Julianne Moore, Michael Douglas and Emma Thompson are among a slew of celebrities putting their names to a campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Ahead of “Oppenheimer’s” expected domination at the Oscars this Sunday, Moore, Douglas, Thompson and other celebrities have backed the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s “Make Nukes History” campaign.
“We want to raise our voices to remind people that while ‘Oppenheimer’ is history, nuclear weapons are not,” reads the open letter, published today in the L.A. Times. “To protect our families, our communities, and our world, we must demand that global leaders work to make nuclear weapons history — and build a brighter future.”
Others signing the letter include “Oppenheimer” cast members Matthew Modine and Tony Goldwyn and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, as well as Oppenheimer’s grandson Charles Oppenheimer. Alan Cumming, Annie Lennox, Bill Nye, Ellen Burstyn, Graham Nash, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rosanna Arquette and Viggo Mortensen have also signed in support.
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In addition to the open letter, the NTI have organized billboards, a social media campaign, a mural in West Hollywood and an art installation at the Farmers Market near The Grove to raise public awareness about the danger posed by nuclear weapons. Posters saying “Oppenheimer Started It, We Can End It” will also be plastered across the city.
“Robert Oppenheimer warned against developing even more powerful weapons and predicted that dangerous arms races would follow. He was right,” said NTI CEO and former Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz in a statement. “Today, nine countries hold 13,000 nuclear weapons, a new arms race is underway and nuclear sabre-rattling has reappeared. We face huge geopolitical challenges — but political will is needed to bring us back from the brink. And political will is created when people demand it.”
Modine, who played engineer Vannevar Bush in Nolan’s nuclear epic, added: “Every person should be educated about the incredible destructive power of nuclear weapons. Understanding the threat illuminates a necessary path toward their elimination.” The actor has made a new documentary, “Downwind,” about the impact of nuclear weapons testing following World War II. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans have been directly harmed by radioactive fallout from the hundreds of nuclear explosions conducted on U.S. soil,” he continued. “From the moment of the first atomic bomb test at Los Alamos, New Mexico our entire planet has been at risk. We need to stop this insanity.”
