Thank You for Smoking

src: static3.srcdn.com

Thank You for Smoking is a 2005 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on a 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. This follows the efforts of the chief spokesman for Great Tobacco, Nick Naylor, who lobbied on behalf of cigarettes using heavy spinning tactics while also trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son. Mary Bello, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J. K. Simmons, and Robert Duvall appear in supporting roles.

The film was released in limited time on March 17, 2006, and was released widely on April 14th. In 2007, the film has grossed more than $ 39 million worldwide. The film was released on DVD in the US on October 3, 2006, and in the UK on January 8, 2007.

Video Thank You for Smoking

Plot

Nick Naylor is a handsome and tough tobacco lobbyist and vice president of the tobacco lobby called the "Tobacco Research Academy," which for 15 years has "studied" the link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer. They claim that their research - funded primarily by tobacco companies - has found no definite evidence of any relationship. Naylor's work consists primarily of reporting questionable research from "Academy" to the public and defending Big Tobacco on television programs by questioning opposite health claims and advocating personal choice. Naylor and his friends, fire bobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and lobbyist Polly Bailey, meet each week and joke calling themselves "Merchants of Death" or "The MOD Squad".

As the anti-tobacco campaigns increase and the number of young smokers declines, Naylor suggests that cigarette product placement could once again increase cigarette sales. Bos Naylor, BR, sent Naylor to Los Angeles to bid for cigarette placement in the upcoming films. Naylor took his young son Joey with the hope of bonding with him. The next day, Naylor was sent to meet Lorne Lutch, a cancer-stricken man who had played Marlboro Man in cigarette advertisements and is now campaigning against cigarettes. When his son watched, Naylor managed to offer Lutch a money suitcase for his silence. During the ride back, Nick and Joey discuss the beauty of the argument.

Senator Finistirre, one of Naylor's loudest critics, was a bill promoter to add a skeleton button and skull cap to a cigarette pack. During a televised debate with Finistirre, Naylor received death threats from a caller. Despite the threat, Naylor still plans to appear before a US Senate committee to fight the Finistirre bill. Naylor was later kidnapped and covered with nicotine patches. When he woke up in the hospital, he learned that a very high level of nicotine tolerance from smoking had saved him from death due to nicotine intoxication, but now he is very sensitive to nicotine and can never smoke again.

Meanwhile, Naylor has been teased by a young reporter named Heather Holloway. During their steamy crew, the infatuated Naylor told Holloway about his life and career - information he was happy to publish in an expose that appeared right after the abduction. His article relentlessly criticized Naylor and his work, exposing Lutch's bribes, product placement schemes, and MOD teams. It accuses Naylor of training his son, Joey, to follow his charity example. All public sympathies for Naylor's kidnapping evaporated, and Naylor was fired by BR.

Naylor fell into a depression until Joey helped him remember integrity in his work defending a company that almost no one feels worthy of a defense. Rejuvenated, Naylor told the press about his affair with Holloway and promised to clear the names of all the people mentioned in his article. He also stated that he would still appear before the Senate committee. At the hearing, Naylor acknowledged the dangers of smoking but argued that public awareness was high enough without extra warning. He emphasized consumer choice and responsibility and, to the dismay of Senator Finistirre, claimed that if tobacco companies were guilty of tobacco-related deaths, then Lausanne Lausanne, the main cheese producer, was also guilty of cholesterol-related deaths.

BR congratulates Naylor on the speech and offers him his old job but Naylor has a change of heart. Looking at the Big Tobacco payment claim from liability, Naylor declares that he has left just in time. He also mentioned Heather was humiliated after being dismissed by the newspaper for her article and working as a weather reporter at a local news station. Naylor supported his new interest to argue and to open a private lobbying firm. The MOD squad continues to meet new members representing the fast food industry, oil, and biohazard. When he consulted a mobile phone industry representative concerned about claims that his cell phone was causing brain cancer, he recalled: "Michael Jordan plays a ball Charles Manson kills people I speak Everyone has talent."

