Al Gore almost didn't make An Inconvenient Truth

While it's now hard to think of Al Gore without his documentary An Inconvenient Truth coming to mind, the one-time presidential candidate admits he almost didn't make the famous film. In an interview with Wired — published 10 years after Gore transformed a slideshow he'd compiled on the threats of climate change into the documentary — Gore confesses that, initially, he "did not want to do a documentary":
It's a dumb reason. I didn't think a slideshow could translate into a movie. I thought back to my days in school, when I tried to take a shortcut studying Shakespeare by watching filmed versions of the plays, where they just set up a camera and filmed the stage. It didn't translate. Participant Media and Davis Guggenheim had to convince me it was a good idea, and I'm so glad they found ways to reveal to me the depths of my ignorance about moviemaking. It's a message that has to be heard. Sorry to risk sounding grandiose, but the future of human civilization is at stake. [Wired]
The documentary went on to win two Oscars and, as NPR puts it, "politicized global warming to an unprecedented level."
Read Gore's full reflections on the battle against climate change — and how he thinks he might finally be "winning" it — over at Wired.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Viktor Orban: is time up for Europe's longest-serving premier?
Today's Big Question Hungarian PM's power is under threat 'but not in the way – or from the people – one might expect'
-
Operation Rubific: the government's secret Afghan relocation scheme
The Explainer Massive data leak a 'national embarrassment' that has ended up costing taxpayer billions
-
Melania Trump's intervention on Ukraine
In The Spotlight The first lady has been linked to the president's U-turn on sending arms to Kyiv
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'
speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
IDF blames 'error' for strike on Gaza water line
Speed Read Israeli forces attack Palestinians, including children, collecting water in central Gaza
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries
Speed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.