Hollywood stars align for technology series ‘Breakthrough’ – The Washington Post

LOS ANGELES — As a resident of parched California, Angela Bassett is used to playing water warden at home.

“I’m a mom with (twin) kids, 9-year-olds, trying to teach them how to wash dishes, how to wash clothes” in a time of drought, the actress said. “And to turn out the lights. I feel like the father figure in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night,’ saying, ‘Turn that light off!’”

As the director of “Water Apocalypse,” she’s talking to a bigger audience about water crises here and around the world and the technological advances that may help resolve them.

The hour-long program is part of “Breakthrough,” a six-part series on scientific innovation from filmmaking partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.