Maps Thank You for Smoking

Cast

• Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies
• Cameron Bright as Joey Naylor, Nick's son
• Katie Holmes as Heather Holloway, a reporter for the Washington Probe
• Maria Bello as Polly Bailey, a spokeswoman for the alcohol industry.
• David Koechner as Bobby Jay Bliss, spokesperson for SAFETY ( S ociety for A increase F irearms and E ffective T rain for Y out).
• William H. Macy as Senator Ortolan Finistirre
• Robert Duvall as Captain, founder of the Academy for Tobacco Research
• J. K. Simmons as "BR", Nick's boss
• Marianne Muellerleile as Joey's school teacher
• Kim Dickens as Jill Naylor, Nick's ex-wife
• Rob Lowe as Jeff Megall, a super Hollywood agent
• Adam Brody as Jack, assistant Jeff Megall
• Sam Elliott as Lorne Lutch, the original Marlboro Man
• Todd Louiso as Ron Goode
• Dennis Miller as Himself

Director Jason Reitman asked many aspiring actors and actresses to be in the film by writing each personal letter. Each of his first choices received his share and thanked Reitman for his letter. Reitman was also able to persuade Eckhart, Holmes, Macy, and Lowe to enter the film for a minimum fee.

src: www.slantmagazine.com

Production

Mel Gibson's Icon Productions bought the rights to Buckley's novel before its launch. Initially, Gibson saw himself as actor Nick Naylor in his adaptation. However, due to the book's satirical nature, the studio has no way to film it and the project does not have any usable scripts. Reitman became interested in leading the adaptation after reading the book, and independently writing drafts for Icon executives after he learned they had the rights to the film. Reitman sees himself as a comic writer in a voice similar to Buckley, and consciously tries to maintain a sense of sarcasm for his draft. The script was well received by Icon, and Gibson called Reitman to say how much he loved it. But for the next three years, the project was miserable because of the lack of financing and big studio interest, as most studios wanted Reitman to rewrite the script to include a more anti-smoking and lifting end. According to Reitman, studios wanted Naylor to experience a change of heart by the end of the film and repent for his past.

Just after meeting David O. Sacks, who has made his fortune as a former COO of PayPal Internet payments company, Reitman invented a financial expert for the script. As the first producer, Sacks spent more than a year getting the rights to the film from Icon. He financed most of the $ 8.5 million film budget and let Reitman save most of his original draft. The project marked Reitman's first long movie as a director, although he previously directed short films and commercials and worked on the site of his father, director Ivan Reitman.

During the filming, Reitman made the conscious decision not to show the real cigarette. The only scenes that include smoking are old movies that the characters watch, such as when John Wayne lit up at Sands of Iwo Jima .

Before the film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, internet rumors claimed that the extended nude scene between Eckhart and Holmes had been cut down due to pressure from Holmes's husband, Tom Cruise. Reitman and the executive denied that such a scene ever existed but welcomed the publicity it collected for the film. Reitman later said that "Half the questions I get are wise questions about lobby morale and how satire works, and the rest only, 'Is there really a naked recording out there?'"

Controversy also erupted after the film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. Thank You for Smoking is greeted with amazing popular reception and subsequently disputed claims arise regarding who has signed a distribution deal with Sacks. Fox Searchlight Pictures and Paramount Classics both issued competing press releases claiming that they have earned the rights to movie distribution. Sack later claimed that he never reached a firm agreement with Paramount, and noted that Fox Searchlight had offered $ 7 million for distribution, while Paramount Classics offered $ 6.7 million. Allegedly, Sacks called Paramount at 1:15 am said he was uncomfortable with their initial agreement. Ruth Vitale, co-president of Paramount Classics said "She can not resell the movie" and noted "I can only think that because of naivetà ©  © and her experience she will do this."

src: a.ltrbxd.com

Release

Critical reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Film-review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of 174 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10. The general consensus of the site is that "The unscrupulous and heartbreaking character of cynicism tortures all anti-tangent side issues with stimuli and intelligence. "Metacritic, who gave a normalized ranking of 100 to reviews from film critics, scored a ranking of 71 based on 36 reviews. Peter Travers from Rolling Stone described it as "very funny" and gave 3.5 movies out of 4 stars. Critics of the USA Today movie Claudia Puig called it a "sharp satire" which is "the darkest comedy of this year's outer so far This has appeal to all sides of the political spectrum." He praised the film for "strange and intelligent oddities that gave off a sour smile and a warm laugh" and compared it to the tone for Selection (1999). Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times is also better reviewing the film, calling it a "smart and cute" film "cleverly" tailored to the film of the novel.

