Paul Rudd leaves his phone off set and backs ban on 'A Statement'
Paul Rudd does not take his phone to work. The actor told Variety at the world premiere of “A Statement” at the New York Film Festival that he has kept his phone off film sets for a while. Variety
He did not exempt himself. Rudd described himself as addicted to his phone, like everybody else. He called phones horrible things that are facilitating our own destruction, and said it is important to put them down.
The comments fit the shoot. Director Tom McCarthy ran a very strict no-phones policy on “A Statement”, according to Variety. Co-star Amy Ryan urged other film-makers to follow that lead, saying work became much more rich without phones around.
“A Statement” is directed by McCarthy and stars Rudd as the moderator of the first meeting devoted to solving America’s climate crisis. The story is set at a Florida beachside resort in 1980. Twenty experts spend a weekend drafting a statement to Congress on the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on the climate.
The ensemble includes Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany and John Turturro, alongside Amy Ryan and Evan Peters. The film world-premiered as a Spotlight entry at the 2026 New York Film Festival, a high-profile section of the programme. The Hollywood Reporter
What makes this stand out is how the off-screen behaviour matched the on-screen subject. A 1980s meeting had no smartphones to interrupt it, and McCarthy’s set briefly recreated those conditions.
