Shia LaBeouf Skywriting Company Defends Apology Stunt

This story first appeared in the Jan. 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

On Jan. 1, Shia LaBeouf apologized for plagiarizing his short film HowardCantour.com by hiring a skywriting plane to fly over L.A. and spell “I am sorry Daniel Clowes” to the acclaimed author. The star’s stunt drew bemused scorn from Patton Oswalt and Seth Rogen on Twitter. Still, the company behind the stunt defends it.

STORY: Shia LaBeouf Taunts Daniel Clowes’ Cease and Desist on Twitter

“What we did was visible within a 10- to 15-mile radius,” Worldwide Sky Advertising’s Cristina Domi tells THR of the writing, which cost several thousand dollars. “The copy we put up there was actually 5 miles long, so it definitely allows for a lot of exposure.”

So was LaBeouf pleased, even if Clowes lives in the Bay Area and couldn’t see it? “Oh, absolutely,” says Domi. “He did get a lot of PR from it.”