Don’t Look Up: Adam McKay says inclusion of phone sex hotline was an accident

The star-studded satire Don’t Look Up made some hilarious headlines when Twitter users discovered that the in-movie crisis phone number in the film actually led to a phone sex hotline. The story was picked up by NBC News and soon more people began trying to call the line before they were met with an error message that the line was down due to high call volume. Some thought director Adam McKay included the number on purpose but he’s revealing that it was a “pure accident.”

McKay was asked by People about the phone sex hotline debacle and he confirmed that this was not an intentional joke. He says that they had intended to set up a number that could be used to promote the movie so that when viewers called it, they would be greeted by the comet-hotline that was promised by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character. The filmmakers returned to the idea too late and they just threw in a 555-number they thought would be fake. You can check out McKay’s response to the situation below:

“We were going to set up a line for that. But we didn’t think of doing it until the end and we didn’t have enough time to get our own phone number so that’s just a random phone number. We in no way planned it being a sex hotline. Pure accident. Unless someone at Netflix or our graphics house picked it and I didn’t know about it, I have no idea. In fact, no way. They wouldn’t have done that on purpose.”

In the film, two astronomers go on a nationwide press tour after discovering a comet is on its way to destroy Earth. Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) becomes the darling of the press and begins to eclipse the unpredictable Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence). After Dr. Miny becomes a hit on a popular morning talk show, he goes on to appear in a state-sponsored PSA that is designed to calm the nerves of the anxious American public. The PSA ends with Dr. Mindy encouraging those who are worried about the impending doom of the comet to call a phone number that appears on the screen, which he says will bring “peace of mind.”

I’m still not sure I buy that this was an accident but, if it was, it’s a pretty hilarious mishap. Movie fans seeking “peace of mind” likely found it in a much different way than the people in the film when they tried utilizing the number.

Did YOU try calling the phone sex hotline number used in Don’t Look Up?