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:

Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, Maria Bello

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Lunden	...	Joan Lunden
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 arguments 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-title the M.O.D. 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 of a skull and crossbones on 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:

lobbyist | tobacco industry | black comedy | tobacco lobby | cigarette smoking | 

---

Taglines:

Nick Naylor doesn't hide the truth. . . he filters it.

---

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 7th St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$262,923, 19 March 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,792,061, 10 September 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,323,027, 31 December 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:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Seventeen minutes into the film, an ad saying "More doctors smoke Alpacas than any other cigarette" can be seen. This is a spoof on Camel cigarettes, which used that slogan on paper, and on old time radio advertisements.

---

Goofs

The back seat armrest when Nick and The Captain are talking in the Rolls Royce.

---

Quotes

Nick Naylor: [Narrating] Few people on this planet know what it is to be truly despised. Can you blame them? I earn a living fronting an organizing that kills one thousand two hundred human beings a day; twelve hundred people. We're talking two jumbo jet plane loads of men, women, and children. I mean there's Attila, Genghis, and me, Nick Naylor the face of cigarettes, the colonel sanders of nicotine. This is where I work, the Academy of Tobacco Studies. It was established by seven gentlemen you may ...

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits are styled to appear as cigarette boxes.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Despicable Me/The Kids Are All Right (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Stuttering Todd
Written by Danny Seim
Performed by Danny Seim of Menomena
Courtesy of Bridgetown Breaks Co.

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!