Cool It (movie)

Cool It is a documentary film about Bjorn Lomborg and his climate policy views. It was released November 12, 2010, and closed December 30, with a total domestic lifetime gross of $62,713.

Content
From Kåre Fog's review and extensive notes, the film has three parts: first, an introduction and focus on Lomborg himself; second, a critique of environmentalists and of Gore's film; third, an examination of some possible global warming solutions.

Andrew Revkin saw the film and reports that "Lomborg’s main prescription, derived in part from his periodic consultations with...economists, is to invest heavily in research on non-polluting energy technology and [on geo-engineering] countermeasures to greenhouse heating."

Criticisms
Experts such as Ken Caldeira and Presidential Science advisor John Holdren believe skipping mitigation in favor of geoengineering would expose us to massive risk.

UC Berkeley Professor Daniel Kammen appears in the film but took a dim view of the final product, saying:"'Beyond it being a commercial for Lomborg, I can't figure out what was novel about the film or hasn't been said by hundreds or thousands of people and organizations worldwide. ...Lomborg's call for $100 billion for climate mitigation technologies is the same as what was discussed widely in Copenhagen'." And "Kammen pointed out that the film completely ignores energy-efficiency technologies, which numerous studies have shown to be the most cost-effective tool for reducing emissions - and which have been used with great success in California."

The Union of Concerned Scientists said "Lomborg cherry-picks data to present a skewed view of how we should combat global warming". Flaws they identified were: "[It's] Square peg economics for a round hole problem... ...Engineering the climate is a dangerous proposition ...Lomborg accepts that climate change is real, but incorrectly discounts its threat ...criticizes the Kyoto Protocol, but doesn't acknowledge it was never meant to solve climate change on its own ...argues against specific clean energy policies and action in isolation, failing to acknowledge that they all could work together ...recycles the discredited claim about global cooling and misrepresents scientific research"

Kåre Fog reports "The film is...a one-sided presentation seen from Lomborg´s personal point of view. [e.g.] ... he presents the case when he was accused of scientific dishonesty as if he were completely innocent and as if the complaints were only politically motivated... People who watch the film seem to like the middle part best... where he criticizes Al Gore´s film and `shoots down Gore´s points one by one´ as it was described in the Reel Film review. ...one point where the audience was amused and could not stop laughing... at the stupid environmentalists:...the part about polar bears. Unfortunately, what Lomborg says here about polar bears is completely wrong and not based on scientific evidence. [e.g. ]... So the ridicule of Al Gore is completely unjustified here - but the audience does not know that. On other points (sea level rise, hurricane Katrina, malaria) Al Gore was not completely wrong as stated by Lomborg, although the evidence is more ambiguous on these points. ...one should remain critical of Lomborg´s presentation even [in the third part, on energy solutions]. He endorses wind energy as a part of the solution, but at the same time he claims that we should not invest in more wind turbines right now, and in other contexts he argues strongly against implementation of wind energy, so one may wonder if he has a hidden agenda (see here on Lomborg-errors)."

Publicity
From the publicity for the film, which has not been nuanced, it's clear the intended message is "fighting climate change should be low priority". The website ReelTruths.com ("a series of Biblically-based discussion guides to help people talk about hot-button issues that are incited by movies" ) has a Q&A with producer Terry Botwick asking "What do you see as the moral, ethical and/or spiritual implications of "COOL IT"?" Botwick responds, advising against human sacrifice:"'We all have a responsibility to be stewards of the planet. But, Cool It goes much further in challenging us to spend our resources in a manner that does the most real good in the world. Major problems in the world, like poverty, are a much greater moral imperative than reducing carbon emissions....we should not sacrifice people in need to reduce carbon emissions but rather support research into new energy sources that will be sustainable and clean.'" A sample excerpt - a biblical passage followed by questions - gives the flavor of the discussion guide: "(Matthew 6:19-21) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Q: What treasures do we store up on earth? How do these treasures keep us from working to address the world’s biggest problems? Q: Do global-warming advocates make the earth itself one of these treasures? If so, why is this a problem?

A cursory examination of the Reel Truths website reveals that Cool It, Reel Truths' "Current Project", is its only project; and the reeltruths.com domain turns out to be a product of Propeller Consulting, "a creative consultancy specializing in developing powerful brand experiences to reach faith and family consumers", which was enlisted by Roadside Attractions to plug the film.

Unsupported assertions
In a December 2010 interview, filmmaker Ondi Timoner said "About four or five people I interviewed for the film got completely shut down or fired from their jobs"

Numerous attempts to reach Timoner through her film company Interloper Films, to substantiate this assertion have been unsuccessful.

Funding
The identities of the film's backers - "independent investors" according to Lomborg - are unknown.

(Producer Terry Botwick said he makes it a practice not to comment on investors or budgets..

There are indications that these independent investors may have also paid for the film's distribution; see the "Distributors" section below.

A spokeswoman for Anschutz Entertainment Group subsidiary Walden Media did not return a phone message asking if Anschutz Entertainment Group or subsidiaries were involved with the film. Another possible funder is "independent film finance company" Skydance Productions or its officers; its COO is Republican operative and former DCI Group EVP Andrew J. McKenna Jr. - who co-manages the Goodsijn funds with DCI Group principals Tom Synhorst and Doug Goodyear. Skydance publicists Prime PR initially denied that Skydance or its officers had any involvement with the film, but would not say who at Skydance had provided this information, and subsequently did not return phone calls; nor did Mr. McKenna. )

Filmmaker
Filmmaker Ondi Timoner of Interloper Films was approached by the producers to do the film. . Interloper Films "develops and produces original feature length documentaries, music videos, television programs, and promotional and documentary films for corporate clients" and "is also committed to creating public service media to explore social and cultural issues...".

Production Company
The production company for Cool It is 1019 Entertainment, of 1019 Holdings LLC, consisting of:
 * Terry Botwick, advisor to the Michigan-based Dove Foundation
 * Ralph Winter, formerly with 20th Century Fox, "a featured speaker at the National Religious Broadcaster’s annual convention TV and Film Boot Camp" and "a founding partner in the commercial production company ThomasWinterCooke...[which] successfully pioneered branded entertainment with product integration ranging from global beverage brands to automobiles" and aimed for "creating opportunities for its directors to move into long-form".
 * Possible board of directors; Botwick did not respond to a request to identify them.

Indeterminate
Sarah Gibson is also listed, as a writer, screenwriter, or producer of the film.

Distributors
Distributor Roadside Attractions snapped up the film even before its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival - surprising eagerness in light of environmental films' recent troubles finding distribution "including a number of Sundance darlings" and of the reportedly poor performance. of the environmental film Roadside Attractions picked up in 2009, The Cove. Co-founder Eric d'Arbeloff has not yet responded to a query asking whether the producers of Cool It put up most or all of the film's releasing costs.

Financial performance
In its first month in theaters, Cool It grossed $61,202. .

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Bjorn Lomborg
 * An Inconvenient Truth

External resources

 * Official film website
 * Lomborg-Errors page on Cool It
 * Box office statistics for Cool It, vs. for An Inconvenient Truth