Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writers:

Jason Reitman (screenplay), Christopher Buckley (novel)

Stars:

Joan Lunden, Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 10 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Lunden	...	Herself
Eric Haberman	...	Robin Williger
Aaron Eckhart	...	Nick Naylor
Mary Jo Smith	...	Sue Maclean
Todd Louiso	...	Ron Goode
Jeff Witzke	...	Kidnapper
J.K. Simmons	...	BR
Marianne Muellerleile	...	Teacher
Cameron Bright	...	Joey Naylor
Alex Diaz	...	Kid #1
Jordan Garrett	...	Kid #2
Courtney Taylor Burness	...	Kid #3 (as Courtney Burness)
Jordan Del Spina	...	Kid #4 (as Jordan Orr)
Maria Bello	...	Polly Bailey
David Koechner	...	Bobby Jay Bliss

Storyline

The chief spokesperson and lobbyist Nick Naylor is the Vice-President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies. He is talented in speaking and spins argument to defend the cigarette industry in the most difficult situations. His best friends are Polly Bailey that works in the Moderation Council in alcohol business, and Bobby Jay Bliss of the gun business own advisory group SAFETY. They frequently meet each other in a bar and they self-entitle the Mod Squad a.k.a. Merchants of Death, disputing which industry has killed more people. Nick's greatest enemy is Vermont's Senator Ortolan Finistirre, who defends in the Senate the use a skull and crossed bones in the cigarette packs. Nick's son Joey Naylor lives with his mother, and has the chance to know his father in a business trip. When the ambitious reporter Heather Holloway betrays Nick disclosing confidences he had in bed with her, his life turns upside-down. But Nick is good in what he does for the mortgage.

---

Plot Keywords:

business | tobacco | reporter | lobbyist | health | 

---

Taglines:

Tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor is trying to SAVE YOUR ASH!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gracias por fumar

Filming Locations:

The Prince - 3198 W. Seventh Street, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,447 (Chile) (22 September 2006)

Gross:

$35,206 (Chile) (29 September 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Room 9 Entertainment, TYFS Productions LLC, ContentFilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene in which Nick and Joey are in the amusement park riding the Ferris wheel and are eating what appears to be ice cream, they are actually eating mashed potatoes. The reason for this being that during filming under hot movie lighting, actual ice cream melts too quickly to ensure continuity from shot to shot. The use of mashed potatoes is an old photography trick used commonly in the advertising industry, and is something infinitely more desirable than the other oft-used ice cream substitutes in film or photography: Crisco or Lard.

---

Goofs

In the hospital cafeteria when Bobby tries to give Nick the handgun, his finger jumps from inside to outside the trigger guard between shots.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Joan Lunden: Robin Williger. He is a 15 year old freshman from Racine, Wisconsin. He enjoys studying history; he's on the debate team. Robin's future looked very, very bright. But recently he was diagnosed with cancer, a very tough kind of cancer. Robin tells me he has quit smoking, though, and he no longer thinks that cigarettes are "cool."

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits are styled to appear as cigarette boxes.

---

Connections

Features The Blue Planet (2001)

---

Soundtracks

"Bow to Chinese"
Composed and Performed by Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner
Courtesy of Palisades Music Productions

User Reviews

Funny movie: looks at ALL sides of the debate

I saw this at Sundance last night (actually it was a Salt Lake screening, and thus the filmmakers didn't bother to drive 30 miles to talk to us...not that I am bitter...) At first I was a bit worried that this was going to be the old hat anti smoking movie that makes all smokers victims of the eeeeevil tobacco companies, but then I saw that it was based on a Christopher Buckley novel and I relaxed a bit! This pokes fun at all sides of the issue, from the tobacco lobbyist's insistence that there has been "no conclusive proof" that tobacco is harmful, to the legislator's thinking that putting a warning label on cigarettes will actually make someone pick up a cigarette package, read the label, and decide not to smoke...as if ANYONE with half a brain doesn't know that inhaling smoke into your lungs will harm you.

Aaron Eckhart did a fine job in his role, as did Sam Elliot, Rob Lowe, Katie Holmes...I could go on and on. It's fascinating to watch Eckhart's character spin and spin so that he brings people around to his way of thinking. He has to be representing one of the most hated industries in the United States, yet he is able to convince people as to the opposite! I highly recommend this film!