible action,” Gore said in a statement. “It undermines America’s standing in the world and threatens to damage humanity’s ability to solve the climate crisis in time. But make no mistake: if President Trump won’t lead, the American people will.”
David Linde, chief executive of Participant Media, called Trump’s move “a blow to our collective ability to fight the climate crisis in time.”
Linde also said, “No matter what happens, our job is to keep the momentum moving forward as quickly as we can, regardless of what stands in our path.”
Cohen and Schenk said in a statement, “We were shocked and disappointed to hear President Trump’s announcement today regarding withdrawing the U.S. from the historic international deal reached in Paris. In our new film, ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,’ we filmed behind-the-scenes in Paris to show the hard work, finesse, and passion that went into making the agreement happen.
“We hope that the hard work of those who made the deal happen will not be in vain. The good news is that there is a great deal to be hopeful about. The technology exists to create enough clean energy for the world economy and to avoid total climate catastrophe. Now that President Trump is pledging to do less to keep America’s commitment to the world, we must all step up to do more to ensure the health of our planet.”
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