Box office performance

Thank You for Smoking originally opened at the box office in the US as a limited release in only five theaters, and earned $ 262,923 on its debut weekend with an average of $ 52,584 per theater, making it one of the top 100 films average gross per cinema of all time. The film was later released in 1,015 theaters across the US on April 14, 2006, and has grossed $ 24,793,509 domestically and $ 14,529,518 overseas, for a total of $ 39,323,027 worldwide. The highest score ever rated at the North American box office was # 8 on its broad launch weekend. Despite the excellent box office performance for Reitman's director debut, it was paled when compared to the next two films, Juno and Up in the Air , both went on to earn over $ 150,000 Worldwide. In 2017, the film is the 14th best-selling political satire.

Criticism

The main controversy most critics have with this film is the lack of continuity. Karina Longworth of Cinematical noted " Thank You for Smoking has a vague emotional bow, but narratively it plays out like a sitcom sketch constellation, linked by the finest thread of character evolution", while Empire observes "the problem is not so much with the purpose of the film, as the target number is targeted." Another reviewer criticized the overacting of the film. Manhola Dargis of The New York Times noted "even though he [Reitman] directed his players through his steps with facilities, he tended to exaggerate the hard jokes in the book." Another comment came from The Hollywood Reporter : "Though often entertaining, the movie keeps pressing the same comic record", and Salon: "The actors here are quite entertaining to watch, even if they are occasionally visible like taking their mission (whatever they think) is a bit too serious. "

Nick Naylor's character has been compared to real-life Richard Berman from the Center for Consumer Freedom.

While Thank You for Smoking this book is hailed as a keen critic of both anti-smoking lobbyists and the tobacco industry, the film has received more mixed reviews about its satirical content. Steve Palopoli of Metro Silicon Valley wrote that "no matter" how many hype machines might be hard to sell the idea that the movie 'flips through both sides of the problem', "every child is old enough to recognize Joe Camel can say that under sarcastic joke, this is a bitter anti-smoking film. "Palopoli went on to say" the suspected case against the anti-smoking lobby has been reduced largely to some weak jokes at the expense of the character of senator William H. Macy, who strongly opposes the tobacco lobby ". Many feel the end of his relatively cheerful film negates the slicker, darker tone of the book. The Washington Post ' s Desson Thomson thinks that "as written and directed by Jason Reitman,' Smoking 'is filtered too much with moral redemption."

Reitman has maintained his goal is to match the tone and satirical messages of the book as closely as possible. "What I want people to think about is the political truth, I want them to think about the idea of ​​personal responsibility and personal choice, I think cigarettes are a good location for the discussion because smoking is something we know all the answers", he argues. "I want to see this idea why we feel the need to tell each other how life is and why we can not take personal responsibility for our own actions when we get sick from things we know are dangerous." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon agrees with Reitman; "Despite the title, the movie is not packed with a strong anti-smoking message, therefore unnecessary: ​​Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, including people who keep doing it."

There is no point during a movie where one of the characters smokes. Dargis of The New York Times unknowingly states, " Thank You for Smoking is rated R (Under 17 years of requiring accompanying parent or adult guardian). light violence, wise sex and, of course, countless cigarettes. "In the film, even Robert Duvall who screened the maverick cigarettes" The Captain "was shown repeatedly drinking mint juleps rather than smoking. Some critics argue that Reitman's reluctance to show the character of smoking is a further confirmation of the anti-smoking attitude of the film. Reitman has issued statements that do not fit this view. He said in an interview that "While it is not anti-smoking, it is very important people do not think that this is a pro-smoking movie. It's about freedom of choice." Buckley said about the decision to quit smoking that "[I'm] very deliberate, and I think it's kind of cool."

