Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Michael Douglas, Walton Goggins, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, and more sign NTI’s Critical Mass pledge

Producer and Writer Alyssa Clark Receives Development Award for New Nuclear-Themed Show

Dozens of cultural leaders in film, television, music, and other creative industries are marking 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by calling attention to the underappreciated and escalating catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons. Their statement—endorsed by the Governors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Co-Chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Ernest J. Moniz—is captured in a letter appearing today in The New York Times and Variety.

Actors and creators signing the letter include Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Michael Douglas, Karen Fukuhara, Walton Goggins, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, and Ocean Vuong, among other creators and talent representing major current and upcoming projects with nuclear themes, including Amazon Prime’s Fallout, Netflix’s The Diplomat, and Hulu’s Paradise. The letter includes a pledge to use their voices, platforms, leadership, and storytelling expertise to call attention to the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and help people imagine a safer future without them.

“The stories we tell matter. In 1983, The Day After—the chilling TV movie about nuclear war—reached 100 million Americans and helped convince President Reagan to urgently pursue nuclear arms reductions,” the letter says. “Around the same time, public support for a nuclear arms buildup plummeted from 61 percent to 16 percent. Storylines about nuclear weapons helped pave the way for historic treaties that reduced worldwide stockpiles by 80 percent.”

Highlighting today’s growing nuclear risks, Moniz noted: “Eighty years after the first use of atomic weapons, we face significant renewed nuclear threats. The rhetoric is dangerous, and many nuclear weapons states are or have recently been involved in military conflicts. Communication channels are blocked. The possibility that a nuclear weapon will be used again—by accident or on purpose—is rising. We can barrel toward catastrophe, or we can come together behind a different path that eliminates the nuclear threat.”

Academy Award-winning director and signatory James Cameron joined Moniz for a one-hour, NTI-hosted conversation with CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour on August 3. “I think we've lost touch with how powerful these weapons really are, and what a threat they pose to us,” said Cameron, who is set to direct an adaptation of Ghosts of Hiroshima, a new book released yesterday with an unflinching account of what happened on August 6 and 9, 1945 told through the accounts of a handful of “double survivors” who lived through the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. “The people that survived that are our most precious witnesses for the most horrific thing that I can imagine, and I can imagine a lot.”

New Partnerships and Development Award

The letter and partnership with Cameron are part of NTI’s Critical Mass project, a new initiative focused on the power of culture and storytelling to reframe the debate around nuclear weapons and mobilize public demand for policies that pull the world back from the brink.

Today’s announcements from NTI’s Critical Mass project include:

• The launch of NTI’s Critical Mass Cultural Advisory Council comprised of industry leaders committed to nuclear storytelling and risk reduction, including legendary producer Lawrence Bender, manager and investor Will Ward, and CAA Foundation executive Travis Merriweather, among others.
• A $10,000 development award to producer and writer Alyssa Clark by NTI and Popshift to develop the pilot and a treatment of a new show called October Last, the story of a young couple whose wedding announcement happens on the day of a world-wide nuclear exchange, setting up a mystery of which guests will manage to survive to see them married in the 12 months that follow. The competitive process included nearly 30 proposals for TV shows that expose the true risks of nuclear weapons or highlight characters working to address them. Clark’s submission stood out for its potential to highlight the catastrophic health, environmental, economic, and societal impacts of nuclear weapons through a relatable, human-centric storyline.
• The release of NTI’s new storytelling “playbook” with tips for creators, writers, producers, directors, and executives working on projects that involve nuclear storylines. The playbook was created in partnership with Popshift, with key tips generated by 25 nuclear experts who joined 25 TV writers for a spring convening on nuclear storytelling.
• Kei Ito, an interdisciplinary installation artist, is the featured artist for the 2025 #CranesForOurFuture campaign, the world’s largest digital demonstration for a world without nuclear weapons. Ito’s piece, developed to be shareable on social media for the campaign, is titled “Hope Lingers in the Afterglow” and is a camera-less photographic work inspired by the crane pin worn by members of Nihon Hidankyo, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization of atomic bomb survivors. Ito’s grandfather was a former chair of the group.

For more information on the Critical Mass project and to read the full letter, visit http://nti.org/no-more-hiroshimas.

About the Nuclear Threat Initiative

The Nuclear Threat Initiative is a nonprofit, nonpartisan global security organization focused on reducing nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats imperiling humanity. To learn more, visit https://www.nti.org/.

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