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How well do you think movies have represented science?

I think it is a mixed bag. Sometimes it has been great, sometimes I cringe. In some ways Hollywood has done science a real disservice, since the scientist is frequently played as a crazed megalomaniac out to create life at any cost. Then you have a movie like The Core, which was full of science babble. On the other hand you have The X-Files, in which one of the lead characters is a female scientist, as a result of which more women started choosing science as a career.

You founded the Science and Entertainment Exchange in 2008. What’s the idea behind it?

It came out of a conversation with the president of the National Academy of Sciences, who wanted to see if we could use our ties with Hollywood to communicate more and better information about science. The NAS thought the best way to get the word out was through documentaries, but that would be ineffective unless you’re Michael Moore. We thought it would be better if we could act as a resource for the movie community, to interest them in science and help them with science-related issues.

How do film-makers use your organisation?

If someone wants to know the facts, we can connect them to the people who can tell them. It’s also a brainstorming resource. We hold small gatherings of entertainment people and scientists, such as physicist Brian Greene and neurologist Stanley Prusiner, to explore ideas. For example, if you’re working on a science fiction script about sending astronauts to another galaxy, scientists can provide more interesting theories about how it might be done than screenwriters.

What are your aims?

We’re looking to cultivate an appreciation and a love of science. There are plenty of medical dramas that have doctors on set for accuracy – they stretch the limits quite a bit, but they make people watch the shows and they make medicine seem like a good profession. In a sense we want to do the same with science. It is a little harder, as science is about solving problems rather than fast-paced action. But the more we can get the entertainment community fascinated by science, the more we’ll get positive messages about science out there.

Which movies have you helped out with?

This year we’ve helped with Iron Man 2 and Tron Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 sci-fi film Tron. We’re working on others, such as a script being developed by Roland Emmerich, who wrote The Day After Tomorrow, which has a strong genetics and bioweapons focus.

Are there any similarities between what scientists and film-makers do?

They’re both creative, require a certain imagination and both are problem-solving enterprises. When you’re writing a screenplay you have to figure out how all the pieces are going to fit together. In general I have noticed that scientists and film-makers hit it off. They’re fascinated by one another.