But then, making science sexy is Weber's job. Recently,
American
Way talked with him about the challenges of encouraging box
office winners from the world of science.
Why is it important that the general public know more about the
inner workings of science? Everything we do is more or less
determined by science and technology. Look at the computer, the
telephone, the microscope, indoor plumbing. Technology means "human
made," and it defines us as human. It's us. It's not some alien
thing imposed on us by a narrow cabal.
What was the response when you first started giving grants for
screenplays dealing with science? That was nine years ago,
before CSI, before A Beautiful Mind. So when you said you wanted
screenplays about science, people looked at you like you were from
Mars. We're big supporters of PBS and
National Public Radio, but we
wanted to go beyond that, to commercial films that can make money
and be entertaining.
How do you see your role? We really have two cultures, the
sciences and the arts, and there's a huge gulf between them. I see
myself as a translator, comfortably moving between the two worlds.
I shuttle back and forth, seeking ways to open the channels of
communication and find common ground.
Is it hard to bring the two cultures together? Well, we
discovered that a big university like
UCLA has a great film
department and science departments full of Nobel prize winners, but
the two groups never met, never talked to each other. They didn't
even know how to find each other on campus. So we set up a
requirement that, once a year, people from science and engineering
had to come talk to the film students. That got the students
excited. They discovered that scientists could be pretty cool
people, and there were some great stories there.