‘Oppenheimer’ cast members join Jane Fonda and more to spotlight nuclear threat

On March 7, 2024, 4:22 AM

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is leveraging the attention on Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-nominated film “Oppenheimer” in an attempt to elevate the conversation about nuclear threat.

In the run-up to Sunday night’s Academy Awards, the organization is launching a “Make Nukes History” campaign Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Utilizing billboards, a major art installation, an open letter from top artists published in the Los Angeles Times, social media videos and more, the campaign aims to raise public awareness about the civilization-ending risks posed by today’s nuclear arsenals.

Actors including “Oppenheimer” cast members Matthew Modine and Tony Goldwyn, as well as Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Viggo Mortensen, Emma Thompson, and Rosanna Arquette joined J. Robert Oppenheimer’s grandson and activist Charles Oppenheimer to sign a letter in partnership with NTI.

“We want to raise our voices to remind people that while Oppenheimer is history, nuclear weapons are not,” the group writes in their letter. “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.”

The “For Your Consideration: Make Nukes History” campaign includes billboards and street posters, proclaiming “Oppenheimer Started It, We Can End It” and “13 Oppenheimer Nominations; 13,000 Nuclear Weapons.”

“Robert Oppenheimer warned against developing even more powerful weapons and predicted that dangerous arms races would follow. He was right,” said NTI Co-Chair and CEO and former Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz. “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.”

“Oppenheimer” has had a winning awards season and is widely viewed as the Oscars frontrunner for best picture. The film tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who along with a team of scientists, developed and designed the atomic bomb.

To read the full list of signatories, visit www.makenukeshistory.org/open-letter.