The precise Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill was a horrific and, by nearly all accounts, completely preventable disaster. As Berg’s movie reveals in its closing moments, it resulted within the deaths of 11 individuals on the rig and 210 million gallons of oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Russell, nonetheless, admitted he was unaware of the demise toll earlier than studying the film’s script:
“I did not know 11 individuals died. I did not know that many individuals had been injured and that many individuals have survived and it was a harrowing night time and the rig was on fireplace. I did not know any of that. I solely knew what the media was specializing in which was this oil going into the water. It type of received me. I assumed, ‘That is fascinating that we have gotten to some extent the place the media thinks it is extra vital that we have now an ecological catastrophe taking place than 11 individuals being killed and plenty of others being maimed and harm, and so on.’ […]”
With all due respect to Russell, I believe he oversimplified the state of affairs right here. A fast web search will reveal a number of articles from main retailers prioritizing the deaths of the rig employees on the time of the occasion (together with NPR). Even “Deepwater Horizon” itself is predicated on an article printed by the New York Occasions some months after the tragedy. He is additionally just a little responsible of doing the factor that Extraordinarily On-line individuals like to do on social media the place they accuse you of “not caring” about a difficulty until you are continuously posting about it 24/7. Keep in mind of us, we will care about a number of issues without delay!
Anyway, I am climbing off my soapbox now. If “Deepwater Horizon” results in extra individuals understanding the ins and outs of the particular tragedy, then it did its job (even with Wahlberg’s unusual want for hero-posturing).
