Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay has launched the nonprofit Yellow Dot Studios as a content production banner to raise awareness about the global climate crisis.
The new venture aims to quickly produce videos, memes and media for viral distribution and will kick off with the debut video “Commercial For Big Money.” McKay, who is also known for movies like Vice, The Big Short, Anchorman, Step Brothers and Talladega Nights, in a statement said Yellow Dot needs to play catch up as the mainstream media is slow to cover the global climate emergency.
“Oil companies’ horrible and destructive disinformation created decades of delay in dealing with climate breakdown. Yellow Dot’s goal is to push back, whether that’s through in-house videos, or videos for climate orgs and activist groups, to help get people involved and activated at a rapid pace,” McKay argued.
Before the current WGA strike, Yellow Dot Studios, which is financed by climate philanthropists and donors, produced “Commercial For Big Money,” which was written by McKay and narrated by Joe Hart. The content studio will also take third-party production work in partnership with worldwide organizations and donors to similarly amplify messages about tackling global warming.
Yellow Dot will have Staci Roberts-Steele, a co-producer on Don’t Look Up, as its managing director, overseeing all content production. She also created recent climate videos under McKay’s Hyperobject Industries banner, including a spoof Chevron ad and a video in which Darth Vader praises Exxon for what he calls “deeds so treacherous that I became envious.”
Watch the “Big Money” video below.
