Director Randy Olson left a successful career as a marine biologist to attend film school and tell the stories of science in a way that is entertaining and accessible, a task he says most scientists fail to do.

Olson’s latest film, “Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy,” was shown Thursday night to a crowd of several hundred at Murdock Hall on the Tempe campus.

After the movie, a panel of experts discussed the need for innovative communication of science.

“Sizzle,” a blend of documentary, mockumentary and reality, follows Olson as he tries to make a global warming documentary that includes what he said was missing from Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”— scientists.

The only funding for the film comes from a gay couple from Malibu fixated on securing star power for the project, and Olson finds himself stuck with an often tardy and always interruptive global warming skeptic as his cameraman.

Although much of “Sizzle” is comedic acting and improvisation, real interviews with global warming experts and skeptics are dispersed throughout the movie.

Olson asked every scientist the same three questions — whether the earth has warmed over the last 100 years, whether humans have contributed significantly to that warming, and if there is anything humans can do about it.

The six skeptics offered widely disparate answers and analysis, which led Olson to point out that the skeptic community cannot even agree on an explanation amongst themselves.

Many skeptics’ doubts seem to come as a knee-jerk response, Olson said, noting that most people who are skeptical of evolution are also skeptical of global warming.

The intermingled hilarity and information of “Sizzle” address what Olson identifies as the shortcomings of “An Inconvenient Truth” and “When the Levees Broke,” two critically acclaimed documentaries that he admires but also criticizes for their lack of mass appeal.

“They lacked humor and emotion that the broad audience could really relate to,” Olson said. “The only people who watch those films are people who want to know about that stuff already. You have to use different techniques to reach different audiences.”

Kevin Sandler, assistant professor in the Film and Media Studies program echoed these ideas, expressing the need to tap into the new generation and present them with better storytelling techniques.

Olson’s campaign to make science accessible continues this September with the release of his book, titled “Don’t Be Such A Scientist.”

Reach the reporter at melanie.kiser@asu.edu.