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MillimeterAwarding Awareness
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Darroch Greer
The green-eyed monster of producing sustainable television.
Photo: Adam Taylor/Warner Bros. © 2007 Warner Bros. Television. All Rights Reserved.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures of Old Christine
Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined the EMA board of directors 18 years ago. She also works with Heal the Bay and Heal the Ocean, and she serves as part of the executive forum of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Her show, The New Adventures of Old Christine, has been nominated for EMAs both years it has been in production.
"I think that with our show the bottom line is it needs to be funny," Louis-Dreyfus says. "[Environmentalism] just sort of works its way into the scripts, oftentimes somewhat ironically. The character I play tries to be an environmentalist but doesn't really understand what that means, and so she signs petitions and gets people to sign petitions, but she doesn't quite know what she's getting them to sign. Her heart's in the right place, but she's often not thought things through completely. So, the environmental message gets out in that sense, but without beating people over the head with it."
More importantly, Christine is one of an increasing number of TV shows and movies that practice responsible recycling and conservation. "We've done things like change everything out to compact fluorescent light bulbs, and we use post-consumer recycled paper products, and we're trying to discourage plastic water bottles, although that's tricky for a lot of reasons," Louis-Dreyfus says. "We gave the crew and everybody those canisters that are metal that you can drink out of and refill. All of the paper products and the plastic products are made from recycled material—and I think it's something bizarre like corn or soy or something that our knives and forks are made of—at the craft-service table. ... It's a tiny agenda, but it's symbolic, and I think one tiny step at a time can make a difference."