Industrial reaction

The tobacco industry itself is reluctant to take sides or comment on the film. When New York Times reporter Michael Jankowsky contacted an Altria publicist about the tobacco giant's reaction, he "hesitated to reply, insisting that the film looks outdated and describes the industry with a portrayal of tobacco executives as highly paid paychecks expensive. "Although Thank You for Smoking is making a joke in the industry, the novel adapted from this is a tougher tobacco lobbyist critic, and major tobacco companies remain silent on the issue.

src: www.alternateending.com

Awards

Thank You for Smoking does not receive various nominations from major awards series; However, he won two Golden Globe nominations in that year for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actor in the same movie genre for Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Nick Naylor. The Broadcast Film Association recognized Cameron Bright for his performance as Joey with a nomination for Best Young Actor, and also gave the film itself a nomination in the Comedy category. Jason Reitman received the Best Director Debut award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

src: images.fanpop.com

Soundtrack

Soundtrack Thank You for Smoking was released on April 14, 2006 and CD out on April 18, 2006. The first nine songs are popular songs about cigarettes taken from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s -an. The famous song "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (The Cigarette)" opens the movie. The last four tracks are instrumental from the original score of Rolfe Kent, who has been nominated for the best original score for his work on Sideways. AllMusic writes that "The threads are clear, but the choice of votes is self-selected rather than researched solely on the basis of their subject matter." Other critics call the soundtrack "crazy."

1. "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (Cigarette)" (Tex Williams) - 2:54
2. "Smoke Rings" (The Mills Brothers) - 2:55
3. "Greenback Dollar" (The Kingston Trio) - 2:52
4. "Little Organ Fugue" (The Swingle Singers) - 2:23
5. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (The Platters) - 2:40
6. "Three Cigarettes in Ashtray" (Patsy Cline) - 2:16
7. "Cigarettes and Whiskey" (Ramblin 'Jack Elliott) - 2:02
8. "Cigarette and Coffee" (Otis Redding) - 3:52
9. "Other Puff" (Jerry Reed) - 4:06
10. "Intro & amp; Tobacco One" (Rolfe Kent) - 3:02
11. "Donate That & Make Love Back in Cigarettes" (Rolfe Kent) - 3:01
12. "Joey & Drums of Doom" (Rolfe Kent) - 2:59
13. "Spanish Epilogue Revisited" (Rolfe Kent) - 3:00
14. "Wind of Change" (Scorpion) - 5:11

src: i.ytimg.com

Home media

DVD was released on October 3, 2006 by 20th Century Fox, with widescreen editions and full-screen. Each DVD contains two comments, one exclusively with Reitman and the other with Reitman, Eckhart, and Koechner. Other extras include thirteen deleted scenes, Charlie Rose interviews, featurette making, "America: Living in Spin" features, poster galleries, and art galleries. The movie has not been released on Blu-ray.

src: i.ytimg.com

Proposed TV series

Variety reported on November 24, 2006 that NBC plans to create a television series based on the film. Sack leads the adaptation as an executive producer, with Rick Cleveland inaugurated as head writer. After NBC graduated the project, it was taken to the NBC, US cable network. James Dodson was founded as co-lead author and co-executive producer with Sacks. US program chief executive Jeff Wachtel originally described the character as living between the ambiguous moral character of the film and Robin Hood. The series is planned to adopt a different title and attempt to start where the movie was abandoned. This project never materialized and there is no official series of this film since it was developed. However, the ABC Better Off Ted event has been described as "TV-sized Version of Thank You for Smoking ".

src: pre00.deviantart.net

References

src: i.ytimg.com

External links

• Thank You for Smoking on IMDb
• Thank You for Smoking at AllMovie
• Thank you for Smoking at Rotten Tomatoes
• Thank You for Smoking at Metacritic
• Thanks for Smoking in Mojo Box Office

Source of the article : Wikipedia